Baptist General Conference

Worship and Sacred Actions Throughout the Year in Baptist General Conference Churches

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Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, a congregation in the Baptist General Conference, has in recent years begun to place a strong emphasis on observing some seasons of the Christian year. The full traditional year is not observed, however, so that sometimes may be designated for particular attention to concerns such as missions and family life.

Because congregations are independent of any clerical or denominational hierarchy in Baptist polity, this article will describe the state of the Christian year in the worship renewal in one church of the Baptist General Conference rather than attempting to generalize about the entire denomination.

Historically, Baptists have distanced themselves from many liturgical forms, such as following the Christian year, normally associated with mainline denominations. However, in the last decade, Bethlehem Baptist Church has begun to devote attention to certain seasons of the Christian year—Advent, Christmastide, Lent, Eastertide, and Pentecost. The development was largely prompted by the congregation’s (and pastor’s) belief in the importance of preparation for the high days of Christmas and Easter and that a direct correlation exists between the time one invests in preparation and the intensity one experiences in celebration.

Countering Commercialism

The Advent season was a great time to institute the Christian year because our culture does so much to promote the commercial way of preparing for Christmas. Most Christians, therefore, see the need to offset the influence of commercialism and reclaim the spiritual theme of our Lord’s birth. Bethlehem implemented observance of Advent through such means as poems written by the pastor, candles, purple choir stoles, and a large banner. As a result, Advent has become the most beautiful time of the year at the church, and the congregation prepared for more meaningful participation in the annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Ceremony of Lessons and Carols—undoubtedly the most beautiful service of the year.

If Advent was a particularly good point at which to introduce the Christian year, Lent was the season during which implementation of the year was most needed. While our culture exerts a lot of influence (however misdirected) to prepare us for Christmas, all that Madison Avenue has to offer for Easter is eggs and rabbits! Thus, the church faces an even greater challenge in cultivating preparation for what is, theologically, the most important day of the year during the Lenten season.

Observance of Lent is marked by the gradual extinguishing of seven Lenten candles, and the use of banners, purple choir stoles, pulpit tapestries, sculpture, music that is meditative and focused on Passion texts, and visual art of the Crucifixion. Through the use of these symbols and media, Lent has become the most reflective and sobering time of the year, preparing the congregation to experience more fully the meaning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday usually involves our children’s choirs with palms and processions. But the exuberance and loudness of Palm Sunday praise soon quiets into the soberness of Maundy Thursday Communion, undoubtedly the most solemn service of the year. The sanctuary is darkly lit, the choir wears no colored stoles. After a silent processional, the music is very meditative and somber. Communion is received in complete silence, the last Lenten candle is extinguished, and all worshipers are asked to leave the sanctuary in silence to ponder all that they have heard and experienced.

Then, on Easter Sunday, we are ready to celebrate all day long, with all of our might. Eastertide has begun! The Easter morning celebrations include choir, brass, and congregational singing of the joyful music of Easter. The sanctuary resounds with the Easter greeting “The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!” Banners and pulpit tapestries are hung, choir stoles are white, and all of the Lenten candles are lit, signifying that Christ defeated death and lives forever! We then conclude this day of days by gathering back at the church in the evening for the Festival of the Resurrection. The most important event in all of history calls for the most glorious of all celebrations—and that is what the Festival of the Resurrection is intended to be. On this night, we try to “pull out all the stops” in celebration of Christ’s triumph over death. The service is led by a 100-voice festival choir with brass and includes a lot of congregational participation in songs, litanies, and shouts of praise.

Pentecost Parade

The candles remain lit throughout Eastertide and are on display through Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost marks the end of our church’s observance of the Christian year. We try to make this day special by doing something bold. Most recently, we have marched through downtown Minneapolis using one of Graham Kendrick’s Praise Processions. Huge colorful banners are carried, music is sung, leaflets are distributed, and the joy of the Lord is seen and experienced in our neighborhood—all in the power and spirit of Pentecost. We conclude the event by gathering in a local park for a picnic with those from the neighborhood who have joined us in the parade.

At this point, it seems unlikely that we will broaden our observances of the Christian year to other seasons or days of the Christian year in the near future. With the partial observance of the Christian year, there is still enough flexibility in the calendar for another emphasis we have throughout the year, such as Prayer Week, Family Week, and Missions Week. This approach makes for a balance appropriate for our congregation.

The Arts in Baptist General Conference Churches

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The Baptist General Conference has been influenced by contemporary music and arts. Many of its churches sing praise choruses as well as hymns and gospel songs. The popular arts of drama, storytelling, and banners are used in many churches.

