One Thing Needful: An Invitation to the Study of Worship

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 One Thing Needful

Chapter 2 Worship’s Purpose: Introduction to Worship

Chapter 3 Worship’s Procedure: Theology of Worship

Chapter 4 Worship’s Past: History of Worship

Chapter 5 Worship’s Pattern: Tabernacle Worship

Chapter 6 Worship’s Power: Praise and Worship

Chapter 7 Worship’s Practice: The Heart of the Worship Leader

Chapter 8 Worship’s Priority: Lifestyle Worship

Chapter 9 The Invitation

Notes

Sources Consulted

Recommended Reading

To Donnita

God is trying to call us back to that for which He created us—

to worship Him and to enjoy Him forever!

—A. W. Tozer, Whatever Happened To Worship?

Foreword

I have known and been a friend of Gary Mathena for many years. But I never truly appreciated the man until both Gary and I spent a week teaching in the Worship Studies program at Liberty University a few years back. In addition to Gary and me, there were several other teachers of varying stages of renown. It was a bracing week for all of us.

What I observed then was that God used Gary in a unique and powerful way to communicate biblical truth. I noticed that his teachings were packed with more useful content than the rest of ours put together. Since that week, I have been a full-on Gary Mathena fan. I can’t tell you what an honor it is for me to fully endorse his wonderful book.

Just another book on worship? Not by any means! One Thing Needful does perhaps the most needful thing a worship book can do—it goes straight to the heart of what worship is, and why and how God wants us to practice it, undergirded with all the biblical support I have come to expect from this rock-solid man of God.

I have learned much from reading this book. There are a few things I will never understand—or teach—in the same way again. For instance, have you ever considered the subtlety of what it means to be created in the very image of God? Chapter 2. Or three significant things man lost by sinning in the Garden of Eden? Chapter 5. How about the many ways Jesus specifically fulfills each facet of the design of the Hebrew tabernacle? Also Chapter 5. And, for that matter, have you seen the ways Jesus is personified through every book of the Bible? Chapter 6. I could fill up pages and pages of nuggets like this that work together to build on Gary’s great theme—truly the greatest theme.

Somehow, Gary manages to share deep truths like these with a writing style that captures his personality without our wanting to bolt for the exits to escape some boring lecture. I know Gary as a man who loves both God and people, and he communicates in a way that captivates.

If you are one who values learning God’s designs and the great Heart behind them, you must read One Thing Needful. It is a living, breathing examination of the single most important assignment in all of creation, and it can literally change your life.

—Dave Williamson, Author, God’s Singers

Preface

I say that the greatest tragedy in the world today is that God has made man in his image and made him to worship him, made him to play the harp of worship before the face of God day and night, but he has failed God and dropped the harp. It lies voiceless at his feet.

—A. W. Tozer

I t has been my delight to be a minister of music for over forty-five years in churches with memberships of less than a hundred to congregations numbering many thousands. I have had the opportunity to lead worship in practically every possible setting, ranging from sitting under a tree with a group of schoolchildren in Zimbabwe; to playing my trumpet on a crowded street corner in San Salvador; to standing under the Superdome in New Orleans leading tens of thousands in congregational praise. Within the context of my calling as an ordained minister of the gospel in worship leadership, I have, over the years, been a student of the fascinating doctrine of worship both informally and formally.

Not too many years ago, I was asked by Dr. Charles Williams, president of Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Florida, to design a program of study for the school by which a student could major in worship at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree levels. This book is a distillation of that research and is presented in this form for the purpose of inspiring others to gain a thorough understanding of exactly what it means to worship God. This book is designed not only for the pastor, minister of music, and worship leader, but also and especially for the layman who is interested in learning more about Christian worship and is looking for some direction on what should be studied and how to go about it.

The seed thought for this project was an article I read by the late Dr. Robert E. Webber, then professor of theology at Wheaton College and recognized authority on Christian worship, entitled Preparations for Becoming a Worship Leader. In this article, Dr. James White, professor of liturgy at Notre Dame, in a conversation with Webber, observed that most people think that a study of worship is fundamentally a music issue and has to do with the leading and planning of actual worship services. While that is certainly one facet of worship study, it is much more than that. Webber pointed out that preparing for worship leadership is more comprehensive in nature and scope than anything else in ministry.¹

A student and leader of worship should study worship in the Old Testament, especially tabernacle worship, the sacrificial system, the feasts and festivals, and the idea of covenant. Old Testament worship, with its types and symbols, sets the stage for a study of New Testament worship, in which the church makes the transition from temple and synagogue worship to worship that is distinctively Christian.

