Spirit And Truth

"For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:24....."Why are there worship wars? Because we've made a god out of our style preferences."......."In recent worship wars, we've exalted the musician above the Word, the beat above the Bible, and feelings above faith." Michael Catt

I was there for the height of the "worship wars" in the 90's. I often got phone calls from people looking for a church who wanted to know what kind of music we had, "traditional or contemporary." We tried to do a blend, but in truth, we did lean towards a more contemporary format. When traditionalists heard that, they ended the conversation. When those seeking a more contemporary style heard the word "blended," they did too. All this led me to a years-long prayerful study of just what true worship is. My conclusion? A whole lot (most?) of what we're calling worship, isn't worship at all.

Catt's above words are painfully and convincingly true. Many have made a god of their preferred style of worship. They don't believe they can experience Him in any other way. His points about exalting the musician, beat, and feelings are also true. I think the majority of the church has adopted and become comfortable with what most describe as "contemporary worship." I've no problem with that, and have become very attuned to the style as well. We may not any longer be fighting "worship wars," but we certainly need to "fight" to find the true heart of worship, because I believe we are losing it, and may have lost it already.

In the 80's and 90's, the thinking started to be that people were very used to having their senses stimulated through advertising, entertainment, and so on. The church began to think that to effectively reach people, especially the unchurched, it had to follow suit. I get that and in part, don't argue with it. Yet, I think that we have so emphasized the idea of creating an atmosphere that seeks to reach our natural senses and emotions, and gotten sidetracked from what the fullness of worship must include. Catt writes, "Too often we've emphasized feelings of intimacy and de-emphasized the holiness of God." We've made worship far more about us and what we want than about Him and what we must give Him. We're so determined to have "worship" that is welcoming to people that we have forgotten to ask if it is welcoming to His heart. Catt askes, "Would we recognize God if He interrupted our worship routine?" The actual answer to that is frightening to contemplate. It's frightening because I think we have put so much energy into what we want to see happen that we leave no room for a sovereign move of the Spirit of God.

I read an article recently that said that more and more "worship services" were taking on the look of a concert. This at least bears some examination. If you watch a video of the crowd at a pop culture star's performance, and then go to one featuring a large scale "worship service," it's a bit hard to tell the difference. The similarities in lighting, props, and even how the musicians and singers physically place themselves are vivid. Again, I don't advocate going back to the style of the 50's and 60's, but upon what and who is our focus in all of this? Can we honestly say that it's Him?

Some years back I read a book on worship by Matt Redman who wrote the beautiful "Heart Of Worship." In it he wrote of how he, as a worship leader, had become totally frustrated at his own ministry of worship. As a result, he and his pastor agreed to have their church "fast" all music and song in their fellowship for several months. They used their gatherings to simply come together and focus on Him. He wrote that when they came back to using instruments and singers, there was a vitality to their worship they'd never had or known. Maybe some form of this "fast" would be needed by every church these days.

May we each and all be challenged today in what we call our worship life. May we allow Him to search our hearts, and discover whether, at heart, we really are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. Unless that is, we fear finding out the answer.

Blessings,

Pastor O