Worship Matters

I feel the need to post this... I am creating a column to post in my new church's monthly newsletter... and I thought that posting it here would be a good thing as well! It was an especially difficult, and always ongoing examination of my heart...


After writing in and reading last month’s edition of the Overview, I was somewhat encouraged by what a wonderful resource this is for the church! So much going on from so many different angles, it seemed to me a shame for a resource like this to go to waste, so I am going to start a new column in it that I have affectionately called “Worship Matters” after one of my favorite books on Worship by Bob Kauflin. Why steal a book title name, you may ask… to which my response would be, Because Worship MATTERS! Would you not agree? Throughout the last 2 or 3 decades it seems like worship, or more appropriately music has been at the forefront of church discussion, direction, argument, conflict, thought, frustration, vision, etc… I mean really, we have even come up with the term “worship wars” to give an overarching name to that which has been one of the church’s biggest sticking points in recent history. It is my hope that through this column I can convey my thoughts about this subject as well as my heart, conviction and passion that come with it. Through these writings and continued discussion and exploration, I hope we can come to a point at which we are seeking true worship of the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!

I guess the first thing that one is supposed to do when starting a new column is to prove to the reader that it is a good read… I mean it wouldn’t make much sense to write something that no one wants to read, would it? So what’s in this that makes it a good article to read once a moth? I hope that it will perhaps be both necessary and informational? Maybe some humor? Worship is a very important thing for us to talk about, to know about, and to do. We come here every Sunday, sometimes twice, to “worship” God… we ought to know and understand why… and so that, I guess, is where we shall begin.

We come here each and every Sunday to Worship God. Why? Is this something we do out of a staunch, traditionalistic religiosity (big word for religious zeal)? Do we do this because our parents tell us to, or simply because it’s what we have always done on Sunday morning? I think that first and foremost, before we even look at what worship is, we need to know and understand why it is that we are here… not just here at Overisel, though that is a part of it, but here on this Earth. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (aka. the easier one to read) says in its first question and answer, Q.1. What is the chief end of man? A.1. Man's chief end is to glorify (worship) God and enjoy Him forever. Things don’t really get any simpler than that do they? What is the purpose of our being here? To Worship, Glorify, Honor, and Praise God! Not just on Sunday mornings either… FOREVER! Hallelujah and AMEN!

Given that Worship is the primary reason for our existence, I think it goes without saying that these things are important (probably closer to “vital, imperative,” or even “central”) to talk about… yes? Coming back to my favorite book, Bob Kauflin writes that worship is a matter of “infinite importance!” He goes on to ask the question, “Is it [worship] a matter of infinite importance to you?” Honestly, if the chief purpose of our creation is indeed to worship God, then shouldn’t it be the chief purpose of our lives as well? Too often we try to fill our lives with temporal things (idols if you will) to fill eternal holes.

God wants us to love (one definition of love being “worship”) Him more than anything else in our lives. Until we do just that, everything else in our lives will be out of sorts. Our worship extends beyond the few hours we spend at church each week… it is OUR LIVES. Worship is more than an opportunity to sing, use musical gifts, a heightened emotional experience, the latest songs, the best hymns, or even the instruments we use; worship is about Love, about what we live for, about who we are before God, and about the true focus and adoration of our hearts.

The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; he has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heard engaged steadfastly for God. –Isaac Watts (a really great hymn writer).

My Friends, as we embark on a journey to find the true meaning and focus of our worship, it is time that we deeply examine our lives as well…
How do I know what I love the most? By looking at my life outside of Sunday Morning. What do I enjoy the most? What do I spend the most time doing? Where does my mind drift to when I don’t have anything to do? What am I passionate about? What do I spend my money on? What makes me angry when I don’t get it? What do I feel depressed without? What do I fear losing the most?
Our answers to those questions will lead us straight to the God or goes we love and worship.
That’s why as worship leaders [and worshipers] the primary concern can’t be on song preparation, [instruments used, style of music] creative arrangements, or the cool gear. Our primary concern has to be the state of our hearts. – Bob Kauflin (with additions).

Grace and Peace…