How Should the Church Look in This Culture? The Regulative Principle and Cross-Cultural Church Planting
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STATEMENT
A church that relies upon the ordinary means of grace by following the regulative principle of worship is profoundly relevant for missions and displays God’s wisdom over all cultures. Such a church limits our focus to biblical elements in worship and practice, frees us to express those elements in various cultural forms, unites us with other biblical churches across time and place, and glorifies God as the only Author, Savior, and Lord of the Church.
Imagine a young couple, freshly landed on the mission field, seeking to reach an unreached people group. They join an experienced team leader who encourages them to work hard on the language and build a business platform. They give themselves to learning the culture. They pray and share the gospel. They meet some regional Christian leaders (in a different people group from the one they are seeking to reach) to see how they can partner in ministry to the unreached. Finally, they meet regularly with their team to pray and strategize. They especially focus on using cultural forms to make church more inviting and less foreign to new believers. Their main question is, “How should the church look in this culture?”
The answer to this question is crucial for missions. The mission's end goal is to plant healthy indigenous churches that will continue, by God’s grace, long after missionaries depart. Therefore, we must think carefully about how to do church. A missionary can do everything right in being prepared, sent, and established as a missionary to an unreached people group. But without careful consideration of the biblical understanding of the church, their whole mission could end fruitless and deeply discouraging.
How would you answer these young missionaries’ question? Where would you begin? Would you defer to the experienced missionaries who are their team leaders? Or maybe ask the local Christian leaders from their region? Or perhaps read a few well-known books on contextualization?
There is much wisdom in humbly seeking the wisdom and experience of others. Whenever we enter a new culture, the last thing we need to be is know-it-alls whose confidence communicates, “I have all the answers.” It’s far better to seek counsel, learn from others’ work, ask questions, and be ready to be corrected for any wrong cultural assumption. We must go as learners.
At the same time, humility before God beckons us to learn not only from wise human voices around us but also to give our greatest attention to the divine voice of God’s Word (which is always wiser than any of our own). In answer to the question, “How should the church look in this culture?” our foundational answer must be, “God tells us how he wants to be worshiped in his Word.” God has not outsourced the church to the experts. God is the expert. He has the final word on the church.
The Regulative Principle
Simply put, the regulative principle teaches that God’s Word must be our guide for what churches are authorized to do, including when they gather for corporate worship. God “regulates” our gathered worship by giving us the “rule” of his Word. Corporate worship must include the practices either clearly expressed or necessarily deduced from Scripture, neither adding to them nor taking away from them [1]. God’s Word is the gracious guide and authoritative boundary marker for how we should do church in every culture [2].
The formulation of the regulative principle has historical roots in the years of the Reformation and confessions written in the 16th and 17th centuries [3]. Most importantly, it is rooted in the Bible. In both the Old and New Testaments, the Bible teaches us not only whom to worship but also how to worship.
- Genesis 4:3-8: God approved of Abel’s offering but not Cain’s, showing that certain kinds of worship were acceptable to God while others were not (though Moses didn’t explain God’s reason, his acceptance of one form of sacrifice over the other is clear).
Exodus 20:2-6: The first two commands in the Ten Commandments referred to the who and how of worship (“You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself a carved image…”).
Exodus 25:40: God required Israel to worship him by building the Tabernacle “after the pattern…shown you on the mountain.”
Exodus 32:10: Aaron declared that worshiping the golden calf was “a feast to Yahweh.” Nevertheless, it was an idolatrous abomination in the Lord’s eyes.
Leviticus 10: God did not accept Nadab and Abihu’s worship because they offered “strange” or “unauthorized fire before the LORD.” They were consumed with fire.
Matthew 15:1-9: Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for religious traditions contradicting God’s clear commands.
John 4:21-24: Jesus taught that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”
1 Corinthians 14: Paul regulated how spiritual gifts were used in the corporate gathering.
These passages display God’s care for being worshiped in the way He deserves. They lay down a principle that God’s Word is our guide for worship. Each Christian’s life should be one of worship and, therefore, guided by God’s Word. The corporate gathering of Christians together is one of worship and edification and, thus, should also be guided by God’s Word.
Clarity in Missions
A church guided by the regulative principle has clarity. Initially, it may seem that the regulative principle limits us. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Biblical boundaries bring clarity. They help us to focus on what matters most. When gathering as a church, our first goal is not to answer, “How can we be culturally relevant?” Our primary goal is to answer the question, “What must we do according to the Bible?”
The main elements taught in the Bible for how to worship as a church are the same no matter where we live.
Read the Word (1 Tim 4:13).
Preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2).
Sing the Word (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16).
Pray the Word (1 Tim 2:1).
See the Word in the Lord’s supper and baptism (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:38-39; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Col 2:11-12).
