Celebration and worship : a critique of dynamic worship patterns in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Abstract

Three conflicting opinions have arisen in Adventism, in regard to the rise of the "Celebration" worship churches in the 1980s. First, there are those who advocate for the adoption of a more dynamic worship pattern. Second, there are those who reject it as Adventist "Pentecostalism." And a third position which advocates that Adventism should accept the positive parts of Celebration worship and reject its negatives. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the "celebration-style" of worship now popular in Seventh-day Adventism to determine whether should adopt a more dynamic worship pattern. Three conclusions were arrived at in this study: (1) It revealed that there are some aspects of dynamic worship patterns which are worth adopting into Adventist worship service. (2) The research also demonstrated the need of further Biblical-theological reflection on some of its aspects before considering their adoption. (3) The study discovered that both the Bible and Ellen G. White speak against adopting any style of worship which is either dull or that becomes entertainment.