I Really Want To Sing...
By the look of the photo composite prior to this sentence, my readers will know the focus of this post.Sacred music is a huge part of my life. It always has been. My family is a ministry family. I grew up in a household of faith. We traveled all over the West Coast singing and preaching in churches and ministering to all who would listen. My father shepherded various congregations throughout his life, and my mom, brother, and I worked alongside him, filling just about every imaginable role within those churches.
When I got a bit older, I yielded to the call of God on my life and pursued a life of writing, singing, and preaching. It is truly my passion. As an adult, I have functioned as a worship leader, a youth pastor, and an associate pastor. I received my ordination years ago, and was wisely told, "It isn't man who ordains ministers. It is God."
I have taught series and seminars on worship, written countless articles, and studied deeply on the subject. I have a hunger to be a better worshiper. I have a desire to please God by worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, and to teach others what that means.
All that being said, I'm struggling. It's 2016, and I'm struggling with a few worship-related things. Let me explain.
Walk into almost any modern church on a Sunday morning, and you'll see people who resemble those in the above image. They're playing their instruments, singing, and presenting their music to the congregation. The congregation, in turn, usually stands and sings, at least around fifty percent of them. Some raise their hands, some sway back and forth, the more dramatic ones close their eyes and do both. That's what they've seen modeled for them in youth group, after all.
Anyway, I really want to join them. I want to sing. I want to sing my heart out to the Maker of the Universe. I want to spill myself out and honor the One who created the gift of music. I want to shout my love and adoration to the King who saw fit to descend to earth and clothe Himself in human flesh so that He could face the same struggles I do and show me how to overcome them.
I really want to sing in your church... but you make it impossible.
Everything about your "worship service" makes it impossible for me to concentrate on Christ. Seriously. I'll break down a few reasons:
You've turned off the lights...
I know, it's 2016 and you have a fancy light board in your sound booth. I get it. It looks cool. And your intention may truly be to draw people's attention to the worship leader... to focus the mind... to enhance the mood... to block out the rest of the congregation. I get it. I really do. The problem is, it works.
By turning the lights down, we block out the congregation (sort of). Our eyes are automatically drawn toward the brighter areas in the room... usually the singers and the band. We are led to believe that we should not acknowledge those who stand with us in this congregation. We obediently close our eyes or stare straight ahead at the "worship team" or the giant screen with the lyrics of the songs.
We try to forget we're in a congregation. We personalize the experience. Therein lies a serious problem. You see, our personal time of worship should, no, must be throughout the rest of our week, and must consist of much more than mere music. True worshipers live a lifestyle of worship on an individual basis. We come together for a time of corporate worship... a time of uniting with those of like faith to corporately lift up the name of the Lord in worship. The purpose of our worship time in a church service is to worship together as one.
There is something very powerful about corporate worship. Unitedly lifting up our voices in honor of our King is exhilarating, liberating, endearing and unifying. It tells the Lord that we as a united body choose to serve Him. When we use the isolation technique of darkening the room to eliminate the "distraction" of those around us, we get into our own heads. We basically spend that time as an individual, worshiping individually, which is what we should be doing all week long. We fail to worship in unity with our fellow believers, because we have made ourselves believe that we shouldn't even acknowledge their presence. In essence, our worship becomes us centered. Egocentric, to use a fancier term. It's all about us and our experience.
You've turned on the spotlight...
At the same time that you've turned off the lights above the congregation, you've turned a white-hot spotlight on the person/people on the stage. Again, your motives are nice... draw the attention of the congregants away from the sanctuary and onto the platform where they can be guided and led. I get it.
The problem with this approach is that the leaders and/or the band become the focus. We segregate them from the congregation, elevating them to a position of prominence above their fellow worshipers. We pay a lot of lip-service to the concept that leaders are co-worshipers, not putting on a show, humble, and a part of the congregation, yet we spotlight them like they're the stars of the show. By creating the lighting contrast between the congregation and the leaders, we are inadvertently defeating all of the concepts we work so hard to convince ourselves are real.
And, for the record and from experience, it's really hard for a leader to practice humility when there's a blazing spotlight on him. If it isn't a show, then why are we lighting it like one?
You focus on the "Worship Experience."
Worship Experience. Listen to the way we teach about worship. Read some books that have been written for worship leaders. The worship experience phrase is heavily used in modern congregations. Many churches even talk about the worship experience in their bulletins or websites. The problem here is that you're focusing on the experience...
Whose experience? The experience of the One to Whom the worship is supposed to be directed? The One to Whom the songs are supposed to be sung? The One to Whom our hearts are to be lifted?
Not even close.
The use of the phrase worship experience is one of the most blatant signs of your misunderstanding of the meaning of, Object of, and purpose of true worship.