The beauty of letting God’s Word be our guide in doing church is the clarity it brings. Scripture sharpens our understanding of the church. When we center our corporate gathering on the biblical elements prescribed by Scripture, we can focus on what’s most important and make the main thing the main thing: making disciples and building biblically healthy churches among the people we seek to reach.
Yes, it is necessary to do the hard work of contextualization and carefully consider our methods. We should know the people we are seeking to reach! If we genuinely love them, we will seek to bend ourselves, sacrifice our comfort, and contextualize our communication and practices to make the gospel as clear as possible (1 Cor 9:19-23). But we must always distinguish modern pragmatic methods from timeless biblical principles. The foundation for mission methodology is not anthropology, sociology, or best practices, as helpful as they may be at times. The foundation for mission methodology and the church is the Word of God.
Freedom in Missions
Limiting ourselves to biblical practices in the church is a freeing thing! Boundaries in parenting often bring freedom so that children can enjoy playing without danger. Sports are fun to watch when athletes play according to the rules. Similarly, in his wisdom, God has limited our options to the most important things we need to do when we worship him as a church.
In cross-cultural settings, it is important to distinguish between what some call elements, forms, and circumstances.
Elements are the “big rocks” we must put into our church bucket when we gather: preach, pray, sing, read, see, etc. Those elements are unchanging in any culture. Scripture does not give us the liberty to add to or subtract from biblical elements.
Forms are the way we choose to practice those elements. For instance, Scripture commands us to pray but doesn’t tell us if we have to write out our prayers. We can pray biblically in different forms. Similarly, Scripture tells us to sing but doesn’t tell us which songs to sing. Our songs must be biblical and edifying, but beyond that, we have a measure of freedom.
Circumstances are incidental matters which may be included in worship according to biblically informed common sense. For example, should we use PowerPoint or song sheets? Install a sound system? Sit in chairs or on the floor? Meet in a house church or church building? Gather in the morning or at night? The Bible gives us the freedom to answer such questions differently from church to church and culture to culture using biblical common sense and the wisdom of others.
“The goal of contextualization is not comfort, but clarity.” [4] Forms and circumstances always communicate something about the message we preach. By saying that we are free to use different forms, we must be careful that the forms never change or confuse the elements. Christians should know for certain that when they walk into a gathering of believers, the forms communicate that they are not in a mosque or a temple but a gathering of the church. We must first get the main elements of worship right. Then, once those are in place, missionaries can use their contextualizing brainpower to consider two important questions that should guide all the forms and circumstances we choose: Does it edify the church? and Does it keep the gospel clear? (1 Cor 14:12). In answering these questions, we draw upon the experience of other missionaries, read biblically faithful books on church and contextualization, and especially learn from faithful local Christians.
For example, Scripture commands us to sing, but specific rhythms or melodies in certain contexts are inappropriate because they remind believers of their former idolatrous worship. In this case, the particular songs fail to edify; instead, they distract from and confuse the gospel. So, the form of music would need to be chosen carefully to keep the gospel clear. A second example would be what language should be used, given the circumstances. A church may decide to worship in a trade language (English, Spanish, French, etc.) in a multilingual place, while a church in a predominantly monolingual setting will worship in the local dialect or language. We should choose the most edifying language.
Consider the seemingly innocent practice of taking off one’s shoes before entering a church building as a final example. Even in this case, we must ask, “What does this practice communicate about the gospel?” The reasons for removing shoes vary, but some groups believe the church building is holy and, therefore, remove their shoes as a sign of reverence for the place. This church needs to consider if its tradition confuses God’s presence in a building with his presence with his people. Should they keep their tradition and teach that God is present where his people gather? Or should they go against cultural expectations and keep their shoes on? Again, the guiding questions are: Does it edify? And does it keep the gospel clear? [5]
Unity in Missions
A church guided by the regulative principle enjoys unity. I know of a church planting team in an unreached region of the world who disagreed about how to do church early in their ministry. A pragmatic approach to church practices by some team members created disunity in the church, confused their indigenous partners, created distrust in their relationships with local believers, and led to the team’s eventual disbanding. It took some time for the remaining team members to rebuild trust with the local people. But when a team is united in their vision of a biblical church, guided by the rule of Scripture, their potential for fruitfulness in ministry increases.
In addition to uniting teams, a narrow focus on biblical elements unites churches worldwide. This truth is beautiful. In some ways, every church should look similar and different from other churches. A Christian from any country at any point in history should be able to walk into a church gathering and think, This is familiar. Like a family reunion, we should be able to recognize one another. The forms and circumstances may differ. The elements remain the same.
