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“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs” (Psalm 100:2). Read how three churches offer worship services that fit their context.
“That they might see Christ”
My station on any given Sunday is outside the front doors, anxiously waiting and watching for those who walk up the sidewalk. It can be quite the sight! Every last one of them, even those whom I have never met, is an answer to prayer. Even more important, every last one of them is so precious to Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life, his blood, for them.
What shall they find? Whom shall they find? What will the next 60 minutes look like?
All congregations are going to do something when they gather. In freedom, we make decisions, not just because but with these individuals in mind, with Christ Jesus in mind—Christ Jesus who is for them.
By providing a snapshot of some things we are currently doing in our church family, I am not implying that this is what should be done in every context. These are things the Lord has graciously blessed in our context.
Children matter. Jesus welcomed children (Mark 10: 13-16), and so do we. A pastor’s smile and his genuine warmth will say it clearly: We want your children here. They are ours too. What can we do to help you, dear young parent? How can we make this easier? Let the service folder notes, the announcements, the space, the messages, the constant reminders in forums and studies show this desire. Specific examples in our context are special accommodations when the preschool children sing, blessing children during Holy Communion, and a conscious effort to make sure that what is sung in the school is sung on Sundays and vice versa.
Head and heart matter. Nonverbals matter too. Philosophy professor and author James K. A. Smith reminds us we are not simply brains on a stick (Smith, You Are What You Love). This forms our worship—not just what we say, but how we say it. Not just what we do, but how we do it. Sights and sounds in our worship are all meant to form and inform those who gather there, both the first-time and lifelong attendees. The sign of the cross is made, and the service folder explains why: “To remind you of your baptism.” The colors and symbols on banners, stoles, and paraments—these are all meant to teach. The crucifix right next to the pulpit reminds preacher and listener both: “We preach Christ crucified.” The Christian church has a long history of using signs and symbols, rituals and movements. We pray it aids those in worship. We pray such usage serves the gospel and does not obscure the gospel.
Word and sacrament are front and center. I imagine our worship could be characterized as “dignified without being stuffy.” A baptismal font at our church’s entrance, a paschal candle, and a big font up front, not to mention personalized homemade banners and beautiful certificates, all say something: Your baptism is a big deal. A regular, weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper is where we have landed—for the sake of our members. That has also given us many opportunities to speak to nonmembers about why Holy Communion is so important to us and how we would love to have them join us after proper instruction. Many have taken us up on that invitation!
God bless the dear pastor and his people as they plan and carry out worship in their own context, mindful of those who have gathered (and those whom they long to gather). God bless them as they seek to do all they can to lay on hearts and minds the good news of a Jesus who is distinctly for them and who is all that they—and we—need.
Learn more about St. John at stjohnslutheran-muk.org.
John Bortulin, pastor at St. John, Mukwonago, Wisconsin
Diverse worship for a diverse community
Trinity Lutheran is in a unique setting. Crete is a small town on the southernmost end of the Chicago suburbs. Crete is also a diverse community—55 percent white, 40 percent African-American, and it neighbors a large Spanish population as well. Trinity itself is an old congregation; it is celebrating its 175th anniversary. It also is a large church—about one thousand members. Members actively reach out to our community. In the last ten years, we’ve been blessed with 433 new members.
At Trinity, there are three worship services every Sunday—with two different formats. The 8 A.M. service is what we call a traditional service. Liturgies are from the new hymnal, hymns are accompanied by the newly refurbished pipe organ, the pastor wears an alb, and sometimes he chants parts of the liturgy.
Two blended services follow at 9:30 and 11 A.M. For our congregation, blended means that the service contains many elements of the liturgies but with more modern music. It includes an invocation, Confession, Absolution, Scripture readings, a sermon, the creed, prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, the sacraments, and the blessing. Music is accompanied by piano, guitars, drums, and other instruments. A small choir leads the congregation in singing. The pastor officiates wearing a suit.
All services have the same sermon and same Scripture readings. Screens engage the congregation and assist members in participating.
The reason we have multiple worship formats is because that serves our people. We’ve had our blended worship for almost 20 years. The gospel predominates at all our services. The music variety serves a lot of different tastes and preferences.
