Rules for evangelical worship

At the blog for Touchstone Magazine, S. M. Hutchens has posted “One Foundational Observation, and Six Rules” regarding evangelical liturgy and worship. Hutchens, like many, is concerned that evangelicalism is quickly becoming “difficult (in light of the Whole) to recognize as Christian,” and if change is going to occur, it must begin with worship. He states up front that the “central theological and liturgical problem” is found in the denial of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and consequently in the “abandonment of the Lord’s Table as the central locus of Christian worship.” I wholeheartedly agree with Hutchens on this point, and I can only hope that evangelicals continue to recognize more and more the profound significance of the Eucharist for Christian worship.

For the moment, however, I am more interested in the third of Hutchens’s six “rules.” While I think all six of them are essential for church leaders to read and appropriate, the third rule is particularly important to me:

3) Words to all music sung in the service must be studied and approved by pastoral authority as theologically sound, and unapologetically rejected when not, no matter how beautiful the music to which they are set, or how beloved by the congregation.

This rule is one that I have fought for over the past several years. Since evangelicals are known especially by the songs they sing in church, this rule is quite significant—particularly since most Christians never bother to think about what they are singing, nor do they want to. Some Christians will, of course, find this rule distasteful, since it makes Sunday morning worship a serious concern for rigorous theological thought rather than letting services of worship simply be times of heartfelt religious experience. Evangelicals tend to be distrustful of theology; they see worship as an occasion for the expression of personal devotion to Jesus Christ, not as something open to theological scrutiny. Whether the songs are theologically sound is not a concern to most, and some would argue that it shouldn’t be a concern at all.

Personally, I think that American evangelicals desperately need to examine the songs used in worship. Ever since the near-eclipse of hymns and the rise of the modern worship chorus, evangelical worship has steadily veered away from its theological roots. Songs today emphasize individual passion without the profound concentration upon the theological significance of the gospel evident in so many of the classic hymns and ancient liturgies. While the emerging churches are better than the Pentecostal or traditional Willow Creek-variety megachurches, I still do not see a lot of hope for the future of American evangelicalism unless this third rule is widely applied (in conjunction, of course, with careful examination of theology and the history of the church).

What do you think?
If you are part of an American evangelical church, do you know if your church leaders apply something like this rule? Are the songs examined in terms of their theology, or are they sung simply because they are popular and arouse individual passion? Is worship given serious theological attention within your church?

H/T to Douglas Knight. For more on worship from Hutchens, click here.