Program / Course 11: Church, Sacraments, and Authority / Lesson 7.5
What you will learn
- Describe the main principles behind worship without a fixed liturgy: the regulative principle, the priesthood of believers and the freedom of the Spirit.
- Distinguish Reformed, Baptist, Pentecostal, Quaker and Brethren patterns of worship.
- Explain the criticisms made by liturgical churches and the replies.
- Recognize that unscripted worship still has an order, and describe common elements.
The big idea
Many Christians worship without a prescribed book of prayers. Their services are shaped by principles drawn from Scripture and from their own history: that worship should include only what God has commanded, that every believer may approach God directly, that the Spirit leads the assembly, and that the preaching of the Word is central. These churches vary widely, from the plain psalm-singing of Reformed worship to the spontaneity of Pentecostal gatherings and the silence of Quaker meetings. Liturgical churches ask whether this leaves the Eucharist and the church’s memory too thin.
Key terms
- Regulative principle
- The Reformed teaching that worship should include only the elements that Scripture commands or authorizes.
- Normative principle
- The view, held by Lutherans and Anglicans, that worship may include whatever is not forbidden by Scripture and is edifying.
- Free church
- A church that is not bound to a state church or a prescribed liturgy, and governs its own worship.
- Extemporaneous prayer
- Prayer composed by the one praying at the time, not read from a text.
- Meeting for worship
- The Quaker gathering, which is held in silence until someone is moved to speak.
- Charismatic worship
- Worship in which gifts of the Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing, have an open place.
- Ordinance
- A rite such as baptism or the Lord’s Supper, observed in obedience to Christ’s command, as the term is used by many free churches.
Background
Worship without a fixed liturgy has several roots. Some belong to the Reformation itself. Zwingli and Calvin simplified the Mass and the church’s ceremonies, removed images and vestments, and built worship around the sermon, prayers and psalms. In England, the Puritans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries wanted further reform of the Book of Common Prayer. Separatists and Baptists in the seventeenth century went further, forming congregations free from prescribed forms. The Quakers, from the 1650s, dropped outward rites entirely.
Later movements added their own contributions. The Methodist revival of the eighteenth century brought hymn singing and lay preaching. Nineteenth-century revivalism developed the altar call and the evangelistic service. In the twentieth century, Pentecostalism brought spontaneous prayer, tongues and healing into worship. Today these streams make up a large share of the world’s Christians, especially in the Global South.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The regulative principle
Calvin and later Reformed theologians taught that God has told his church how to worship, and that human inventions in worship are forbidden. The Westminster Confession (21.1) states that the acceptable way of worshiping God is instituted by himself and limited by his own revealed will, so that he may not be worshiped according to the imaginations of men. The elements usually recognized are the reading and preaching of the Word, prayer, singing of psalms, and the administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Supporters point to texts such as the second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6) and the judgment on Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire (Leviticus 10:1-3), and to Jesus’ words that true worshipers worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Lutherans and Anglicans hold a different principle: that what Scripture does not forbid may be used if it serves edification. The two principles explain why Reformed churches have simpler services and Lutheran and Anglican churches retain more ceremony.
Step 2: Preaching, the Word and the priesthood of believers
In churches without a fixed liturgy, the sermon is usually the center. Paul’s word that faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) and his charge to Timothy to preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2) are often cited. The pulpit may be placed at the center of the building to show this. Services also feature the reading of Scripture, with long passages read and expounded, and congregational singing.
The priesthood of all believers shapes the form. Lay members may lead prayers, give testimonies, sing, or in some churches preach. Many such churches have no priestly vestments, because they believe no one stands between the worshiper and God. Prayer is expected to come from the heart, and many hold that read prayers risk formalism, citing Jesus’ warning against empty repetition (Matthew 6:7). Liturgical churches reply that Jesus gave a set prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and that the Psalms are set prayers of Israel.
Step 3: Four patterns
Baptist and many evangelical churches typically hold services built around hymns or songs, prayers, a sermon and an invitation, with the Lord’s Supper observed monthly or quarterly. They hold that baptism and the Supper are ordinances in obedience to Christ. Plymouth Brethren assemblies traditionally break bread every Sunday, without ordained clergy, with believers free to participate.
Pentecostal and charismatic worship expects the Spirit to move in the assembly, and includes extended singing, spontaneous prayer, prophecy, tongues and prayer for the sick. They cite 1 Corinthians 12 to 14, where Paul describes gifts in the assembly and asks that everything be done decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40). Quakers meet in silence and wait on the Spirit, with anyone free to speak, as in 1 Corinthians 14:26-30. They do not practice outward baptism or communion. Each pattern appeals to Scripture and to the experience of the Spirit.
Step 4: Criticisms and replies
Liturgical churches raise several concerns. First, that worship without fixed forms depends heavily on the leader, so that it varies with his gifts and tastes. Second, that the Lord’s Supper is celebrated infrequently, though it was the center of early worship. Third, that the church’s memory, expressed in creeds, prayers and the calendar, is lost. Fourth, that the principle of spontaneity may encourage emotional manipulation or entertainment.
Free church replies: the New Testament shows early worship that was flexible, as in 1 Corinthians 14. A set form can become routine, and the Spirit must be free. Many such churches do have a creed or statements of faith, sing hymns that carry the church’s memory, and have a regular order. Some critics within these churches share concerns about the weakening of the Lord’s Supper and are reintroducing weekly communion. Scholars have observed that every church has a liturgy in the sense of an order, even where it is unwritten.