The Baptist General Conference is composed of dozens of large congregations in major metropolitan areas of the United States and Canada and hundreds of small congregations in both cities and rural areas. Many of these are very open to creativity in worship, especially in music, drama, Scripture reading, and preaching. This is true not only of the larger, metropolitan churches but also of the smaller, even rural congregations where one might not expect openness to change.

Although many congregations approach to worship in the same way as their predecessors did years ago, the majority are moving beyond the exercise of defining worship and into the joy of doing it with an openness that allows a wider range of expression. There is a great diversity of styles across the United States and Canada within the denomination, with no universal pattern for the worship service. Although there are many similarities, each church is free to express itself in the way it prefers and to design the worship experience as it sees fit. While the following observations are generalizations, one would find them to be true of a great number of Baptist General Conference churches.

Dance and Drama

Many Baptists would associate such art forms as interpretive movement and environmental art with other mainline denominations. Very few of our churches will ever use dance in worship. Many allow choreography by their children and youth (and even adults) in musical presentations, but denounce interpretive movement which they could categorize as “dance.” A more acceptable form of interpretation is signing. Many music groups include some of this beautiful movement in their presentations. But dance in any of its forms is rarely acceptable.

The use of drama is much more prevalent than interpretive movement. Due partially to the support of drama in contemporary creative congregations like Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, the drama has enjoyed a resurgence among hundreds of congregations across America. Vignettes and even full-scale plays are popular. The drama has been most helpful in preparing worshipers for subsequent activities, such as the sermon or even music related to the dramatic theme.

Many young preachers, and veterans as well, have been honing their craft in recent years, delivering much better sermons. I have experienced “illustrated sermons,” in which a biblical character or the writer of a certain biblical passage is portrayed. By this means, I have met the Apostle Paul, Peter, and even John Wesley in Baptist General Conference churches. I saw one “living sermon” in which the preacher was depicting the broad way to destruction spoken of in so many biblical passages. Some of the predicaments he faced along his way were easily recognized by his hearers. They identified with the preacher and realized quickly that he might have been portraying any one of them. Thus, the use of drama has found its way into preaching as well as other aspects of the worship service.

I have also experienced various forms of storytelling, including some wonderfully exuberant “children’s sermons.” Storytelling is becoming more popular, with emphasis on making a biblical narrative become alive to the hearers, often by a creative modernization of the biblical passage. I believe this practice has been fostered by the increase of modern paraphrases and translations of Scripture, and also by sensitivity to unchurched people who do not respond easily to complex theological terminology.

Visual Arts

More careful thought has been given recently to the design of the worship space, including such aspects as seating, platform shape and size, banners and wall hangings, and seasonal art. Although this might be termed environmental art, it is approached more in terms of functional necessity than artistic expression. Pulpits are smaller than they once were, as preachers are concerned about not separating themselves from the people. The current design of worship centers emphasizes helping the worshipers to be participants rather than spectators. Banners have been used by some churches as a visual aid during mission conferences or other celebrations. Some churches have banners on the walls at all times. Few have a weekly processional, although some do so on occasion, especially at high festivals.

Music

The greatest area of both change and discussion has been in the field of church music. The Baptist General Conference has long been a stalwart in evangelical church music, having produced many writers and leaders in the field. The range of acceptable musical style has always been quite wide, from the traditional music of yesterday’s masters to the contemporary styles of today. Hymns, gospel songs, contemporary praise choruses, anthems, classical literature—all of it is acceptable in the Baptist General Conference. Although this wide variety of musical styles is not necessarily practiced in any specific church, it can be seen across the denomination as a whole. The singing of psalms has been absent, including the use of antiphons which have been more associated with mainline denominations. But this is beginning to change. Today many congregations are becoming acquainted with a whole new range of musical styles. Most stay with more contemporary styles, using anthems and classics sparingly, but there is at least an understanding that “old” does not mean “not good.” Members of the Baptist General Conference would agree that “musical style is negotiable, the message is not.”

The appearance of a few new hymnals in the late 1980s and early 1990s has been an important influence, coming at a time during which many congregations were in the market for a new book. The denomination has not produced its own hymnal. Two hymnals finding wide acceptance are The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration (Waco, Tex.: Word Music, 1986) and The Worshiping Church (Carol Stream, Ill.: Hope Publishing Company, 1990). Many churches are using transparencies for congregational singing, with positive results. It seems the singers can hear each other better when their heads are lifted up to sing, causing increased joyful participation. There is also a growing acceptance of different instruments used to accompany the music, including synthesizers, guitars, and drums, along with the typical acoustical piano, organ, and orchestral instruments.

