Charismatic Worship Description
Charismatic worship is in itself a renewal movement that has had an impact on almost every denomination. It might be called worship that focuses on the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit. Its hallmarks are free expression, both verbal and somatic, within the bounds established by the tradition; participation by all members; the encouragement and exercise of the gifts of the Spirit; and the expectation that the Holy Spirit will minister to each member of the congregation.
It is late Sunday afternoon. A group of ten has gathered for prayer in the chapel of the Second Presbyterian Church. These persons, believing that they have special spiritual gifts for planning and leading worship, have committed themselves to provide an opportunity for free-flowing worship for the members of their congregation who find this worship style meaningful. Weekly they meet as a growth group to study worship, to rehearse the music and liturgies that will be used at Sunday vespers, and to plan ahead. Now they have gathered for an hour of prayer as they enter into that spirit of worship and adoration into which the congregation will come.
About half an hour before the announced time of the service, the musicians—two guitarists, a pianist, and a drummer—begin to play the music of charismatic worship, folklike settings of Scripture passages intermixed with "praise songs" that use scriptural motifs but that also weave in exclamations of personal devotion and wonder. As the people gather, they may greet one another with smiles and embraces, or they may quietly seek a seat and enter into prayer, meditation, or the singing which has informally begun. Because the goal of each worshiper is to sense as fully as possible the presence of God, the mode of participation will vary from person to person. One may remain bowed with eyes closed, others may lift hands toward heaven in the familiar "charismatic" gesture of praise. Some will pray softly under their breaths in "tongues," the ecstatic prayer language which has been the most controversial element in Pentecostal worship. Still others may enter into soft conversations, talks that move unself-consciously into prayers for one another's particular burdens.
The Order of Worship
A scriptural call to worship begins the time of adoration and praise, in which singing, prayer, and witness to God's powerful actions in individual lives are vital elements. Though the jubilant singing seems spontaneous, much of it has been planned by the worship group to flow from theme to theme. For example, the first songs may cluster around the praise of the Creator and Provider, the next around the name of Jesus, and the third, the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Between these song clusters come spontaneous or planned sharings from Scripture, personal testimonies of praise, or offerings of song or prayer from individual members.
Times of confession follow. Sometimes these grow out of biblical readings about the grace of God in Christ. There may be a period of silence followed by confessions voiced by a worship leader, or they may simply be spoken by individual worshipers. Assurance of pardon is followed by prayers, songs, and hymns of thanksgiving. A sermon or teaching leads to a time of self-offering and of commitment through the Lord's Supper.
This congregation has come to think of the Lord's Supper as one of the most important means of grace, and now celebrates it every Sunday night. Because the number of persons who attend the Sunday Vesper service is small, a spirit of intimacy surrounds the Supper. People are invited forward to partake as they kneel in prayer around the Table. If there are special needs, people are urged to make these known to the serving elder and receive prayer, with the laying on of hands and perhaps anointing with oil (James 5:14). A time of prayer for healing naturally grows out of the sharing in Christ's broken body and the elders pray individually with those seeking health as the congregation joins in supportive prayer by breaking into groups of two, three, and four for ministry. Hymns and songs of commitment or of reconciliation close the service.
It is probably not strictly accurate to say that this service is typical of worship in those congregations which have experienced charismatic renewal, for variations from congregation to congregation, and even from service to service within a congregation, are innumerable. Yet almost anyone visiting from such a congregation will feel at home here, comfortable that these folk seek to respond to the creating initiative of the Spirit, always spontaneous and always orderly.
The purpose of such worship is not to produce spiritual fireworks, but "to be drawn to God through Jesus Christ, acknowledging the sovereignty of the Spirit," observes Calvin H. Chambers in his study of charismatic worship in Reformed tradition, In Spirit and In Truth: Charismatic Worship and the Reformed Tradition ([Ardmore, Pa: Dorrance, 1980], 5-6). Worship in the charismatic community, like that of all believers, seeks to offer a worthy response under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to God's initiative (Book of Order, Presbyterian Church, USA, S-2.0100).
It is distinctive in four major emphases. First, it is guided by the free church tradition of resisting imposed forms yet seeking to re-create the worship described in the Word of God. Spontaneity is a criterion for meaningful worship in this mode. Though much planning, even rehearsal, goes into a celebration of worship, the order of worship is fluid, moving from adoration to confession to thanksgiving, from teaching to intercession to self-giving. While there are set worship leaders, any worshiper may at any time move into leadership by beginning a song, uttering a prayer of prophecy, moving to embrace someone. Such spontaneous leadership seeks to submit itself to Paul's criterion for decency and order in 1 Corinthians 14.
