The Apex of Worship

What should be the apex of Sunday
worship? Words and emotions or the Eucharist?

When a pastor plans out the worship service for his/her congregation they have several important factors to decide upon ensuring that the faithful have the best experience possible. Ultimately leading to a more fulfilled and Christ like community:

• announcements vs. letting the congregation read them for their selves
• time length of service
• topic of sermon, length of sermon
• number of songs, how many should be worshipful vs. how many are praiseful, how many before vs. after the sermon
• when to give the offering vs. letting the congregation place their giving when coming or going

While all of these factors are important perhaps the biggest decision is what should be the apex of the service. While everything else going on in the service is great it should ultimately lead up to something. However, what should THAT be? 

For many services the closing 5 minutes of the pastor's sermon are the great bridge that leads to the emotional worship song that stirs the faithfuls hearts to respond in prayer and repentance at the altar call. However, when the peak of the service is dependent on the preacher saying the right things in those 5 minutes, and the band playing the perfect song the ability of the people to respond back to God can be hindered if one of those variables is effected. 

Which demands that whether something that can be affected by a pastor's words, a band's playing, or one of numerous other things (crying baby, broken guitar string, sore throats, lighting, sound system, temperature too hot or cold) should be the apex of our communal worship? Especially when Sunday morning is the only time the majority of Christians experience any type of worship in their lives. 

Simply put the answer is no when so much is at stake that can be decided by the performance of man or technology. Thus, what should the focal point of the service be that can't be affected by outside forces, yet still draw the faithful closer to one another and to their creator; especially in a Westernized Church culture where so much of the fruit of the service is dependent upon psychology and the latest technology being utilized. 

When the Eucharist is the apex of the service the people are drawn closer to Christ, and to one another as his words fulfilled from the "Last Supper". The Eucharist isn't dependent on how eloquently the pastor speaks, the band plays, or even whether the electricity is working or not. The Preacher can have a bad homily; it doesn't matter. The band can be nothing more then an off-key singer and piano; it doesn't matter. The ac may not run, and the speakers are blown; it just doesn't matter. As the congregation goes through songs, prayers, and homilies the Church knows that they are looking to something much greater. They are looking to Christ; not a figurative "accepting" of him into their hearts but a physical partaking of his body and blood.


Christ is not limited to a quarterly schedule or blended with another aspect of the service, but is a daily physical encounter that demands are all.