Worship by Any Other Name

When I was in high school, my church began tinkering with longstanding terminology. The bulletin became the worship folder. The sanctuary became the worship center. The benediction became the closing song. Those in my circle wondered if these changes were necessary and questioned whether they served any good purpose at all.

Now that I’ve served in church leadership, I know that terminology matters. It places emphasis on certain themes or highlights important values that you desire those you lead to hold dear. Words shape the culture, and a good, healthy ministry will also bring to the surface terms and phrases that best capture the spirit and the character of the people.

One recent change that has caught my attention, however, raises some important questions. One of my friends observed on his Twitter account that he had seen a church in his area designating their weekend gathering times as “experiences” rather than as worship or service times. He felt that this designation marked yet another slide of Christianity in our culture towards consumerism.

“Worship” connotes the placing of our glory aside for the sake of something greater. A “service” suggests that the gathering is marked by mutual self-giving, pointing ultimately to the gathering around the Lord’s table. But simply “experience”? What does that suggest?

I’ve been in discussions recently with church leaders who use this terminology, and the explanations I have heard thus far seem to fit well with the ethos of those ministries. It has been suggested that the ultimate goal of these leaders is to create space wherein each person present will have an experience of God that is transformative, and they complement this terminology with a strong emphasis on the fact that our entire lives should be worship. Worship isn’t confined to the gathering of the saints. That is one justification, and it makes sense.

But what do you think? Is “experience” a valid and helpful way to describe our gatherings? Or is there other terminology that is better or more theologically robust?