Christian and Missionary Alliance

Worship and Sacred Actions Throughout the Year in Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches

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Both liturgical and Pentecostal styles of worship have been regarded as extremes to be avoided in the Christian and Missionary Alliance. However, some congregations, though still in the minority, are turning to the observance of the Christian year in a quest for worship renewal.

Christian and Missionary Alliance churches have not typically celebrated the Christian year. As an evangelical denomination born in the nineteenth-century Holiness revival, it has often taken the middle ground between the more liturgical churches and the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. This attempt to avoid excess has often robbed Alliance congregations of powerful worship experiences. In recent years a growing hunger for renewal in worship has developed. This hunger has led to a greater openness to other worship forms and traditions. In particular, there is evidence of a recapturing of the power of the Christian year.

Advent and Christmas

New attention is being given, in at least some congregations, to each of the major days and seasons of the Christian year. Many Alliance churches are developing practices that follow or approximate the high-church tradition of celebrating the Advent season with feasts and various rituals designed to help Christians focus on the importance of the Incarnation. Wreaths with candles lit for each Sunday of Advent are becoming increasingly popular. These Advent wreaths are placed at the front of the worship center. As the service begins a representative of the congregation comes forward to light the candle and explain its significance. This provides the church with a weekly reminder of the Advent season.

Christmas banquets are also becoming a common part of the Advent celebration. One of the most unifying experiences Risen King Community Church has had was the 1990 Christmas banquet. It was a new church that had grown to over four hundred members within a year, and very few people really knew each other. The Christmas banquet provided the opportunity to combine the joy of Christ’s coming with genuine fellowship and love. These kinds of practices may very well enable Christian and Missionary Alliance churches to regain the celebrative attitude of the early church toward the birth of our Savior.

Recovering the Primacy of Easter

The Easter season is the highlight of the Christian year but is celebrated in many Christian and Missionary Alliance churches with far less fanfare than Christmas. Sadly, this may have more to do with cultural influence than with spiritual issues. We are reminded of the coming Christmas season by the materialistic retail shopping season. But the spiritual preparation Lent can provide for the Easter celebration is largely neglected within Alliance churches.

Nevertheless, there is evidence of a growing emphasis on the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus as a part of the church calendar. Musical presentations and cantatas have always been a part of the Alliance heritage. Now, along with these, one frequently hears of Maundy Thursday Communion services, Good Friday prayer meetings, and Easter sunrise celebrations. A now-retired Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor in New England, Rev. Howard Kingsinger, taught this writer the deep spiritual meaning behind these seasonal services and enriched my understanding of Easter as the primary feast of the Christian year.

Pentecost and Spirit-filled Mission

The Easter season culminates with Pentecost, which celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early church. Pentecost commemorates the empowerment of Christians to win the world for Christ. For a missionary-minded denomination like the Christian and Missionary Alliance, this ought to be one of the high points of the Christian year. Yet Pentecost Sunday is often completely overlooked by the typical Alliance church.

A renewal of emphasis on the power and work of the Holy Spirit, however, is occurring. Christian and Missionary Alliance churches are once again regaining the Spirit-filled vision of their founder, A. B. Simpson. Perhaps this will result in a renewed experience of the liturgical churches’ appreciation for the celebration of Pentecost.

For Risen King Community Church, the Doxology has become far more than ritual. It unites the church of today with the saints of the past five hundred years. In the same way, the celebration of the Christian year can be far more than a ritual. These events drawn from the church’s ancient heritage can be full of meaning and power.

The Arts in Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches

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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.

Sunday Worship in Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches

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The father of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Albert Barnes Simpson, possessed a deep love for God and undying concern for lost people that issued in a movement that has, since its origins in 1887, prioritized the personal nature of faith in Jesus Christ. For people of the Alliance, true belief is more than adherence to correct doctrine. Christian faith involves a personal relationship with the resurrected Christ. This intimate encounter begins at new birth and deepens with the subsequent and ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.

