Article: Worship and Warfare: Recovering the Dominion Mandate in Worship Music

Recently a colleague of mine relayed to me a situation that is all too indicative of the state of the church and Christian worship. One morning, after the congregation sang, "Onward Christian Soldiers," a woman confronted my colleague and told him such a song offended her. "It's too militaristic," she said, obviously communicating that Christian worship and war songs were antithetical.

Aside from pointing out to this woman that such an indictment would include the song of Moses and many of the Psalms, the above is a good illustration of the feminized state of our Christian worship. By "feminized," I refer to that dominant characteristic of our worship which focuses on individualistic introspection as over against the corporate extraverted mission of the church. In our time, Christian worship is not characterized by a people who celebrate the fact that their King sits on heaven's throne having conquered all the nations, and has given to his people the privilege of claiming his crowned rights over every area of life. Instead, the Christian worship of our day is far too often characterized by worship music that focuses more on the pleasure and relief that God brings to the individual Christian's experience, rather than celebrating and encouraging one another in the mandate God has given to his peculiar people.

What is that mandate? The church's mandate is nothing short of making disciples out of all nations! Just as Adam was commissioned in the Garden to extend God's kingship and lordship throughout the earth, so now Christ's people are to extend the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. However, this commission to extend God's kingdom comes to us in the context of a war! After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God in his mercy restored mankind back to the Dominion Mandate through regeneration, and enabled mankind, despite his fall, to be about the business of creating a worldwide civilization of God. But it is essential to point out that that civilization of God does not consist of all mankind. In the very act of restoring mankind back to God, Genesis 3:15 introduces what is called the Antithesis, a divinely appointed wall of hostility between the people of God on one side, and the people of Satan on the other side. And it is the Word of God that demarcates this wall of hostility. It is God's Word that restores the threefold relationship ruptured by the fall: our relationship to God, to each other, and to creation. The people of God are called always to build their lives and their civilization on God's word, "I am your God, you are my people." This, I believe, is the backdrop for why the people of God were to go into Canaan and completely wipe our every trace of every godless civilization within the land. The Antithesis is absolute, and from this passage onward, the two civilizations flow through redemptive history: one civilization founded upon the Word of God, trusting in his promises and provisions; the other founded upon the anti-word of Satan.

Thus, Paul tells us in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God because we are combatants in a war. Ephesians itself is a great war letter, in that Paul spends the first three chapters rehearsing the glory of God displayed in the gentile exodus, where God has now covenantally incorporated the gentiles into Israel, and then spends chapters 4 and 5 giving the commands of God to the newly redeemed families of God, "obey your parents in the Lord," etc. And finally, as Joshua did a thousand years before him, Paul instructs these covenant believers, brought out of the world and armed with the law-word of God, to put on the armor of God for the conquering mission he has before them. This time, the battle is not fought with the sword of steel, but with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, as it is administered by the universal reign of the Messianic King sitting on heaven's throne.

With such a mandate in mind, how would the music of such God-centered people sound? With the people of God in the midst of a war against a very craft and determined enemy, am I wrong to think that "militaristic" music is entirely appropriate for Christian worship? Further, what does the virtual absence of conquering-oriented music in worship signify regarding how the church perceives herself? Could it be that the church at large has lost touch with her dominical mandate?

At a recent Promise Keepers conference I attended, the worship began with the sound of a trumpet heralding the men of God to worship, and the 10,000 men packed in the arena shouted out at the top of their lunges in response to Yahweh's call. It was a great victorious roar claiming the crowned rights of King Jesus and his justice over that arena and that city. Such an event should have been followed with A Might Fortress or Christ Shall Have Dominion. However, much to my surprise, the worship team immediately followed that glorious shout of victory with a "love" song that could have been performed by Whitney Houston!

It is no wonder that there are many men who feel they have to become emasculated in order to join the church of our time. With respect to the woman who had a problem with militaristic oriented worship songs, the Bible does present to us a loving and tender God, and there are perfectly appropriate times for the men of God to lift their tear-soaked faces to the throne, singing of God's tenderness and mercy. However, what this woman needs to consider is that when this introspectionist worship becomes commonplace, the Dominion Mandate is neutered. The church does not express the biblical mandate to conquer the world for Jesus Christ through music that sounds almost erotic! The people of God have been restored, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, to their original Dominion Mandate to subdue all things for the glory of God, not by might nor by power, but by his Spirit. And this conquering is in the context of a grand spiritual war, one where, though victory is absolutely assured, the enemy is tough and determined. Throughout Scripture, it is the men of God who have been called by God through Christ to rise up and faithfully shepherd his people and extend his will done on earth as it is in heaven. And we bode well not to neuter the biblical man through feminized worship.

Steve Turley teaches theology at Tall Oaks Classical School in Delaware and music at Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is the founder and president of Fretboard Fellowship Ministries. If you would like more information on Steve or Fretboard Fellowship, visit www.fretboardfellowship.com.