The principle of spontaneity does not preclude the use of prepared liturgies. Many congregations use a sophisticated liturgy while cultivating the freedom to adapt, enhance, or depart from its use when the needs of worshipers or the movement of the Spirit seem to provide fresh new direction.
A second distinguishing principle is the degree to which every worshiper unself-consciously participates in leadership. The Reformers' doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is more completely realized in this kind of worship than in many mainline services. Because the Spirit is believed to anoint at will people from every walk of life, participation of every worshiper is a desideratum. Each person feels free to bring a hymn or prayer, to pass the elements of the Lord's Supper with words of blessing, to respond to the sermon or the teaching in a worship that is "corporate, communal, and congregational" (Stephen Winward, The Reformation of Our Worship [Richmond, Va.: John Knox Press, 1964], 96).
Thus, in the charismatic tradition, worship is the "work of the people" and truly inclusive. The result is a sense of community and oneness reflecting the biblical metaphor of the body of Christ, with each member interacting harmoniously with all the others in a diapason of praise.
Paul uses this metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12–14 in discussing the role of spiritual gifts. The use of these gifts in worship as well as in service is a third major characteristic of congregations experiencing charismatic renewal. Preaching and teaching, encouragement and exhortation are used in charismatic worship just as they are in any gathering of God's people. During periods of intercessory prayer, gifts of wisdom, discernment, knowledge, and mercy may all be brought into ministry. Supernatural gifts like healing or praying in the spirit (tongues) may also be a part of intercessory prayer. Also, sacraments and ordinances may be marked by a prophetic blessing upon a baptisand, a couple being married, or new members received.
The conviction that the Holy Spirit will minister directly to members of the congregation is a part of the expectancy that is the fourth characteristic peculiar to charismatic worship. All worship, of course, has an experiential dimension, but gathered charismatics await with a kind of communal mysticism the revelation of God's presence among them. They expect that their own lives will be touched and changed as God speaks to and through them, heals, delivers, and transforms.
Such an eagerness to experience the presence of God results in the great emphasis on prayer and praise, since "God inhabits the praises of the people." People want to respond holistically to the holy presence, loving the Lord with "heart, soul, strength, and mind." Thus, they enact prayer and praise as well as giving them verbal expression. They stand, kneel, clap, lift hands and faces, dance, embrace each other. There is also much silence as people call upon heart and mind to join body and soul in experiencing the presence of God.
Prayer
Prayer is at the heart of charismatic worship. Although the going forth of the Word is still central in the rather free-flowing order of worship, so much worship time is devoted to prayers—silent, sung, spoken, and enacted—that the proclamation/teaching event is itself one aspect of the listening which is integral to prayer.
Often a third of the worship time is spent in prayers of adoration and praise:
"¢ singing the Psalms and other Scripture;
"¢ uttering brief ascriptions of adoration;
"¢ reading or reciting passages of Scripture that exalt the triune God, sometimes with brief comments of personal praise;
"¢ praying "set" prayers from a prepared liturgy or led by appointed lay persons or pastors;
"¢ dancing, spontaneous or carefully choreographed and prepared as an offering of praise;
"¢ enacting prayer in other ways—bowing, kneeling, standing with raised hands, clasping hands.
Prayers of confession follow—silent, sung, spoken spontaneously as various members acknowledge sin, read together, or lead in a bidding prayer. Often these prayers are enacted. People may write confessions, which are collected in a brazier and burnt, may bow silently and light candles as they complete private confessions, or turn to one another with exclamations of praise: "Our sins are forgiven in Christ!"
Prayers of thanksgiving are usually brief sentence prayers spoken by the grateful. They may be offerings of Scripture read or sung, material gifts, or gifts of talents. They may take the form of "sharing," which in charismatic circles has the particular meaning of rehearsing the mighty acts of God in one's own recent spiritual journey.
Prayers of intercession and of supplication may take another third of the time allotted for worship. Often there are spoken requests or petitions from members, with a kind of collect following. Other congregations may provide a healing service with a heavily liturgical form derived from Anglican and Episcopal healing rites. (See Robert G. Bayley, The Healing Ministry of the Local Church [Oklahoma City: Presbyterian and Reformed Renewal Ministries]). One approach particularly in favor in congregations of Reformed tradition derives from that developed by John Wimber and taught in the "Signs and Wonders" course at one time taught at Fuller Seminary (See John Wimber, Power Evangelism [San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985]).
These intercessions involve:
"¢ quiet listening to the Spirit to hear what God is doing rather than making assumptions;
"¢ questioning and listening to persons who request prayer for themselves or others, in an effort truly to hear the person's needs and concerns;
"¢ verbal prayers of intercession and where appropriate of confession, forgiveness, "release," and reconciliation;
"¢ praying "in the spirit," particularly when one does not know how to pray in particular instances, so that "through the Spirit we are now able to speak … but we are not speaking; God is speaking for us" (Hans-Joachim Kraus, The Threat and the Power [Richmond, Va: John Knox Press, 1966], 97).
