60 Minute Worship

But all things must be done properly and in an orderly way.  1 Corinthians 14:40 NASB

Orderly Way – Order.  Routine.  Standardization.  That’s what we need, right?  None of the chaotic fervor of spiritual excitement.  Oh, no!  Even Paul asked for proper taxis (arrangement).  When we read his instructions to the Corinthian assembly, we’re likely to think of our own “order of service” experiences.  We read Paul anachronistically, imagining that his audience is like us, sitting quietly in pews while the minister conducts the service, the choir sets the mood, and ushers make sure the plate is passed.  I know, I’m being sarcastic.  It’s virtually impossible that the synagogue assembly modeled what we think of as the “60 minute worship service.”  But that doesn’t mean that we can describe the Corinthian assembly as chaotic, overrun with speaking in tongues, without interpreters, a mishmash of spiritual frenzy and emotional ecstasy. No doubt the assembly had both Gentiles and Jews, ex-pagans and devout Israelites, but this was, after all, a Jewish synagogue and it had an inherent order.  I believe Paul is not instructing a wild, Messianic mob.  He’s pointing to something else, something that threatened the life of the community.  The last thing Paul wants is silent compliance.

The Greek taxis (arrangement, order) comes from the word tassō (appointment, assignment) which means “to arrange in an orderly manner.”  What do you suppose that means in Paul’s world?  If we pay attention to William Graham’s analysis of the oral foundation of Judaism, we conclude that Paul is speaking about speaking, about the verbal function in the assembly.  He’s not asking for a standardization of the service.  He’s reminding the audience that dialogue and discussion, reading aloud and chanting, singing and praising all have their own orderly arrangements.  Not standardized, but respectful.  And certainly not silent.  Silent worship is an invention of the modern age.  It resulted from the cultural shift toward print.  “The evidence is substantial that it is only in relatively recent history, and specifically in the modern West, that the book has become a silent object, the written word a silent sign, and the reader a silent spectator.”[1]  Unfortunately, this shift affected our idea of worship and the worship service.  Today we get committee recommendations about orderliness that fit a modern paradigm.

A committee was appointed to bring in recommendations for an order of church service suitable for all churches in our conference. The following order was adopted, and has now been in use for over a year:

Order of Church Service

1. Church Announcements. (All church announcements made before ministers go onto rostrum. Make announcements just beforemuskstarts, and then go to ministers’ study imme­diately.)
2. Soft Music. (Three to five minutes.)
3. Ministers Enter. (The congregation remains seated, bowing heads as ministers enter.)
4. Silent Prayer. (Ministers kneel, facing the congregation. Congregation unites with ministers in silent prayer.)
5. Doxology. “Praise God, From Whom All Blessings Flow.”(Church Hymnal,No. 683.)
6. Invocation.
7. Scripture Reading.
8. Opening Hymn.
9. Sermon
10. Offering.
11. Second Hymn or Special Music
12. Closing Hymn.
13. Benediction.[2]

Do you suppose this is what Paul had in mind?

Topical Index: worship, order, silence, 1 Corinthians 14:40

[1] William A. Graham, Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion (Cambridge University Press, 1987), p. 45.

[2] https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1945/11/uniform-order-of-church-services