Worship and Culture

The Nairobi Statement on Worship and Culture suggests that worship should be transcultural and counter-cultural.  Worship should be transcultural in its embrace and usage of elements of worship that are universal and present in most of Christian worship, emphasizing grace, such as Eucharist, water symbolism, the cross, resurrection, among other themes and symbols.  Worship should also be counter-cultural in its capacity to resist elements of culture that are damaging and run counter to the messages of the gospel that are threatened by a culture in its time and place.  Worship must be justice-oriented in this manner and be able to address issues (such as immigration, feminism, the drug war, etc.) that may not be easy to talk about, but are important to living the gospel and embracing radical equality in Christ.