Worship as a lifestyle, not a song...
SubscribeCheck out this definition of worship that I found by an author named Harold Best,
"Worship is acknowledging that someone or something else is greater - worth more - and by consequence, to be obeyed, feared, and adored...Worship is the sign that in giving myself completely to someone or something, I want to be mastered by it."
Giving myself completely? I want to be mastered by it? Sheeze, kinda blows "Singing a cool song or two and maybe closing my eyes or lifting my hands", right out of the water doesn't it?
The thing I like about Best's definition of worship is that it echoes the truth that Paul calls us to when he says we should "present our bodies as a living sacrifice...which is your spiritual worship". (Rom 12:1) I believe this "spiritual worship" that Paul is talking about has to be much larger than just singing songs, it has to be the way we do life. I love worshiping God through music and song, but I've noticed that if that's the only time in my week that I'm intentionally striving to magnify who God is, there can be a disconnect and the songs start sounding like a foreign language to me.
The band and I have really tried to challenge ourselves to be good worshippers with our lives, not just with our instruments. As a tribe, lets commit to truly 'presenting ourselves' in a way that magnifies who God is and displays gratitude for everything he has done for us in whatever we do.
Looking forward to Sunday,
Paul
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Brian Scannell on Apr 20, 2009 10:35am
Worship with our lives rather than just our lips. What a concept. I just read something beautiful relating to this idea. The web address is http://www.aholyexperience.com/2007/05/one-piece-life.html
Check it out and thanks for all that you and the band do for us. Your doing a great job.
Terrie McKelvey on Jul 3, 2009 3:45am
I check your blogs from time to time and look forward to being physically present with you all on a regular basis! You have touched on one of my favorite subjects and I waited to see what folks might say in response. But, maybe the blogosphere part of Crosspointe hasn’t quite taken off yet. Anyways, I thought I would post. Hope you don't mind. But I should warn you that I can go on when it comes to this one, so I should more than make up for the limited dialogue. Here goes…
First, let me say that music has always been a central part of who I am. I am both a classically and pop-rock trained musician and have been a church musician and worship leader for a little over 30 years now. Call me crazy but I even studied music in college. Whatever. As a Christian I have always equated music with worship. Music was a huge part of who I was. Almost immediately after my conversion at age 21 I was asked to play guitar and lead singing at Young Life gatherings and to serve as the lead musician at the church I began attending. What were they thinking putting someone so immature in such a position!! Anyways, for me, the equation was church = worship = music plus a message. How crazy was I! The Early Church gathered around the teaching of the Word, not around music. They kept the gospel central (nod to Keller).
Then one day the bomb dropped. A few years ago, I was sitting in my seminary class composed primarily of worship leaders/pastors and got a jolt that changed everything. This sweet looking older gentleman (Dr. Dow Robinson) who looked like the perfect warm fuzzy grandfather, you know – the kind you want to hug and go fishing with, gets up to the lectern the 1st day of class and says “music is not worship” and I’m thinking “what are you talking about? That can’t be!!” However, since he did have his PhD and had spent 25 years as a missionary to the Aztecs and translating the New Testament into the Aztec language for Wycliffe Bible Translators, I graciously allowed him to proceed - yeah right.
You know what? He was right. Music isn’t worship. But thankfully it is a beautiful way created by God to express our worship to Him. And you are right to say that worship should be a lifestyle and to quote Romans 12.
Like I said, this is a favorite subject of mine and so I guess without getting permission first, I will comment and take it a step (or 2) further. I have been humbled over the years and God has shown me some new stuff – good stuff. God has shown me that although we frequently see music associated with worship in the Old and New Testament, there is not a single Hebrew or Greek word that is translated into our English word “worship.” Throughout scripture, the many words of worship, their origination and meaning, show us that true worship involves the physical body, our heart, our mind and our spirit: it involves our whole being and life:
Physical movements of our body -kneel, bow, serve and sing
Attitude of our heart - adoration, reverence, thanksgiving
The choices of our mind - Honor, obey, confess
Those involving our Spirit - Joy, glorify, celebrate, extol, and amen
The great Shema in Deuteronomy 6:5 says “love the Lord your God with all your 1)heart and with all your 2)soul and with all your 3)strength.” Jesus expanded this commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your 4) mind” (Luke 10:27). This worship relationship of ours, and it is a relationship, at its core, is based on the attitude of the believer’s heart, which incorporates the will, intellect, emotions, and physical body; it is loving the Lord with all of the “heart, soul, mind, and strength”.
Worship is regularly expressed through music, (and mistakenly referred to “as worship”) but most importantly it is an attitude of the regenerated heart toward God. This is a lifestyle of worship characterized by love, repentance, confession, obedience, faith, awe, fear, reverence, adoration, thankfulness, praise, sacrifice, offering, and service. It involves our whole being - body, strength, soul, and mind as a living sacrifice. This living sacrifice should be demonstrated in a lifestyle that worships God in every word, thought and deed out of response to the healing power of God’s Holy Spirit because of the blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. This should be our “lifestyle.”
Another professor, and one I now consider a great mentor/friend once said “worship is giving everything we know of ourselves to everything we know of God.” You are right: it is so much more than singing cool songs! Or even great songs inspired by God in the ancestors of our faith – some call them hymns – and rightly so. It is giving Him everything!
For the New Testament believers, rather than the external observances of the OT sacrificial system, worship had become a spirituality of the heart. Worship was now an expression of an inward reality (Rom. 14:5-6) out of a thankful heart for all God had done throughout history and in particular His great saving acts. This right heart for New Testament believers was demonstrated by living a life of faith in Christ, a life of holiness, keeping God’s commands, and showing love toward others (1 John 3:22-24). This kind of worship can be seen in a lifestyle of a person who worships from a position of service, loyalty, and humility. It involves the whole person: body, intellect, emotion, “heart, soul, mind and strength.” (Mark 12:30). Ritual and ceremony no longer have an effect on the relationship of the individual to God.
Jesus said that true worshipers worship God in “Spirit and truth.” This is a worship that occurs in the heart of a believer who has been touched by the Holy Spirit and in whom the redemptive work of Christ is revealed. John 4:33 says that God is looking for true worshippers, those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. He is looking for hearts fully surrendered to Him. This is what the apostles were teaching the early believers and I think is what we need to be reminded of today.
This is what should fuel our tribal fires.
But keep the music of worship – you’re leading hearts to the throne room.
Ok, I guess that’s it.
Terrie
Terrie McKelvey on Jul 5, 2009 4:17pm
Sorry about the typo in my previous post - Spirit and Truth worshipers should be John 4:23, not 33. And to clarify on worship words - what I meant to communicate was that the original Hebrew and Greek words translated into the English word "worship" never involve music in their meanings, originations, or definitions. But certainly scripture shows that our praise involves a lot of "singing" and "making music" - thanks to God!
Paul Fincher on Sep 10, 2009 1:45pm
Terrie,
I wish I got an email notification when someone posts on my post, because I would have re-posted a long time ago. What tremendous insight! Thanks so much for your thoughts on this, you obviously have a level of maturity and experience in this area that I think a lot of full time vocational worship leaders could use a dose of (not to mention me as well). Thanks for checking out the blog as well I really look forward to some more insight from you.
Thanks again,
-Paul