I'm A Questioner, Dottie: A Personal Quest for Biblical Worship Practice

My wife Brenda says I’m a questioner. She is an avid listener to Gretchen Rubin’s “Happier” podcast, in which Rubin has developed a profile of four people-types: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. The quiz is by no means scientific, but it sure does a good job of helping one somewhat understand various mindsets and idiosyncrasies that motivate the way people interact with others. The following list, in Gretchen’s own words, defines how differing personalities tend to react to social “expectations” in life:

Upholders respond readily to outer and inner expectations (Ruben says she’s an Upholder, 100%)

Questioners question all expectations; they’ll meet an expectation if they think it makes sense–essentially, they make all expectations into inner expectations

Obligers meet outer expectations, but struggle to meet expectations they impose on themselves

Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike

So, thanks to Gretchen Rubin and my beautiful wife, I can now see what tendencies have motivated me throughout my life.

As a Christian, I feel like an outsider. In other words, I wasn’t raised in a Christian

home (although I do have relatives and family customs that were Christian-influenced). I didn’t grow up going to Sunday school every week (only with grandma a couple of times a year when I went to visit). Wednesday night supper was a foreign concept; I didn’t grow up with hymns—I grew up in southern California, immersed in AM radio pop and Los Angeles television feeds, with secular ideas about humanity, God and morality.

When at the age of 14—almost 15—Christ made Himself very real to me and, as a result, I became a Christian. My new Christian consciousness created a different way of thinking. You see, eventually I didn’t see Sunday school, for instance, as a weird thing because I ultimately saw that what others may have deemed “hokey,” was actually legitimately biblical to me; I realized that Christ’s plan for discipleship involved a consistent dose of instruction that was commanded by Christ Himself in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). There are myriads of other examples I could mention here, but, suffice it to say, I questioned and continue to question everything. I believe that just because a person says something is true, doesn’t mean it’s so. I need to go and find out for myself.

Enter the Bereans

Enter the Bereans: “Now these [the Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11—NASB). The Apostle Paul needed to remind the Thessalonians: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (I Thes. 5:21). John also made the same claim to second or third generation Asiatic churches faced with doctrinal and moral challenges,[1] by saying, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (I John 4:1).

Where I currently live in the Deep South there are strongly entrenched ideas about worship that are complexly woven into the fabric of Southern culture (music plays a major role here). I love living in the South because most of my heritage is rooted in this part of the country. I am, however, aware that some of the culturally embedded thoughts about worship may need to be scripturally researched to find out if they are on the right biblical track or not. Don’t get me wrong, I am not an iconoclast who is motivated to tear down highly regarded Southern worship traditions, but I am a questioner!

I am currently studying for a doctorate in worship because I am intrigued by how Christian worship has developed over the centuries, especially how worship codified into a set of often-practiced rituals in and outside of Jerusalem by the 4^th century. We have come a long way as a church since then, and we should often take a look to make sure that our culturally evolving worship practices are balanced by a biblical precedence.

I will continue to question worship practices—especially the modern variety—because I am on a life-mission to find the essence that Christ intended when He Himself served the Last Supper so long ago, and how the disciples carried on community life in Christ after the Ascension and Pentecost.

Wars have been fought and great divisions have developed since the 4^th century over worship style, theological viewpoints, and even cultural differences within the church.

Consistent Worship Practice

Here are several things that, I am convinced, have been consistent over the years regarding Christian worship practice, and I myself continue to pursue and promote these practices in worship (Acts 2: 45-47; Eph. 5: 18-20; 2 Tim. 4:2; Matt. 28:16-20; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-10; 1 Pet. 4:11; Matt. 26:17-30; 1 Cor. 11:17-34):

Baptism

Teaching/ discipleship

Congregational singing

Testimony

Sharing/ giving

Breaking bread together (Holy Communion and fellowship)

Prayer

Preaching the Word

Scripture reading

Personal worship as a lifestyle

Recognition of individual gifts to contribute in worship

Even as a conservative Christian, I may have in the past, and probably will in the future, upset some of my brethren by being a questioner. But the course by which I question will purposely navigate away from opinions—from simply what others have done before. My quest will continuously be based on and measured by the highest authority: Scripture. If this means I’m an outsider, then I’ll proudly wear the t-shirt! 

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[1] D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 133.