All around the world there are so many different kinds of worship styles. Even within just America, the worship styles tend to stem from the many different kinds of denominations and sub-cultures we have formed over time. Some tend to be very stoic and contemplative. Some tend to be traditional and prefer to only sing hymns with an organ playing the background. Others are more charismatic and have loud music for a congregation to shout and dance to. I think it is important to note that there is not a singular “right” way of doing worship. In fact, I don’t think any form of our worship will ever be truly right. Our worship is only acceptable because Jesus Christ mediates it for us: all of its messiness and brokenness included.
There are two things that all of these worship styles have in common 1) contextualization and 2) motive.
1) Contextualization: Each worship style is contextualized for a certain group of people. Churches in Africa tend to go a lot longer than a rural, western Pennsylvanian church. They are louder, more musical, and more call-and-response-oriented in their worship. Is that bad? Can God be worshipped in more than one way? I would say, “Yes!” The contexts for each of these styles of worship is appropriate for the sheep that they are shepherding. It is healthy to contextualize worship style as long as our second item remains in tact.
2) Motive: The intent behind the worship service must be shared beyond the contexts. Whether you’re a charismatic that loves to dance during worship or you’re a reformed Presbyterian that prefers to stay still during worship, you must share the motive in your worship. The heart posture is the foundation. God desires hearts, not styles of worship.
In the same way, we ought to have entrepreneurs that are able to appropriately contextualize different business ideas to different communities and regions. We also ought to have entrepreneurs that all share the same motive: sharing the Gospel through creating and maintaining redemptively-minded businesses.
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