	Worship and Warfare: Recovering the Dominion Mandate in Worship Music by Steve Turley Recently a colleague of mine relayed to me a situation that is all too indicative of the state of the church and Christian worship. One morning, after the congregation sang, "Onward Christian Soldiers," a woman confronted my colleague and told him such a song offended her. "It's too militaristic," she said, obviously communicating that Christian worship and war songs were antithetical. Aside from pointing out to this woman that such an indictment would include the song of Moses and many of the Psalms, the above is a good illustration of the feminized state of our Christian worship. By "feminized," I refer to that dominant characteristic of our worship which focuses on individualistic introspection as over against the corporate extraverted mission of the church. In our time, Christian worship is not characterized by a people who celebrate the fact that their King sits on heaven's throne having conquered all the nations, and has given to his people the privilege of claiming his crowned rights over every area of life. Instead, the Christian worship of our day is far too often characterized by worship music that focuses more on the pleasure and relief that God brings to the individual Christian's experience, rather than celebrating and encouraging one another in the mandate God has given to his peculiar people. What is that mandate? The church's mandate is nothing short of making disciples out of all nations! Just as Adam was commissioned in the Garden to extend God's kingship and lordship throughout the earth, so now Christ's people are to extend the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. However, this commission to extend God's kingdom comes to us in the context of a war! After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God in his mercy restored mankind back to the Dominion Mandate through regeneration, and enabled mankind, despite his fall, to be about the business of creating a worldwide civilization of God. But it is essential to point out that that civilization of God does not consist of all mankind. In the very act of restoring mankind back to God, Genesis 3:15 introduces what is called the Antithesis, a divinely appointed wall of hostility between the people of God on one side, and the people of Satan on the other side. And it is the Word of God that demarcates this wall of hostility. It is God's Word that restores the threefold relationship ruptured by the fall: our relationship to God, to each other, and to creation. The people of God are called always to build their lives and their civilization on God's word, "I am your God, you are my people." This, I believe, is the backdrop for why the people of God were to go into Canaan and completely wipe our every trace of every godless civilization within the land. The Antithesis is absolute, and from this passage onward, the two civilizations flow through redemptive history: one civilization founded upon the Word of God, trusting in his promises and provisions; the other founded upon the anti-word of Satan. Thus, Paul tells us in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God because we are combatants in a war. Ephesians itself is a great war letter, in that Paul spends the first three chapters rehearsing the glory of God displayed in the gentile exodus, where God has now covenantally incorporated the gentiles into Israel, and then spends chapters 4 and 5 giving the commands of God to the newly redeemed families of God, "obey your parents in the Lord," etc. And finally, as Joshua did a thousand years before him, Paul instructs these covenant believers, brought out of the world and armed with the law-word of God, to put on the armor of God for the conquering mission he has before them. This time, the battle is not fought with the sword of steel, but with the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, as it is administered by the universal reign of the Messianic King sitting on heaven's throne. With such a mandate in mind, how would the music of such God-centered people sound? With the people of God in the midst of a war against a very craft and determined enemy, am I wrong to think that "militaristic" music is entirely appropriate for Christian worship? Further, what does the virtual absence of conquering-oriented music in worship signify regarding how the church perceives herself? Could it be that the church at large has lost touch with her dominical mandate? At a recent Promise Keepers conference I attended, the worship began with the sound of a trumpet heralding the men of God to worship, and the 10,000 men packed in the arena shouted out at the top of their lunges in response to Yahweh's call. It was a great victorious roar claiming the crowned rights of King Jesus and his justice over that arena and that city. Such an event should have been followed with A Might Fortress or Christ Shall Have Dominion. However, much to my surprise, the worship team immediately followed that glorious shout of victory with a "love" song that could have been performed by Whitney Houston! It is no wonder that there are many men who feel they have to become emasculated in order to join the church of our time. With respect to the woman who had a problem with militaristic oriented worship songs, the Bible does present to us a loving and tender God, and there are perfectly appropriate times for the men of God to lift their tear-soaked faces to the throne, singing of God's tenderness and mercy. However, what this woman needs to consider is that when this introspectionist worship becomes commonplace, the Dominion Mandate is neutered. The church does not express the biblical mandate to conquer the world for Jesus Christ through music that sounds almost erotic! The people of God have been restored, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, to their original Dominion Mandate to subdue all things for the glory of God, not by might nor by power, but by his Spirit. And this conquering is in the context of a grand spiritual war, one where, though victory is absolutely assured, the enemy is tough and determined. Throughout Scripture, it is the men of God who have been called by God through Christ to rise up and faithfully shepherd his people and extend his will done on earth as it is in heaven. And we bode well not to neuter the biblical man through feminized worship. Onward Christian Soldiers! Steve Turley teaches theology at Tall Oaks Classical School in Delaware and music at Eastern University in Pennsylvania. He is the founder and president of Fretboard Fellowship Ministries. If you would like more information on Steve or Fretboard Fellowship, visit www.fretboardfellowship.com. Published July 2003 in our A Passion for Worship Newsletter. 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Worship and Warfare: Recovering the Dominion Mandate in Worship Music

by Steve Turley

Worship and Warfare:
Recovering the Dominion Mandate in Worship Music