mcintyre re: worship

For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

After nearly four weeks of the Essentials Blue Course, one of my insights has been in the area of “how” to frame the discussions concerning the purpose of human beings.  We were asked to reflect on who God is, along with who humans are and why we are here.   Seems like heady stuff, but EB makes the discussion manageable.   The attributes of God are beautifully limited to four:  Creator (the God who creates), King (the God who reigns), God as Trinity (the God who relates), and Savior (the God who acts). (1)  Likewise, the nature of human beings is described through four related lenses:  Sub-Creators, Image-Bearers (of the King who reigns), Community Builders (relating), and Salvific Story-tellers (2)

A companion teaching from N.T. Wright expands the understanding.  He names four areas that today’s world desires to make the most sense of… “the longing for justice, the quest for spirituality, the hunger for relationships, and the delight in beauty”. (3)

For me, it’s been helpful to devise a 4 by 4 by 4 framework of Wilt’s and Wright’s thoughts, in hopes of responding to our world’s scatter-shot approach to questions of our existence…. Who is God?  Why are we here?  What is the meaning of life?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why is there evil?  We in the Church attempt to reply with broad and hopefully speedy answers, so that our inquirers can move past whatever is bothering them… and stop bothering us.   The world is generally not satisfied hearing that mankind’s chief aim is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever (The Westminster Shorter Catechism).   That is true, but as Peggy Lee sang, “Is that all there is?”  Today’s world doesn’t want a definition of human beings, as much as it wants a story of human beings.  The 4 by 4 by 4 framework for discussion seems to point the way to this story.

Though it will take quite some time to test it, I suspect that most longings and questions from people can be whittled down into this framework.   I am looking forward to trying it.  As for worship leadership,  the same approach applies.  Everyone enters the worship gathering, bringing a hundred wonderings about God with them.  In addition, these humans are wondering about themselves, which I, as a leader have not usually taken into great consideration.  Our corporate times will be richer if I do. 

1) Dan Wilt, “Essentials In Worship Theology: The Nature of God”.

2) Dan Wilt, “Essentials In Worship Theology: The Nature of The Human Being”.

3) N. T. Wright, “Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense”, (Harper Collins Publishers).