The Battle Belongs to the Lord

I’ve been reading the book ChurchNext by Eddie Gibbs. Our church librarian needed someone to vet it before putting it on the shelves. Here are some quotations from chapter 6 which deal with worship.

“In true worship God is the audience, and the congregation are the participants. Worship is the wellspring of our witness.”

“People are not looking so much for worship that is relevant as they are for worship that is real.”

“Real” worship is worship where people are engaged with the Living God, proclaiming His greatness & responding to His goodness. It is the outpouring of an intimate relationship with God extends through the week. The reality of that relationship shines through and attracts others to God. Such worship is neither going through the motions nor manufacturing emotions. “Relevant” worship is worship that is more concerned with how people will respond to the worship service than with how they are responding to God. It may be a good show but it has no depth. Like a piece of candy, it is enjoyable at the time and gives you a quick sugar rush, but there is no nutrition to fuel you through the day.

“God graciously approaches humankind along a variety of paths to meet us in our varied cultural settings. Worship is always contextualized so that no one style should be regarded as normative or more spiritual than another. What turns on some people is likely to put off others.”

“Worship leaders are not performers attracting the admiration of the onlookers but prompters who model the act of worship. In order to function authentically in this role they must prioritize worship as the highest form of service to God. … To return to our sports fan analogy, the players on the field so involve the crowds in the stands that the ‘field of play’ extends to include all present.”

We can’t simply be passive observers of a worship service, even if it is not interactive. In a sporting event, the “spectators” are actively engaged in the game, even if they are not running around the field getting sweaty. I hadn’t thought of things that way. Special music or listening to a sermon should be no less passive than congregational singing.

I lead a worship team once a month at my church and each time I send out the list of hymns we will be doing, I try to include a short devotional on worship. I thought I would post this month’s here.

What is your greatest hinderance to worshipping God?

A couple of weeks ago a friend sent me the following link from Bob Kaughlin, author of the book Worship Matters and speaker whom I heard at the Christian Musicians’ Summit. I had read it before, but it bears re-reading over and over. It is an 8-part series entitled Idolatry on Sunday Mornings. You’ll want to click through to all 8 parts.

Bob Kaughlin defines a idolatry as “attributing ultimate value, authority, or supremacy to any object other than God. We foolishly think idols can provide for us what only God can give.”

“Whenever I think I can’t worship God unless ‘X’ is present, I’m making a profound statement. If ‘X’ is anything other than Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I’ve moved into idolatrous territory.”

He goes on to touch all too briefly on numerous idols people have in their hearts even as they are outwardly worshiping God on Sunday Mornings:

• Music
• Tradition
• Creativity
• Experience
• Liturgy
• Biblical Knowledge
• Biblical Ignorance
• Musical Excellence
• Results
• Reputation
• Relevance

I am certainly guilty of a number of these. The series certainly gives me plenty to chew on.