“J E S U S : O U R R O L E M O D E L F O R W O R S H I P ”
Dr. Constance M. Cherry Excerpt from: Worship Like Jesus: A Guide for Every Follower (Abingdon Press, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-5018-8147-3)
WORSHIP LIKE
Jesus WWJD OR HWJW? A number of years ago, an acronym became popular among some Christian groups. It appeared on wristbands, necklaces, bumper stickers, and posters. WWJD: What would Jesus do? The idea was that Christians should consider what Jesus would likely do in any given circumstance and then try to imitate him in their response. It was clever and no doubt helpful; but some folks had their questions. Could we positively know what Jesus would do in every situation? Is it possible to do the right actions without having the right heart? Should we focus on doing or being? Questions aside, the movement was well intentioned. WWJD bracelets are still around. But what if we focused on a different acronym—HWJW: How would Jesus worship? Have you ever thought about Jesus as a worshiper? How did Jesus worship? What were his patterns and priorities? What does he teach us through his actions related to worship? If we had only Jesus’s life of worship to observe, what would we gain in our own worship discipleship? Here we have more concrete things to go on than mere speculation. We’re not really left wondering what Jesus would do in worship; we can see what he did by reading the Gospel accounts of his life of worship while he was among us as one of us. And while it’s possible to follow Jesus’ worship patterns and do so without complete understanding at first, worship will form us as we continue in its discipline. If our goal is to follow Jesus as his disciples in worship, we must ask this most important question: How did Jesus worship?
12 W O R S H I P L E A D E R | W O R S H I P L E A D E R .C O M | VO L . 29, N O. 1