There are two major reasons for this acceptance of creativity and change. First, Baptist General Conference churches are becoming open to “outsiders,” whereas many years ago it was seen as a group only for the Swedish. There is great concern about unchurched people and in order to evangelize effectively, we believe that we must be open to a variety of styles. We do not attempt only to attract people to our church but to present to them the Lord Jesus Christ and we must therefore become willing to accept and adopt new methods, including change in musical style and in other areas.

The second reason for the growth in worship is the rise of education and teaching on the subject over the past few years. Bethel College and Seminary, both schools of the Baptist General Conference, have been at the forefront of this effort for many years. As the Director of Worship Resources for the entire denomination for several years, it was my privilege to do seminars and workshops, helping raise the consciousness of the churches to worship, music, creativity, etc., for the layperson as well as the seminarian, pastor, or church music director.

Some of these issues have been addressed in writings by people within the Baptist General Conference, either explicitly for a Baptist General Conference publication, or for some other publisher. Over the years the award-winning denominational periodical, The Standard, has included many helpful and even provocative articles. Books and resource materials, including music and other worship aids, are offered to pastors and laypersons through a mail-order catalog produced by Harvest Publications, a branch of the BGC. This is an eclectic compilation, aimed primarily at pastors, church musicians, educators, and other leaders. There is a formal paper available on worship planning, dealing with philosophy and style as well as offering many specific suggestions and creative ideas. (Tim Mayfield, Leader’s Guide for Planning Worship Services [1990]; available through the Baptist General Conference, 2002 S. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Ill. 60005.)

An Example of a Baptist General Conference Congregation

A good example of how music and the arts may be used in a typical Baptist General Conference church is found in the following comments by Dean Palermo, the associate pastor of Music and Worship at the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis:

Music. In the last decade, music in worship has undergone a significant change at Bethlehem Baptist Church, the most noteworthy being the introduction of a philosophy of music in the church by my predecessor and mentor, Dr. Bruce H. Leafblad: “The purpose of music in the church is nothing more than, nothing less than, and nothing other than the work of the church—which is ministry.” The ministry finds expression in the threefold priorities of the church: worship, nurture, and outreach. That is, music is the means to the end of our stated purposes of ministry as a church in which we exist to:

  1. Savor our vision of God in Worship;
  2. Strengthen our vision of God in Nurture; and
  3. Spread our vision of God in Outreach.

As a result of this change, music has undergone a shift from being considered a mere “preliminary” to the main event of the sermon, to being seen as a point of significant encounter or communion between the church and her Lord.

Another change in the use of music has been in the area of musical style. Whereas many churches have adopted an “either/or” approach to musical style, Bethlehem has grown to appreciate and adopt a “both/and” approach. That is, we have chosen to incorporate an eclectic range of music that includes classical, historical, traditional, and contemporary forms of music. Therefore, the use of music includes classical literature (vocal and instrumental), traditional hymnody, occasional use of gospel songs, chants, antiphons, and psalm-singing, as well as spirituals and contemporary praise choruses.

Because of the nature of these different styles of music, it also follows that we incorporate an array of instrumental accompaniments. Sunday mornings tend to feature the traditional use of organ (although in our new sanctuary we are currently using a grand piano until we raise enough funds for a pipe organ), brass, woodwinds, strings, and choir. Sunday evenings feature contemporary instruments such as piano, flute, acoustic guitars, electric bass, drums, and four or five vocalists. We also tend to use hymnals (that include musical notation) in the morning, and professional quality slides (words only) in the evenings. The use of both forms includes the best qualities of both genres: the ability to teach our children (and adults!) how to read music, and the freedom that comes from lifting our heads and hands up toward the heavens as we sing to the Lord (through the use of slides).

It has been encouraging to see the growing influx in the use of other art forms in worship. The past decade has seen the introduction of several art forms: paintings, large banners, liturgical dance, drama, storytelling, pulpit tapestries, liturgical candle holders, and sculpture.

One of the exciting developments in the last few years has been the design and building of a new sanctuary. Right from the beginning, there was a concern and commitment regarding how the design of the sanctuary would be affected by visual and material elements. Care was taken to design a room where there would be a lot of natural lighting (as well as sufficient artificial lighting for the evening); where the colors of the materials were bright and neutral enough to enhance liturgical colors when they are introduced through flowers, banners, choir stoles, etc.; where there was enough reverberation to enhance congregational singing (as well as the vocal and instrumental music of the church); where there was sufficient flexibility for drama; where there were places to hang and see large liturgical banners; and where there were large liturgical candle holders that could be easily seen from anywhere in the room.

Sunday Worship in Baptist General Conference Churches

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The Baptist General Conference, a denomination of more than one thousand churches in the USA, also has an autonomous Canadian counterpart and more than one thousand churches in other nations of the world. The member churches are strongly autonomous, so they are free to establish their own form of government, hire the pastor of their own choice, and decide just how much to involve the local church in the affairs and goals of the denomination.

