Maya Pilbrow
19 July 2023
Christians need to see worship through a Trinitarian lens according to Anglican lay minister and former Salvation Army officer Adam Couchman.
Mr Couchman is working on his doctorate exploring the idea of Jesus as a worshipper.
He recently won the New and Emerging Scholar Award from the Australian and New Zealand Association of Theological Studies and his book on Gregory of Nyssa’s opposition to slavery was published in July through SLG Press.
Mr Couchman submitted a paper to the annual ANZATS conference in July which was selected as winner of this year’s award.
His paper argued for a reinterpretation of the concept of “receiving in an unworthy manner”, language that appears in 1 Corinthians 11.
Mr Couchman, a lay minister at Holy Name Anglican Church, Vermont South first became interested in interrogating the nature of worship during his work as Salvation Army officer.
Read more: Meet the trans non-binary opera singer who found a spiritual home in the Anglican Church
While teaching Christian worship, he was preparing a sermon on John 17 and the high priestly prayer.
“A commentator made the suggestion, ‘what would the church’s view of itself be like if it took as a starting point that they are the people for whom Jesus prayed?’” he said.
Mr Couchman found this question so interesting he was compelled to delve further.
“It’s not the fact that Jesus prayed for us, but that he prayed at all,” he said.
Mr Couchman said many definitions of worship were too human-centric.
Mr Couchman said since Jesus was both fully human and fully divine, His worship must similarly be understood as both.
“We need a better definition of what worship is than those anthropocentric ones, and we need a thoroughly Trinitarian one,” he said.
Mr Couchman said his studies had impacted his own worship. He said he no longer worried about worshipping in right or wrong ways, but instead focused on being in the presence of God.
For more faith news, follow The Melbourne Anglican on Facebook, Twitter, or subscribe to our weekly emails.
