To Think About Questions from The Wonder of Worship
by Keith Drury
Chapter 1: Music/Praise
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about music in worship?
2. Since the early church apparently sang quietly and
in a subdued manner for fear of attracting attention to their secret
gathering, should we try to "get back to doing things the way the
early church did them"? Was this house-church setting ideal or
a mere necessity of the day?
3. What do you think about the notion that the early
church first preserved Scripture in song, before it was later incorporated
into the writings of the apostles? If this is true, would it be "cheating"
on the apostles' part to include in the Bible things that were already
sung, or would it be OK?
4. Think about the transition from small house-church
music to large basilica "super-church" singing, which took
place between 300 and 500 A.D. What are the comparative advantages and
disadvantages of both small house-churches and large super-churches
when it comes to music?
5. What about singing only the melody in unison versus
singing "parts" in polyphonic style? Make a chart of the advantages
and disadvantages of both styles.
6. Reflect on the resistance, then reluctance, then
grudging acceptance, and finally approval of the organ in the Middle
Ages. What insights and generalizations would you make from this account
that might relate to other "innovations"?
7. So many songs mentioned in this chapter have lasted hundreds of years,
while others have disappeared. Which modern songs do you think might
last several hundred years into the future? Why? What gives a song endurance
through time?
8. Discuss these shifts: (1) from objective hymns (2)
to gospel-testimony songs (3) to God-directed praise choruses. What
are the advantages of each? Disadvantages? Relating to these three shifts,
how would you draw a pie diagram of your own church? What would you
shift if you could?
9. Some think the preferable worship musical style for
adults is "frozen in" during their 20s and early 30s. That
is, whatever worship style adults preferred in their 20s and 30s will
become their lifetime preference or their "tradition." Test
this notion on yourself and friends. Where it is true, ask what contributes
to this phenomenon.
10. What compromises and halfway points have you seen
that exist between styles of worship? How should a church handle the
diverse worship "needs" or "preferences" of a congregation?
11. This chapter was titled "Music/Praise"
but the author believes the real primary element should be "praise."
Music is presently the primary means of praise. So, to learn more about
the real primary element, make a list of all the ways we can accomplish
praise without music.
Chapter 2: Public and Private Prayer
1. What new discovery did you make after reading this
chapter on the development of prayer through history?
2. We should be involved in both public and private
prayer, of course. But if you had to "tilt" toward one of
the two, which would you pick? Why?
3. If one of the two kinds of prayer needs to be upgraded
more than the other in your own local church (corporate or private prayer),
which one needs more work? In your own life?
4. The bad pray-er in the New Testament is the Pharisee
who prays a self-glorifying prayer of thanksgiving, not the sinner who
prays a humble prayer of confession/supplication. Think about this,
then give several examples of how thanksgiving prayers can be used wrongly
for self-glorification or other purposes out of line with God's values.
5. Is more prayer better than less? That is, were the
monks and friars right-we'd all be better off if we could give our lives
to full-time prayer.
6. List some possible reasons why many evangelical churches
do not make prayer a greater part of their worship experience. Which
of these is the primary reason in your opinion?
7. Medieval folk often "delegated" their praying
to the monks and nuns. Is it OK for busy people to get others to do
their praying for them? Is it all right for young people going on a
mission trip to expect others-especially older people-to give greater
time praying for their trip than they do themselves? Is this a fair
"division of labor" or not?
8. Think back over the past week, then list every time
you prayed or were present during public prayer during the last seven
days. Discuss your results with someone else. Is it more than you thought?
Less? When were the best times to pray?
9. Discuss how prayers moved from church to family altar
to private devotions. For each of the three forms of prayer list several
advantages.
10. If you were going to practice saying the Lord's
Prayer like the early Christians did, three times a day, when would
you pray it in your daily routine?
11. What one thing might you do to improve prayer in
your personal life?
12. What one thing might your local church do to improve
the prayer in its public services?
Chapter 3: Scripture and Preaching
1. What new discovery did you make after reading this
chapter on Scripture and preaching in worship?
2. Since the patriarchs "heard directly from God"
and had no written Bible, are we just as free today to "hear directly
from God" the "Word of the Lord"? Or does having a written
Bible now restrict direct revelation? If God speaks just as clearly
today as then, why use a Bible at all in worship when we can simply
hear His up-to-date prophets speak for Him?
