I think about loving God and I do love God. But I am not sure what that is suppose to look like.
I think about worshipping God and I don't know what that is suppose to look like either. Is it something that I am suppose to do with music and what kind of music is best? Should the worship music be the kind of music I like or what God likes? After all we are worshipping the Creator. So if we don't like the kind of music that is being played, do we quit worshipping God? And is it really worship if I seem to like the song better if it makes me feel good? Isn't worship suppose to make God feel good instead of me?
A lot of the songs we sing tend to be about how God makes me feel instead of what is true about God. In worship, I will ask people to pray out loud and speak of the goodness or what are the attributes of God. And most times people don't pray anything. If they do pray it becomes about thanking Him for what He gave them. The weather, the friends, etc.
I wonder what will worship be like in 2035? Will the songs we sing today be like Kumbaya and How Great Thou Art? Will Carmen still be singing? Will TBN have a cheesy show with Mac Powell of Third Day as host? Will his songs be boring to high schoolers? (It may already be.)
Is worship culturally influenced? Is the raising of one's hands a cultural thing or is it true worship? I think I am in a time of silent worship. I listen in worship now instead of sing. I agree with words of the songs instead of singing the words without thinking about them. I don't clap, it hurts my hands. Is that bad?
I started crossing myself as a sign of reverence and worship. I kneel in private prayers as a sign of respect and honor to God. I spend not enough time listening for The Voice to speak.
I am asking The Worshipped what and how is the best way for ME to worship Him. I don't think I want to be responsible for how we should worship. I did that for too long and heard too many people say hurtful things about how I led worship. Isn't that strange that people would say terrible things about a worship leader's way of leading people into worship. But then I also had some people who told me they liked it when I led worship. Then is that really worship? Is there a style to truth? Doesn't a worship leader just lead people in acknowledging the truth?
(Please excuse the masculine pronouns, but it makes it easier to write.)
7 comments:
I appreciate your thoughts, Tony. I think those are good questions for worship leaders to ponder.
"Is worship culturally influenced? Is the raising of one's hands a cultural thing or is it true worship?"
I think there are good reasons to ask God how God wants to be worshipped. That said, in my perusal through scripture, worship that God asked for throughout history had culturally appropriate factors. As Jesus met us in a particular time and culture, God appears to have met people in their time and culture throughout our story together. God asked specific things of our worship but God also, at least in part, let us be the people who we were in the time and culture we existed as we came before him in worship.
A few years ago i really struggled with the whole worship thing (i still do to be honest). I asked God what worship he wanted from me, in time the answer came...it had nothing to do with music, lyrics, or a congregation. it was your previous post- "love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, strength, love your neighbor."
so i began to work on my mind, cause it was a mess. today i am struggling with loving my neighbor (and not just the one next door).
I believe that the truest act of worship that we can look to for example is Jesus' handing His life completely to the Father on the Cross- an active, free, and willing offering of His life up to heaven. The truest act of worship for us is a union with His suffering on the cross- and with His offering of His life to God.
This kind of worship is very quiet. In this worship I rest my head on Jesus' chest like St. John at the Last Supper, listening to His heart beat, listening to the silence between the beats.
Worship is offering up my own life and all my hourly sufferings in Union with His. It is the offering of my body by kneeling and making the sign of the cross. It is offering up my daily work, my hardships, my desires, and especially my sins, to Him.
I am nowhere near mastering a continuous union with God. But each day I encounter this union in the Eucharist. It is His gift. A 20th century philosopher, Marie-Dominique Philippe, said "the Eucharist is the silence of God, the loving silence of God given to us." Worship is humble- in its deepest sense it is listening to this silence- to the innermost parts of His heart as He hung on the cross.
Worship music is a means to an end, not an end in itself. I have given myself over to trust the Church and its gift of the Liturgy for this means to an end. I believe the scriptures that say "and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church" and so I comply with the Liturgy even when I don't like the music chosen.
My preference is Gregorian Chant because of its mystery and reverence and simplicity, but many parishes are still using Hootenanny songs, or Jesus Makes Me Feel Nice" songs. It is often frustrating and humiliating. But He is still there in the Eucharist. I will try and work to implement better quality music, but even with bad music at some parishes, Jesus is still merciful to our weaknesses in coming to be with us in the Eucharist.
The Church is larger than myself, and sometimes it is imposing. But I find myself dancing inside its boundaries because within the borders there is great freedom. Oops, I think I just stole that from Chesterton's book "orthodoxy"-- but that's how I feel anyways. :) I love you Tony, thanks for reading.
That is beautifully said, Elizabeth. Orthodoxy is one of my favorite books...
"First off, I think I am barely loving God with my soul..."
In ghetto vernacular, 'barely' has a subtly different meaning.
It does not mean 'sparsely' or 'meagerly'.
It's more like 'recently beginning to'.
As in, "I'm just barely finding out" or "I barely moved here."
God asked specific things of our worship but God also, at least in part, let us be the people who we were in the time and culture we existed as we came before him in worship.
I really like the way you put this, Bill. I also like that inclusiveness of the "we" there at the end. That's a big concept.
Thanks James.
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