Christians are called to be in the world but not of it. We are called to be God’s truth bearers in every arena. As classical Christian education emphasizes, worldview is not transmitted by mere brute facts. Rather, the arts are primary means through which beliefs and values are transferred from one generation to the next. It is for this reason that the arts, particularly the music that we use in our services of worship, must be carefully evaluated for that which communicates a unity of truth. Therefore the Church should embrace the historic Christian worldview as the keystone of Christian culture, as only this worldview gives us the understanding of reality that we need to employ Christian wisdom in the arts, and thus form disciples that know and live Christian truth.
The magisterial Protestant Reformers held to the doctrine of sola Scriptura, the belief that Scripture alone, as the Word of God, is the only source sufficient to guide the Church in all matters of Christian faith and practice. Standing on the authority of God’s Word, these men held to a unity or cohesion of truth as revealed through Scripture (special revelation) and Creation (general revelation). Such understanding of truth is essential to the Christian worldview, which was instrumental in the establishment of Western society and culture. Central to this worldview are two aspects of God’s being—that He is both transcendent (far above us; infinite in majesty) and immanent (near us, sustaining Creation). Until the later part of the eighteenth century, the Church employed this understanding as one of the foremost patrons of the arts in Western society. However, due to radical shifts in worldview, the Church no longer takes such a vital role in the formation of culture; and contemporary values diminish the arts as an autonomous vehicle of expression. Yet, there is hope for a revitalization of the arts. Join Shawn Eaton as he teaches how God’s truth may inspire the Church anew in crafting music for corporate worship—that we may reclaim the Christian worldview as the keystone of Christian culture.
Aniol, Scott. Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2009. See especially chapter 4, entitled, “Affections—The Missing Link,” and chapter 6, “What Does the Music Mean?”
Bauder, Kevin T. et al., A Conservative Christian Declaration. Religious Affections Ministries, 2014.
Begbie, Jeremy S. Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Colson, Charles and Pearcy, Nancy. How Now Shall We Live? Carol Stream: Tyndale, 1999. See especially chapter 42, entitled, “Soli Deo Gloria,” and chapter 44, “Does the Devil Have All the Good Music?”
Eskew, Harry and McElrath, Hugh T. Sing with Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Hymnology. Nashville: Church Street Press, 1995.
Hiebert, Paul G. “The Flaw of the Excluded Middle,” Missiology: An International Review 10 (January 1982).
Hoffecker, W. Andrew. Revolutions in Worldview: Understanding the Flow of Western Thought. Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2007.
Pearcey, Nancy Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010. See especially chapter 2, “Truth and Tyranny.”
Ryken, Philip Graham. Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006.
Schaeffer, Francis A. Escape from Reason: A Penetrating Analysis of Trends in Modern Thought. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1968.
Sproul, R. C. Battle for Our Minds, Ligonier Ministries, 1994, compact disc.
Sproul, R.C. Study Guide, Battle for Our Minds: Worlds in Collision. Park Lake Mary, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2010.
Sproul, R.C. The Holiness of God. 25th Anniversary ed.Sanford, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2010. See especially chapter 11, entitled, “Holy Space and Holy Time.
Tozer, A.W. Knowledge of the Holy. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1961.
Do you have a blind spot in your worldview? As Nancy Pearcey writes, the Enlightenment changed the nature of beauty and aesthetics in the arts. Today, beauty and meaning in the arts are seen by many as “subjective,” relative to personal preference. It is this type of thinking that makes qualitative judgments regarding the arts off-limits. Yet, Scripture speaks of God’s high standards for the arts. In this video, Shawn Eaton discusses the popular, classical, and Scriptural views of beauty. If the Church is to worship according to biblical principles, it must recover its understanding of the true nature of beauty, for beauty is rooted in the very nature and character of God.
Follow this link to read Dr. Eaton’s article, “Worldview and Aesthetics in God-Centered Worship”:
One of the primary challenges that modern-day Christians face is that the secular worldview which permeates American culture is continually working to move Christ from the throne in our lives and push him to the periphery. The good news is as James K. A. Smith writes: Christian worship is the imagination station the church needs to be leveraging to keep our lives centered on God and His Kingdom. In this video, Dr. Eaton presents five steps that pastors and church leaders can implement to cultivate God-centered worship and encourage the realization of the historic Christian worldview in the twenty-first century church.
