Rivera 1

Melodie Rivera
Professor Jenna Campbell
ENC 1102-0040
26 April 2017
Worship: Analysis of a Textual Way of Life
Worship is an activity associated with religion, in which the Christian community

commonly partakes in, as a way to express gratitude and respect towards God. It might seem like

a ritual but for the non-denominational Christian community it goes beyond that. The view of

worship as an impersonal religious act has transformed into the perspective of a more personal

way of life, reflected through a persons everyday testimony. This can be achieved through a

variety of texts and genres. The primary text used in the literate activity of worship is the Bible.

A literacy activity is an activity that consists of speaking, reading, and/or writing. Other text

examples include lyrics and devotionals that are influenced by the Bible. Everyday Christians

searching for ways to enhance their worship experience with God are both the consumers and

creators of worship texts. These texts help shape other participants contribution to the literate

activity of worship. Due to technological advances the sharing of worship materials has been

facilitated, allowing Christians from all over the globe the opportunity to communicate how God

is working in their lives and share their experiences with others. Through the use of different

research methods, the ways in which worship texts contribute to religious reflection, deepen

religious understanding and build religious communities will be identified.

The focus of the Christian Worship community has been geared towards an impersonal

religious act. Through the years, the weekly routine of reciting hymnals and the monotonous act

of reading the scripture, seems to have become a ritual done to please others, even more so than

to please God. Instead of focusing on this point of view, I would like to draw attention to a

different and more modernized view of worship. Non-denominational Christians are a branch of

Christianity that have decided to move away from the traditional sense. They see their practice of
 Rivera 2

Christianity go beyond a religious act; it is establishing a personal relationship with God. Like

every other relationship, the more you love somebody the more time you spend with them. For

Christians, their love of God is constantly pushing them to get to know Him. This is done by

reading the Bible, which is also known as the Word of God. Considering this book is thousands

of years old, it can sometimes be hard to understand. Other forms of texts are developed to assist

in the reading and interpretation.

Devotionals are a form of text in the worship literacy community. They are developed

when a member of the community sits down and analyzes the Bible. Thoughts are written down

based on the gained understanding from reading. From there it can remain as a personal note or it

can develop into a message for a congregation of the church. Many times, it is done to share a

word of hope and empowerment with the congregation which leads into the worship service.

During those services, and even on the participants personal time of worship, music is generally

involved.
Where there is music, there are lyrics. These lyrics are different than what is usually heard

on the radio. They are still a creative outlet to express oneself, and are usually drawn from

personal experiences but the message is different. The lyrics are brought forth through personal

encounters with God. This can be from sitting in awe of His creation to His faithfulness in times

of trouble. The lyrics retell personal stories and experiences through the journey of Faith which

others going through similar situations can identify with and relate to. Overall lyrics within this

community are used as a form of religious reflection. This religious reflection surpasses cultural

barriers and is shared across the world. Song lyrics are used to communicate and encourage

others of the Christian faith throughout different continents. This can be seen through the

Grammy Award nominated, Hillsong Young & Free. They are an Australian worship group that

has influenced the Christian community in multiple countries. They are constantly traveling
 Rivera 3

sharing their touching lyrics with thousands of eager young adults who are searching for a way to

get to know more about God.

When looking at the texts presented above, a question arises. How do the texts within the

Nondenominational Christian community change personal worship life? When researching

personal experiences the research methods of observational study, interviews and textual analysis

were the most helpful in providing the necessary data to answers the proposed question. I looked

at the use of intertextuality between The Bible and the different texts developed in order to

enhance the personal worship experience.

In order to support my research findings, I used journal articles developed by scholars

from different areas of Christianity. A group of clinical psychologists, part of the Christian

Association for Psychological Studies, conducted research on corporate worship and spiritual

formation. The purpose of the study conducted was to gain a greater understanding of the process

worship leaders go through that contributes to the act of corporate worship. The study was

composed of different interview questions that each worship leader had to elaborate upon.

Researchers got their insight by studying 26 worship leaders. The main concept discovered

within each participant was the God-Centered approach. This is the view that all the activities

within the community revolve around what is said in The Bible. They also suggested a definition

of worship, which is sharing the essence of God that is experienced in times of prayer and bible

reading. The research focuses on congregational aspects but the evidence suggests the influence

of personal worship time. Worship goes beyond a simple act done in church, it is a lifestyle

impacted by different texts.

Along with the study, I used the journal article The Mystery of the Holy Trinity and the

Experience of God in Liturgy Dogma, Spirituality and Liturgy in Orthodoxy by Dr. Cristinel

Ioja. Dr. Cristinel Ioja is an assistant professor of Orthodox Theology at the University Aurel

Vlaicu in Romania. In his journal article, Dr. Ioja discusses the Holy Trinity through the set
 Rivera 4

principles of Christianity, spirituality and worship. He draws a connection between the Holy

Trinity and the Church. He has a similar approach to Father Ciprian Streza, because he also

discusses the relationship between the Trinity and Lithurgy, but the overall focus of his journal

article is the different roles of the Holy Trinity in Christianity. Overall Dr. Ioja concludes that

there is no way to fully understand the Holy Trinity. It is a mystery that the deeper we go, the

more perspectives are uncovered. For my research purposes, I drew Dr. Iojas claim on the

establishment of the Holy Trinity. This is seen as what broke the veil between man and God.

