Why Worship Leaders Should Study Theology
Each week as worship leaders we lead people in our congregations in worship services that presumably brings them into connection with our triune God. Without careful study of God’s word and sound theology we can rely on external influences to determine how we should select our song sets, spoken words, and short teaching moments.
Leading people into the presence of God is a weighty matter and should be taken seriously. While I am grateful that we no longer are following the model of the priests in the Old Testament who entered the tabernacle to make sacrifices for sin, I do respect the fact that they made sure they were clean before God when they brought their sacrifices of praise and worship to their Holy God.
When we gather in our worship services to praise and exalt our great God, to magnify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to revel in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must do this on the basis and authority of scripture. We must ask the question, “What does God want from His people in worship? How do I know if I have truly pleased our triune God in our worship experience? The answer to this and other questions must be by careful study and knowing the theology of worship. If we do not study theology, we can stumble and lead our congregations in erroneous liturgy and into emotionalism that is not Holy Spirit led. The result is that we have not worshipped the Lord in Spirit and in truth but perhaps praised our praise and worshipped our worship. The measure of a quote, “successful worship experience” cannot be only measured into how much they participated externally but how was it transformational the service was? The only way to know that is through careful planning that starts with the study of scripture and theology.
In Deuteronomy 6:4–6 we see this command from God to His people. In a way, He was challenging them to a life of worship. For my thoughts this could be applied to our modern-day worship experiences as well.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.[1]
Jesus used these same verses to make a point with the religious leaders of His day
Matthew 24:34–40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” [2]
My intent is not to unpack the wonderful truths of these two passages of scripture but to make the point that the study of these two passages brings to light all new dimensions of the power of “loving the Lord with all your heart soul and mind…”
In the book, “Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith” Morgan the author brings out 13 observations that harmonize worship and theology. The author is using Psalms 119 as his text to bring out some very beautiful aspects of theology and worship.
“For the psalmist, this means that the study of God and his Word is linked to our lives. We study theology with love: love for the Lord, his Word, and his ways (vv. 41–48, 97). We study theology with holiness, walking according to God’s Word, keeping his commands (vv. 1–8). We study theology with prayer, knowing we need God to help us understand his Word: “Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction” (v. 18)[3]
Next he states,
“We study theology with meditation, giving careful thought to God and his ways: “I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways” (v. 15). We study theology amid trials,[4]”
How else can we know the comfort that God brings unless we study God’s Word, rightly.
He goes on to say,
“We study theology with conviction, knowing that God’s Word and teachings are true, even when governments, teachers, or societies try to shame us (vv. 22–24, 41–46, 99–100). We study theology with diligence, reading, searching, and thinking hard about the Word (vv. 94–95). We study theology with delight: “Your statutes are the theme of my song” (v. 54); “Your instruction is my delight” (v. 77). We study theology with reverence, reading, thinking, and analyzing as we stand in awe of God (v. 120). We study theology with tears, grieved that we and others do not fully prize God or his Word: “My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow your instruction” (v. 136).[5]”
We are not to his crescendo yet! He says,
“We study theology with humility, acknowledging our insufficiency for the task and relying on God’s ability to help us: “Teach me, Lord” (v. 33);[6]”
Just a brief commentary on this observation — knowing theology should not “puff us up” but humble us. Many people with much learning can lean on their knowledge which may impress others. Biblical theology and knowledge of the scriptures should bring a dimension of humility in light of the omniscient God we worship.
Lastly, the author says,
We study theology with hope, knowing that God has spoken in his Word, that he loves to give us understanding through his Word, and that he has already taught us much truth through his abiding Word: “Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven” (v. 89). We study theology in community, knowing that we learn directly from God’s Word and indirectly through one another (vv. 63, 74, 79).[7]
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 6:4–6.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 22:34–40.
[3] Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 7–8.
[4] Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 8.
[5] Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 8.
[6] Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 8.
[7] Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2020), 8.
