Vineyard worship is based on the belief and affirmation that God has commanded us to worship (Exod. 23:24, 25; Ps. 96:8–9; Matt. 4:8–10). What all of us struggle with is, How can we know the God we worship; why has God commanded worship; and what specifically is he commanding? We know from Scripture that God takes no delight in empty ritual, i.e., going through the motions of something with our heart detached (Isa. 29:13). We believe that just as we long for relationship with God, he longs for relationship with us. That relationship is meant to be honest, intimate, and full of life.
We believe this relationship is one of the main reasons God has commanded us to worship. As we acknowledge God in worship and realize who we are, it brings us to a place of recognizing our need of relationship with him. It fuels the desire for relationship because we all long for loving relationships, and through worship we come to know God’s loving character.
Another reason God has commanded worship is because he is God. Period. Worship is not about us. Pure worship is a completely selfless act, focused on the one receiving the worship, not on the one giving it. Bowing down, kneeling, and humbling ourselves are very appropriate responses before God.
As we step through the door of selfless worship into the presence of God an amazing thing happens. God is love, so as we experience who God is, we encounter the pleasure of worship. In fact, worship becomes paradoxically the most “selfish” act because God is so satisfying. God created us as worshipers, with a capacity and a desire to worship. He knows he is the only one who can satisfy his worshipers, so it is the love of God for us that motivates his command for us to worship.
If worship is our destiny in eternity, we realize we will never fully exhaust its potential for relationship and knowing God, and we understand that a large part of worship will remain a mystery in this life.
What, then, is worship? There are a number of word pictures that can partly describe worship. Bowing, singing, kneeling, standing in awe, thanksgiving, music, silence, intimacy, reverence, service, and on and on. Yet even these word pictures cannot adequately express it, for our language cannot grasp it. We believe that worship can be found in all of these things. We believe that our worship is acceptable or in vain, based on how we live our entire life. Yet we recognize from Scripture (Exod. 20:3–5; Matt. 2:11; Rev. 11:16–17) that worship is a specific, willing act of acknowledging who God is and submitting to him out of love.
The Shape of Vineyard Worship
The Vineyard usually gathers in a variety of public settings, including schools and community centers. The Langley Vineyard, on which the following description is based, gathers in a modified furniture warehouse. Inside, it is full of casually dressed people, lots of babies and young children (the primary age group is baby boomer and younger).
One of the things you notice as you come in is the low stage, filled with contemporary instruments, including a full drum set, synthesizers, electric piano, electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, a number of vocal mikes, and some other percussion instruments.
The worship leader, dressed in a casual shirt and jeans, playing a guitar, welcomes everyone and begins the meeting with an upbeat song of praise. Newer people who have not yet learned songs are able to follow along by means of a songsheet (some Vineyards use overheads/slide projectors) that is updated every three months with new songs that have just been written. Many of the songs that they sing are written by the worship leader and others from the Vineyard. These new songs are continually being written out of what God is emphasizing to them through the teaching and their growth in areas of ministry, such as loving the poor, praying for the sick, and knowing the Father’s love.
Usually, about forty minutes is given to gathered expression of worship, which is a flow of a number of songs with only a couple of minimal comments made by the leader. The length of the entire service is approximately two hours.
The musical style is contemporary, perhaps best described as pop rock or soft rock, but this varies slightly from Vineyard to Vineyard depending on the style of the worship leader and musicians. Vineyard worshipers believe strongly that music in the church should be comparable to the culture in which they live, in both quality and style. As a result, standards in both heart and skill are high and musicians work hard, rehearsing at least once a week. The worship pastor is often the second pastoral staff person hired.
The contents of songs are primarily honest, simple lyrics about the worshipers’ relationship with God. Virtually all of them are directed to God. Occasionally they include a hymn as a way of joining with the historic church in expressing their worship, though the arrangement will be contemporary.
During the worship time people are free to sit, stand, kneel, and raise hands as they have desire and are moved by the Spirit to do so. Vineyards generally do not prescribe what people are to do, but leave them free to act out of their hearts. Some people will express their worship through dance, though only those who have been released by the leadership and are more mature in their gift may dance up front. Not all the dance is spontaneous; sometimes a number of dancers will prepare a choreographed dance for a specific song that will be included in the worship time.
As the worship time comes to a close, prayer both for the sick and for people who have responded to any words that have been given is offered. These words are like a “word of knowledge” (1 Cor. 12:8, kjv) that are given by either the teacher, home-group pastor, or lay leader, and often they describe a specific situation or physical condition to which God wants to bring healing.
While these people are being prayed for, the children are dismissed (they are present for the time of worship expression), and the people who are not involved in the prayer ministry are released to a fifteen-minute coffee break that encourages relationship and interaction. After the break there is fifty to sixty minutes of teaching time, which is not considered worship, although music and worship are employed to close the meeting or to help facilitate prayer ministry that is going on. Many times, healing will occur spontaneously without prayer ministry.
The overall style of a Vineyard meeting—an extended time of worship, teaching, and ministry—has not changed much since the inception. The worship expression has gone through some changes. The beginning of the movement was marked by intimate, slow, gentle songs of worship. Today that is still present, but there are more upbeat songs as well, plus some more complex songs. At this point, there is still little “special music” or performance music in the Vineyard; virtually all songs are participatory worship songs.
Looking Ahead
As the Vineyard looks ahead at more growth, most likely there will be more variety in musical expression of worship. At the same time, there is a sense of desiring the Vineyard’s simple roots again, honest songs that help bring us face-to-face with God.
One other major trend in the Vineyard is an emphasis on evangelistic worship—taking the music outside of the church into the parks, streets, clubs, and other public places. Out of this movement, new songs and musicians are being released with a greater focus on evangelism. The Langley Vineyard is planting a country music church that will have an evangelism focus towards the “country music culture” that surrounds it.
One of the best ways to keep up to date with Vineyard worship is subscribing to the Worship Resource Center. Every three months, Vineyard Music produces a “live” worship tape/CD that consists of some of the new songs being written by the leaders and writers of the Vineyard. Along with the tape/CD and songbook comes a newsletter called Worship Update with articles written by various Vineyard worship leaders among others. The Vineyard movement also hosts special worship seminars and events in various locations that are an expression of where God is leading its members in worship.