08 August 2011

Worship or behavior modification?

Having always attended and served in your typical SBC church, the issues of music style and ways we worship always seem to be a recurring conversation that takes place.  And if you are thinking that this is going to be a post promoting one side or the other, you are wrong.  Sorry to disappoint you.  The issue at hand is not the style of music that is sung or not sung as the church gathers for corporate worship,rather the heart of the people doing the "worshiping."  It seems we are more treating the symptoms and leading people to appear as if they are worshiping rather than treating the core issue and leading people into true worship.  If a person is truly not worshiping, it has nothing to do with the style of music being played )with the exceptions of screamo music, music so heavily distorted I can't understand anything, and the old lady playing the upright piano that has not been tuned in 3 decades playing every song the same tempo to make it even more irritating) rather it is, for the most part, the persons low view of the God toward whom the worship is directed.  However, when I have these conversations with people it seems they are more concerned with getting people to perform certain actions, i.e clap/raise their hands, smile, or like newer upbeat music.  Do not misunderstand me, these things are not bad, but these should simply be the outpourings of true worship not mistaken for being true worship.

In Matthew 23:13-36, Jesus is condemning the Pharisees for appearing righteous on the outside yet remaing unclean on the inside.  I fear that when it comes to this issue, and many others in the church, we are producing people who sit in a pew and perform certain actions we want them to perform, appear righteous and worshipful, yet have no true worship and affection for God in them.

The key to changing a lifeless and worshipless congregation is not to get them to clap or raise their hands or smile when they sing praise songs.  Likewise, the key to getting the younger generation to truly worship is not to do away with hymns and sings cool and trendy praise songs.  Hymns are great and so are contemporary worship songs (well there are some in both categories that need to be done away with, but that is a different post.)  We as pastors, worship leaders, and believers in the church hungry to see the church be the vibrant bride of Christ must not mistake getting people to sing a certain style song or to perform certain actions in the midst of their singing as the key to getting the church to worship.  John Piper has said "You can't praise what you don't prize."  They key to leading a church to be a congregation of true worshipers is to get them to prize the resurrected Christ above all else.  To see God as Isaiah did, high and lifted up.  If we make much of the resurrected Savior and lead people to His glory and splendor, we will not need to sing a certain type of song or coerce them to performing actions, rather simply sing the truth of who He is and what He has done for us in Christ Jesus and worship will come in light of the truth of who He is.