To hear some contemporary pastors discuss worship, you would think it was a long-lost practice only recently discovered by the current generation. No one understands worship like they do. Older Christians who grew up singing hymns accompanied by a piano or organ never experienced the level of Spirit-filled worship that characterizes today’s church. Pity those poor souls! Today’s churches would never dare to defile their worship by incorporating the music favored by the older generations, because, after all, they know nothing about authentic worship.
On the flip side, many older Christians complain about the hijacking of worship by the younger generations. With their whining electric guitars, pounding drums, simplistic and repetitive lyrics, and sensual vocals, along with seizure-inducing light shows and smoke machines, they offer only emotionalism, a cheap imitation of true worship. They are attempting to create by human effort what they are lacking in the true presence of the Holy Spirit in a worship service.
During the past few decades, the church has experienced what we termed, “the worship wars,” where both of the views expressed above caused much turmoil in the church.
The National Congregations Study (p. 10) describes the current trends in worship as…
“…an evangelical worship style that is helped along by its association with megachurches and contemporary worship music. Whatever its source, this trend partakes of a decades-long trend in American religion away from an emphasis on belief and doctrine and toward an emphasis on experience, emotion, and the search for a least-common-denominator kind of worship in a time of ever less salient denominationally specific liturgical and theological content.”
Many pastors have declared the worship wars to be over, but that is largely because older Christians have been told to take a back seat. They’ve been “guilted” into silence. “You’ve had your turn to worship your way,” they say (or imply). “Worship isn’t about YOU; it’s about all those unsaved people out there who need to worship in a way that resonates with them.” Really? I thought worship was about GOD!
What I take from arguments on both sides is that there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of worship. So, let’s explore what worship is and isn’t.
Worship isn’t synonymous with music.
Most of the worship wars seem to have centered on musical styles and preferences. Should our church music declare what we believe about God, Jesus, and salvation (i.e., doctrine), or should it be more feeling-oriented (like the psalms)? Psalm 150 aside, are drums worshipful? Is one style of music more spiritual than another? I’ll save the discussion about music in general for a later post. The point I want to make here is that worship is not equivalent to music. People worship by attending with hearts ready to hear from God. They worship through the offering, hearing God’s Word, prayer, and obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And, yes, they also worship through music.
I can’t imagine the early church fussing over what kinds of songs they were going to sing. I can hardly imagine music being a topic of conversation at all! The contemporary church, in my opinion, has focused an inordinate amount of their attention on a minor element of worship. Society in general has devolved into a type of music-worship (i.e., worshipping musicians and the music itself). From teenagers to the Baby Boomers, there are large segments of the population who can’t live without music. As one teen told me some 20 years ago, “Music is my life!” It’s little wonder the church has adopted the same mentality (idolatry?). Look at the amount of time, energy, and resources that are poured into church music ministries. The music has become “the main thing.” But it’s not the main thing. And it is wrong to make it the main thing.
Any church that has lowered its definition of worship to merely music has done a great disservice to its congregation. There is more to worship than just music.
What happens when we equate worship with music? First, we minimize other expressions of worship and treat them almost as an interruption to the “real worship” (the music). We rob people of the opportunity to express their worship of God in any other way than by watching a band perform and trying to sing along. Or trying to read a hymnal. Second, we mistakenly believe if we can get people to sing or raise their hands or clap during the music, they have worshipped. We mistake reaction to the music as a reaction to the presence of God. If people are leaving “worship” without being changed by God, they haven’t really worshipped. They may have been stirred emotionally, but that isn’t necessarily worship.
Worship is a posturing of your heart.
The Hebrew word for “worship” means “to bow the knee,” which is a physical representation of the attitude of the heart. Worship is about bowing in humility before God and determining that He is of greatest worth in your life. He is high and exalted and worthy of everything you have to give.
In Isaiah 6:1-8, the prophet experienced the presence of God. He was high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. And the temple was filled with smoke. The result of this encounter? Isaiah repented of his sin, experienced God’s cleansing, and offered himself in unqualified service to God. If we truly encounter God, we will do the same. We encounter Him through the reading of His Word, taking communion, and prayer as well as through the music. And we respond in worship – repenting, giving, serving, and obeying in humility and contrition. These expressions indicate we have seen ourselves in light of God’s transcendent holiness and have responded to His call, whatever that might be.
When I was pastoring, one of the observations people would often make about other churches (and probably mine a time or two) that really bothered me was, “That church is dead.” They meant, of course, that they didn’t sing upbeat songs, the people didn’t raise their hands or clap, and maybe that the preaching wasn’t dynamic or dramatic. But is it possible that what they characterized as “lifeless” was really just a group of Christians that were reflective, contemplative, and reverent? Maybe that church was more alive than the churches it was being compared to!
In Revelation 3:1, Jesus warns the church in Sardis, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” And who can forget Jesus’ words of warning in Matthew 7:21-23 that remind us that what is impressive in our eyes isn’t always what impresses God:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Worship is the attitude of the heart toward God, not the outward expressions that appeal to people.
Worship is something you bring with you to church, not something someone else creates for you once you get there.
