Lack Of Concern For Worship Renewal

For many church leaders, the renewal of worship is simply not a priority. Many churches seem content to pursue "business as usual," and pastors often yield to the tendency to elevate the sermon above corporate worship. We who are identified with evangelical Christianity are hard put to demonstrate any serious concern for worship in this century. As scholars we have failed to study worship or give attention to the theology of worship. Principles of biblical worship are not sought as the foundation of local church practice. Most of our evangelical seminaries have not even offered a full course in worship. It follows that evangelical pastors have not been much concerned with worship either. In may of our circles the Sunday morning event is considered a "preaching service," in spite of the fact that the official title in the bulletin reads "Morning Worship. " Viewing the preacher's singular act of proclamation as significantly more important than the entire congregation's acts of adora…