Employ biblical principles in corporate worship along with teaching the biblical message.
Keep God the central agent of worship.
Plan worship for God and His glory.
Foster a God-fearing atmosphere.
Gain an historic Christian understanding of beauty and meaning in the arts.
Recommended Reading
Block, Daniel I. For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.
Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009.
Johnson, Terry. “God-Centered Worship.” Tabletalk Magazine. Accessed on June 29, 2020. Available from https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2005/01/god-centered-worship/; Internet.
Keller, Timothy. Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism. New York: Viking, 2015.
Lawson, Steven. “Worshiping the Triune God.” In Light and Heat: A Passion for the Holiness of God. Ligonier Ministries, 2011, DVD.
Smith, James K.A. You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2016.
Wasn’t the Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, a good era in the development of Western culture? By these names, one would think so. Indeed, many helpful scientific discoveries were made during the period. However, a strict reliance upon rationalism and science in the pursuit of truth brought with it a dramatic shift in the worldview of Western society, one that still continues to unfold today. Deistic thought was ultimately responsible: the idea that God created the world, endowed it with natural laws, and then separated himself from it. In this video, Dr. Eaton teaches the core ideas that shifted Western culture from a God-centered to a man-centered society.
Are you living the Christian worldview? According to a 2018 George Barna Poll, only twenty-three percent of those identified as born again Christians in the United States hold a biblical world- and life-view. If the Church ever needed to realize the Christian worldview in the lives of our members, it seems now is the time. As worship is king of the spiritual disciplines, it has historically been the central activity of spiritual formation for the body of Christ. In this video, Dr. Eaton introduces key ingredients for cultivating God-centered worship—worship that employs the three biblical functions of the heart and engages God in ways appropriate to who He is.
Recommended Reading
Aniol, Scott. Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2009.
Johnson, Terry. “God-Centered Worship.” Tabletalk Magazine. Accessed on June 29, 2020. Available from https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2005/01/god-centered-worship/; Internet.
“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.” (David, from Psalm 16:8-9)
What is the most essential aspect of Christian theology as it pertains to biblical worship? That it is God-centered. In Reformed theology a robust biblical understanding of who God is serves as the central reference point to which all other aspects of theology are related. In this video, Shawn Eaton teaches three ways in which holding high views of God is foundational to biblical worship:
The Significance of High Views of God: Theology drives doxology and our doxology (our worship) drives the way we live.
The Privilege of Holding High Views of God: Christians who have a God-centered worldview take great pleasure in pleasing God in worship and being set apart for His glory.
The Responsibility toward High Views of God: Christians must have a transcendent, high, and exalted view of God if we are to worship God as He desires and please Him with our lives.
Recommended Source
Lawson, Steven. The Attributes of God. [on-line]. Accessed June 2020. Available from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/attributes-god/; Internet.
I hope that each of you is abounding in the peace and power of the Lord during these challenging times in our nation’s history. Please know my prayers are with you as you seek to glorify Christ by walking in faith and not by sight.
This week I have updated the home page at Cultivating God-Centered Worship posting two new short videos. These are the first in a series of videos I am presenting to emphasize the relationship between the historic Christian worldview and God-centered worship. I would be delighted for you to see these. To view, simply scroll after following this link.
In a previous blog I pointed to a Renewing Your Mind (Ligonier) broadcast from September 25. This is but one of a series by R.C. Sproul entitled, Fear and Trembling: The Trauma of God’s Holiness. Below are links to the first five installments of this six-part series. The final installment is available for purchase at ligonier.org, but each of these may stand alone. Teaching on God’s holiness was a hallmark of Dr. Sproul’s forty-plus years of ministry.
On today’s Ligonier audio broadcast, Renewing Your Mind, Dr. R.C. Sproul teaches on God’s holiness, the only Scriptural character trait of God emphasized to the third degree. As Isaiah experienced, we only really begin to understand our own sinfulness when we understand God’s holiness. To listen to this excellent broadcast, just follow this link:
