A Pentecostal/Charismatic Manifesto

The manifesto that follows addresses the worship life of traditional Pentecostal churches and that of charismatic churches in general. It distinguishes between changes basic to renewal and those that are more stylistic. It also focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the Pentecostal and charismatic theology and practice of worship, and urges a reflective, biblical pursuit of worship renewal within this circle of churches. The author expresses a personal view and makes no claim to speak in behalf of Pentecostal or charismatic churches in general.

While worship renewal in mainstream Protestantism has been fairly intentional, in that it has resulted from theological reflection, the movement among Pentecostals and charismatics has taken a more unpredictable course. Changes in worship patterns have been adopted more spontaneously, spreading from event to event and from church to church. Enough common features have emerged, however, to disclose an identifiable trend. Included in this are elements such as singing led by praise-teams, extensive use of praise-choruses, sharply reduced use of the hymnal, increased physical expression such as clapping and raised hands, the congregational praise-chant, and in some churches the practice of rehearsed or spontaneous dance. Choral music is largely contemporary. Benefits intrinsic to renewal include a recovery of emphasis upon the transcendence of God, with an accompanying emphasis upon singing to God, not merely about Him. This recovery of the vertical dimension in worship may be the most significant aspect of Pentecostal-charismatic worship renewal, a feature achieved more through intuitive quest rather than through theological reflection. Another salutary result of worship renewal has been greatly increased congregational participation in sung praise and thanksgiving. A serious defect of Pentecostal and charismatic worship is the lack of intense, in-depth biblical and theological reflection upon the nature of worship. As a result, worship tends to be a means to an end, whether that be church growth, personal fulfillment, or the defeat of God's enemies. Worship tends to become a utility or a self-absorbing "experience." Worship style is adjusted frequently to meet consumer appetites. Pragmatism wins over theology; that which attracts and holds a crowd is seen as that which God endorses. We should hasten to recognize that these ailments are all too common to our overall individualized American view of church life, as so many have observed. I shall suggest several means by which the Pentecostal movement might participate in a more lasting, biblical renewal of worship. 1. We Should See Our Worship as Christian, Occurring Within the Pentecostal-Charismatic Context—Not the Reverse. We need to affirm and cherish those basic features which lie at the heart of Christian worship, regardless of special tradition. Our first question then should not be: "What makes worship Pentecostal or charismatic?" We need to ask: "What makes worship Christian?" We should reaffirm and celebrate those elements that are absolutely essential to Christian worship, practicing them in our own context. This is not a call to a bland eclecticism, nor a denial of so-called Pentecostal or charismatic distinctives. It is a call to join other evangelicals in recovering from historical amnesia and regaining a sense of continuity with the worshiping church through the ages, thus enriching our present experience. 2. We Need to See the Vital Relationship Between Christian Worship and Christian Truth. We are called to worship God in spirit and in truth; our way of worship is inseparable from our way of believing. Worship and belief, in other words, share a common hermeneutic; what we say in worship should harmonize with what we say in our other teaching. For example, if our worship is tainted by a triumphalism that obscures or denies our need of daily grace and mercy from God, then no amount of teaching on humility can compensate for that deviation from truth in worship. What we "say" through our worship-model may speak so loudly, our people may not hear our other declarations. To ensure that all great redemptive truths are central to our worship, we need to restore more expanded and celebrative use of the Scriptures. It is only appropriate that those who defend a high view of biblical inspiration should demonstrate it by reading the Scriptures extensively and enthusiastically in worship. It should not be necessary to adopt the ecumenical lectionary to accomplish this high purpose, although we need to be informed by its scope. It is urgent that we gain that sense of God's Word to God's people which comes through regular reading of great, basic passages of the Old and New Testaments. These passages, read with uncontrived spiritual vigor, will resound in the memories and hearts of our children when most of our praise-choruses have faded. 3. We Need to Maintain the Christological Focus, the "Paschal Center" of All Worship. We gather around the crucified, risen and ever-living Lord Jesus Christ. Worship centers in what God has done for us in Christ, not in what we desire God to do for us today, nor in what we desire to do for God and for others. Although Christian growth, service and interpersonal care are inspired and enhanced by worship, they are not our direct pursuit in worship. Therefore, we need to affirm an order of truth in worship, in which we ensure that truth about God's steadfast covenant love and His saving acts in Christ are always central. Since we do not adhere to a common liturgy, we need to apply ourselves with diligence to make certain that this theological focus emerges in our selection of music, scripture reading and other expressions. Each service should have its own way of declaring God's saving work. For example, hymns, songs and worship-choruses occurring early in the service need to express not only God's majesty but his loving, faithful acts of redemption. Those musical expressions which center on our response to God's action should follow later, providing that interaction between the declaration of truth and the response to truth which makes for vital worship. If our services are pointed in this central direction, we will have a happy, creative framework in which all spontaneous expressions can flourish. Since most of our churches celebrate the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion, no more frequently than monthly, we need the dynamic equivalent of what the Lord's Table