Step 5: Convergence
In recent decades the lines have blurred. Many liturgical churches use contemporary songs and informal prayers. Many free churches have taken up the church year, creeds and weekly communion. The liturgical movement of the twentieth century influenced Protestants, and the charismatic movement has influenced Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Christians in some places. A student can describe each pattern fairly by asking what it is trying to preserve: reverence and memory in one, freedom and immediacy in the other.
- What principle does this church give for what is included in worship?
- How central is preaching, and how central is the Lord’s Supper?
- Who may lead, speak or pray in the service?
- How does this church keep its memory of the faith across generations?
- What would a visitor from a liturgical church find familiar, and what unfamiliar?
- What criticisms does this church receive, and what is its answer?
Examples
A Quaker meeting
About forty people sit in silence in a plain room. After twenty minutes a woman stands and speaks briefly, and sits again. The silence resumes. No one presides, and there is no sermon or music. Friends say that the meeting waits on the inward leading of Christ. A visitor from another tradition may find the experience unfamiliar and reflective. (A constructed example.)
A Reformed service
A Presbyterian congregation sings psalms, hears a call to worship, prays a prayer of confession, hears Scripture read and a forty-minute sermon, prays for the church and the world, and sings a closing psalm. The minister uses a printed order of worship but composes his own prayers. The order is regular but not prescribed word for word.
A Pentecostal service
A congregation sings for half an hour, with people raising hands and some praying aloud. A member brings a word of encouragement, the pastor preaches, and at the end people come forward for prayer. The service has no printed order, but members know its general pattern. (A constructed example of a common style.)
Different perspectives
Protestant (Reformed and free church)
Worship should be according to Scripture and led by the Spirit. Preaching is central, the congregation takes an active part, and ceremonies should be few and simple. These churches hold that this form is closest to the New Testament and the least likely to hide the gospel. They differ among themselves on music, on the Lord’s Supper and on gifts.
Catholic
The Catholic Church values participation and Scripture, and since Vatican II has encouraged the active involvement of the faithful. It holds that the Mass is the center of worship and that its fixed forms protect it from the preferences of individuals. Catholics also recognize non-liturgical prayer, and charismatic prayer groups exist within the church.
Orthodox
Orthodox worship is ordered by an ancient tradition, and the Orthodox regard improvisation of the liturgy as a danger to its character. They agree that worship must be in spirit and truth and that the whole person should take part. They respect the sincerity of others but hold that the Eucharist is the center of the church’s worship.
Scholarly view
Sociologists and historians of worship note that no worship is wholly unscripted: every community builds habits, phrases and expectations. They also note that the growth of Pentecostal and free church worship is one of the largest developments in modern Christianity, and that the boundaries between liturgical and non-liturgical forms have grown less sharp.
Why it matters
A large part of the world’s Christians worship without a fixed liturgy, and a student who knows only liturgical forms will misjudge them. The reasons for each pattern are theological and historical, not a matter of taste alone. Understanding them helps a reader to evaluate the criticisms made on each side with fairness.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Non-liturgical churches have no order of service.
Correction: Most follow a steady pattern of singing, prayer, Scripture, preaching and offering. What differs is that the words are not prescribed in a book.
Misunderstanding: The regulative principle is the view of all Protestants.
Correction: It is a Reformed principle. Lutherans and Anglicans hold a normative principle. Pentecostal and Quaker churches have other reasons for their forms.
Misunderstanding: Free church worship ignores the Lord’s Supper.
Correction: Almost all free churches celebrate it, though less often than liturgical churches. Brethren assemblies observe it weekly. Quakers and the Salvation Army are exceptions.
Misunderstanding: Liturgical worship is just ritual without a living faith.
Correction: Liturgical churches claim that the forms express and support living faith, and many of their members worship with deep devotion. Whether a form helps or hinders depends on the people and not on the style alone.
Knowledge check
What is the regulative principle, and who holds it?
It is the Reformed teaching that worship should include only what God has commanded or authorized in Scripture. It is stated in the Westminster Confession 21.1. Lutherans and Anglicans hold a different normative principle, allowing what Scripture does not forbid.
Why do many free churches place the sermon at the center?
They hold that faith comes by hearing the word (Romans 10:17) and that the preaching of the gospel is the main means by which God calls and teaches his people. This follows the Reformation emphasis on the word of God.
Name two criticisms liturgical churches make of non-liturgical worship.
Examples: it depends too much on the leader’s gifts; the Lord’s Supper is celebrated too rarely; the church’s memory in creeds and calendar is thinned; it may encourage emotion or entertainment. Any two of these are correct.
How do Quaker meetings differ from other worship?
They are held in silence, with no set order, no clergy and no outward baptism or communion. Anyone moved by the Spirit may speak. Friends believe that Christ’s presence is known inwardly and does not require outward rites.
Think it through
- What does a church gain from having a written form of prayer, and what does it risk?
- What does a church gain from spontaneity, and what does it risk?
- Can a service be both free and reverent? What would that look like?
- How would you describe a worship tradition you do not know without simply listing what it lacks?
Independent assignment
Principles behind a pattern
In your notebook, choose one non-liturgical tradition (Reformed, Baptist, Quaker, Brethren, Pentecostal or another) and write 350 to 450 words explaining its principles of worship in its own terms, using one confession or statement and at least three Scripture texts that it cites. Then write a paragraph on the strongest criticism by a liturgical church and the reply. Keep the work in your notebook.
Further study
- Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith Read chapters 21 and 22 on worship.
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Book 4 chapter 10 and chapter 17 discuss ceremonies and the Supper.
- John Wesley, Sermons on Several Occasions See Wesley’s sermons for the Methodist emphasis on heart religion and the means of grace.
- Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World An Orthodox perspective for comparison.
- John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
- 1 Corinthians 14:26 Each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation.
- 1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
- Romans 10:17 Faith comes by hearing.