The church service gives you an opportunity to express your worship, but it can’t create for you what you don’t already have. Worship is an overflow of your heart, an acknowledgment that God is of highest worth in your life, a submission to His will for your life. If you haven’t been worshipping God in your personal life Monday through Saturday, don’t expect your church to create it for you on Sunday. While the church can facilitate your worship experience, no one can craft an encounter that will make you worship if you have set your heart and mind against it. Disobedience makes it impossible to truly worship, because, by definition, you can’t worship if your heart isn’t right with God. It doesn’t matter how loudly you sing or how high you lift your hands, if you’re living in disobedience, it’s not worship.
Here’s a sidebar question. If the church facilitates worship, shouldn’t it create an atmosphere conducive to worship for everyone? I find it interesting that today’s church has chosen to focus on only one small segment of the congregation: those who enjoy a certain genre of music. Now, don’t get me wrong here. There are a lot of contemporary songs I love that draw my heart closer to God. But I also love a lot of hymns and anthems and gospel songs… and classical music and country music. And a lot of others do, too. So, why is only one small segment catered to? Why is music style an either/or proposition (either we sing hymns or we sing contemporary music; either we sing pop or soft-rock or we sing bluegrass or country)? Why do we consider some people’s need for an atmosphere conducive to worship more important than others?
Part of the problem is that many pastors now consider “worship” (by which they mean “music”) as an evangelism tool. Really? Worship is the expression of those who know Christ acknowledging His presence and Lordship. It’s not an evangelism tool, as much as the unsaved may “like” it. Years ago in a denominational tour to each of our districts to share insights on holiness, Dr. Ken Heer quoted a non-Christian writer from a major magazine who was reporting on church-related issues. The journalist sincerely asked, “Why do churches allow those who know the least about God to determine how they worship Him?” I think that’s a fair question. Trying to create a worship experience that appeals to the unsaved is curious at best and scandalous at worst. Worship is what Christians give to God; it’s not meant to appeal to people who don’t know Him.
Worship is about God’s preferences, not ours.
I realize I’m on shaky ground with this point. I can’t say that God likes one style of music more than others. I can’t say He likes formal worship more than informal worship. How would I know?! The point I want to make here is that worship is about God, not us. It doesn’t matter how much we like our church’s “worship;” all that matters is whether or not God likes it. And He’s much more concerned with the attitude of our hearts than the expression of it.
Remember when Cain and Abel brought their offerings to God in Genesis 4? God didn’t accept Cain’s offering, but He did accept Abel’s. Was it because Cain offered “fruits of the soil” and Abel offered an animal sacrifice? Was it because of their attitudes? Whatever the rationale, God didn’t accept just anything in worship. When Nadab and Abihu brought “unauthorized fire” before the Lord in worship, He consumed them with fire (Leviticus 10:1-3). Even in the New Testament, Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that those who worship God must do so “in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). There is a right way and a wrong way to worship Him. We don’t get to do what pleases us; if it doesn’t please God, it’s not acceptable worship.
As far as the worship wars are concerned, it’s important for both sides to examine their worship preferences in light of God’s requirements. “Because I like hymns” or “because I don’t like hymns” is not an acceptable rationale for singing them exclusively or choosing never to sing them. If you’re using your own preferences to defend your position, you might want to do some soul-searching and ask God what He wants.
Worship is about giving of yourself, not getting.
Have you ever heard someone comment after a worship service, “I didn’t get anything out of it”? Well, here’s a newsflash: worship isn’t about getting; it’s about giving. In 2 Samuel 24, David purchased the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite so he could build an altar to the Lord, even though Araunah offered to give him the land and oxen at no cost. David insisted on purchasing them because, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” His expression of worship was about him giving, not getting. I doubt there was anything particularly “worshipful” (in the way we use the word today) about burning a bunch of really large animals with fire. It sounds quite disgusting to me. Can you imagine David standing by the altar, smelling burning flesh, and saying, “I’m not getting much out of this, Lord”? It wasn’t about him! And what about when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 22? I doubt he felt he was getting much out of the experience, other than a broken heart. Worshipping God was costing him everything. The price was enormous. Many Christians today think worship should somehow touch their hearts, but it is God’s heart we want to touch. It should be meaningful, but not because we sang the songs we wanted to sing or the preacher delighted us with jokes or drama. It is about us personally giving of ourselves to God. Until we shift our emphasis to one of giving instead of getting, the worship wars will continue.
As long as we hold a “we’re right; they’re wrong” mindset, we’ll never get past the worship wars.
Is it possible that BOTH are right about some things
and BOTH are wrong about some things?
I realize that by now I’ve made everyone mad, and I’ve done little to sway anyone’s thinking. As I look over the positions of people I dearly love on both sides of the worship wars, I realize that both are right in some areas and both are wrong in some areas. Both are right in wanting to please God and wanting to focus on the heart of the worshipper. Both are wrong if they equate worship with music or are more concerned about their own preferences than what God wants or about personally “getting” something from worship instead of focusing on what they give to God.
When we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8). Let that be the focus of our worship on Sunday and every day. Pastors, you don’t need to mimic the presence of the Lord through flashes of light and the presence of smoke (as in Exodus 20:18) or to recreate some worship experience from a camp meeting you attended 40 years ago. God is capable of showing up without your help. If you and your people bow your hearts before Him in total submission to His will, if you truly seek HIM in worship and not just an experience, He will show up in all His glory and power. Maybe not like you expected, but in a real, life-transforming way. Revival will come when we make God – and pleasing Him – the main thing.
