The Style Of Contemporary Worship

Sustained sections of praise are now being used successfully in worship by young congregations. Instead of organizing their services into a series of discrete events-a single hymn followed by a prayer, another hymn, the choir, the offering, a solo, a Scripture reading, and then the sermon-they make time for sustained, unbroken, flowing praise that often lasts anywhere from ten to fifty minutes. After a time of teaching, people are invited to come forward for salvation, healing, and deliverance. In churches with a more charismatic flavor, the extended time of worship includes opportunities for healing, words of knowledge, exhortations from the congregation, prophetic utterances, and dance both from those in the congregation and from trained dance teams. Another pattern followed by many contemporary worship leaders is the fourfold pattern based on the tabernacle. In this pattern the worship leaders lead the worshipers through the gates, into the outer court, into the inner court, and f…