January 18th, 2008

When worship becomes more than worshiping God

I am not a natural worshiper, my wife is but I am not (one reasons why we are so perfect together :) ) but worship is important to the soul and personal relationship with God. God enjoys praise and he does not care if it is through a 10 piece professional album releasing worship band or a bunch of people worshiping in the lounge of their room. He just wants to you to worship him, as its a sweet noise to God.

Worship is all about worshiping God and nothing else.
Worship is all about worshiping God and nothing else.

It is no coincidence that God brings talented musicians to his kingdom. David was talented played the harp for Saul and in Australia a lot of the finalists of Australian Idol have been linked to churches. However while there has been many talented musicians playing for God, it also can bring a situation were the music becomes not about God but rather themselves.

How do you realise when it becomes more than worshiping God?

  1. God does not like to be boxed in, he cannot move in the spirit when it happens, I do believe that in a church service you cannot have ridged set (time) limits, if God is prompting for a short song service so he can move in the sermon - STOP PLAYING! The worship is not the most important element of the service!
  2. If people loose interest and are sitting down and not participating - STOP PLAYING. The worship band is there for the service of the people, they are not there for you.
  3. The worship team are not the most important of the church, the most important are the people, without the people, there is no church. Serve them, serve their needs and do not expect them to serve yours.
  4. Music lyrics not about Jesus. If the music is not about Jesus, why are you up there? Its time to worship Jesus and not your talents as a music writer. Why do we sing songs without the name of Jesus/ God in there? We might as well be singing about someone else.
  5. Worrying about the sound or having it too loud, stop worrying about the fall back and just worship! It should not matter if you can hear yourself or not. God can and thats all that matters.

As you can tell by my 5 points, the worship band is all about serving. So when worship has stopped serving the people, you know that worship has become more than worshiping God. The Worship Answer Book backs up what I suggest and offers much more on how to get worship right and rightly serve the way God intended it.

Please note that while this may seem like a rant, I hope it is more used as a check list and help to make sure that the people in the church get what God intended the worship team to do.

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I think that worship is an major part of your relationship with God but its not the only factor. Many of us can get caught up in the moment. But I ALSO think that Worship is not just for us but for others who on look. There is no doubt that when the presence of God is there during a worship service that even an unbeliever can not say that there is not an intangible presence of God when his followers are worshipping him.

Comment by Ari — February 4th, 2008 @ 11:56 am

btw i really like this article… its clear and easy to read (for me who is not much of a reader)

Comment by Ari — February 4th, 2008 @ 11:56 am

Similar lines by another blogger

http://blog.aaronhavens.com/?p=60

Comment by GermWorks — February 15th, 2008 @ 10:15 am

Another blog author agreeing with me

http://mondaymorninginsight.com/index.php/site/comments/worship_is_not_entertainment/

Comment by GermWorks — April 2nd, 2008 @ 9:06 am

I would like to add a few thoughts. Yet, not everything here is in direct response to what was written. Some thought are “in addition to” the article. But please take all my thoughts as constructive. Not destructive.

I’ve spent a good deal of time working on the balance between music playing and using that music to instill worship from myself and others around me.
I’ve had to try to continue this balance while playing with quite a few different types of people and groups.
It is not an easy task… mainly streaming from the fact that this is a very opinionated task. Not just worship, but music as well.

1. I agree with the “boxed in” expression. Completely. We can never know how God will use the time and situation we’re in. This is not to say that we do not plan a service or try to be efficient and effective with our time. It just means to be open enough to break it all down when needed.

2. Worship is not only about music. The article semi-suggests otherwise by the way it was written. Music is just one outlet for our worship. Worship is often shown by our attention and affection… usually by where are time is most spent. But in keeping with the music theme, let’s continue.

3. A side thought on the article’s point number twp. Sometimes halting a “song set” may be the answer to a lack of participation or effectiveness in helping others to the worship, but better than that would be to adjust and have a “plan b” song that can really help open hearts or change attitudes.

“The worship band is there for the service of the people, they are not there for you.”

Then serve the people. Don’t just “give up” on them. Just a thought.
But more than this, if you are not being effective to the point where people are loosing “interest”. There is a larger problem at hand. And it may not be the music/worship at all. This goes deeper to each individuals heart and relationship with Christ. (another topic - another time)

4. About article point number three. I agree. The worship band is NOT the most important part of the church. But… then again, nor is the people. Our focus should be on Christ.

But I assume you were mainly trying to say, the praise and worship team should keep a servant’s attitude, and work hard to address the needs of fellow Christians and church-mates. And not “drag” fellow worshipers around. This is correct.

A worship team needs to step up a notch and understand that they have to be “LEAD worshipers”. Not only aware of the others around, and adjust accordingly (which includes the skills of vocals and instruments - soften up/slow down when needed)… but actually do all of this while WORSHIPING Christ at the same time. This is a big responsibility.
This takes lots of practice and lots of away-from-the-music time with your fellow team members.

5. I agree that the content of the songs should be Christian based, this does NOT mean that every song has to have the name “Jesus” or “God” or the word “Christian” in the actual lyrics. But being themed in songs to or about Christ and our relationship with Him is strongly strongly encouraged.

6. About the last point: number 5. This has been discussed quite a bit around the tables I sit at. I’d like your thoughts on these opinions as well.

Worrying about the sound..well. Yes and No.

First of all, this whole category should be taken care of before worship even begins. This is what practice if for.
And practice is important. If you don’t think so, then you should reconsider your priorities. If you don’t have time to practice, then you probably don’t have worship on a high enough priority list.

The sound does not have to be perfect. But it has to be good enough to not be a distraction.
Often times, a playing error or sound glitch or off-balance sound can disrupt as much as the electric guitar solo that could have been toned down or left out all together.
Some of this can be prevented simply by allowing the musicians and vocalists to hear themselves. I always prefer a good monitor mix. It allows me to raise and lower my own dynamics when I feel necessary.
This also jumps back to practice. Know your instrument… and consider the work you do with it for God. So play and sing the BEST you can. This means practice. Shouldn’t God receive your best?
Practice practice practice.

This definitely includes getting the sound system and mix working correctly. There’s nothing like some good feedback from a mic in the middle of worship.

Take care of anything that could cause focus on God to be disrupted. Take care of it BEFORE worship is going to take place!

So… back to the point of the article.

Worship God:
- when you practice
- when you set up any equipment or stage
- when the music starts
- while you serve fellow Christians by SHOWING them how to worship by being a “LEAD Worshiper”
- while providing a place for them to worship right along side of you.

Comment by onetimesilence — April 3rd, 2008 @ 4:12 am

Wow what a great comment. What I really like about your comment is that you give it from a musicians point of view which helps balance out my points which will just add further weight to the article and the points we discussed.

I like how you say worship God all the time when you practice etc. I think one of the main problems of the musicians fiddling with the sound and screaming at the poor soundman is when if they cant hear themselves they turn it up or play louder. This actually makes the mess worse. Instead of turning it up, turn down the others (usually drums are main culprit - :lol: )

btw thanks for pointing out that Worship is not just about music but rather a part of worship. Tithing, being a testimony, praying, witnessing, fellowship etc are all other forms of Worshiping God.

GermWorks’s last blog post..No Matter What it Takes - Jeremy Camp

Comment by GermWorks — April 3rd, 2008 @ 8:42 am

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