Worship is a God-centered, not a man-centered activity; and as such, it involves the participation of all worshippers—the man in the pew no less than the one behind the pulpit. Rather than viewing the congregation as an audience and ministers as performers, in corporate worship, the LORD is the only member of the audience and we the worshipers are the performers.
The 16th century magisterial Reformers—Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, Bucer, Knox, and others—applied this principle by (1) restoring the reading & preaching of God’s Word in the vernacular (rather than in Latin); (2) instituting congregational singing of the Psalms, the Ten Commandments & the Creeds; (3) writing unison, congregational prayers as well as making room for extemporaneous ones; and (4) recovering the frequent celebration of the Lord’s Supper using both elements while sweeping away the superstitious beliefs and practices which were out of accord with the Scriptures.
But the Reformers were guided by an even more fundamental principle: Worship must be according to and limited by biblical commands, patterns, precepts and examples. The only worship, therefore, that is glorifying and honoring to the LORD is that which he prescribes in his Word. In practice this means that not only are images of God improper means by which to approach Him (the 2nd Commandment), but so are skits, second rate night club acts masquerading as religious entertainment, children’s church, and a host of other well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided modern “innovations.”
