Although Baptists seek to develop a worship rooted in Scripture, they are more inclined to rely on general principles for guiding worship rather than on literalist models of worship based on Scripture texts alone.
All Baptist theology begins with a consideration of Scripture; this is no less true for a theology of worship. In developing their theology and practice of worship, Baptists have considered numerous Scripture passages related to worship, including Moses’ encounter with God in Sinai (Exod. 33–34); Isaiah’s call (Isa. 6); Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4:16–30); Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman (John 4:19–24); the various accounts of the Last Supper (especially 1 Cor. 11:23–26); numerous references to worship in the early church; and even heavenly worship (Rev. 4–5).
Consideration of Scripture has also led Baptists to recognize that true worship involves service in all of life. Whether individual or corporate, correct liturgical practice of any kind cannot substitute for a faith relationship with God through Christ or for right Christian living. Rather, worship is integrally related to both theology and ethics. In general, Baptists have sought to follow instead the basic principles regarding worship that they discerned in Scripture. They have done so for both individual and corporate worship, but here we will focus our consideration on the corporate dimension.
Corporate worship means congregational worship. With a concept of the gathered church and an emphasis on the priesthood of all believers, Baptists have stressed that there is no division between clergy and laity. Thus in worship what the congregation does is as important as what the minister does.
Their stress on preaching and the lack of any fixed liturgy have at times undermined congregational participation, but Baptists have tried to compensate in various ways. They have called on laypersons to pray and to lead parts of the service. They have emphasized congregational singing and used responsive reading of Scripture. More recently they have sought to recover the importance of the offering of their gifts and have printed congregational responses and unison prayers in their orders of worship for Sunday morning. The “invitation” to make a profession of faith, which grew out of nineteenth-century revivalism, is often used to call the entire congregation to commitment. Baptists are also increasing congregational participation through their recovery of the importance of Communion.
For Baptists, Christian worship is an encounter with God. It is dialogue—revelation and response. God engages in self-disclosure to human beings and we respond to that revelation. The revelation can be conveyed through Scripture reading, preaching, hymns, baptism, and Communion. An important aspect of the response is praise and thanksgiving, for in worship we gather to celebrate the mighty acts of God in creation and redemption. The response can be expressed through hymns, offering of gifts, prayers, congregational readings and responses, and time of commitment. Thus worship is always directed toward God. It is an end in and of itself; it is never a means to an end, no matter how worthy that end might be.
Such worship of God must always allow freedom for the movement of God’s Spirit. Although worship must be done “decently and in order” and liturgical elements may be freely used, there can be no fixed liturgy. The Spirit must be free to move in the midst of the congregation. This also means that worship should be relatively simple. There should be no complexity that stands between the laity and God, no liturgical obscurity that makes it difficult to experience God’s presence. This mysterious sense of God’s presence is not under the control of liturgy. God’s Spirit moves where it will, whether liturgical elements are freely used or not used. The mystery simply happens when the congregation is genuinely engaged in the worship of God.
Not only is worship directed toward God and open to the movement of the Spirit, but it is also Christocentric. Christ is the focus of worship because Christ is the central expression of God’s creative and redemptive action. Thus a major aspect of worship is proclaiming the Good News of God’s action in Jesus Christ. Preaching is such an important element in worship because of this emphasis on proclaiming the Good News. The Good News in Christ provides the Christian hope for the future and the assurance of God’s grace and presence for every need in the present.
Communion also focuses on the Good News in Jesus Christ. In response to the revivalistic emphasis in the nineteenth century, for a period of time Baptist placed little emphasis on Communion. But through much of their history, it has had an important place, and many churches are restoring its important role in worship. Communion proclaims God’s action in Christ in the past. It proclaims the future hope of Christ’s return. It proclaims Christ’s presence in the hearts and minds of the gathered community in the present. It is a clear expression of Christian faith, hope, and love.
In conclusion, corporate worship is the congregation’s communal encounter with God in which the people respond together to God’s creative and redemptive action most fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Through this encounter, God mysteriously makes available to the gathered community the reality of his salvation. The Baptist congregation worships, then, to hear of God’s action on their behalf and to respond out of the depths of their own being, they worship to sense the mystery of God’s presence in the midst of his people, and they worship to experience the power of God’s grace and to be made whole.