Real Worship

The following excerpt from Tim Steven's blog came from an interesting discussion on "what is worship." More specifically, the post was in response to an ongoing argument regarding secular music in church... but Tim makes a strong point about all forms of worship.

"Worship is a personal thing. You can't look at someone in a worship service who is singing praise songs and lifting their hands and know for sure that they are worshiping. It is a heart issue. They might be thinking about a recipe for lasagna.

You also can't look at someone who stays seated in a worship service (while everyone else is standing), arms folded, staring straight ahead, not participating...and know that they are not worshiping.

A few years back I was with a friend in Vienna and we walked into St. Stephen's Cathedral. His eyes instantly filled with tears as the majesty and history of the building brought him to a place of awe about the majesty of God. I stood there thinking about the architecture and construction process. For my friend, it was worship. For me, it was not.

For some, spending time in nature makes them aware of the awesomeness of their God. For others, standing at the base of a skyscraper in New York City does the same thing. For many, a church service filled with praise songs about God will usher them into the presence of God. For me, that rarely does it. But the excellence of a musician playing their instrument without words--it makes me so aware of the amazing splendor of our Creator God."

I couldn't agree more. Worship must be about what is happening between the individual and God, not about what is happening (or perceived to be happening) between two or more individuals. True, we can and should help each other in worship through encouragement and atmosphere... but when it comes down to it, are you communing with God or are you just communing with your friends?  

So what should church include and what should it not include? I suppose if I asked that question to 100 people I would get 100 variations of an answer - in part because we are all traditionalists in some way and look for what we know, what we have been taught, what society has shown us to be "true". But honestly, I don't think for a minute that I or anyone else do this thing called "worship" exactly right. We are all lacking; traditionalists, contemporary, post-modernists... we are all unworthy to stand before God. But like the little drummer boy and Mary, when we bring God an offering from the heart we can thank Him for His grace in accepting our worship regardless of the form or level of splendor. If our hearts are tuned to God and intent on bringing Him praise, what we have to bring is acceptable in His eyes. If our hearts are tuned to serving our 1-hour per week penance, then my guess is it's not so acceptable. 

I simply propose this: Church should include all things that bring glory to God and exclude all things that do not... as should your life.

Comments

[Mary Hughes]

Great post! It's amazing the different ways God reaches in and grabs our hearts to worship. I can definitely relate to Tim's statement "But the excellence of a musician playing their instrument without words--it makes me so aware of the amazing splendor of our Creator God." The violin and cello always get to the core of me.