One of the most wonderful things the Reformation recovered was congregational participation in worship. At the dawn of the 16th century, corporate worship was chiefly the province of clerics and professional church musicians. 1/7

Worship came to expression primarily in performative rituals to be observed by the ordinary church-goer. Thus, for most looking on, worship was a matter of performance to be enjoyed. 2/7

Of course, the Reformation changed this with its emphases on the priesthood of the believer, the priority of mutual edification, and the necessity of congregational participation in worship. 3/7

However, I fear in many low church Protestant circles today, we have abandoned congregational participation in worship. The whole worship event has been delegated to the “praise team,” the production crew, and the charismatic front man. 4/7

Worship is once again a performance piece to be observed and enjoyed by the audience. In a sense, we have returned to the pre-Reformation state of things. This is nothing short of a tragedy. 5/7

I’m praying we see a recovery of truly congregational worship in our day. Not only is such worship biblical, but in my experience, it is vastly superior to more production/performance oriented worship services. 6/7

There is nothing like a corporate gathering in which a room full of Christians truly worship God with one heart, one voice, and one mind. It can be positively electrifying, and more importantly, it honors God. 7/7