July 09, 2008
Worship
After learning that I started attending another church a woman said to me, “I’m so glad you’re back in church and have found a place to worship.” Gulping air like a fish out of water I explained I wasn’t back in church because I’d never left. I’ve always been in attendance. Speaking to me as though I’d been Gospel deprived she continued, “Well at least now you can worship.” It took me a few days to understand what I think she meant. Today’s church will tell you that worship is the celebration in music, hymns and praise songs which precedes the message. According to Webster’s the definition of worship is: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also: an act of expressing such reverence. I think it’s unfortunate that leaders try not only to define, but also confine worship. I’ve found that over the years my style of worship has changed. Right now simply hearing a thought provoking message or reading Scripture is an act of worship for me.
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4 comments:
Gail;
-----OK then, I guess we need to suggest a new definition for the word “revere”. Worship can not be about reverence while the trappings of reverence is being held as the prime suspect for why young people are staying away from church. Don’t get me wrong, these contemporary celebration minded people call their service activities “worship” and their attitudes “reverent”; I am not saying they deny the importance of these two concepts. I am saying they themselves do not match the actual definition of these words.
-----Everything they wish to do in their services is based upon celebration. Celebration is about ceremony of respect and praise, of recognition of benefactions received, and of thanksgiving and rejoicing. It is a looking to what has been done for us. And that is good. But what is heinous in making it the substance of our church activity is that it isn’t all there is, by far. Celebration does not contain reverence, because reverence looks up to the one being revered regardless of what that one has done to or for the one doing the revering. Even if God sent me to Hell it would be proper for me to revere Him even from there, because reverence is entirely about Him and what He is, without any reference to me. But I could not celebrate in Hell, unless I could celebrate that He did not send you there as well. But even in that case, celebration still must find a beneficiary in order to praise the benefactor. Reverence does not, it reveres simply because of the character of the one revered. Therefore, absolute humility and self abandonment is required for reverence, for the self is not a party of the worshipped. But self is a party to the celebrated, for the receipt of benefit is the occasion of celebration.
-----I think it is vital to celebrate, because we have received great benefit. But it is critical to worship, because regardless of benefit, He is Who He is, kind of like He said, “I Am Who I Am, Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14). He in no way needs me to be who He is, and I need to express that fact. We call it worship, which is the showing of reverence, which is “all about Him” if anything is all about Him.
-----The genius of contemporary leaders does not understand this. “I” seems to be always close to all of their expressions. “Here I am to worship…” as if the Lord had been holding His breath till I showed up! Hogwash! “Here You are, Lord, to be worshipped…” is my expression! Sure, they write a few phrases in a few songs without that one letter word as either the subject or object of the lyric, but I get sick of “I…I…I…I‘ing…me…me…me…me’ing” the Lord in the overwhelming predominance of the contemporary tunes supposedly worshipful of Him. The character devastation wreaked by their missing, genuine reverence is easily observable in the way they treat their brethren who need the worshipful expression the contemporaries have called “dirge music.”
Love,
Steve Corey
Still hung up on music? Such a petty thing in comparison to slavation, and the gift and command of Christ. Can you imagine telling Christ I just could not Worship(worship is much more than music) because the music was not of my likeing! You were not enough for me. Jesus,if I would have had the right music,me and my friends could have really had Relevant worship..
Hi Anonymous,
Because music continues to change, I think there will always be hang ups of sorts. What we now know as praise songs will someday be replaced with something new. Then those wanting to keep praise songs will be no different than those who today want to keep hymns. It sure makes me appreciate the fact that the Bible is constant and unchanging.
Gail
Anonymous;
-----Maybe it is time to just get down to the simple basics of what our new life in the Lord is all about. If you are not a changed person by the One you confess in calling yourself a Christian, then you are counted with the goats in the Day that matters. If you have not love, you can cry out, “Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Praise be to Jesus! Jesus is everything! Nothing else is anything! JESUS! JESUS!” and it will do you no more good than those who will cry out, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” (Matthew 7:22) The change is not a change from being not religious to being religious, or from being Muslim religious to being Christian religious, or from being a pew potato to being an elder. The change is from being selfish to being loving.
-----Satan twisted the concept of fellowship to make self its basis. Christ lived the perfect life then died your death to make it about others. What is this gift you mention that is Jesus’ command? Well you had better be certain that it is love, because that is THE command He gave when He left. For all the Law and Prophets hang upon those commands to love your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Paul fleshed it out further for us when he wrote, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (I Corinthians 13:1-3)
-----So why should your telling your neighbor that he can not worship in your celebration service with any of his reverent hymns because it is so important for you to use the service to reach others any different than what Paul wrote? What? Because those neighbors who want to worship with hymns are just weaklings, hung up on petty things in comparison to salvation? Petty things? Petty to you or petty to them? If these hymns were petty to them, why would they be a hang up to them? Of course they are not petty to them! They are very significant to them, and that is what they have been trying to communicate to you for many years! Would strong brethren with love not listen to them? Or would they judge what is significant to their neighbors to be petty just because it seems petty to themselves? That is love? Insisting that others understand they way you
do? Seeing the same things to be petty that you label as petty?
-----Certainly not! Love is not jealous or boastful with the gathering of the saints. It is not arrogant or rude about what is allowed to be a part of the worship. It does not insist upon its own contemporary music. Nor is it irritable or resentful towards those who honestly feel traditional hymns are significant, even though you judge them to be petty. Even if love knew contemporary music was a must, it would be patient and kind with its brethren who would feel lost without the music they understand. It would bear with those brethren, singing hymns to them as well, believing them to be brethren, hoping they will be edified, and it would endure the loss of not being able to insist upon its own way of
having only contemporary music. This same Paul wrote, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him.” (Romans 15:2). He also wrote, “Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4). Jesus did not count being equal to God as something to be grasped above loving you
enough to die for you. And you can not count your contemporary music as petty enough to let your brother feel some significance for his traditional hymns? I don’t know, Anonymous, I am afraid to make the next logical statement. I will just trust that you maybe failed to think more than fourteen inches into a problem twenty feet deep. For I am going to trust that you also hold love to be the greatest of commandments, not the Great Commission served after the main attraction of contemporary tunes, knee slapping jokes, and other forms of gratuitous entertainment. Some feel that is important, and if it is important to them it is important to me. I have never said it was not. I have never said traditional only is important. Not forcing your ways upon your brethren is important. That is love. That is not petty and not about music, Anonymous, it is significant and about love for your brethren, honor for your brethren, respect for your brethren.
Love to you, Anonymous
Steve Corey
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