Worship Hot Buttons

  I’ve been thinking a lot about corporate worship because next Wednesday I’m teaching at our mid-week service on I Corinthians 14.  That’s the part of Paul’s letter where he addresses the key issues going on in the public assembly at Corinth in their day – including speaking in tongues without interpretation and women speaking up with distracting or inappropriate comments.  The bottom line in Paul’s letter has to do with the reminder that in our worship gathering, all must be done in order for the purpose of edification.  I am feeling led to teach this passage with a focused application on a variety of worship hot buttons currently going on at my church, and what Scriptural principles we can use to navigate those issues.  I’ll share more about those next week.

But in my research process, I visited some helpful little books published by Multnomah Press, including one by Louie Giglio and one by Matt Redman.  Many church leaders are most likely familiar with both of these books, but they are worth re-visiting every so often to ground ourselves in the fundamentals of worship.  For example, Louie reminds us all,

“Worship isn’t something you watch, contrary to the thinking of many of us who attend church.  That may be hard to believe, given that in most churches the rows of seats (or pews) are arranged with sight lines in mind.  The lights also point to the stage…But here’s a news flash for you.  Worship isn’t something you attend, like a film or a concert.  Worship is something you enter into with all your might.  Worship is a participation activity in a spectator culture.”

I think we all know to our core that what Louie is saying is true…and yet we sometimes lose our way, asking a friend, “How do you think worship went today?”  referring to what happened up front, not how engaged and passionate were the participants.  For many of us, the rooms we lead worship in work somewhat against us, because of the theatrical kind of space, the technology that supports us, etc.  I truly believe these obstacles can be overcome, but not without sound teaching, and great intentionality on the part of both the leading worshipers and the congregation.

It does bring me some comfort to know that centuries ago, believers often needed to be reminded about the heart of worship, about our personal preparation for the corporate gathering, and about our tendency to make it all about us instead of about the God we came to honor and the brothers and sisters we live among.  As I study, I re-orient myself to the core truths about worship, and I pray that God will enable me to make a contribution to our faith community for our study together next week.

Comments

[Jan Owen]

Nancy, I love Rory Noland's new book to teach about worship itself: "Heart of a Worshiping Artist". I believe you could use this book to teach anyone about the heart of worship. I'm using it with my team, mentoring a young worship leader with it and have learned much from reading it myself. It helps me remember that the important thing about worship is encountering God and being transformed in His presence.
Blessings!

[allen]

Happened to connect with your blog today via a link on the blog of a friend in Australia. I love how connected our world is today!

Great looking blog and great post today! Thanks for that word.

[jay mckenney]

I have this quote in my offie..don't know whose it is..but I read it often.
"Whenever we have an opportunity or responsibility to influence the thinking and the behavior of others, the first choice we are called to make is whether to see the moment through the eyes of self-interest or for the benefit of those we are leading." Your post Nancy reminded me of that quote.

[Nancy Beach]

Allen Down Under,

Welcome to the blog! It is astounding how all of us are able to connect...

Nancy Beach