Now there is no distance between them and man has unlimited access to Gods abundant grace.

Through this perspective, worship is no longer a ritual done to fulfill religious requirements, it

becomes a personal experience between man and God. Through this source, I was able to gain a

greater understanding of religious concepts and principles in order to better understand the

personally developed texts and The Bible. This also relates to the use of intertextuality of The

Bible, because passages and scriptures were used within the journal article.
The section The Divine Liturgy in Orthodox Spirituality: The Mystery of Man's

Personal Encounter with God through Worship and the Ascetical Life from The Greek Orthodox

Theological Review, written by Father Ciprian Streza. Father Ciprian Streza is a theologist and a

member of the Greek Orthodox clergy. He and a group of clergy members collaborated in writing

The Greek Orthodox Theological Review. This review is a book establishing the concepts and

beliefs of the Greek Orthodox church. My focus was on the section written by Father Streza,

which covers the topic of mans personal encounter with God through worship during the Divine

Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is a special service conducted by the Greek Orthodox Church with

hymns, prayer and scripture readings. This section covers the beliefs of the Greek Orthodox

Church which is a different denomination of Christianity. My research is focused within the

Nondenominational community. However, the reading discusses concepts that apply to both of
 Rivera 5

the communities, such as the concept of Worship and the effects of text on mans personal

encounter with God. The communities might have different approaches but they both participate

in the textual act of worship. It is discussed that the word of The Bible is a way in which God

manifests Himself during times of personal worship. The text becomes a place to establish a

relationship and deepen religious understanding. This relates to the creation of devotionals,

having a greater understanding of the Word of God provides courage and a passion that drives

Christians to share the insight they have gathered through texts, which assist in expressing their

Faith.

Based on previous research the Bible is seen as the number one textual source within the

Nondenominational Christian community. It is made up of two components, the Old and New

Testaments. Each testament consists of multiple books, each written by different authors, with a

specific message. Due to the importance of The Bible, all the other texts used by the community

revolve around it. Which means, all the different texts used within my research have at least one

reference to The Bible. Each journal article uses the scripture as a way to establish credibility in

the Christian community. For my research purposes The Bible is the prime example of how

intertextuality is used within the Nondenominational Christian community. Members of the

community pull quotes and scriptures from this text and use them in order to develop new texts

that represent a deeper understanding or personal reflection. deepening religious understanding

and religious reflection.

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
 Rivera 6

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

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

worship experience. The use of these two populations show the different perspectives and how

they all tie together in the textual act of worship. The two groups had similar questions, with

slight differences to best fit the interviewees. The questions were along the lines of how lyrics

and devotionals impacted the interviewees personal worship lives and the process behind

developing worship texts, a copy of the questions can be found in the appendix section.
According to the people interviewed, lyrics have a positive influence in their personal

worship time. Based on my personal research, the majority of song lyrics are based off a biblical

text. In order to find evidence to support this claim I conducted a rhetorically analysis of the

song, What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship. I looked at every lyric of the song and

made connections to the Bible and other Christian principles. This gave me an insight on how

lyrics as texts can deepen religious understanding.

As part of my research I also collected a sample of a devotional text, from a person who

chose to remain anonymous. I studied the form and the content to gain a greater understanding of

the text. Similar to the worship song lyrics, the use of the scripture as a basis was apparent. I

studied it in order to gain a greater understanding of the use of intertextuality between worship

texts and The Bible.

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
 Rivera 7

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, through lyrics, 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 lives 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'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 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 one quality of worship as (2) God's glory pertain[ing] to what is revealed in

the Christian scripture (Abernethy et al.). This shows that a key part of creation of worship texts

is intertextuality by drawing scriptures from The Bible.

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
 Rivera 8

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

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.

My 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
 Rivera 9

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

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, 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 a 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 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
 Rivera 10

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, the 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 situation and establishing a sense of hope. While Paul 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. The verse John 3:16, 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.

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 church activity to encourage the congregation to deepen their religious understanding

by enhancing their personal worship time.

 Rivera 11

Future research can be done to study the long-term impact of worship texts within

personal worship time. This research can extend beyond the Orlando area and observe a greater

pool of worship pastors/leaders and members of different congregations. Also, further research

can be done to analyze and understand the impact of worship texts throughout the different

denominations of Christianity. Each denomination has different views on the Bible and other

Christian principles, which can influence the impact of texts in the community. With this I

propose a research question to future scholars: how does the Bible and other religious texts

influence the different denominations of Christianity?

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 religious text, and it

plays a vital role in text creation. With the use of different sources, such as scholarly journal

articles and research studies, the positive impact of worship texts on religious reflection, by

deepening religious understanding and building religious communities is evident.

 Rivera 12

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
 Rivera 13

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)
 Rivera 14

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+.

Religion and Philosophy Collection login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?

auth=shibb&url=http: //go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

p=PPRP&sw=w&u=orla57816&v=2.1&id=GALE%

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-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

Theological Review, vol. 58, no. 1-4, 2013, pp. 141-167. EBSCOhost,

login.ezproxy.net.ucf.edu/login?auth=shibb&url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.net

.ucf.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=reh&AN=ATLA0001986327&site=ehost-live.
 Rivera 15

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