A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches, first articulated the need for a spirit of renewal in worship, and this approach has marked its practices ever since. While avoiding extremes, some congregations, such as the one described here have been open to new music, using guitars, synthesizers, and drums along with the organ, and regularly includes drama and banners as examples of the other arts.
In the closing decade of the nineteenth century, A. B. Simpson gave visionary leadership to a new movement known today as the Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was deeply concerned that men and women hear the message of God’s love, a concern that resulted in the birth of a unique missionary society. Simpson united groups of Christians in the United States with men and women called to serve on foreign fields. He believed that healthy, local Christian bodies could provide ongoing support, both spiritual and financial, for overseas missions. Thus, an alliance of Christians and missionaries was formed.
Simpson maintained that there were three essentials for good health in Christian groups committed to serving missionaries. These priorities were certainly reflected in the ministry of worship in early Alliance services. Stated briefly they were, first, the centrality of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Simpson was consumed by the person of Jesus Christ, reflected today in the centerpiece of Alliance theology and practice, the “Fourfold Gospel”: Jesus as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. A. B. Simpson felt that the message and music of the denomination should reflect this priority.
Secondly, Simpson was concerned that local Christians experience, particularly in worship, the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit’s fire that ignited a passion within him that he then encouraged others to seek. Worship in the earliest days of the Alliance was alive with the Spirit’s presence, and as a result, people were transformed.
A third and practical concern focused on keeping the ministry and message of salvation relevant to contemporary society. Nowhere was this more evident than in the music in A. B. Simpson’s meetings. He wanted lyrics that reflected God’s Word and melodies that were “of the people.” As a result, he personally wrote over one hundred and eighty gospel songs with music that would appeal to the people of his day.
Turning back to the 1890s will help us understand worship renewal among Alliance congregations in the 1990s. Local churches hungry for dynamic worship are in reality re-embracing concerns articulated by A. B. Simpson over one hundred years ago. At the heart of Christian and Missionary Alliance worship renewal is a desire to be Christocentric, spiritually vital, and relevant to the contemporary context. In the purest sense Alliance congregations are always in the midst of renewal.
Attention is given to music and the arts in Alliance worship services is rooted in the threefold concern outlined above. To illustrate let us look at one Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation as an example. North Seattle Alliance Church has been for years one of the strongest congregations within the denomination. It has been characterized by strong preaching, excellent Bible teaching, and evangelistic concern.
In 1986, Rev. David Klinsing was called as senior pastor of North Seattle Alliance. Almost immediately Klinsing set into motion the process of positively and patiently renewing worship within the congregation. His philosophy of worship was faithful to Simpson’s three-fold concern. He desired to have educated worshipers led each week to celebrate vibrantly the person and work of Jesus Christ in forms relevant to the 1990s and in an atmosphere that welcomes the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Klinsing hired a pastor of worship committed to the same ideals, willing to work with him toward renewal.
Music, previously traditional at North Seattle Alliance, today reflects a more contemporary style. In the first of two Sunday morning services, worship ensembles have replaced choirs. Guitars, synthesizers, and drums are as standard as the organ was in the past. Scripture songs and choruses are the predominant form of music, including a balanced number of those addressed to God and those extolling his acts and attributes. Particular attention is given to those songs and choruses that seem to unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in the midst of worship. Hymns are still used in the service, preceded by an explanation of their history, theology, and importance. Klinsing is concerned that music draws people into a celebrative and intimate encounter with the living Christ, in a style that is appealing to the contemporary worshiper.
Like other churches in renewal, North Seattle Alliance recognizes that sight, as well as sound, engages people in a vital experience of adoration. Two ways this has been expressed are through drama and banners. Worship services at North Seattle Alliance often include dramatizations. They serve either as illustrations to the morning message or the rehearsing of some biblical theme set apart from the sermon in the worship service. Klinsing noted that traditionalists often find drama out of place, claiming that it is unspiritual. But newcomers regularly comment that dramatizations touch them deeply, slipping in their message through the emotions when a direct assault on the mind is ineffective.
The North Seattle Alliance congregation, committed to the celebration, has chosen to develop banners as an aid to worship. Festive in design, the intention is to employ liturgical themes which will highlight the positive motifs of the ecclesiastical year. These banners will serve to change the frequently noted funereal atmosphere experienced in many evangelical worship services.
The North Seattle Alliance church sanctuary has pews that are placed in straight rows facing the pulpit. The chancel area is high, designed to illustrate the transcendent nature of God. As part of the renewal, architectural changes are being suggested that will reflect the new understanding of worship. Pews will be arranged semicircularly to create a more communal and participatory atmosphere. The platform will be extended into the congregation, a statement of the immediacy and intimacy of the Living Word. The architectural centerpiece, according to Klinsing, will be the Table of the Lord, highlighting the redemptive act of God that keeps on happening in the midst of his people.
What is occurring at North Seattle Alliance is to a greater or lesser degree happening in many congregations in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In the decade to come scores of other churches eager to experience the dynamic power of worship will join the journey to renewal. It is important that denominational leaders prepare resources that will help congregations along this path. Local churches should be aided in the development of a balanced philosophy of worship. Likewise, it is essential that changes be made with a keen sensitivity to the century-old concerns of the denomination. Worship renewal in the Christian and Missionary Alliance is not some new fad or fancy. It is a return to priorities articulated by the denomination’s founder, A. B. Simpson, over one hundred years ago.