A worship leader needs to understand the historical roots of our present worship practices. Our worship today has been built upon over twenty centuries of worship heritage: the early church, the medieval church, the Reformation era, modern Protestant worship, and the many contemporary worship cultures. It is important to know why we worship as we do. We cannot know who we are as a worshipping community until we understand who we were.

Jesus says in John 4:24, God is Spirit: and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Jesus defines truth in John 17:17 as He intercedes on behalf of His disciples, Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. Worship must be based on Scripture. As we need to be biblical in our worship, the Word of God is our ultimate worship manual. Therefore, we need to study the theology of worship.

A worship leader needs an understanding of the role of music and the arts in worship from a biblical and historical point of view. He should appreciate the relationship between worship and the other ministries of the church. He needs to know how to plan and lead a worship service. Most importantly, a worship leader needs to be a worshipper himself. A guide cannot lead where he has not been. A worship leader, if he is to be effective, must have a lifestyle of worship.

Based upon this philosophy, in the chapters that follow, seven worship study disciplines will be introduced, along with further reading recommendations listed for each chapter at the end of the book. These seven worship study disciplines are Introduction to Worship, Theology of Worship, History of Worship, Tabernacle Worship, Music and Worship, The Heart of the Worship Leader, and Lifestyle Worship. The treatment given these seven worship disciplines here should by no means be considered exhaustive studies of these topics, but rather should be considered as spiritual appetizers to whet the reader’s appetite for more extensive study in the suggested texts.

May God’s blessing be upon this endeavor, and may this work be used by the Holy Spirit to teach men and women the indescribable joy of worshipping our wonderful Lord.

Let the words of my mouth and the

meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,

O LORD, my strength, and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my appreciation to all the wonderful churches where I have had the privilege to serve over the last forty-five years of music ministry: Twin Oaks Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Canadian Heights Baptist Church, Yukon, Oklahoma; Windsor Hills Baptist Church, Oklahoma City; County Line Baptist Church, Oklahoma City; First Southern Baptist Church, Del City, Oklahoma; Valley Baptist Church, Bakersfield, California; and First Baptist Church, Roanoke, Virginia. I am so thankful for each precious congregation for their love, prayers, and support and for the opportunity to learn from them and to lead them in this most holy calling as a worship leader.

Thanks to Malinda Harris (now in heaven) and Marilyn Whygle who helped me with the preparation of the original manuscript. A special word of appreciation goes to my friend, Drew Gibbons, for her most excellent editing skills in preparation for this updated and revised edition. I would like to thank my mother and father, Dr. Harold and Patricia Mathena, who were used by God to instill in me a desire to worship Him and serve Him with my life, and who have encouraged me in this endeavor with their myriad affirmations and constant prayers.

I would like to especially express my gratitude to Dr. Charles Williams of Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Florida, for his friendship and guidance in this project.

My eternal love and gratitude goes to Donnita, Leah, and Rebecca—my precious family—without whose patience, understanding, and encouragement, none of this would have been possible.

Chapter 1

One Thing Needful

And she had a sister called Mary, which also

sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

—Luke 10:39

S he was busy in the kitchen, as she always was, when there came a knock at the door. She wasn’t expecting any visitors and was a little aggravated at the thought of an uninvited guest spoiling her plans for the afternoon. As she approached the door, wiping her hands with her apron, she was heard muttering something about there not being enough hours in the day. Imagine her surprise as she swung open the door to find the Lord Jesus and twelve hungry disciples standing there. Of course, she immediately asked them in, and after making them comfortable and apologizing for the house being in a mess, Martha went into action.

Martha had quite a reputation as being the best cook in all of Bethany. Nobody could set a table like her. When she was in her kitchen, she was in her element. She whizzed and flitted around with authority and skill, assembling ingredients, heating the oil, pouring the water, and fixing the fruit plate just so. She was determined to fix a meal for Christ that He would not soon forget. After all, she had a reputation to maintain.

In her preparation for this great meal, we see something commendable. She so loved Jesus that she wanted this meal to be her very best. She wanted to honor Him in its serving. But at the same time, we also see something condemnable. I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point, Martha’s ministry for Christ began to take priority over her relationship with Christ. Sadly, that is not an uncommon occurrence in the life of a believer. It is a very subtle shift that can go almost undetected if we aren’t careful to recognize the signs. How do we know when we are about to cross that fine line? The Scripture teaches us in Galatians 6:9 that we should not become weary while doing good. With every task that God requires of us, He always enables us to perform it. Finding ourselves overwhelmed and anxious in our ministry for Christ is a sure sign that we have stepped beyond God’s requirement and, subsequently, the enabling to accomplish it.

The Holy Spirit is the fuel that energizes us