Organized more than one hundred years ago, this denomination sprang from the desire of Swedish Baptist congregations to accomplish things that no one congregation could ever hope to do on its own. The independence of each church is actually one of the strengths of the worldwide mission of the denomination.

Varied Worship Styles

Given this background, it is impossible to pinpoint a definitive “worship style” common to all our churches. Not only does worship vary with the cultures of North America, but also with local leadership. Although our tradition is pietistic, with strong emphasis on the Word and on service to humankind, the range of worship styles today is wide.

One evidence of this is the choice not to produce a denominational hymnal, but rather to make congregations aware of the outstanding materials already available.

In many new congregations the tendency is toward the praise model of the charismatics. There is much singing, mostly of newer praise-and-worship songs sprinkled with an occasional hymn, and led by a “worship team,” including singers and instrumentalists—a couple of keyboard players and a rhythm section, or perhaps just a synthesizer and guitars. Hand-clapping seems more “planned” on certain songs, not as free as in a charismatic gathering.

This singing leads to a message from the Word of God, with emphasis on its relevance to current events and the problems of contemporary lifestyle. Although a personal response is called for and even specifically suggested, it is not usually given as a public “altar call.” Rather, the preacher makes it clear that questions will be welcomed at any time during the week.

Evangelism and Worship. It is common for regular attenders and guests alike to participate in Bible study and in building relationships during a second hour, perhaps after the worship service. Often this is followed by a lunch especially prepared for guests. The byword of this worship style is evangelism, with emphasis on personal lifestyle on Monday through Saturday as well as the corporate experience on Sunday. Activities associated with the liturgical tradition, such as the kiss of peace, would be hinted at in a time of greeting and handshaking. There is little emphasis on space and form, vestments, and so on.

A potential weakness of this style is the lack of regular observance of the Lord’s Table. The fear is that guests will be embarrassed. The Communion service is therefore held at other times—perhaps Sunday evening or Wednesday. There are, however, many congregations included in this worship style who do observe the Lord’s Table at every Sunday morning gathering.

Some of these congregations are quite creative in the use of drama, Scripture readings/litanies, and other texts, adapting resources from the charismatic tradition rather than drawing literally from liturgical practice.

Joy in Worship. The norm for public worship in the Baptist General Conference is along the lines of typical free tradition churches in the evangelical mainstream. But this is with a contemporary flair, not an early American flair! There is a great joy and exuberance, not silent sobriety. The Word of God is supreme, the active participation of individuals is facilitated, and the ordinances are encouraged and understood. Here is a possible order of worship for many of our churches:

A Possible Worship Service Plan

Prelude by musicians

Scripture Call to Worship

Hymn of Adoration

Recognizing God’s Presence (invocation)

Greetings (“The Kiss”)

Singing: worship and praise songs

Scripture (responsive reading, or creative)

Choir

Congregational singing

Sermon (including reading of text and prayer)

Song(s) of response: solo, congregation

Offering

Church Life; Opportunities (announcements)

Dismissal and Benediction

Although the “pastoral prayer” is often added to a Scripture reading, the present trend is towards continuity between Scripture and music. Music includes both traditional hymnody and anthem material as well as contemporary songs and worship choruses. There is a growing hunger for serious singing, emphasizing giving due praise to God, with fewer songs of testimony or personal walk such as the “old-time gospel songs.”

The Lord’s Table is observed by most congregations at the conclusion of the service, after a shortened sermon. There is great interest, however, in taking much more time at the Table. Many churches are designing the opening part of the hour or taking the entire service—morning or evening—to dwell on Christ’s work and life.

Fresh Openness in Worship. Even in more traditional congregations there is just as much freedom to raise or clap hands as in new ones. There is an openness to creativity and freshness. Many of the things said about the newer congregations could be repeated here. This sense of joy and freedom springs from a trend toward personal involvement in worship and a desire to make the Sunday worship service dynamic and fulfilling, with an understanding that the object or focus of all is God.

Toward this end, Bethel College and Seminary has been instrumental in providing solid teaching on music and worship. Also, for a period of three years there was a full-time Director of Worship Resources who was available for teaching and interaction with any BGC church.

Perhaps for these two reasons, along with the strong commitment of national and district leadership, worship is an ongoing “hot” topic in the Baptist General Conference. There is a growing understanding that even the goals of global evangelism and social concern find root in the concept and practice of true worship.

There is a strong consciousness of the need to understand worship in Spirit and in truth. Worship is not a fad, and the people who attend BGC churches would much rather do it than merely discuss it. The great freedom and autonomy of BGC churches continue to encourage a nationwide surge of creativity and diversity in worship.