In part 1 of “Worship and Culture”, we looked at the work of Richard Niebuhr on how Christ relates to culture. In that post, we saw several different perspectives on who these interact with, and their impact on worship.
In this examination of how worship relates to culture, we will look through a different lens. In 1996, the Lutheran World Federation’s Study Team on Worship and Culture met in Nairobi and produced a statement known as the “Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture.” Written by church leaders from around the world, this statement gives us valuable insight.
1. Transcultural
Some parts of worship transcend culture and should be part of our worship practices, regardless of the prevalent culture.
Christ himself is transcultural. Worship practices that would also be transcultural would be scripture reading, prayer, church ordinances, etc.
2. Contextual
At the same time, other elements of our worship practices should reflect the culture in which it is practiced. Examples of this include music and dance, which are practiced more widely in other cultures than in Western countries. Early missionaries sent pipe organs, hymnals, and choir robes to Africa as part of their evangelizing efforts, importing their church while ignoring the context of the culture. This leads to cultural disconnect.
3. Counter-Cultural
Just as we saw in part one of this series, there are ways in which Christ and Christianity are opposed to culture. Romans 12:2 reminds us not to be conformed to this world, and being counter-cultural is a part of this. We are to push back on things that are sinful or ungodly.
4. Cross-Cultural
Cross-cultural worship means we learn from and share worship practices from other cultures. This can happen by having a wider view of the body of Christ, not just your local church, but the church around the world. Ultimately, our worship will be multicultural. Revelation 7:9 paints that vision perfectly: a great multitude from every tribe, tongue, and nation, worshiping together before the throne.
Here’s the hard part: most churches lean naturally toward one or two of these dynamics.
If it’s only transcultural, it might start to feel sterile or detached from the surrounding culture.
If worship is only contextual, it can turn inward and lose sight of the global Church, something I fear is happening in many places.
If it’s purely counter-cultural, it risks being about what we are against.
And if it’s all cross-cultural, it may miss what’s most meaningful in our church context.
In response, I have a few thoughts.
As we see in scripture, the Church is commanded to read scripture together, pray together, and observe the ordinances together. Worship through song has also been a staple of the Church since its creation. I think that your point that these all transcend culture is true, and a church that lacks these services is unhealthy. I like your line “Christ himself is transcultural.”
The second point about “contextual” worship is really interesting and important. Different countries and denominations/churches have their own preferences and ways of worship. I have personally seen this, especially on foreign mission trips. I think most obviously, the musical aspect of their worship would be what we find as the most contrasting. We also have learned in class at Cedarville that adopting and “conforming” in a way to the congregation you find yourself leading in your future “field experience” or internship, is important, because it allows you to cater to the familiarity and preferences of the Church before working to move and change anything.
“Counter-cultural” worship is very important, and I think Church leaders should evaluate themselves and their ways in light of this. We want to be in the world and be relevant to be able to minister to and interact with the lost, but we must not, as God’s people, act like or let our Church closely resemble any sort of secular organization.
The fourth point is thought-provoking. I wonder what a “cross-cultural” Church looks like congregationally and how that comes to be/works. Every Church should be on mission to draw others in and proclaiming the gospel to all, not just a specific context or culture of persons.
Ultimately, every good Church I believe, needs to exemplify some of each of these points so that it may have the biggest impact for the kingdom possible.
I find the examination of other cultures’ worship very interesting. Specifically #2 that talks about contextual worship and how implanting your own culture’s worship into another can lead to discourse. While in Nairobi, Kenya, on a mission trip, I was blessed to experience worship in another culture. My favorite part of worshiping with the Kenyan’s was being able to worship the same God in a whole new context. A big part of worship in the culture is dance during praise songs. Participating in this worship was definitely out of my comfort zone, but because there was no confusion about who I was worshipping, I saw it as a huge blessing.
I also appreciate the distinction made at the end, which states that if your worship is only transcultural, contextual, counter-cultural, or cross-cultural, we miss the big picture. Worship leaders must teach their congregation the differences between all these things so that they do not miss out on what worship could be and will be one day in Heaven.
I think this clarification on cultural relations is much clearer than in part 1, because it gives a solid and clear understanding of how the church can relate to the culture. I think this is especially important for worship leaders and pastors to take into consideration while they minister to their congregation. The influences surrounding believers throughout the week can easily push them to either isolate themselves from the culture or to simply ignore the blatant differences to ease conflicts. We need to teach our brothers and sisters how to balance the four presented views.
I think this article is very well written. Even though it is short, it addresses the main points and even complications of culture in Christian worship. I also agreed with the points written, which were that worship is all at the same time transcultural, contextual, countercultural, and cross cultural. And the reasons behind each are all true; Christ does not follow the rules of any culture, because he is the one who created them all. This means that we Christians should not try and fit our worship to the Lord into any culture. However, Christ loves each culture, so we can enjoy and include each culture into what we do in the fitting occasions. I liked what the article included about cross culture and how it means to learn and share our own cultures through the worldwide body of believers, such as the article mentions including the verse Revelation 7:9. And I loved that this article included the fact that at times Christ is countercultural, so when the situation calls, we should not be afraid to stand up for the truth of the Bible instead of looking like the rest of the world by conforming to it.