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Melodie Rivera
Professor Jenna Campbell
ENC 1102-0040
23 February21 April 2017
Worship: Analysis of a Textual Way of Life
The act of worship is an activity associated with religion. Christians commonly express

their gratitude and respect towards God through worship. It might seem like a ritual but for the

Nondenominational Christian community it goes beyond that. Worship has gone from this view

of an impersonal religious act to a more personal way of life. It is reflected through a persons

everyday testimony. An aspect that is overlooked isare the literacy activityactivities involved in

worship. Everyday Christians use a variety of texts and genres to enhance their personal worship

experience with God. These participants in the Nondenominational Christian community are

both the consumers and creators. These textsThe Bible and other religious texts such as worship

lyrics and devotionals, also help shape other participants contribution to the literate activity of

worship. Through the use of different research methods the different ways in which worship texts

change to religious reflection, deepen religious understanding and build religious communities

will be identified.
In order to gain a greater understanding of how worship texts influence personal worship

lives, I conducted multiple interviews. Since there are different levels of expertise within the

population, the interviews consisted of two sets of people. One set of interviews was conducted

with a group of worship pastors/leaders. They have a higher level of expertise due to their

education and years of experience in the field of worship. The other set of the population

interviewed is the congregation. These, which are people who attend church and are involved in

the worship experience both congregational and personally.. The use of these two populations

show the different perspectives and how they all tie together in the act of worship. The interview
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questions can be found in the appendix. The two groups had similar questions, with slight

differences to best fit the interviewees.

Worship lyrics and devotionals each have a different impact on personal worship. A

common trend, however, is they all draw people closer to a relationship with God. Lyrics in

particular can lead to breakthroughs, which give a clear understanding of what God is doing,

as described by Elimar Gonzalez, a member of a local Nondenominational Church, in her

interview. Lyrics help shine a light on a different perspective of a situation which encourages

religious reflection. This can be an eye opening experience to those who partake in the worship

activity. Marielis Montanez, a worship leader at her local church in Maryland, shared that It's

really inspiring to hear that some people can go through the same things as you do and how God

can work in their lives, and that helps you to have a different perspective in worshipping Him. It

is always reassuring to know you are not the only one going through that situation. By hearing

others experiences that relate to ones own gives a sense of hope and helps build religious

communities. When it comes to worship texts there is also an emphasis on Gods characteristics.

It was due to a song that Kathy Serrano, a worship leader at a local church in the Orlando area,

was able to understand the greatness of Gods love. The song How Great is Your Love had a

deep impact on her understanding of Gods endless love, not only in her life but in the lifelives of

those around her. The lyrics reflected the essence of God and deepened her religious

understanding.
According to Justin Mercado, a member of a local churchs dance ministry,

there'sThere's no such thing as a "perfect" worship text but an honest one that not just connects

you more with God but also makes others around you feel and connect with that it. When

creating a worship text one of the most important parts is authenticity. Lyrics and devotionals are

based on personal experiences. Honesty is what speaks to the heart. Things that touch a persons
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heart during their time of prayer are then developed into different forms of texts. A group of

clinical psychologists, part of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies, conducted

research on corporate worship and spiritual formation. They got their insight by studying

worship leaders. The data collected proposed four qualities of worship (1) the aim of worship is

to glorify God; (2) God's glory pertains to what is revealed in the Christian scriptures;

(3) worship is always "culturally embodied and embedded"; and (4) worship invites full

participation as we bring our whole life to worship (Abernethy et al.). In other words, worship

is sharing the essence of God that is experienced in times of prayer and bible reading. Worship

goes beyond a simple act done in church, it is a lifestyle impacted by differentan act of service,

which constantly requires the use of texts. such as the bible and devotionals to enhance the

relationship between Man and God.

Based on the results from the interviews conducted lyrics and devotionals are not the only

texts that affect personal worship time. Blogs, podcasts and books are all different genres that

contribute to the worship experience. Blogs can cover different topics. An example of a popular

Christian blog is The Secret Garden. This video blog is geared towards young adult Christian

women. It provides advice and different testimonies of extraordinary women who can be seen as

role models. The general ideas of blogs are to unite Christians with similar interests and tie those

interests to their relationship with God. Podcasts are also a way to share words of encouragement

with members of the Christian worship community. In Pastor Ricks Daily Hope Podcast, he

shares new scriptures and devotionals with a sense of hope, encouraging others to deepen their

religious understanding. Some churches such as Elevation Church and Bethel Church use

podcasts to share weekly sermons. Books also share encouraging words, such as Crazy Love by

Francis Chan. This book describes the different attributes of Gods love. Another book

mentioned during the interviews was Doxology and Theology by Matt Boswell. This book covers
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guidelines based on biblical principles on the life of a worship leader and how to lead others into

worship. This text mainly impacts the worship pastor/leader community but it inadvertently

impacts the congregation also because the information read during the leaders personal worship

time is implanted to benefit the congregations worship experience.

