What is worship? Christ makes it clear by saying that He seeks those who will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
First let me begin by saying that worship is so much more than a song. Or music. Its life. Yip- the way you live your life is worship- Romans 12:1-2. But that’s another topic for another day. We often call music at church worship and that’s really what I’m referring to with the term worship.
3 weeks ago I lead the singing in a church in Swaziland…one of my most nervous moments on the race. But I knew I needed to focus on praising God and I knew I was with my family so it didn’t ultimately matter how well I knew the song or could sing, or what I looked like. But I think it would be 100 times more nerve wrecking for me to lead worship in the States…just because I know how fickle people tend to be….would I be wearing the right thing?…singing the right way?, etc. I began to think of how fickle I can be when entering a church and deciding whether or not the worship suits me.
Since June I’ve been to numerous churches around the world and have participated in many different kinds of worship, various musical styles and languages. Sadly, in the United States some people will quickly judge a church and ‘whether or not it is worth attending” simply by musical preference. I’ve seen way too much conflict centered around musical preference. Do they sing hymns? Or is it contemporary music? Does it make me feel good? Did you see what the worship leader was wearing? Oh, he was off key. They should/ should not raise their hands, dance, etc. And so often its all about personal enjoyment and satisfaction instead of actually worshipping God. Thinking about it makes me want to vomit.
If anything I’m learning …its not about me…its not about you…its all about God and His glory. And that’s the attitude with which we should approach God and sing to Him. Scripture gives us the requirement to worship in spirit and in truth and warns against people who confess Him with their lips but whose hearts are far from him. How often do you mindlessly sing words and your heart is elsewhere?
I’ve come to the conclusion that the best thing a song leader can do is promote an environment to worship in Spirit and Truth- which leaves a lot of room for creativity- which I think God really enjoys new and creative things… after all we see His creativity every day. Back to worship. Spirit and Truth. Its more than just an outward sign…it should be an outward sign that reflects the condition of the heart. And its genuine. Not a show. Not for attention. But really the authenticity of your worship experience depends on you. Where is your heart? It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a huge choir leading in worship or a screen projecting someone else singing..you can worship in spirit and truth.
One of my favorite times of singing praises to God was this past Sunday in Mozambique. Pastor Jaco encouraged us to worship God (the God of the universe) in spirit and truth. It didn’t matter that the music came from a CD of Oslo Gospel Choir. All that is needed to worship God is a willing heart. Not an award-winning vocalist or a piano. Just your heart.
So next time you walk into church and begin to sing, where is your heart? Why are you singing? Who is your audience?