Rapid Growth

For one hundred years the C&MA has sent men and women around the globe with the message of salvation. As a result, overseas membership has grown to more than 2 million. The Alliance is also one of the fastest growing denominations in North America. Through evangelism and church planting, its membership has doubled in a decade.

Yet along with the impressive growth, the C&MA has problems similar to those of other evangelical denominations. In its zeal for world missions, the Alliance has at times fallen into task orientation. This has given some the impression that people are saved to participate in a cause, rather than to have a personal relationship with the living Lord. Second, many of the thousands of new believers rapidly ushered into the denomination’s fellowship do not understand nor have as yet embraced the “deeper life” experience of the Holy Spirit. Finally, numerous local churches are experiencing a lifelessness in worship that creates a funereal atmosphere rather than a sense of celebration. This has contributed to the rapid decline and death of some congregations. It is within this context that worship renewal in the C&MA has taken root.

A More Participatory Style

The most significant change in worship has been a shift away from the sermon-dominated service. Rooted in the nineteenth-century evangelistic model, most local churches of the Alliance have been pulpit-focused and corporately passive. In recent years, numerous congregations have moved to a more inclusive and participatory style. The sermon, while still held in high esteem, is not the primary focus of worship. Instead it is one of many forms used to usher worshipers into the presence of God.

Music has played a significant role in Alliance worship, and until recently, the dominant expression was the hymn. While biblically based, Alliance hymnology does not represent the style of music that appeals to most contemporary worshipers. More recently, many congregations have begun to include Scripture songs and choruses in the worship service. Along with the new songs have come more instruments, such as guitars, drums, and synthesizers. In some settings, worship teams with singers and instrumentalists have replaced the traditional choir and organ. Some congregations have started to use banners and drama, introducing the arts into the worship experience.

Another significant shift has occurred in regard to body language and worship. For several decades, hand raising and clapping were seen by many people as signs of imbalance, reflecting unwelcome influence from the charismatic movement. But more and more people of the Alliance are engaging the whole person in the act of worship. Numerous pastors have recaptured the biblical postures of worship and sensitively introduced them to people in their congregations.

Another major change centers on the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Many congregations seemed to focus so much on the death of Christ that Communion seemed almost dull and lifeless. A shift has occurred in some churches, in which the focus is instead on the presence of the living Christ in the midst of the sacrament. Worshipers are encouraged to bring their needs to the Lord. In several churches, ministry teams pray for people as they return from the Table. The emphasis is upon the present Christ, ready and able to meet worshipers in the midst of the sacrament.

Sources of Renewal

The impetus for these changes has come, first of all, from the Alliance Theological Seminary, which experienced worship renewal over a five-year period that influenced more than four hundred students. Many of these men and women would later serve as pastors and missionaries within the denomination.

Second, the denomination’s publication of Exalt Him: Designing Dynamic Worship Services was well received and initiated numerous seminars on worship renewal across the U.S. Third, personnel at the denomination’s National Office of Church Growth saw a critical need for worship renewal. Through their publications, special conferences, and seminars, denominational leaders were encouraged to embrace a new understanding of worship.

Fourth, Dr. Robert Webber’s lectures at ATS had a positive impact on some people’s understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Fifth, on the West Coast particularly, the Vineyard movement and Fuller Theological Seminary have had a limited affect on worship practices.

Sixth, like most denominations, the C&MA has indeed experienced a degree of influence from the charismatic movement. Finally, expressions of worship used within the many ethnic congregations of the denomination have opened the North American church to forms of worship previously disregarded.

What has been the response to renewal within the Christian and Missionary Alliance? One segment of the denomination has opposed change in worship. Both nontraditional and liturgical expressions of worship are seen as a threat to the movement. Others have naively embraced worship renewal as the answer to all of their problems. In an effort to bring in change, everything traditional has been cast aside and that which is popular and contemporary embraced. Unfortunately, deeper hindrances to growth are ignored.

A third posture toward worship renewal focuses on the desire to please God and lead worshipers into his glorious presence. Only those forms of worship renewal that glorify God, are Christ-centered, edify believers, and appeal to visitors are embraced. This approach appears to predominate, which bodes well for the future of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.