Along with these books, the Bible was the number one textual source mentioned by every

interviewee. This text is plays a vital role because it is considered the Word of God. The Bible is

revered very highly in the community. Due to the importance of the Bible, all the other texts used

by the community revolve around it. An example of this can be seen in worship song lyrics.

ResearchMy research findings suggest that the majority of song lyrics are based off a biblical

text. In order to support this claim I picked a song to rhetorically analyze. According to the

iTunes Hot Tracks the number one song at the moment in the Christian & Gospel genre is What

a Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship.

In order to understand the context of the song I gathered information on the

writers of the text. Hillsong Worship is the praise and worship group of a local church in

Australia, that through the years has grown and impacted many people. They are a very

successful group who have obtained the chance to travel the world sharing their vision on the

unshakeable belief in the power of Jesus Christ. Despite the pain, sorrow and tension of this

world, Jesus is not threatened by the darkness (hillsong.com/worship). Hillsong Worship seeks

to spread their love of Christ, no matter the situation and circumstances. The power of Jesus

Christ will always shine through and overcome adversity. Through the lens of their beliefs, I

rhetorically analyzed the song What a Beautiful Name.

It is evident that this text revolves around the Bible, the song What a Beautiful Name

starts by stating You were the Word at the beginning which relates to the biblical scripture of

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This automatically establishes credibility within the Christian community because it is

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referencing the main text. The overall motif of the song is to exalt the greatness of Jesus Christ.

They constantly proclaim the beauty of all His works. The diction used in the lyrics such as You

didnt want heaven without us/So Jesus, You brought heaven down, Death could not hold you

and You are raised to life again show that Jesus greatest work is considered to be His

crucifixion and resurrection. All of these phrases are related to biblical scriptures.
By stating One with God the song then goes on to reference the Holy Trinity. The Holy

Trinity is a concept in which God is three people in one. The Father, God, the Son, Jesus, and the

Holy Spirit. Jesus explains this when he states I and the Father are one, (New International

Version, John. 10.30). This concept also relates to the personal aspect of worship. As described

by Dr. Cristinel Ioja, an assistant professor of Orthodox Theology at the University Aurel Vlaicu,

the establishment of the Holy Trinity is what broke the veil between man and God. Now there is

no distance between them and man has unlimited access to Gods abundant grace., creating a

necessity for personal worship time, which is enhanced through texts.

Devotionals are common text within times of intimacy with God in the

Nondenominational Christian community. As described by Father Ciprian Streza, a theologist,

the time of reading the bibleThe Bible creates such a communion that the same inspired word

becomes a revelation from God at the same time as it brings him glory and praise (Streza 147).

It becomes a place to establish a relationship and deepen religious understanding. A greater

understanding of the Word of God provides courage and a passion that drives Christians to share

their Faith.

As part of my research I collected a sample of a devotional text, the writer of the text

wishes to remain anonymous. For this particular example, please refer to figure 4, in the index.

Thethe text is based on the biblical scripture found in Philippians 1:12-18. (figure 4). This

scripture covers the story of Paul in a jail cell. The devotional is reflecting upon a difficult
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situation and establishing a sense of hope. While PaullPaul is in the jail cell, he continues to

praise God and encourages those around him to do the same. The writer of the devotional takes

this scripture and relates it to any unideal situation. Faith is expressed by assuring that God will

take any situation and turn it around to show His greatness. This devotional was created while

reading and contemplating the Bible. It was a personal act that can also impact others. By sharing

his understanding of what Gods word is saying the author can encourage others to pursue faith

and hope. The devotional is based on a single scripture, but it also mentions other scriptures to

emphasizes the message. John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only

Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, is used by the writer to

support his claim of the love God has for his people (New International Version, John. 3.16). The

use of Bible references as support gives the reader a deeper religious understanding of the topic

being discussed by allowing them to draw connections between the two religious texts.
Through the years, worship has gone past religious acts and is now considered more of a

way of life. This can be seen through different acts of service both inside and outside the church.

