LOTSA Thoughts on Worship

Sit down when you've got AN HOUR and read this, bloggerbuddies! It's an excerpt (honestly!) from a post on blogworship.com--

Worship, MTV Style. All style, no substance?
Posted by Josh D. Riley

Worship. Think about it. When you hear the word, what immediately comes to your mind? The sound of a 400 voice choir backed up by a pipe organ and piano? A 200 voice choir singing with an orchestra, complete with drums and brass? Or do you think of an ensemble with a keyboardist? Perhaps you picture a rock praise band with a three guitar onslaught? Do your thoughts even go beyond music?

Just exactly what is worship? Can it be defined? How is it practiced? How is it best introduced into a corporate worship service? Is there a right way or a wrong way to worship?

As a high school student in Florida back in the very late seventies, about the only contemporary "worship" services I encountered were those that might by today's standards be called "traditional" worship services. This worship experience essentially would have been the standard Baptist service which began with the doxology, followed by the first and last verses of "Sweet, Sweet Spirit," "Love Lifted Me," and "Near the Cross," ending 140 verses (or so it sometimes seemed) of "Just as I Am," "The Savior is Waiting," and I "Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

The occasional youth rally might feature some more upbeat praise music from a couple of vocalists with acoustic guitars, tambourines and limited vocabularies, but it seemed most of the songs we sang were somehow more appropriate for a kumbaya campfire sing-a-long rather than church.

Even in the early eighties when I was in youth work, guitars were still largely considered the supreme evil instrument in most churches outside of southern California or suburban Chicago. Even Truth, hardly considered a rock band by followers of today's Christian music industry, was advised to mellow down the music when they came to my church, I later learned. Amy Grant was only moderately acceptable, even before she moved to the rock-oriented Christian tunes and the pop crossover albums. Often, even any slow music written by anyone with long hair (i.e. Keith Green) was suspect by those whose gospel music collection was limited to George Beverly Shea, The Happy Goodmans and the Blackwood Brothers.

In college I ventured from my Baptist roots and, with friends, occasionally visited Calvary Assembly of God Church in Orlando, where I first heard songs that could be classified by today's music as "worship choruses." Songs like "Shield About Me" that were sung unto God, instead of about God. Songs that often were backed up by (gasp) an electronic keyboard, drums and bass guitar. Through the eighties and nineties as I grew in faith and theological understanding about God and who He is, I fellowshipped and visited at a variety of churches that ranged from old-time Southern Baptist to bapticostal, from Pentecostal to Reformed Presbyterian.

I've heard choirs, orchestras, and bands, both good and bad, loud and mellow. I've been in contemporary churches whose bands belt out 21st century music, traditional churches whose choirs sing seventies music, and liturgical churches stuck in the 1600s. I've also seen more than my share of confused churches who advertise "CONTEMPORARY SERVICE!!!" but still equate choir-and-orchestra renditions of eighties praise choruses with contemporary worship. I've often vocalized to those sitting near me that if I hear "Pass it On" one more time I'm going to dig my leisure suit and Elton John platform shoes out of the basement for my next church visit. I'll take it over "It's a Small World," but not by much.

Personally, my personal favorite songs are a blend of the traditional hymns (Amazing Grace, Holy Holy Holy, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, At the Cross) and newer worship choruses (Indescribable, More Than Enough, Here I Am To Worship, Blessed Be Your Name, Amazing Love, We Fall Down, Sing to the King). Even so, I still enjoy hearing many of the seventies songs and choruses that haven't been overused, though I wouldn't expect my church's worship leader to sing them every single Sunday. And, I absolutely love many of the new songs I hear coming from our good friends at Passion.

That having been said, I have at the same directed my attention to a disquieting trend developing over the past decade in many churches. As the nature of my business sometimes requires travel, I am afforded the opportunity to visit different churches from time to time. In so doing, I often encounter church music that feels like little more than entertainment.

Just what is true Worship? Does your church worship, or entertain? And does it even matter? I believe it matters, and matters mightily. Worship is the core of what we are called to do as believers. We cannot be Christians and not worship. Those of us who call ourselves Christians are adherents of Christianity, not churchianity (although some church worship services and preaching methods leave me wondering at times).

So, what is worship? Can we really say that there is a right way to worship and a wrong way? Or is it a purely personal decision, and anything goes?

For the sake of this discussion, lets focus on the component of worship called music. Understand that true worship extends to the entire life of a believer. Read in your Bible about references to Worship and see what is really being referenced. For example, when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness and asked him to bow down and worship him, was he asking Jesus to sing a chorus with his name associated with it? Perhaps that was a part of it, but the greater goal was to get Jesus to deliver his entire being to Satan--his thoughts, his desires, his affections, his treasures, everything within him. His heart, essentially. Randy Pope rightfully refers to worship as "the Christian's Career." Biblical worship is more than music.

