Discipleship

So, how has life changed for you since last Christmas? Like me, are you unsure how Christmas will feel this year?

Over 25 years of ministry, I have become increasingly aware of a tension within many Pentecostal churches, a tension that resonates in my life as well. We deeply value encountering God’s presence in worship, and rightly so—not only as our heritage, but as one of our defining distinctives. From the Hebden Mission to Azusa Street, and even the Keswick revivals, God’s presence has marked His Pentecostal people.[1] 

However, I began asking whether my understanding of worship as a Pentecostal is shaped more by the pursuit of experience than by a response to God’s revealed story. Maybe this questioning was born out of frustration, curiosity, unsettledness or a mixture of all three. 

That question became the foundation of my doctoral research. What I discovered through Scripture, church history, theological analysis and social examination was both challenging and encouraging. At its core, biblical worship is not initiated by human effort or emotion; it is a response to God’s action. God reveals, God saves, God speaks, then God’s people respond. This is what I describe as responsorial worship.[2] 

My research also explored what might happen if a modern Pentecostal congregation known for having all the bells and whistles, rich Pentecostal heritage, and high expectations intentionally embraced this understanding of worship. Could a focus on God’s story deepen our worship without diminishing our Pentecostal distinctives? Could theological formation strengthen spiritual vitality rather than compete with it?

To answer these questions, I conducted a ministry intervention at a mid-sized Pentecostal church in Manitoba that fit the mould: great music, attractional strengths, and a high desire to see God move.

We, as Pentecostals, have always emphasized encounters with God. We expect the Holy Spirit to move, we value heartfelt worship, and we believe God continues to work powerfully among His people. These are strengths of our Fellowship.

At the same time, I am concerned that in some contexts, worship has become centred on what we experience rather than on who God is and what He has done. When this happens, worship becomes self-indulgent, and we begin evaluating worship by whether we were emotionally moved, or whether a particular service “felt” powerful. In short, we have grown to “worship” worship.

While spiritual experiences are genuine gifts from God, Scripture consistently presents worship as something rooted in God’s initiative. The biblical pattern is clear: God acts first, and His people respond.

Throughout Scripture, worship follows a remarkably consistent pattern. In Exodus 15, Israel sings after God delivers them through the Red Sea.[3] Their worship is not an attempt to create an encounter with God; it is a response to an act of salvation that has already taken place.

In Romans 12, Paul calls believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices only after spending 11 chapters explaining God’s saving work through Christ. Worship emerges as a response to God’s mercy.[4]

In Revelation 5, the worship of heaven centres on the Lamb who was slain. The praise offered before God’s throne is rooted in what God has accomplished through redemption.[5]

Repeatedly, Scripture presents the same rhythm: revelation comes before response, grace comes before gratitude, and God’s action before human worship. This biblical pattern convinced me that worship is fundamentally responsorial. We do not worship to make God act. We worship because He already has.

When researching how Christians from the Didache through church history have understood worship, a theme that emerged was the church’s longstanding commitment to shaping worship around God’s redemptive story.[6] Across many traditions, practices such as adhering to the church year, Scripture readings, sacraments, and communal prayer have helped believers remember and respond to what God has done.[7] Rather than viewing these practices as foreign to Pentecostalism, I began to see them as resources that could enrich Pentecostal worship. They offer ways of grounding our worship in Scripture and the gospel story while still allowing room for the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit.

At the local church level, I designed a teaching weekend intended to help participants explore worship through a responsorial framework and analyze any changes in pragmatism or theology. Over the four sessions, I walked through scriptural, historical and theological elements of responding to God’s story. I also introduced participants to several formative practices that are not common in our Fellowship but have shown signs of emergence over the last few years: 1) The church year, 2) The Revised Common Lectionary, 3) Heightened sacramental practices, and 4) The concept of embodied worship.

My goal was not to encourage people to adopt a particular liturgical tradition or abandon others. Rather, it was to help them see how worship can be intentionally shaped by Scripture. I wanted participants to discover that worship is more than singing, a church service, or a spiritual experience. Worship is the ongoing response of God’s people to God’s revelation.

I was encouraged by the results I received from participants’ short-answer and survey questions. These outlined changes they were willing to make as worshippers.

One of the most significant changes was how participants understood the purpose of worship. At the beginning of the project, many participants naturally emphasized worship as a place of spiritual experience. By the end of the intervention, many were describing worship primarily as a response to God’s revelation in their own lives.[8]

Participants did not stop valuing spiritual encounters. Instead, they understood those encounters as flowing from already outpoured grace. God’s Word became the foundation, and experience became purposeful response.

Another important shift involved participants’ understanding of worship as a communal practice. Modern culture often encourages us to think of faith primarily in personal terms. Yet, participants increasingly recognized worship as something the people of God do together.

Participants also gained a new appreciation for embodied worship. They began to see that worship is not confined to thoughts and emotions. It involves our physical actions (moving to the altar, receiving communion, raising our hands, standing and sitting), our habits, our service, and our everyday obedience.[9]

One of the most meaningful changes was how participants viewed worship beyond Sunday services. Many began the weekend associating worship primarily with Sunday gatherings. By the end, many described worship as a daily response to God’s grace. Romans 12 played an important role in shaping this perspective. Participants began to understand their relationships, generosity and obedience as expressions of worship. For many, worship became less about attending church and more about living out the kingdom of God.

The participants also shared several insights. They expressed a desire for deeper theological formation within the local church, wanting to understand what Christians do in worship and why.

Others spoke about the need for more intentional worship planning in worship services. They recognized the value of connecting songs, Scripture readings, preaching, prayer and congregational participation into a coherent response to God’s story.

One recurring theme throughout the project was the desire to put Christ at the centre of worship. Participants saw the importance of allowing the gospel story to shape the church’s worship rather than allowing personal preference or cultural trends to become the primary influence. This is a tension we have all felt.

Although this research was initially conducted in one congregation, I believe its implications extend to churches wrestling with questions about discipleship, theological depth and congregational unity.

A shift to a theology of responsorial worship offers a helpful framework for engaging these challenges. It provides a way to deepen theological foundations without sacrificing Pentecostal passion. It allows Scripture to shape our worship while remaining fully open to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, it helps us keep our focus where Scripture places it: on God’s action before our response.

Theological depth and spiritual vitality are not competing priorities. My greatest hope is that a conversation will continue throughout the PAOC to retell our story as response. As churches seek renewal and spiritual health, we need worship that is biblically grounded and spiritually vibrant. Responsorial worship offers a way forward. It reminds us that worship begins not with our emotions, our preferences, or even our pursuit of God’s presence. Worship begins with God’s initiative. He has already revealed, saved and sustained us. We respond with a life of praise, obedience and gratitude.

Imagine worshipping without the pressure to perform or convince God to fix a problem. Instead, we can worship from a starting place of response and the freedom that comes with that. If God did nothing else in my life, I would still have so much to be grateful for! Recovering worship as response is not about becoming less Pentecostal. It is about becoming more faithful to the biblical pattern that shapes the worship of God’s people: God acts, and His people respond.