To Think About Questions from The Wonder of Worship
by Keith Drury
Chapter 6: The Altar Call
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter on the development of the altar invitation?
2. Most movements and denominations that specialize
in using a dramatic-response altar call seem to later exchange it for
a more subdued method. Why do you think this happens?
3. Of the three issues of thinking that facilitated
the introduction of the modern altar call-the individual, immediate
salvation, assurance-which is strongest in today's belief system? Which
is weakening? How might this affect the altar call?
4. List all of the "response rituals" you
have ever observed. Which do you prefer? Which are better for which
kind of audience?
5. This chapter illustrates how theology and methodology
are intertwined. List several theological positions and how each relates
to evangelism and the altar call.
6. What do you think of the relationship between the
two public rites: baptism and the altar call?
7. What do you think about the idea of preserving a
public altar call for youth and children, while adults downplay it for
their own age group?
8. This chapter describes much about the Camp Meeting
movement and Revivalism. What new insights did you gain on these two
movements and their roles in American religious practice?
9. It seems that socio-economic level and various response
devices are related. Have you seen this tendency? How? Why?
10. How has the more recent "open altar" prayer
time during the pastoral prayer affected the traditional end-of-service
altar call?
11. Many modern people do not believe in instantaneous
change but accept only slow improvement, long-term therapy, twelve-step
process groups, and "recovering" gradually. How does this
affect their thinking during an altar call?
12. What was really happening to Marty in the opening
story? Was this church mistaken in its approach, or was it OK? If you
were Marty's roommate, what would you say after church?
Chapter 7: The Greeting Handshake
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the development of the holy kiss into a greeting handshake?
2. The Apostle Paul was clear in commanding the first-century
Christians to "greet one another with a holy kiss." Most Christians
believe these writings of Paul were not just written for the Romans
or Corinthians but also for us today, thousands of years later. So,
what does this command mean today? Since Paul really meant it-kiss each
other-are we then required to obey it literally today? Or do we have
the freedom to adapt the literal command into accomplishing the objective
of that command-by substituting a handshake or other greeting that fits
our culture better? How far can we go in adapting specific commands
of Scripture to new cultural situations?
3. If the purpose of the kiss of peace was to give a
sign of our intimate family relationship with others in the church (that
is, something symbolizing a really special relationship), what would
we do today in our culture that would be similar? Should we?
4. Some Christians, like "Kenneth" in the
introductory story, resent the interpersonal familiarity of a handshake
or passing the peace as a part of a worship service. Is this "just
personality"? Is such a person free to refrain from or resist a
greeting? Or is it an indication of a refusal to be a full part of the
fellowship? Are some Christians free to "hate that part of the
service," when it was a regular part of early church worship and
seems to have support in Scripture?
5. In accounting for the restrictions on the kiss of
peace given during the second century and later, what is your theory?
6. What does the kiss of peace or "passing the
peace" have to do with Holy Communion? Why was it often placed
as a part of the Communion service?
7. If you were writing a letter today like the early
church fathers wrote concerning the holy kiss, what would you list as
"cautions or abuses" related to this early church greeting
time?
8. How does a small church's greetings (kiss, hug, handshake,
register) differ from a large church's greetings? What other kinds of
symbolic acts do churches do to symbolize our connectedness?
9. If you had the power to redesign this part of the
service to exactly match your own personal preferences, how would you
design it?
Chapter 8: Personal Testimony
1. What new discovery did you make after reading this
chapter on the development of the personal testimony?
2. In the modern world we have a fully developed understanding
of the individual self, thus enabling the greater understanding of personal
conversion and personal testimony we have today. What about the people
who had a group culture view of these things? When the Philippian jailer
was converted and presented his "whole house" for baptism,
were these people really saved just by going along with the father's
decision? In some cultures today, a tribal chief will be converted,
and the entire tribe lines up to be baptized in one day. Are they really
getting saved? Even though they live in a group culture, do they have
to possess personal individual faith?
3. What are the dangers of personal testimonies in a
worship service? Can they be overemphasized? How?
4. Why is it that elements of worship like Scripture,
the Lord's Supper, baptism, preaching, prayer, and music seem to last
in worship, while the personal testimony seems to die out after a hundred
years or so? What is it about a testimony that seems to make it a self-destructing
device in worship? Are there other such devices?
5. If your church were to reintroduce the personal testimony
in a way fitted for your congregation and culture, how would it best
be introduced?
