[bibleblock]Heb 12:15-16[/bibleblock]

This passage tells us that worship is not to be limited to just a worship service. Although corporate worship is a biblical Christian activity, we must remember that worship is not limited to Sunday mornings. We are to continually worship God. It is also important to remember that the Bible lists many ways which God is to be worshipped. All of these activities please God and, since God has wired us all differently, it is acceptable for us all to favor different methods of worship. Some of us may feel that we are fully worshiping God when in the middle of a highly charismatic worship service while others feel that they are giving more to God by worshipping in quiet solitude. Some might feel that they are worshipping God through dance and song. Others, who may not have been blessed with rhythm or the gift of a good voice, may feel they are worshipping God through prayer and study. All of these are biblical models and just because someone has a worship style different than our own does not mean that they are not successfully worshiping God.

In an Assemblies of God Pentecostal church that I attended in the past, it was believed that one was not worshipping God unless he was dancing frantically and speaking in tongues because this, they believed, was how the true believer empowered by the Holy Spirit worshipped. If anyone was not worshipping in this manner there were silent doubts concerning that person’s salvation. It felt more like a show for people to make these human beliefs go away than true adoration of the Lord.

The important thing to remember in spiritual formation and worship is that, although there are biblical models for worship, there are a lot of them and all of them do not apply to every believer in the same ways and in the same degrees. God lets each believer know how He wants to be worshipped by that individual and this is between God and the Christian. Although frameworks can be good at helping someone realize worship styles that might not have been known or tried before that could be a way that God wants that believer to praise Him, we should be careful to not dogmatically assert that every Christian must favor a specific worship style.