Scripture and Historical Interpretation on Congregational Participation - a podcast by Jonathan Michael Jones

Of the
necessary adjustments attributed to the Reformation, congregational
participation is perhaps one of the most all-encompassing and lasting. In a
Western society which discouraged participation in corporate worship, Reformers
gave hope to believers by implementing the vernacular language, music
accessible to the common person, and a biblical canon in the language of the
people. Congregants were given the resources to participate in worship and did
so with potency. Centuries of expansion, however, brought the church to where
it is now regarding worship: a place of consumer-driven and self-centered
worship practice. Perhaps subconscious and unintended, the elaboration of what
the Reformers intended with congregational participation has caused a morphing
in perspective. Shifting back to the original goal of congregational
participation is not impossible but requires two primary proposals. This paper
will examine two primary differences between today’s worship practices and the
Reformation’s concept of congregational participation. Furthermore, two
essential proposals will be presented to inhibit the continuation of these two
detrimental realities of modern Christian worship.

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