Tag Archives: denominations

Misconceptions about Worship

We often have a lot of misconceptions about worship.

For a long time my idea of worship was what I saw in church in my small town in Poteet, Texas. I grew up initially in a Methodist church. When we sang, we sang the first, third and fifth verses. A friend of mine in a Presbyterian church only sang the first and fourth verses. When I was old enough to drive – age 16, I attended a Baptist church. They sang all the verses most of the time, but usually split the congregation into women and men on different verses.

So, the difference for me and worship was the difference between Methodists and the Presbyterians and the Baptists; the Methodists had the third verse, the Presbyterians cut that one out, The Baptist had them all, but only the women were allowed to sing some of them. Then there was the Church of Christ right next door to the Baptist church. They sang the same songs, but didn’t have any music. And there were also the charismatics, they not only had music, but they danced!

There was also a difference in Communion. In the Presbyterian and Methodist church you went forward to receive communion. In the Baptist church they brought it to you then passed around a bag and asked for a tip! At the Catholic Church down the street, you weren’t even allowed to touch it and were fed by a priest.

Methodist preachers tended to be boring and monotone. The Baptist preachers seemed to think the congregation was hard of hearing and shouted a lot. In the charismatic churches, the congregation seemed to talk as much as the pastor!

Yet, these were not worship, but merely differences in how worship was expressed.

What is worship to you? Would love to hear your definitions of worship.

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