We advertise our churches based upon the style of worship experience we offer. If we don't like the worship experience at First Church of the Believer on 5th Street, we leave and go to Church of the Redeemer on Main Street to see if we enjoy that worship experience more.
Our talk of the worship experience proves that we have no concept of real worship... and in focusing on the experience, we've done the unthinkable: We've placed ourselves as the object of our worship. We are, in essence, replacing Christ in favor of ourselves. We worship because we enjoy it, not because He deserves it. We offer up what is, at the very least, a tainted offering of praise and, at worst, pure idolatry.
Our human arrogance is on full display when we relegate the concept of worship to an experience rather than service to our Creator.
Oh yes, our emotions are stirred when we praise the Lord. It's natural. It's the way He designed it. But our emotional response must not be the reason we participate or we are guilty of worshiping our emotions rather than God Who created us.
On a side-note, I was reading a literal translation of the Third Commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." The literal translation was: "You shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God for nothingness." Just a thought.
Your "worship team" acts bored and self-absorbed...
It's a very common thing. The bass player stares blankly at the floor as he plays. The drummer is in his own little world. The acoustic guitar player fiddles with his in-ear monitor and never changes his expression. The electric guitar player frowns and grimaces like the rock stars he's seen on television. The singers either stare with blank expressions at the sheet music on the stand before them or they close their eyes and tune out.
They look bored. They look disinterested. They sometimes even look annoyed.
I know, there's a cultural thing here. What I used to refer to (in my youth pastor days) as the "studied look of disinterest." It's intentional. Even the most animated individuals tend to become mannequins when standing in front of the congregation singing worship tunes.
But, don't you see that as a problem? Seriously! You are trying to lead me in songs where I am acknowledging the majesty and greatness of the Creator of the universe. Your songs are speaking of One who laid down His life, had the flesh ripped from His bones, and bled for me... and you look completely unmoved.
I don't know about you, but God gave me emotions. Those emotions are stirred when I watch my children play, when my daughter sings a nursery rhyme, when I think of my father preaching the gospel. I am moved. Sometimes I weep. Sometimes I smile. Sometimes I laugh. Sometimes I move with excitement. But I am moved.
Does it not give us pause to ponder when those who are charged with leading us in the most intimate worship of our Savior show no outward emotion? Why do they look so bored? Could it be that "worship" has become routine to them? Could it be that they aren't really thinking about Him, but about how they look and sound?
Your "worship team" looks like they just rolled out of bed...
Okay, I know I'm going to alienate a lot of you with this. Just hear me out for a moment. I know styles change, and I'm fine with that. I don't expect everyone to dress like I do.
However, just like the studied look of disinterest is an intentional demeanor many of us adopt, so is slovenly dress. The overly casual culture of our time is really a sign of lack of respect.
If the Queen of England sent you a telegram, requesting your presence in Buckingham Palace for a face-to-face encounter, or the President of the United States invited you to the Oval Office for a meeting, you would present yourself at your best. Most ladies would frantically search for a new dress to wear and the gentlemen would be completely spit and polished. Why? Because it's a sign of respect to go to the effort it takes to wear your finest garments in those situations.
I know what you're thinking. God accepts me regardless of my clothes, and He doesn't care if I'm wearing jeans, shorts, a dress, or if my hair is messed up. On that, you'd be correct.
But... God does care about your heart and your motives. We tend to put more effort into how we present ourselves when we know we're going to see people who are important to us. To pick up a wrinkled t-shirt off the bedroom floor and throw it on with a pair of cargo shorts doesn't take a lot of effort... Nor does it show much respect.
Just a point for you to ponder. If the God of all creation wants to visit with me, I'm going to present myself in a way that shows complete respect for Him. That means I'm going to give a second, and even third thought to what I wear. Might even put in a little extra effort. Don't you think?
How are you going to try to tell me you're communing with the Most High God, the Holy Father, the King of Kings when you didn't even care to put socks on? Look at it this way: God gave His absolute best when He sent His Son to die for me. The very least I can do is show Him a little respect in how I present myself when I'm leading people into His presence.
I really want to sing with you. I really want to worship. I really want to join together with fellow believers and honor my Lord. But I can't at your church, because I am distracted by all the attempts to modernize and make it "culturally relevant."
Here's the most culturally relevant thing you need to know: I once was lost, but now am found. I was blind, but now I see. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. I've presented several negatives in this post. Perhaps you're wondering, "If this is what worship is not supposed to be, what should we do?" Easy. Simply focus on Who Christ is, what He's done, and how we can best honor Him. Lead with that passion that comes from the knowledge of Who He is and what He's done. Let that passion radiate out from you for all to see. Join together with others to present our praise in a unified voice.
Honor Him. He deserves it.
Honor Him. He deserves it.
