By Dr. Stephen Phifer
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves… having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Tim 3:1,2,5 NIV
In my 10th grade Biology class, I heard about an ecosystem—the simple pond of water in a field. The pond was the host to all manner of plant and animal life from micro-organisms to fish to turtles to the small mammals who came to drink. Yet to take away any element of the environment, the oxygen in the water, the nutrients in the soil, or the sunlight shimmering on the water, was to destroy the whole thing. This is a picture of Pentecostal Worship—a spiritual ecosystem that supports supernatural life when all of its elements are in place.
Some would say my title is an oxymoron—a self-contradictory statement. Pentecostal Structure? “If one is led by the Spirit, one is certainly not structured.” Really? “To be really spiritual, worship must be free of form.” Again, really? As the title of this column indicates, we are seeking both fire and form, a structure that throbs with the power of God to change lives. The two quotes in this paragraph represent what is called an embedded theology within the ranks of classical Pentecostals.
An embedded theology is a more cultural than spiritual phenomenon—a cherished belief we hold to without knowing when or where it was transmitted to us. It is a deeply held belief that has never been challenged by reason or measured against history or tested by Scripture. Things we believe without scriptural support and against all logic and experience, are the theologies of church splits and wasted ministries.
Arguments for embedded theologies are loud and emotional and lead to power plays and other less-than-the-Kingdom-of-God behaviours and tactics. Without scriptural base or reasonable rationale, personalities and personal preferences take the stage and what is thought to be a spiritual or theological debate is actually a culture clash.
Let’s settle this now. God is a God of form. Psalm 19 reminds us that creation itself tells us about who the Creator is a God of power and might and matchless form.1
The forms of the universe are so precise that man can send a spaceship to the edges of the solar system and know exactly where everything will be at any given moment. In the 20th century man even figured out that underlying this cosmic perfection there is still a measure of random wisdom that only God can know. In the midst of universal precision there is still room for the improvisational power of God. Physicists call this relativity; I call it sovereignty.
Creation is telling us of the nature of God, a Creator who flows through forms with His power. Paul’s warning to Timothy was that in the last days, people would be self-centered, judging all of life by personal benefit. “What’s in it for me?” will be the tenor of the times.
When this outlook is applied to public worship the result is what my mentor, Dr. Robert E. Webber, calls “narcissistic worship.” This sickness can infect our songs, our services and our souls. Each “worshiper” becomes the arbiter of what will and will not be done by what pleases him, or in more pseudo-spiritual terms, what “ministers” to him.
Back in the 1970’s a popular song declared, “It can’t be wrong if it feels so right.” Now to many in this new century, this unfortunate axiom has become the test of what is right and wrong in public worship.
Narcissism robs worship forms of their godly power, leaving only the music and ceremony to limp along for an hour or so. Simply put, if the “worship” is about us, then it isn’t about Him. We have lost the oxygen, rich soil and sparkling sun in our ecosystem and our pond is drying up.
Three-Fold Worship
The 20th century brought something else to the world—the Pentecostal / Charismatic Renewal. I have wondered what the greatest contribution of Classical Pentecostalism to the church at large might be. Missions happened before we were formed. Sunday School and mass evangelism also predate us. We cannot claim the activity of the Gifts of the Spirit as our contribution since this is an Apostolic phenomenon. What then? Perhaps it is a three-fold form of public worship: Worship / Word / Altar.2 As far as I can see our history and judging from my own experience growing up in the Assemblies of God, we have discovered a form of public worship consisting of,
- (1) a time of worship—the ministry of the congregation, followed by
- (2) the preaching of the Word—the ministry of the preacher, and
- (3) the Altar Service, a time of corporate and private prayer when everyone responds to the Word and Presence of God.
An Altar Service is more than an Altar Call. The Altar Call, or Invitation, has a history that predates us. The Altar Service begins with an Altar Call but then takes on a life of its own. Years before the “Song Service” expanded into a time of “Praise and Worship,” this is the part of the service where we learned to follow the moment-to-moment leadership of the Holy Spirit. Some unique elements of the Altar Service are:
- a lack of time-consciousness,
- a sense of waiting of God,
- a sense of dwelling in the presence,
- a spontaneity and flexibility, and,
- a blending of private and corporate prayer.
In these times of dwelling in the presence of God, with no thought of the clock, with personal involvement and with a willingness to go wherever the Spirit would lead, the Pentecostal work of the Spirit gets done.
People are healed, baptized with the Spirit, and are the beneficiaries of direct leadership of the Holy Spirit as they are called into the ministry.
Relationships are repaired as forgiveness flows from wounded hearts to those who have done the injury. Addictions are broken and spiritual darkness lifts from the minds of God’s people as chains of bondage fall before the power of God. The things on the Messiah’s list in Luke 4/Isaiah 61 get done in our midst. 3
Like the proverbial pond we all studied in high school biology, Pentecostal worship is a delicate, if powerful, environment. Each part of this spiritual ecosystem is essential to the fullness of the Life of the Spirit.
- There must be worship—the ministry of the People of God (the liturgy). This must be treasured and protected from narcissistic corruption or from outright neglect. This is like the oxygen in the pond’s water.
- There must be anointed preaching of the Word—the ministry of the preacher. We possess an unction from the Spirit to present the Word of God with authority beyond our personalities and skills. This is like the nutrients in the soil around and under the pond.
- And, we must provide time for all of us to respond to the power of the Word of God in the preaching and the Presence of God in the Worship—the Altar Service. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to us and the ministry of the people to the Lord. This is like the shimmering sunlight dancing on the surface of the pond giving life and beauty to all who draw near.
I believe Worship / Word / Altar is a form of godliness full of the power of God for this new century.
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Dr. Steve Phifer has been in full-time worship ministry serving in several churches across the U.S. since 1975. The driving force behind Steven Phifer Ministries (www.stevephifer.com) is to share the heart of worship, the very essence of being in God’s presence. © by Stephen R. Phifer All Rights Reserved Used by Permission