"¢ praying in small groups, so that each person can receive prayer as needed.
The climax of an evening of prayer and praise is likely to be the offering of prayers of commitment to discipleship in services of commissioning for special acts of ministry. Many of the churches which have been touched by charismatic renewal are also deeply committed to social witness. The charismata which equip for ministry within the particular fellowship are intended, they believe, for the service of God in the world and in the larger church. In one church, the past several months have been commissionings for youth to build churches and a library in Haiti; an elder to serve as a commissioner to the PC (USA) General Assembly; an engaged couple to serve one another in the discipleship of marriage; a college man to tutor children in an inner-city community; a woman to ask forgiveness of a neglected parent; and a pastor to lead Bible studies for fraternal workers overseas. Such prayers are enacted by the laying on of hands on the part of the whole congregation whom the commissioned will represent in the task for which they are set aside. The prayers may be varied by spontaneous Scripture readings, pledges of support, intercessions, prophesies, and encouragement.
Music
Much of the prayer so central to charismatic worship is expressed in song. Spontaneous music is apt to burst forth at any point in the service as an expression of praise, joy and thanksgiving, or need.
Most mainline Protestant charismatics love the worship hymns of the ages: "A Mighty Fortress," "Holy, Holy, Holy," "O Worship the King," Oswald Chambers comments that "as a congregation is renewed in the Spirit, a strong desire for … a magnifying God for his redemptive work in Jesus Christ [is felt].… People … request hymns centered upon the praise of God rather than those which express human desires."
The music most associated with charismatic worship is the Scripture song, born of the 1960s and in the idiom of Dylan and Baez. Roman Catholics have contributed overtones of plainsong and the Gregorian chant, while Messianic Judaism has brought in the rhythms and scales of Israeli dances, especially in settings for the Psalms.
The singing of Scripture paraphrases is a vital characteristic of charismatic worship. Because of the spontaneity of enacted prayer that accompanies the singing, Calvin's Geneva might not recognize their kingship. Eric Routley describes the reaction of Saul's daughter to David's sacred dance as expressing "the essential shockableness of conventional religion" and suggests that responsible musicians might join David in calling such stodginess "superstition." Believing that the whole person is called to worship, and that the Pauline principle of order gives forms to the principle of freedom rather than enforcing a conventional passivity, "Spirit-led" worshipers clap, snap fingers, join hands, and sway as they sing, kneel in the aisles or at their places, dance to celebrate the mighty power of God.
One misunderstood aspect of the singing of Scripture songs is the continued repetition of a single verse, three, four, or half a dozen times. This is an intentional moving from a logical-intellectual mode of perception to one of meditation and spiritual understanding. The call "Let all that is within me bless God's holy name" is extended to harmonize left and right brain!
The Lord's Supper
Sacraments take on a new importance when congregations share a new vitality of faith. In their sense of personal renewal, many members ask for a second baptism in order to bear public witness to their new life in Christ. Understanding the sacrament of baptism, we must offer frequent opportunities for public reaffirmation of promises made at baptism. The Lord's Supper gives such opportunity on a recurrent basis. Moreover people filled with a new dimension of love for Christ yearn for frequent celebrations of the Supper. And one of the effects of the Spirit's work in any congregation is to create a sense of family that is fulfilled as we gather around the Table of the Lord. Thus many renewing churches have returned to Calvin's original design, the weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper.
The manner of receiving reflects the concept of lay ministry. Many charismatics prefer to rise and go forward to receive from a single loaf and chalice, or to pass cup and bread to one another as they assure each other, "This is the body … this is the blood." Spontaneous songs, prayers, exclamations of thanksgiving may enliven the time of receiving, or the sacrament may be received in the absolute silence of meditation; but most often ministry within the body may be a part of the celebration.
Because charismatics believe in divine healing, the healing dimension of the Lord's Supper has been restored to the prominence it has had in the Roman, the Orthodox, and the Anglican churches. Congregations experiencing charismatic renewal therefore offer opportunities for special prayers for healing—physical, emotional, spiritual—in conjunction with the Supper. For the healing of relationships, opportunities for confession and reconciliation between those present may precede the Supper; and passing the peace, with embraces and expressions of reconciliation, follows.
Balance and Harmony
One of the beauties of the charismatic renewal in the Presbyterian and Reformed families of faith is the balance between the tough logic and rigorous devotion to doctrinal truth inherent in Calvinism with the freedom and mysticism once available only in other cultures or traditions. Surely the God who created day/night, sea/land, and female/male rejoices in the happy syzygy of praise offered by Calvinist/charismatic voices!