That same variety also serves our community. Many visitors feel more comfortable with contemporary music. Some like the organ. We are able to offer both.
This variety also allows Trinity’s members to serve. One of the four principles of Lutheran worship is to use all the gifts that God has given to the church. Having multiple worship formats allows us to do that very thing. A number of Trinity’s members have musical gifts that they could not use if there were only one worship format. Trinity has a number of organists, piano players, guitar players, and drummers. We have singers who are good soloists and singers who would sing only in a choir. We have people who play handbells, violin, flute, and trumpet. God has given our people a lot of gifts. We want them to use their gifts to glorify God. That’s why Trinity has a handbell choir, an adult choir, two regular praise bands, and a teen praise band, as well as others who sing, play instruments, run the soundboard, live stream, operate the screens, usher, serve on altar guild, set out the refreshments between services, and so much more.
Ultimately, we constantly ask, what will benefit the kingdom of God? What will give him glory? And that is why we do what we do.
Learn more about Trinity at trinitycrete.org.
Frank Italiano, pastor at Trinity, Crete, Illinois
Freedom starts the conversation
“That’s part of Christian freedom.” That statement is often used to end a conversation. “It’s free, so I can do what I want.” End of conversation.
But really, once we’ve established a worship style or practice that falls under the wide umbrella of Christian freedom, that conversation isn’t over. It’s just beginning. Now we need to maintain the conversation by constantly considering these important questions.
Does this glorify God? At the congregation I serve, we use the historic liturgy of the Christian church. The liturgy follows a pattern of Confession, Absolution, creed, sermon, hymns, Lord’s Prayer, and Benediction. It uses the biblical texts of the songs “Lord, Have Mercy,” “Glory be to God,” “Alleluia,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “O Christ, Lamb of God,” and “Song of Simeon.” It accompanies an annual or three-year pattern of Scripture readings that cover all the main teachings of the Bible and celebrate the events in the life of Christ.
This liturgy connects us to believers around the world and across time. It also gives glory to God and proclaims Jesus Christ.
What about my brothers and sisters in Christ? I’ve heard it said about the liturgy, “The repetition is boring. I didn’t get anything out of it.” Others say, “I did not feel like I went to church if I didn’t sing the songs of the liturgy.” Do you see the common word in those statements? I. Worship isn’t about you and your rights and freedom. Romans chapter 14 and 1 Corinthians chapter 8, two sections that address Christian freedom, state over and over, “Think about your brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.“
What about the brothers and sisters who love and appreciate the repetition of the liturgy? What about children who can better participate because of the repetition? What about mature members who have certain songs and phrases ground so deeply in their hearts and minds that not even dementia can take them away? Freedom doesn’t mean I always do what I want. Freedom means I have the privilege and joy to serve my brothers and sisters in love.
That doesn’t mean the liturgy has to be exactly the same every week. The liturgy offers textual consistency with musical variety. The congregation I serve uses various service settings from the hymnal and other sources as well as different instrumentation, as our members are blessed with gifts to play and sing. This builds up the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ and allows people to participate.
What about people who don’t know Jesus as their Savior? Galatians 5:13 instructs, “Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
In our community, very few churches use the historic liturgy. Using the liturgy gives our congregation the opportunity to stand out. The repetition of the liturgy enables our congregation to sing more robustly and respond more confidently, demonstrating that we love this pattern of worship. Many newer members sought us out for our doctrine and use of the liturgy. We have chosen to use the liturgy because it brings the good news of Christ to people who don’t know Jesus as their Savior.
God doesn’t mandate one form or style when it comes to worshiping him. We have chosen to worship Christ following the pattern of the liturgy because it glorifies God, proclaims Christ to our brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, and serves lost souls in love. But is the historic liturgy the only form and style of worship that does that? No. We celebrate Christian freedom, recognizing that other worship forms and styles also glorify God and proclaim Christ.
Just don’t use freedom as a simple way to end a conversation. Freedom is a gift from God to begin a conversation.
Learn more about Tree of Life at treeoflifenc.org.
Nathan Strutz, pastor at Tree of Life, Cary, North Carolina
Author: Multiple authors
Volume 111, Number 12
Issue: December 2024
