Worship

Yes I know it's plain text...I'll fix it up when I get time...

Well after many hours of debating on what to write my next blog, and there are many, many topics that I could choose from, as a crapload of stuff has been happening, I've finally decided to write at least something, and see where it goes...

I've been reading a book called the A Heart For Worship (one of my mum's old books), I can't remember the author's name...it is really good, so far it's confirmed most of what I know about worship in only the first 10 pages. I'm really starting to wonder are we really getting it? What is worship? The most common definition is giving to God honor, exultation, adoration, praise, giving Him His due worth. So many times we focus more on ourselves than on God I wonder do we really worship at all, or do we get so caught up with going through the motions that we fool ourselves into thinking we are worshipping when in reality we are not...

This Sunday for me was a great example. Sunday morning service, I had no ride to church, so I had to make some quick decisions and ended up getting there almost half an hour late for practice. Needless to say I was way stressed and frustrated. Not the best atmosphere to be getting into worship and if I didn't know better, I wouldn't have been able too, even so it was quite difficult and I don't really think I was able to let go and fully worship God until about halfway through.

That night was not much better, it was a youth service, so there's always a bit more tension for me, being in charge, but only one singer turned up, and she was stressing pretty hardcore about not being able to sing. That right there is an indication that we focus on the wrong things... do we trust our voice? Th strength of our arm? Or do we trust God? I know which one's more reliable and it certainly isn't my voice. Stress is infectious and I was starting to get a bit stressed also, when God gave me a revelation on worship...which is what this is all about. What is worship? Giving to God His due worth. Another definition is focusing on the worthiness of the One, not focusing the worthiness of the one. We already know we aren't worthy, thinking about it is distracting and not beneficial to a worship atmosphere. Worship is all about God!

Another thing is that we can get so caught up in hype...by which I mean that we focus so much on making sure that the worship has pizazz, energy, flare, that it simply becomes a performance. I don't have anything against moshing for example, but when we HAVE to do it otherwise worship is crap, I have to wonder why? Why does everything have to be BIG all the time? Doesn't God take pleasure in the little things as well? And for that matter, how can ANY worship be crap, isn't it ALL glorifying to God? In Ezekiel, it says there is a time for noise AND a time for silence. While Elijah the prophet waited for God, an earthquake, a loud wind, a myriad of other BIG things passed by, but God wasn't in them, He was in the stillness, the quiet, the silence that followed.

I'm not saying that God isn't in the big things, but there HAS to be a balance. We can't assume to confine God to a box and say well this is just how we do it...the Pharisee's did that and God lamented, saying They worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me...another thing is that worship has nothing to do with music...shocked? Worship has absolutely nothing to do with music. It's true that the church as a general whole has placed this label on it...not all churches, people like Matt Redman who had a revelation and basically canned music in his church until people started finding other avenues of worship, but most churches...and it is also true that worship in the bible is associated with music, ie. praise Him with trumpets and clashing cymbols, David was a musician, etc., etc., but music has to do with worship, not the other way around. If the music is taking over, then it's time to scrap it, seriously folks. I can say this, because I am a musician, and have been for the last 10 years or so, so I'm well aware of the momentousness of my statement, I'm well aware of the consequences...

One last thing... worship leading. The name is a misnomer and attracts the wrong type of people. It's not leading worship at all, in fact nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing that makes worship leading anything near leading is the fact that the people on stage and the congregation with follow you, in OR out of God's presence. Remember that..in OR out...A worship leader should be simply put, a lead worshipper. And they have the awesome responsibility of being more receptive to God's leading than anyone else. Humility is key here, a lead worshipper NEEDS to have a servant heart with no thoughts of leading at all, are we here to make worship as we want it? Or make it pleasing to God? Are we here to lead worship or let God lead us? If we would lead worship, it MUST not be for leading sake. Sorry cholerics, you can't control worship.

Well, anyway, I could go on for another half an hour, haha, I love the topic of worship, but yeah, I pray that you would glean something from my fumblings in the dark, and come to a deeper understanding of God and what it means to truly worship...

GB, D-Man