Worship Reflects Theology

Although the cultural and demographic makeup of a church can influence its worship, the main feature that shapes worship is the church's theology. Every church has core beliefs about God, salvation and man. Even bad and poor theology is still theology, and every church's theology shapes its worship. Catholic worship center around Mass because their theology is based upon the sacraments. The theology of Charles Finney led the church to shift from word-oriented worship, to an emotional driven service. Why? Because, according to Finney, salvation was the result of an emotional appeal and persuasion. Likewise, pragmatism is the theology of the seeker sensitive church. Thus, the demands of the consumer  have caused the church to turn its worship into a form of entertainment with a therapeutic, motivating lesson. The creativity in worship, which is emphasized by the Emergent Church, is based upon an ever-changing theology that contains no absolutes. The take away here is that theology matters when it comes to worship. We learn what a church believes about God, man and salvation by the manner in which the church worships God.

 For this reason,the church needs to worship in a way that reflects a sound theology of worship. If the church desires to worship God, it is fundamental that the church knows what biblical worship is first.*

Jeffery D. Johnson, The Church: Why Bother? (Birmingham: Solid Ground, 2012), 77-78