3. Scripture was not the centerpiece of Temple worship
as it was in synagogue worship. Is there a place for "Temple worship"
today-where pageantry, sacred acts, and song play a greater role than
Scripture? If so, where? How?
4. It seems that some early Christians recited an "oath"
weekly about how they'd live-not just what they believed. If you were
to write such an oath for your own church today-one the congregation
would recite every week as a promise before God, what would you include?
Write a short lifestyle oath you think would be good.
5. The early church had a designated, prepared "reader"
to ensure the prominence of Scripture in worship. What are some things
we might do today to increase the effectiveness of Scripture reading
in worship? The popular preacher who said, "You can't read to modern
people" is right in a way. So, how do we communicate what God has
said in the Scriptures to modern TV-video-Internet-visual-action kinds
of people?
6. In what way would "the message" of Scripture
be heard differently if a well-trained and practiced reader read the
entire book of Mark in a worship service? What would we "get out
of it" compared to short readings and expositions of a few verses?
What might be lost?
7. The Christian Church has read from three sections
of the Bible through most of history. What is good about this practice?
What is bad about it? Should we adopt this practice?
8. In what ways could a modern church reintroduce the
sort of visual communication of the Bible that the medieval church had
"built in"?
9. How would you explain the curious observation that
many "Bible-believing churches" use less actual Scripture
in their worship than "liberal" and mainline churches do?
10. If "entertainment worship" were to become
our destiny and we had to adapt to this style of worship, how could
Scripture be used so that it is not lost or eliminated from worship?
11. This chapter treats "preaching" as a subset
of "Scripture." That is, rather than having two chapters-one
on preaching and another on Scripture-the writer of this book treats
preaching as falling under the heading of "Scripture." Why
do you think he did this? Do you agree or disagree?
Chapter 4: Baptism
1. What new discovery did you make after reading this
chapter on the development of baptism?
2. We know pretty clearly how the early church performed
baptisms. Is this method some sort of ideal we should seek to emulate,
or are we free to adapt baptism to our own culture and preferences?
3. What do you think about the practice of infant baptism?
Why?
4. If a person becomes a believer as an adult after
having been baptized as an infant, is it OK for him or her to embrace
this earlier baptism, or does that person have to be baptized again?
5. What are the advantages today of practicing immediate
"celebration baptism" instead of a delayed "confirmation
baptism"? Dangers?
6. Does anything spiritual actually happen at baptism,
or is it merely a symbolic gesture of something that has already happened?
7. Most all churches consider baptism a "sacrament."
What is a sacrament and what does this mean for baptism?
8. If you've been baptized, what did you "get"
from it? Would you recommend it for all believers? Why or why not?
9. In some churches the altar call came to fulfill many
of the ritual meanings of baptism. Is this a good thing or bad? As the
altar call and public conversion gradually diminish in these churches,
will this have a corresponding influence on baptism? How?
Chapter 5: Lord's Supper
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the Lord's Supper?
2. Why might the writer of the Gospel of John have omitted
the story of the Lord's Supper from his Gospel? What is your theory?
3. How did Communion change when the early church moved
from cell meetings in homes to large gatherings in basilicas? Compare
or contrast this historical shift to your own experiences in taking
Communion through the years-in large and small groups. Is one better
than the other?
4. If a first-century Christian were transported to
our modern Communion service, what do you think would most surprise this visitor?
5. What do you think of the early church's "secret
service," excluding all but baptized Christians from the second
part of the service? What would happen if a church tried this today?
Have you ever been to a church that practiced "closed communion"?
If so, describe it.
6. How would Communion change if we practiced it at
the end of a carry-in dinner, as the first Christians did? Would this
be better or worse?
7. During the Middle Ages, Communion was removed and
distanced from ordinary people. In what ways can churches do this even today?
8. Concerning the presence of Christ, what do you think
actually happens during Communion?
9. Does Communion do any good for the person taking
it? That is, can anything actually change as a result of the Lord's Supper? Or is it totally a
token of a past event and not a changing agent to the person individually?
10. What are the nuances of the three common terms for
this sign-act: ommunion, Lord's Supper, and Eucharist? What does each
term say to you?
11. In your opinion, how often should a church serve
the Lord's Supper? Why? How should it be served?
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