6. In what way would a personal testimony be different
if done in the context of a love feast service, as was promoted by Wesley
and the Moravians? How would the tone be different?
7. What is the difference between a personal testimony
of praise that glorifies God and one that attracts too much attention
to the individual? How can we tell them apart-what are the "danger
signs"?
8. In what way can a personal testimony be used for
the cause of evangelism, as Finney did? Is this OK, or is it somehow
an abuse of true worship of God?
9. Tell about the most recent "testimony"
you've heard and the situation in which you heard it. Can you recall
the story?
10. If you were concerned about avoiding abuses and
errors in public use of personal testimonies, and you were making a
list of "rules" everyone ought to follow in giving a testimony,
list what they might be.
11. A popular style of Christian books today is the
personal experience approach rather than teaching. "Narrative"
is a primary means of influencing the current generation. Indeed, each
chapter in this book begins with a "narrative approach" that
is a variant of "testimony." What is it about modern learning
that makes many more open to a story than systematic factual teaching?
Chapter 9: Ecstatic Expression
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about ecstatic expression in worship?
2. Anthropologists who have researched "ecstatic
expression" in religion have observed a greater tendency toward
this sort of expression by women and oppressed minorities than men and
people in power. If this is true, why do you think this would be so?
3. Churches and denominations tend to move upward socio-economically.
That is, what may start out as a "mission church" or "church
of the poor" drifts upward over time to become a more professional,
upper-class church. This factor is sometimes called "redemption
and lift"-that is, a person is redeemed, straightens up his or
her life with God and the church's help, gets serious about work, family
and civic duties and becomes a respectable citizen. Soon, the former
drunk is a solid citizen, and the children go on for advanced degrees,
becoming a part of the upper social class in the city. If "redemption
and lift" does indeed occur, what implications does this concept
have for changes in worship patterns of a church's attendees over the
years?
4. What sort of history does your church have with ecstatic
expression? Has its stance changed? How? Why?
5. What kind of standard do you think a church should
set for allowing various forms of ecstatic expression in public services?
What blessings/problems do you foresee with unlimited expression? What
"rules" would you set down if you were king of your church?
6. Can ecstatic expression enrich someone's relationship
with God? Why is it so sought after, sometimes to the exclusion of other
spiritual disciplines?
7. On a scale of one to ten (ten being highly emotional
and feelings-oriented and one being formal, distant, and cerebral),
where would you rate your own church? Where would you prefer it to be?
8. Have you ever observed some of the things mentioned
in this chapter (running the aisles, speaking in tongues, shouting,
etc.)? If so, tell your story to another, especially to someone who
has never witnessed such occurrences.
9. What is the biggest loss in making worship something
you feel? What is the biggest gain? Do you think the gains offset the
losses, or is the opposite true?
10. Has God called some denominations to practice a
certain style of worship and others to practice a totally different
style-insuring a variety of choices in every community? That is, would
it be a good thing for all the churches in one community to worship
alike? What are some implications of your answers to these questions?
Chapter 10: Using Time as a Means of Organizing Worship
1. What new discovery did you make from reading this
chapter about the reason Christians use time as a means of worship?
2. How could worship services be better organized to
help us really focus on who God is and what He has done, so that we
may worship Him more truly?
3. We learn who God is by remembering His "mighty
acts," especially as revealed in the Bible. His acts, of course,
reveal His character, but not completely so. In Jesus Christ we discover
best who God is. So how would you plan to ensure that the "message
of the whole Bible" would be covered for people attending your
church? How could you know they would get a balanced study of Old and
New Testaments, the Epistles and the Gospels, etc? What plan could you
invent for this?
4. What are the dangers of worship that is not rooted
in God's work in the Bible and history, but rather focuses exclusively
on God's present work in my heart?
5. Find examples of hymns and choruses that emphasize
each of the three eras of time: past, present and future.
6. This chapter reminds us that worship includes a heavy
emphasis not only on past events, but also on the present and future.
If you were to develop a "pie chart" illustrating what you
believe to be the best distribution of emphasis between all three of
these elements of time, what would it look like? Would each of the three
sections be equal, or would you make one bigger? What would such a pie
chart representing your present local church services look like?
7. The first way a neighbor often notices a Christian's
witness is how that Christian observes time. Before they ever talked
to you, what would new neighbors notice about your use of time that
might indicate you were a Christian believer?
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