No, No?

As a small group of churches we were recently asked whether multiple worship-leaders and guitar amplifiers were a 'no, no' among us? The question comes from the fringe but manages to persuade us that it belongs to the centre - such is the heat it always manages to generate! When it actually becomes centre-stage, we find that lots of other things have moved to the fringe. Worse still, so has Christ!

Does anyone ever ask who may and may not lead worship? The OPC did in the 1990s and came up with 'only those properly authorized' among whom they included missionaries and approved students for the ministry. Pretty conservative - but that's what they are - me too. There was nothing about music, even though the worship wars had by then begun to affect some of their congregations. What's with the music thing anyway - we are about worship not music and certainly not performance. But there must surely be some regulation.

Our freedom is to worship God, what a privilege! Poor old regulative principle! - we show such disrespect by charging it with bondage. It really is about freedom, like the freedom of Adam and Eve before the Fall - freedom on God's terms not ours. Remember Cain and Abel. There is such a thing as true worship - it must be in spirit and truth. It means at the very least doing it God's way not ours. Make me a captive, Lord and then I shall be free!