Through the research process of interviews and textual analysis it can be seen that the Bible

plays an important role in worship texts, it is intertwined in multiple aspects of a text, and it

plays a vital role in text creation. Overall, there is an positive impact of worship texts on

religious reflection, deepen religious understanding and build religious communities.This

research has implications within the Writing Studies and Religious communities. Writing

Scholars can use the research provided to gain an understanding of the impact of writing on

personal reflection and religious beliefs. The information gathered can also applied to other texts

outside of the religious/worship context of. On the other hand, the leaders within the Christian

community can use the information from this research to incorporate more religious texts in the
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church activity to encourage the congregation to deepen their religious understanding by

enhancing their personal worship time.

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Appendix

1. How have lyrics and devotionals personally impacted your worship life?
2. What other textual sources affect your personal worship experience?
3. What leads to a successful worship text?
4. What is your writing process?
5. What type of experiences are the texts based of?
6. How do you use the Bible within text creation?
7. What causes these texts to surpass cultural barriers?

Figure 1. Interview questions for Worship Pastors/Leaders.

1. How have lyrics and devotionals personally impacted your worship life?
2. What other textual sources affect your personal worship experience?
3. What do you think leads to a successful worship text?
4. Do you write lyrics, devotionals, or any other worship related texts?
5. If so, What type of experiences are the texts based of?
6. How do you use the Bible within your personal worship time?

Figure 2. Interview questions for Members of the Congregation.

What a Beautiful Name-Hillsong Worship

VERSE 1

You were the Word at the beginning

One with God the Lord Most High
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Your hidden glory in creation

Now revealed in You our Christ

CHORUS

What a beautiful Name it is

What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus Christ, my King
What a beautiful Name it is
Nothing compares to this
What a beautiful Name it is
The Name of Jesus

VERSE 2

You didnt want heaven without us

So Jesus, You brought heaven down
My sin was great, Your love was greater
What could separate us now

Figure 3. Worship song lyrics.

1.10.17

SometimesGodplacesusinverydifficultsituations.SuchasbeinginjaillikePaul.Butthosesituationsare

notmeanttobringusdown.InsteadtheyarepartofGod'sperfectplan.BytrustinginHimweareabletoshare

thegospelwithpeople.ItmightseemlikeanunconventionalwayofdoingitbutGodisnotaconventional

God,hewilldowhateverneedstobedonetohelpthosewhoareseekingsomethinggreater.Thesesituations

helpbuildupourfaithandourcouragesothatwecanproclaimtheGoodNewswithoutshame.(Philippians

1:1218)SpreadGod'sloveanddoitbasedonexperience.EverythingGoddoeshedoeswithloveforus.

(John3:16)
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Figure 4. Personal devotional example.

Work Cited

Abernethy, Alexis D., et al. "Corporate worship and spiritual formation: insights from worship

leaders." Journal of Psychology and Christianity, vol. 34, no. 3, 2015, p. 266+.

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7CA454485083&it=r&asid=a5eff9a64f3ccaaa9f022c1347dcc84f. Accessed 16 February

2017.

Gonzalez, Elimar. Personal interview. 15 February 2017.

Hillsong Worship. What a Beautiful Name. Let There Be Light, Capitol CMG Label

Group/Sparrow Records, 2016, http://hillsong.com/lyrics/what-a-beautiful-

namehttp://hillsong.com/lyrics/what-a-beautiful-name.

Ioja, Cristinel. The Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the Experience of God in Liturgy Dogma,

Spirituality and Liturgy in Orthodoxy. International Journal of Orthodox Theology, vol.

2, no. 1, 2011, pp. 106-116, www.socwork.net/sws/article/view/60/362. Accessed 16

February 2017.

Mercado, Justin. Personal interview. 16 February 2017.

Montanez, Marielis. Personal interview. 15 February 2017.

Serrano, Kathy. Personal interview. 15 February 2017.

Streza, Ciprian. "The Divine Liturgy in Orthodox Spirituality: The Mystery of Man's Personal

Encounter with God through Worship and the Ascetical Life." The Greek Orthodox
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Theological Review, vol. 58, no. 1-4, 2013, pp. 141-167. EBSCOhost,

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The Bible. New International Version, Biblica Inc., 2011.