Who exactly was John Calvin? How was he able to actualise Biblical teachings? What were the significant contributions that he had made? What is worship and the theology of it? What exactly is the significance and meaning of the Holy Communion?
These questions and much more, which I rarely actively thought or reflected on before attending STEP, were answered by Rev. Tan Tiong Ann in his fascinating series of talks. There is so much that can be said about what I have learnt, but I will focus on what spoke to me and got me reflecting the most, and that is the theology of worship.
As I have only recently joined the church choir and started serving in the music team as well, there have been instances when I was worried about my own shortcomings especially with regards to my singing and music skills. Admittedly, I became far too focused on the musical aspects of worship, and I struggled with balancing reflecting on the meaning of worship and worrying about making mistakes, despite knowing fully well that worship does not simply entail the musical aspect of it.
It was only through the devotion about worship and Rev. Tan’s talk on the theology of it that I started looking at the big picture and contemplated heavily on what, exactly, the spirit and heart of worship means, and the kind of attitude we as Christians should have when we worship God. The message was clear: Worship God according to who God is. It sounds simple, but the question of who God is by itself requires a lot of thought, extending to the question of our own identities as people of God and how we should live out our lives.
When we were prompted to construct a worship programme based on the principle of “God should be worshipped according to who God is”, I was stumped. In my head, I could only think about how worship in my own church is usually conducted during Sunday services. However, when I looked through the handout given to us and listened to Rev. Tan’s explanation, I was overwhelmed and amazed by the amount of thought given to even the order of the worship programme itself, let alone the content. Indeed, the order sends out a theological message in an indirect manner, and this brings me back to Dr. Simon Chan’s talk about the importance of theological education, in particular the indirect forms of theological education.
On the whole, I have been compelled to reflect even further: in not only the songs we choose to sing but also the order itself, we are indirectly expressing our own understanding of God and affecting other people’s understanding of God as well. Because worship is an encounter between the divine and human beings, the way we conduct it sends out a message about this very encounter.
Furthermore, since worship is not only restricted to what we do during Sunday services but also the way we conduct ourselves and lead our lives as people of God, this also sends a theological message about who God is and what exactly this divine encounter is not only to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but also to non-believers, and this reminds me of God’s calling for us to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16).
Worship is ultimately not only a part of our lives, but should permeate through every aspect of it. Now when I say, “I hope to glorify God through what I’m doing”, I understand that I am also saying, “I want to worship God for who He is”, and this will certainly be helpful whenever I wonder if I am truly glorifying God in whatever I do.
To end off, I wish to echo Brother Andrew Lim’s words during his sharing: “Where do your talents lie?” While I am still not at all confident in my singing and musical skills, I’m grateful to God for placing me in the choir and music team and for bringing me to STEP, because I think the precious lessons I’ve learnt about worship can not only be brought back to my church’s worship ministry, but also for the congregation as well as myself.
Alethea Lim
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