Rick Warren of Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) wrote a two part article on Saddleback Church’s 12 convictions about worship (part 1 & part 2). Here is the list:
- Only believers can truly worship God.
- You don’t need a building to worship God.
- There is no correct style of worship.
The truth is God loves all kinds of worship styles – as long as we worship him in spirit, in truth, and in an orderly fashion.
- While unbelievers can’t worship, they can watch believers worship.
Non-Christians can’t worship, but they can see the kind of joy worship brings us.
- Worship is a powerful witness to unbelievers if God’s presence is felt and the message is understandable.
- God expects us to be sensitive to the fears, hang-ups, and the needs of unbelievers when they are present in our worship services.
Whenever you hear people talk about being sensitive to unbelievers, that is not watering down the gospel. It’s called love. You’re just being nice to them.
- Worship services do not have to be shallow to be evangelistic, and the message does not have to be compromised. It just has to be understandable.
Remove the unnecessary barriers, so people can hear the often-uncomfortable gospel.
- The needs of believers and unbelievers often overlap.
For instance, both believers and unbelievers need to know what God is really like. - It’s best to specialize your services according to purpose.
It’s best to design one service to edify believers and another to evangelize non-believers. Most churches try to do both at the same time. But if we send mixed signals, we’re going to get mixed results. You can’t aim at two targets at the same time.
- A service geared toward non-believers is meant to supplement personal evangelism, not replace it.
- There is no standard way to design an evangelistic worship service.
- It takes unselfish mature believers to offer an evangelistic worship service. This is the most important of all.
Paul says it like this: “We would put up with anything in order not to hinder the Good News of Christ in any way” (1 Cor. 9:12b GW).
For more thoughts on each of the twelve be sure to read the original article (part 1 & part 2).
Why can only believers worship? I truly understand what Rick is saying. I’m not opposed to his thoughts, i’d just like some clarification.
One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess.
“nly believers can truly worship God.”
I believe he is getting at saying a non-believer can worship, but God won’t accept it because they haven’t surrendered themselves to Him.
Worship is defined as “adoring reverence or regard.” This cannot be done by someone who hasn’t given themselves fully to God and become a believer. Until they ask God to remove the barrier of sin, they cannot truly worship. God can’t look at sin. That is why the sky went black before Jesus died on the cross. It signifies the moment He took all of our sins and sufferings upon himself. That is even more clarified by the cry “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
#9-12 are justifiable by neither Scripture nor the witness of Church history…I could not disagree with it any more…
Adam,
indeed…even the demons in hell know that He is God and they tremble…sinners on judgment day will be forced by utter terror to bow their knew…they will be overwhelmed by their fear.
that is not worship. Their knees will bow, but not out of gratitude or love. unbelievers can not worship for many reasons…but the primary reason is that they have no desire whatsoever to worship the God of reality.
Romans 3:9-18
@irreverend fox Said – Good points. I do think Rick should use scripture instead of his experience or at least back up his experience with scripture…
Some more on worship
irreverend fox – Agreed as well.
The only way most of these ‘non-believers’ will ever come to Christ is through relationship with believers. Where are the believer’s?… Oh they’re in the ‘other service.’ Please…
Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
It would seem to me, having a service geared toward non-believers would end up the opposite. ‘Let your light shine at men’ at phrase I’m sure you’ve heard.
Good stuff gentlemen. God bless.
jermayn – see the original article where Rick does use scripture: http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/default.asp?id=339&artid=10969&expand=1
That link only displays the first 6 of 12.
The latter ‘insights’ are the ones we’re looking for scripture on.
Here is a link to part 2:
http://www.pastors.com/RWMT/?ID=341&artid=10989&expand=1
The idea of having two different kinds of worship services–one that is evangelistic and the other that is for the edification of believers–is fine if you are a mega church. But if your church is small–rual or inner city or struggling in the ‘burbs it’s–not really practical.
This is where I get turned off by people like Rick Warren and the folks at Willow Creek: I often feel like they’re giving advice that can really only be used by a small number of churches. Most of us don’t have the luxury of replicating what they do.
It’s like giving investment advice to someone who is in debt.
The problem with the “seeker-sensitive” model has been and will always be the implication that the gospel is “optional” in a worship setting.
The gospel (the good news of God’s redemption of his creation through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ) is THE reason we worship God. It should be sung about at every service, talked about at every service, preached about at every service. Some might say, “but, doesn’t the flock need to hear about how to honor God with their choices, finances, marriage, etc?” OF COURSE! And how are they to do this? The answer the Bible gives?… They can’t! It is only by the grace of God that we can do anything. God said through Amos – “Seek me and live” not “seek me and live better.” We are dead and totally incapable of honoring God with anything we do or say, until he saves us, until he puts his Spirit in us.
As believers we need to be reminded again and again and again of how to live the Spirit-filled life. We cannot do this on our own apart from God’s grace. We cannot do anything apart from God’s grace, and THAT is the whole reason we worship him.
The mistake that Rick Warren makes is not that he wants to cater his services to unbelievers or that he even wants to make a separate service for unbelievers. The mistake that he makes is that he doesn’t just preach what God’s word tells us to preach – the gospel. That’s all we need to talk about, because that’s all anyone needs to hear – saved or unsaved. In the truth of the redemptive grace of God can be found everything we will ever need to know about our jobs, behavior, finances, marriage, relationships, etc… It is very possible (and pleases God) to preach about something like say finances, and to preach it in the context of the Gospel. The problem is that we so often (both from the pulpit and in our private lives) separate the Gospel from everything else we do – forgetting that the reason we live and breathe for God is because of what God has done in us.
By the by, I am not discounting Rick Warren’s salvation or even that his ministry has been used by God. I believe it has… but only by grace.
Scripture: Amos 5:4 / Acts 13:43 / 1 Cor. 1:4 / 1 Cor. 15:10 / Gal. 2 / Eph. 2 / Col. 3 / Isa. 64:6.
I have been researching this model of church since 4 years ago our med. size Baptist church turned seeker church. They follow Willow Creek, and Saddleback with a touch of North Pointe. The whole church has changed. Many long standing solid Christians have left, the entire church has been transformed into environments to make unbelievers comfortable, and all programs cut save Sunday morning entertainment to draw people to a service that is opposite what they “know” as Church.
Tithing is way down, there is a big need for people to serve (unblievers don’t sign up), and people are leaving right and left. The staff are really great people and Christians with a big heart for the unsaved but I feel they are veering from the path to reach them. The church worship setting is not our mission. Worship is for believers to come together and praise God (which is done through the unity of the Holy Spirit – of which only believers have) It would be the same as a Christian marrying a non christian. You have completely different focuses and a disconnect. I believe the bible instructs us to worship and do community with believers so others may see what we have that is different from the world, then we are to work out the great commission in our neighborshoods, communities and in the world as “the church”. Am I wrong? My church thinks so. I have been labeled as intolerant and accused of possibly having satan leading me or giving me these ideas. I feel like I’m looked at as though I think I’m “holier than thou” when my hearts desire is to worship God with all my heart and see his people and his church be what he wants them to be. I am diligently searching the scripture, praying and reading all the articles I can to make sure I am not in error.
@Debbie
I understand your frustration. I often find that the best route is balanced between the two perspectives. Both have value, but there can be danger in exclusively focusing on just one or the other.
My answer is limited since I am not familiar with the church. However, my guess is that there are more factors than the worship that are causing all of the statistics to decline.