Corporate musical worship is but a part of the sum total of what we call Worship. We focus more on it perhaps because it is more visible, and hence, more controversial. I daresay that one of the hottest topics pastor's have to deal with as we are rolling into the new millennium is related to the type of music the church has. If you doubt this, just ask your pastor; if you live in a community with any degree of diversity (not just cultural or racial, but in terms of general demographics related to age, income, and upbringing), I would venture to say that your pastor gets more complaints and "helpful suggestions" about music than anything else.

More revealingly, ask yourself what motivated you to choose the church in which you worship: was it theology, or was it the worship experience? Sadly, most churches could change their theology and lose very few members or attenders, but let the church leadership change the music style, and they'll leave in droves. I sometimes think that all a cult would need to do to pull thousands of young Christians into it is to add a cool band to the mix. We need to be discerning about what true worship is.


True Worship leads the worshipper to focus on God, not on human performers--
True worship leads the congregation to focus on God, not on themselves or the person on stage. The worship leader who is performing for his own glory often carries himself or herself with an aura of self-awareness; their persona is more like that of a performer at an entertainment venue. Body movements and facial expressions are no different than they would be at a Friday night concert. That's not to say that there is anything inherently evil with a Friday night concert consisting of upbeat, non-religious, non offensive songs. Not at all. I am simply saying that what is appropriate for a football game or concert is not necessarily appropriate for a worship service before a Holy, Almighty God.

True Worship is led by a worshipper who is singing unto God and leading people to do the same. True Worship is not led by a performer trying to demonstrate his or her talent in a self-promoting, self-exulting manner. True Worship brings about an attitude of humility, both in the leader and the participants.

True Worship occurs when music is sung by people unto God without regard for the thoughts of others, rather than sung by people with the intent to entertain, at best, or to not offend, at least.

True Worship is better led by people who are mature believers--
It is my conviction that True Worship is typically led by people who are mature believers, not just the best singers in the church. Let me ask you: who is asked to lead worship or sing in bands in your fellowship or Bible study group: the unrepentant, aspiring nightclub singer, or the moderate singing talent with a life that consistently glorifies God? The former is more likely to "perform," and the latter is more likely to lead the participants to True Worship. Be careful who you place in leadership positions, particularly in the area of worship responsibility.

Musical ability should obviously be a required job description for someone truly called to this role, as those God calls to this role He also gifts; but some level of spiritual maturity and discernment ought to be equally, if not considerably more, important.
True Worship is not determined so much by style of delivery as attitude of delivery, both by the leader and the participant

So, what style of music is true worship? Is it the country church with its gospel quartets? Is it the urban church and its soulful music? Is it the affluent church with its high church pipe organ and choir? Is it the suburban church with its choir, orchestra and old-time hymns? Is it the other suburban church across the street with an ensemble and semi-contemporary choruses? Is it the campus church with its rock-and-roll? Is it the 140 year old country church singing hymns as they were written in the 1800's? Is it the liturgical church in the old-money community still holding on to Handel? Is it the arts district church with a guy playing a flute surrounded by candles and finger paint? Is it the church with no instruments whatsoever?

All of the above. None of the above.

Although I do not particularly care for every style of music mentioned above, I have learned that I can worship in any of these settings if my attitude and heart is appropriate. I cannot worship in any environment if my heart and attitude is harboring unrepentant sin. But, I CAN be entertained by an emotional display of good music regardless of the state of my heart. I can be entertained by traditional music, and I can be entertained by contemporary music. I know, I've been there. Nonetheless, the primary responsibility for worship lies within me.

The secondary responsibility, to an extent one might argue, lies with the attitude of the person leading worship. We are all singing to God. Whether we are on a stage or a pew or a chair, our attitude is most important to Him. Whether it is contemporary or traditional is irrelevant. After all, today's traditional music was yesterday's contemporary music, as evidenced by the observation that one of the top CCM songs of 1981 is now being recorded and sold in the latest seniors-friendly Gaither Homecoming series.

There will come a day when today's young people will become tomorrow's old folks insisting that their church return to the traditional good-old-days songs from Passion, Hillsong and Vineyard.

Let's be careful not to define worship as a musical style, and in so doing imply that the only people who are spiritual are those who like OUR style of music. Again, I have to confess, I love many of the hymns. In part, I love them because they are rich doctrinal songs that take me back to the cross. Also, I must admit, I love them because I grew up in the church and the songs remind me of my spiritual childhood (and physical adolescence). I love them because God used them to convict me of unrepentant sin in my life during a period of explicit disobedience.

But lets be honest, it is often no easy task to separate good feelings we derive from spiritual activity from those that may in reality be more nostalgic in nature. Let's remember this as we evaluate the worship in our churches, and be hesitant to complain JUST because the style is a generation or two above or below ours. Otherwise we become little more than a congregation of professional critics, more concerned with feel-good music and feel-good theology than a true worship and life-changing experience with Almighty God.

Don't get caught up in an attitude of superiority; some seem convinced that nothing worth singing has been written since the Bill Gaither 1970s, while others insist that any song older than ten days old is outdated.

(c) 1999, updated 2006 Josh D. RIley worship.com

Lots of interesting thoughts, huh?