Finally, for the sake of long-term fruit, a shared vision of the church rooted in the Bible helps young churches in unreached places to form their identity in Christ and his Word. Westerners who form a church with Western methodologies for church growth leave indigenous partners dependent on the missionaries. Once they leave, the church may grasp practical church growth methods rather than searching the scriptures for answers. In contrast, a church shaped by the regulative principle is rooted in the Word and connected to a “church growth strategy” that brings all churches together across history. It enables unity and the potential for partnership with other regional churches. It also promotes unity in each individual local church. When a church is united around God’s Word, it dispels the tribalism that haunts every culture by bringing together peoples under one Lord from different tribes, cultures, castes, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and other differences. Such a church displays God’s wisdom over all creation (Eph 3:10).
Glory to God
Most deeply, a church guided by the regulative principle glorifies God. By limiting our worship and practices to biblical elements, we put our stake in the ground and say, “God is the author of his church!” What God says matters more than what people say. He has the authority to tell us what and how we should do church. Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission (Matthew 28), established his church (Matthew 16, 18), and authorized his apostles to speak his words (John 16). The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2-3). Therefore, in following their words, we are following God’s Word. Like Samuel, we are saying to God, “Speak, for your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10). We are giving God the microphone to tell us what to do. As such, instead of glorifying our creativity and original ideas, we are giving God the glory for the ministry we do. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Missionaries give glory to God when they model a posture that affirms the authority of Scripture over their own opinions or preferences in all matters. To God be all the glory!
So, “How should the church look in this culture?”
The heart of every missionary is to see God move among the nations so that indigenous peoples worship God in their languages and cultures. The regulative principle aids missionaries with a biblical method for doing church that is “culturally transportable for the work of missions.” [6] Churches that rely more upon missionaries than the Word to dictate practices are left without clear boundaries, leading to bad contextualization, unhealthy church practices, and, worst of all, even heresy. By letting God’s Word be the guide, indigenous churches learn to do church biblically in their own culture.
Ultimately, we all want movements of healthy, gospel-preaching churches that last beyond our years of service in missions. Clarifying biblical elements and practices allows churches to pass on something lasting to future generations. It is of utmost importance that we build churches on a foundation that lasts (1 Cor 3:10-15). God was the one who created the church. He designed it. He loves it. He reigns over it. Therefore, the final authority to answer the question “How should the church look in this culture?” is not human creativity but the infinitely wise Word of God.
Recommendations
Missionaries who do everything right but are unclear on what the Bible says about how we should do church will eventually work against their ambition to make disciples among all nations. For the sake of the gospel, the good of the nations, and the glory of God, we recommend:
Missionaries come to a firm conviction on what the Bible says about the church.
Churches and mission organizations ensure that the missionaries they send understand what a biblically healthy church is.
Churches support missionaries by carefully partnering with like-minded teams that will uphold the biblical foundations for a healthy church.
Churches and mission organizations create training and model practices that will equip missionaries to plant biblically healthy churches that will grow in health and endure the test of time.
Missionaries and churches prize the glory of Christ and his name being proclaimed among the nations so much so that they will follow all his commands in Scripture on the church.
The regulative principle is of enormous importance for missions today. Why? It gives God the microphone in missions and the church. His Word is the final word on the church in missions. A church guided by the regulative principle teaches its people to depend most deeply upon God’s unchanging Word rather than changing cultures and methods. Such a church enjoys clarity, freedom, and unity in missions. Most importantly, it brings glory to God as the only Author, Savior, and Lord of the church.
Helpful books and articles
Case for Mere Church in Missions by Mack Stiles
What Is the Regulative Principle of Worship? by Derek W. H.Thomas
Four Biblical Foundations for Contextualization by Zane Pratt
Corporate Worship by Matt Merker
Give Praise to God by Ryken, Thomas, and Duncan
Footnotes:
[1] This language is based on the Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 and 21.1.
[2] For an accessible and practical book on corporate worship, see Matt Merker, Corporate Worship: How the Church Gathers as God’s People (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021).
[3] Confessions that contain a form of what we call the “regulative principle” include The Belgic Confession (1561), The Westminster Confession (1647), and The Second London Baptist Confession (1689). Historically, the principle has been followed by Protestants, especially amongst Baptists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists.
[4] Zane Pratt, “Four Biblical Foundations for Contextualization,” accessed October 31, 2023, https://www.9marks.org/article/four-biblical-foundations-for-contextualization/.
[5] Michael Lawrence has a helpful list of five biblical principles in determining what circumstances are appropriate. They must be intelligible, orderly, edifying, unifying, and reverent. Michael Lawrence, Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views, ed. J. Matthew Pinson (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009), 244–55.
[6] Duncan III, J. Ligon, “Foundations for Biblically Directed Worship,” in Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship, ed. Philip Graham Ryken, Thomas, W.H. Derek, and Duncan III, J. Ligon (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2003), 70.
