Churches Of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)

Worship in the Church of God, Cleveland, has long included elements of renewal such as lay participation, warm personal appeal, and energetic singing. New to the church, on the other hand, are some of the elements of liturgical worship. As in all such processes, new practices have replaced some older traditions.

Like most other denominations headquartered within the United States, the Church of God, Cleveland, has been impacted by worship renewal. However, the specific attention to this renewal came much later than in many other denominations. It was not until 1983 that the church began a three-year emphasis on worship, culminating in the celebration of its centennial. This delay in worship renewal emphasis can be traced to a variety of factors. All of them are directly related to the Pentecostal style of worship. When seen as a whole, these factors tended to cause both clergy and laity to ignore the movement since they were already practicing many of its suggestions for renewal. There was a sense of waiting for others to catch up. First, the norm of enthusiastic, often emotional, participation already provided a personal, relevant approach to worship while maintaining the corporate nature of the church. Second, most Churches of God already involved considerable numbers of lay people, both men and women, in the leadership as well as overall participation in worship. They led the congregation in singing, read Scripture, and prayed for the needs of the gathered body of believers. Third, the renewal movement's emphasis on creativity again came as preaching to the converted. The inclusion of common or folk instruments such as guitars, accordions, tambourines, and various wind instruments had been a part of Church of God worship since the beginning of the century. Choruses and testimonial songs were used not only in the annual camp meetings, but were a vital part of the Sunday and weekday church music. Moreover, there was a constant stream of new musical literature being made available through the annual camp meeting songbooks. Fourth, the freedom and change offered by worship renewal had been a reality for decades in the denomination. The free style of worship without a written liturgy, always open to the "leading of the Holy Spirit," allowed the order of service to be changed instantly. In many cases, in fact, there was not thought of a prescribed order of service. Renewal cannot be seen uniformly throughout the Church of God, Cleveland. Some congregations have been dramatically affected while many others continue relatively unchanged. Some of the changes have come because of the rising economic and educational status of the constituency. Also, as the church growth movement has spawned larger congregations than ever before, it has out of necessity brought some changes in worship. Even before the Church of God began to experience the expanded impact of worship renewal, a new hymnal, Hymns of the Spirit, was printed (late in the 1960s). The intention was to include some of the newer literature by denominational writers, as well as selected older hymns of the church in general, plus provide sine resoibsuve Scripture readings. It received mixed reception and even now, over twenty years after its release, it is being outsold by the much older Church Hymnal. There are some definite signs of worship renewal in the Church of God. A number of them reflect a swing toward the more liturgical aspects of worship. Many congregations have adopted a standardized order of service with printed bulletins that even list the sermon title. The order of service may include a thematically developed program reflected in every segment of the service. A very few churches have also made banners and use them in selected processionals as art of a special worship emphasis. The basic gestures of worship such as uplifted hands are still practiced. Applause has become widespread and, as a result, in many congregations the use of "Amen" and "Hallelujah" has diminished. Standing for prayer has overtaken the previously common practice of kneeling. Lively, energetic singing is still a part of the congregational music. But many of the old testimonial songs are being replaced by Scripture songs and other choruses that emphasize other dimensions of worship. Where the old hymns and songs have been completely replaced, the result has been a young generation who are totally unfamiliar with the songs their parents knew by heart. Other evidence of the impact of worship renewal includes a marked increase in the number of sermons on worship, frequent articles on worship in denominational periodicals, conferences on worship, classes on the subject in academic institutions, several books on the topic, and more frequent celebration of Communion. All of this has brought new issues regarding the management of time to the Church of God. How can there be sufficient time for an extended praise and prayer time geared for worship? Should congregations move to a seventy-five or ninety minute morning worship? How will the Sunday school hour be maintained? Or is it necessary to shorten the sermon to fulfill other needs of worship? These and other questions comprise the current phase of renewal among Churches of God.