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The Development of a Worship Education Program Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertation Projects DMin Graduate Research 1999 The Development of a Worship Education Program Neal Maynard Matson Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Matson, Neal Maynard, "The Development of a Worship Education Program" (1999). Dissertation Projects DMin. 506. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dmin/506 This Project Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertation Projects DMin by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM by Neal Maynard Matson Adviser: Robert M. Johnston ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM Name of researcher: Neal Maynard Matson Name and degree of faculty adviser: Robert M. Johnston, Ph.D. Date completed: August 1999 Problem The Seventh-day Adventist Church has never developed a theology of worship. Therefore, the members are unacquainted with the biblical principles of worship. Too often their patterns of worship renewal are often influenced more by sociological factors and methodology than by theology. There is a definite need of a worship education program for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Method A syllabus was produced for a seminar presentation on the biblical principles of worship. The seminar was presented over a thirteen-week period. Worship patterns of the College Place Village Church were discussed. A survey employed to discover members’ worship knowledge and preferences was distributed at the beginning and the close of the seminar. Results A comparison of attitudes and knowledge at the completion of the seminar revealed that there is widespread ignorance on the principles of worship among the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The seminar also revealed that although there may be an increase of knowledge on the subject of worship, strong attitudes remain on what is proper for worship. Conclusions The members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church can be educated in biblical principles of worship. However, there must be a stronger emphasis by the leadership of the denomination to give the topic of worship the emphasis that it deserves. Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Neal Maynard Matson August 1999 THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WORSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry by Neal Maynard Matson APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: TthqsvM Director of D,Min. Program Ricardo Norton Lilianne Doukhan De|^SDA-^TReoi|)gical Seminary Werner K. Vymeister fL. Barry Gane - Date approved TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PR O JEC T..............................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ........... ..............................................................................1 Justification of the Problem ......................................................................................... 10 Limitations of the P ro ject..............................................................................................13 Expectations of the Project ......................................................................................... 15 2. BIBLICAL PATTERNS OF WORSHIP ......................................................................... 16 The Creatures Worship Their Creator .................................................................... 16 Worship and the P salm s................................................................................................19 Worship Practices of the New Testament .................. .............................................21 The Temple and the Synagogue..................................................................................23 The Temple ............................................................................................................. 24 The Origin of the Synagogue ............................................................................. 25 New Testament Scriptural Passages of W orship .................................................... 29 Acts 2:42-47 ......................................................................................................... 30 1 Cor 1 4 .................................................................................................................... 33 Rev 4 and 5 .................................... 36 3. A THEOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN W O R S H IP ................................................................39 The Need for Theology, not M ethodology................................................................39 The Theology of Worship Renewal ........................................................................... 42 Revelation and R esp o n se............................................................................................. 44 The Work of the Holy Spirit.........................................................................................54 Summary of the Theology of Worship .......................................................................56 4. ELEMENTS IN WORSHIP ............................................................................................. 57 The Place in W orship............................................................................................. 59 Music and Worship ...................................................................................................... 65 Prayer and W o rsh ip .......................................................................................................77 iii The Bible and Worship ..................................................................................................80 The Sermon in W o rsh ip ................................................................................................83 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT . ; .................................................... .. 89 The Development of the Worship Education Seminar ........................................... 90 The Development of the Order of Service ............................................................. 93 6. CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................................100 SDAs Need to Develop a Theology of W orship .................................................. 100 SDAs Must Develop a Systematic Worship Education P rogram ..........................102 The Need for Planning by Worship L e a d ers............................................................103 The Need for Preparation by the Congregation ....................................................... 104 Appendix 1. WORSHIP SERVICE SU R V E Y ........................................................................,.108 2. WORSHIP EDUCATION SYLLABUS.................................................................. 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................151 VITA ......................................................................................................................................... 158 IV CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT Statement of the Problem The 1980s presented the members of the Seventh-day Adventist1 Church in North America with an unfortunate crisis. During that time many brothers and sisters within the denomination became agitated, argumentative, and openly hostile toward one another on the subject of the proper manner to worship God. Not only was this controversy within the SDA Church unfortunate, but it was also to a large degree unnecessary. The denomination could have avoided most of the emotional displays of temper and criticism by its members if only it had paid closer attention to the “worship wars”2 which have been common throughout many eras of church history. They could have especially benefitted from lessons other denominations have learned in recent generations as these different churches faced the issue of how God can best be worshiped. But an ignorance of ecclesiastical history worked against the hereafter “Seventh-day Adventist” will be replaced by “SDA.” 2Marva J. Dawn, Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Tum-of-the-Centurv Culture (Grand Rapids, ME: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995), 3. 1 2 denomination as members dialogued over a very important issue for the Christian community. It was during the decades of the 1950s and 1960s that the Christian Church experienced a period of what was termed “liturgical revival.”1 That was an era of major unrest, dissension, and controversy among mainline Protestant denominations and Roman Catholics over the issue of worship. During this time period major revisions regularly occurred in the patterns of worship. New hymnals and other worship materials were introduced and changes were made in the order of service. These revised worship patterns emerged so repeatedly that it was difficult for most of the congregations which
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