“Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us.” – A.W. Tozer
Just a few weeks ago, I stepped down as the youth worship leader in support of our youth pastor’s vision of student led worship. I gave the reins over to a teenager who was the oldest student on the worship team. I allowed him to lead the team going forward because he was the most mature out of the group and seemed ready to lead. When the change of leadership took place, he picked out the songs for Wednesday night worship that week. Much to my surprise, he chose a rap song that didn’t have a single lyric of praise for God.
Now let me make this clear; I do not have anything against rap. I will admit it’s not my favorite genre of music but I don’t hate it. Some of my favorite genres of music are rock, blues, country, and southern gospel; however, one of my more interesting favorite genres of music is Electronic Dance Music or EDM for short. I occasionally listen to EDM when I go running or hit the gym but I do enjoy a good dance tune at 128 BPMs with a huge melodic drop. As I stated in my previous blog post on worship entitled The Heart of Worship, I once tried to bring dance praise and worship music into the youth group but God stopped me from doing so in an unusual way. I learned a valuable lesson that our musical tastes aren’t always appropriate for worship.
A common fallacy about worship today is most people think of worship as something pure regardless of how it’s presented but what a lot of people do not realize is worship can be corrupted. As we read in The Heart of Worship, Nadab and Abihu tragically found out that worship can in fact be tainted and corrupted. Let’s look at Leviticus 10:1-3 again.
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: “‘Among those who approach me I will be proved holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.”
Some of you might be wondering, ‘how can our worship be tainted or corrupted?’ To understand how this might happen, let’s define what worship is. Worship is defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. Therefore, worship can be thought of as “God centered.” Pretty straight forward right? So what is the opposite of worship? I like to think of the antonym of worship as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration of SELF. So the opposite of worship can be thought of as “me centered.” I realize worship isn’t limited to just music. That is just one of the many ways we worship God. But our worship can become corrupt if worship is more about “us” than about God. Sometimes the songs we sing contain more “me” and “I” lyrics than they do “You” lyrics. Not only that, music can become “us” centered when it stimulates or excites the senses more than it shows reverence and adoration for God. This is called HYPE.
Certain genres of music undoubtedly elicit hype and probably should be avoided for worship. Let me go on the record and state that I am not against clapping, hand raising, shouting, or dancing. I am also not against fast songs. I am for these things when done properly; however, I do believe there is a difference between doing it because you’re hyped verses doing it in Spirit and in truth. John 4:24 in the NKJV states “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The key word is “must.” We MUST worship God in spirit and truth. There is no other alternative. When our worship turns into hype and becomes self-centered, it consequently becomes corrupt and profane much like how Nadab and Abihu’s worship was in Leviticus 10. The Bible isn’t clear on this but I don’t believe Nadab and Abihu blatantly decided to offer corrupt worship to God right from the start. They heard the voice of God’s commandment so they knew what was right. I personally believe they got into a routine and over time their worship lost its meaning and its purpose. So they did what any human being would do – they tried to spice things up. Many worship teams and bands today are no different in the sense that they get into a routine and lose sight of what true worship is. It is not a instant change but a gradual conditioning and decline. We often try to spice things up but really all God wants is our hearts. Famed worship leader and author of the song The Heart of Worship, Matt Redman, knows this better than anyone else.
In the late 1990s, the pastor at Redman’s church in Watford, England sensed that their worship gatherings were going flat spiritually, that the congregation was going through the motions, and worship wasn’t flowing from the heart like true Christian worship must. “There was a dynamic missing,” says Redman, “so the pastor did a pretty brave thing. He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
During this season, the pastor challenged the congregation to be participants in worship, not consumers. To come ready to engage with God for themselves, from the heart, not just watch with their eyes. He wanted them to come as worshipers, not as concert-goers. With the band and sound system gone, it made for an unforgettable time in the life of the church as they sang a cappella only — and for an unforgettable lesson about worship.
“Before long,” says Redman, “we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and he commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. The song, ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.” (Mathis 2015).
In my own experience, I have found that worship is more meaningful and effective when it is simplified and heartfelt. I realize not everyone will agree with me. In fact, there are some in my church who disagree with me on this; however, I largely believe the way I do because of my past experiences and what God has spoken to me. Recently, I rediscovered a worship album that was released on September 11, 2001. The timing of this album seems divinely appointed given what happened that day, but this album was one of my go-to CDs when I would spend time in prayer. The album is called Worship by Michael W. Smith. I have been listening to this album in my car a lot lately and I always break out into tears because the beauty of God’s presence is felt so strongly in my car. The worship is so simple yet very effective. It has reinforced what I already know – God wants more than our talent and musicianship; He wants more than exciting beats and good lyrics; He wants our purest and simplest form of worship; He wants our HEARTS.
As a man with a call in ministry and a possible future as a worship pastor, I never want to lose sight of what true worship is. My goal is to make sure my worship is all about Jesus and not about me. It’s never about the band. It’s never about the talent or the hype. It’s about the presence of God and without His presence, all we make is noise void of His presence. Do we need music to worship? Probably not. Does music help us worship? Absolutely! But music or not; all God wants is our simplest form of worship and that’s exactly what I will give Him. Will you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnK24NOtYN8
SOURCES
Mathis, D. (2015, February 8). Back to the Heart of Worship. Retrieved from https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/back-to-the-heart-of-worship
Joshua Hawk 