declares within the framework of our regular worship services. We also need to reexamine the content of our so-called praise-worship choruses, a body of more spontaneous music that celebrates the majesty of God, but often fails to emphasize the total redemptive story. We need to reinforce this music theologically. We should use with fresh inspiration the best of our older and newer hymnody, not as a concession to nostalgia or formality but as a confession of our love of sound theology in music. To maintain this focus on Christ in our worship means that we will use structure not for the sake of dignity or "atmosphere," but for the sake of truth. The purpose of structure is to ensure that the vital truth about Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord resounds in our services. This calls for pastors to serve as theologians of the entire worship service, not merely of the sermon. This guidance task cannot be delegated to those who, however talented and creative, may be lacking in theological perspective. All musicians and other participants need to be informed by the central purpose of the worship service. While we do not follow the traditional church year, which traces the events of the life of Christ, we have accumulated a miscellaneous civic-religious calendar of our own. All too often these varied emphases, many of which are promotional, encroach upon the vitality of our worship, and need to be reduced or purged. Far better that we celebrate the most vital seasons of the church year with spiritual enthusiasm, than spend time and energy on less important emphases. In addition to our celebration of Advent, Christmas and Easter, we can include other events of the life of Christ in our Scripture readings. 4. We Need to Use Our Music More Purposefully Throughout the Service. Music should assume its true role as a vital assistant to our entire worship, not merely as a "package" within the service. Music should enable us in our total response of love and thanksgiving to God as Creator and Redeemer, from the call to worship to our dismissal into the world for witness and service. We need to correct a growing tendency to describe a certain more emotionally heightened section of the service as the "worship" portion. The idea is quite prevalent that during this section, generally devoted to praise-choruses and spontaneous prayer, worshipers gain a special presence of God. While it is true that we may experience deeper emotions during one portion of a service than at other times, we need to affirm that all of our worship is in the Lord's presence. And we need to employ one of the greatest means of worship, celebrative music, in all portions of the service. This means that we should not dismiss our congregations immediately after the message, with scant opportunity to respond to God in song and prayer for what they have heard from the Word. For this response opportunity, we need the best of our hymns and a whole new variety of choruses that deal biblically and celebratively with our witness and mission in the world. Most of these latter expressions are yet to be written. We need to arrive as singing worshipers and depart as singing servants of God. We need a celebrative congruity in our services. This can be accomplished if we will combine spiritual zeal with strong theological direction. 5. We Need to Recover a True Sense of Mystery in Christian Worship. We should distinguish between mystical experience in worship and the central mystery of salvation as seen in God's historic saving acts in Jesus Christ. While the former is valid and biblical, the latter is also absolutely essential. We are not called to gather around mystical experience or a mystical atmosphere. Rather, we gather around the mystery of God incarnate. We do not celebrate first of all the degree to which we may sense the presence of God on a given day of worship. Rather, we celebrate above all the saving presence of God in our world. Pentecostal and charismatic people have rightfully contributed to the idea that worship can be exciting. However, we also need to recognize that it is possible to have excitement without true Christian mystery. A recovery of a true sense of mystery, centered in the declarations of Scripture and touched by the Holy Spirit, is necessary for the preservation of genuine Christian excitement. This calls for celebrative preaching, encompassed by celebrative singing and praying. It calls for a constant vein of doxology in our teaching and preaching. It means that we will not pose as experts, but as those who are participating in a great mystery of salvation. Our instruction on Christian living needs the fueling of the mystery of the cross, lest we fall into a sterile lecture-hall type of didacticism. It is remarkable too that in his how-to pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus, the apostle Paul constantly breaks into doxology. Such doxology-laced preaching and teaching surely should be within the genius of the Pentecostal movement, which celebrates openness to the Holy Spirit. 6. We Need to Rediscover the Essence of the Kingdom of God in Our Worship. We are called to worship as people who see the final, radical nature of the kingdom that has come to us in Christ and will come fully in his return. We worship as those who seek fulfillment of that kingdom, not merely escape from the woes of this life. In other words, we worship as an eschatological people, not merely as people who believe in some form of eschatology. As we worship we should pray that the kingdom may continue to come through our mission and service in the world. A wholesome, biblical view of the kingdom affirmed in our worship will help to deliver us from the self-absorption that is common to evangelicalism, including Pentecostalism, in our day. 7. We Need to Rediscover a Deep Sense of Our Constant Need of the Grace of God. Our historical emphasis upon the victorious personal Christian life needs to be held in a holy tension with a deepened sense of mercy and grace from God. And this emphasis needs to emerge, not only in Bible teaching, but in our regular worship services. How we will convey this renewed sense of God's mercy and grace within our context should be ours to explore. We need to learn anew, as Bonhoeffer emphasized, that the common link between Christians in worship is that they all have received a gift of mercy. A movement that has exemplified spiritual excitement and vigor needs the constant and ultimate sustenance: that which comes from God's mercy and grace in Christ Jesus.