As a pastor I hear and read a lot about the worship wars. That is, the conflict between those who think we should worship in a traditional way, with liturgy, and those who think we should worship in a more contemporary way, with what is called “praise and worship.” The battle usually boils down to preferences for styles in music.
What would you say if I told you that the main issue in worship is not music? In fact, when worship is described in the Bible worship music is seldom mentioned. While we fuss over music styles and degrees of formality we are losing a more serious battle. Men are becoming bored with church and leaving in droves. Why? It is not because men are not spiritual, but because worship is not touching their hearts. It is not allowing them to encounter the living God in a deep and profound way.
Worship is that which ascribes glory and honor to God. It recognizes the power and greatness of God and realizes we are corrupt in his sight. There is a sense of awe and wonder at God’s glory, power, and mystery.
Two things about worship that we totally miss in the worship wars. First, worship is primarily sacrifice. From the first instances recorded in Scripture men took the first and best of their livestock and sacrificed it before God. This was huge when you think about the fact that food was extremely hard to come by and wealth was measured by the number of animals on the hoof. Do we have sacrifice as a component of worship today? No. The worship wars are not about worshiping God, they are about entertainment. We do not challenge men to sacrifice to God, a need that is written deeply within our hearts. We instead want to include them in our services and programs with lots of entertainment and touchy-feely sharing.
Secondly, worship is about challenge and life change. I appeal to Isaiah chapter 6, where the prophet-yet-to-be encounters a vision of heavenly worship and the One True God. Six-winged creatures fly tirelessly shouting (not singing) what we call the Sanctus: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah is so deeply affected that immediately he is convicted of his sin. He then enthusiastically signs up for a hopeless mission because he is so moved and inspired by the spectacle. Isaiah comes from the encounter radically changed.
I am convinced that men need face-to-face encounters with the One True God that leave them awe-struck and so inspired they are ready to take on hell with a water pistol. They need to be captivated by the mystery of the holy and drawn to search out more. Happy-clappy praise and worship jingles, and touchy-feely love songs to Jesus will not cut it. Praise-and-worship is not worship in the biblical sense, even if it does quote Scripture. Liturgy is pointless unless it obviously points to Christ. Jesus motivated his disciples by intentionally pushing them into dangerous and overwhelming situations only to see him pull it out time and again. Every day was an adventure with Jesus. Men want to follow a dangerous and unpredictable God like Jesus.
Genuine worship for the man who has separated himself from the world and discovered his true heart will demand sacrifice and commitment. It will produce measurable change in his life. It will challenge him to do what it takes to serve the One True God. It will transform him to live his life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
What would you say if I told you that the main issue in worship is not music? In fact, when worship is described in the Bible worship music is seldom mentioned. While we fuss over music styles and degrees of formality we are losing a more serious battle. Men are becoming bored with church and leaving in droves. Why? It is not because men are not spiritual, but because worship is not touching their hearts. It is not allowing them to encounter the living God in a deep and profound way.
Worship is that which ascribes glory and honor to God. It recognizes the power and greatness of God and realizes we are corrupt in his sight. There is a sense of awe and wonder at God’s glory, power, and mystery.
Two things about worship that we totally miss in the worship wars. First, worship is primarily sacrifice. From the first instances recorded in Scripture men took the first and best of their livestock and sacrificed it before God. This was huge when you think about the fact that food was extremely hard to come by and wealth was measured by the number of animals on the hoof. Do we have sacrifice as a component of worship today? No. The worship wars are not about worshiping God, they are about entertainment. We do not challenge men to sacrifice to God, a need that is written deeply within our hearts. We instead want to include them in our services and programs with lots of entertainment and touchy-feely sharing.
Secondly, worship is about challenge and life change. I appeal to Isaiah chapter 6, where the prophet-yet-to-be encounters a vision of heavenly worship and the One True God. Six-winged creatures fly tirelessly shouting (not singing) what we call the Sanctus: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah is so deeply affected that immediately he is convicted of his sin. He then enthusiastically signs up for a hopeless mission because he is so moved and inspired by the spectacle. Isaiah comes from the encounter radically changed.
I am convinced that men need face-to-face encounters with the One True God that leave them awe-struck and so inspired they are ready to take on hell with a water pistol. They need to be captivated by the mystery of the holy and drawn to search out more. Happy-clappy praise and worship jingles, and touchy-feely love songs to Jesus will not cut it. Praise-and-worship is not worship in the biblical sense, even if it does quote Scripture. Liturgy is pointless unless it obviously points to Christ. Jesus motivated his disciples by intentionally pushing them into dangerous and overwhelming situations only to see him pull it out time and again. Every day was an adventure with Jesus. Men want to follow a dangerous and unpredictable God like Jesus.
Genuine worship for the man who has separated himself from the world and discovered his true heart will demand sacrifice and commitment. It will produce measurable change in his life. It will challenge him to do what it takes to serve the One True God. It will transform him to live his life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.
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