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Means or End?
Christian church: Is worship a means to another end, or is it an end in itself? MEANS OR END? Worship is an end in itself; it is not a means to something else. Karl Barth has appropriately declared that the "church’s worship is the OPUS DEI, the work of God, which is carried out for its own sake." When we try to worship for the sake of certain benefits that may be received, the act ceases to be worship; for then it attempts to use God as a means to something else. We worship God purely for the sake of worshiping God. — Franklin Segler, UNDERSTANDING, PREPARING FOR, AND PRACTICING CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, Second Edition, revised by Randall Bradley. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1996 (First edition is from 1967), p. 3. ISBN 0-8054-1168-2. Segler (now deceased) served as Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Randall Bradley teaches church music and worship at Baylor University. [This does not imply that there are not many good things that result from authentic Christian worship. But I agree with Segler’s insistence that worship is an end in itself. Next week we’ll look at a very similar quote from John Piper.] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu |