Philosophy of Worship
“Philosophy seeks knowledge for the sake of understanding, while Religion seeks knowledge for the sake of worship.”
William Temple
We believe worship of God should be:
- Spiritual — Therefore we try to be flexible and yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
- Spirit-led — Therefore we put no confidence in the flesh, whether emotional or intellectual.
- Christo-centric — Therefore we seek to acknowledge and honor Jesus Christ as the focal point.
- Restored to its place of centrality — Therefore we seek to see worship as a way of life and have it become central in all activities of the Christ-centered life.
- Active — Therefore we earnestly and wholeheartedly seek and respond to His presence.
- Participatory — Therefore we give place for congregational involvement in our worship services.
- Balanced — Therefore we seek to worship objectively whereby we focus on Someone outside ourselves—God and His attributes, and subjectively in which we make truth real through human experience.
- Free — Therefore we seek to have the proper balance between form (liturgy)—the heritage of the past, and spontaneity — the needs of the present.
- Educational — Therefore we lead our people in a study of the rich heritage of worship that is available to us--the biblical, historical, and theological sources of Christian worship.
- Intelligent — Therefore our services are designed with emphasis on the preaching and teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshiped and served.
- Inspirational — Therefore we give significant place to music in our worship.
- Sacramental — Therefore we give ourselves to the observance—the commemoration and celebration—of the sacraments or ordinances of the church: baptism and the Lord's Table.
- Holistic — Therefore all of our faculties—conscience, imagination, mind, heart, will and body—should be involved in worshiping God. This brings a rich balance of expression in worship.
- Characterized by variety, diversity and unity — Therefore we seek to offer a variety of biblically acceptable worship experiences reflecting the diverse theological backgrounds and understandings of our people.
- Fruitful — Therefore we look for our lives to express His love as the supreme manifestation that we have truly been worshiping Him.