The Worship Battle

Many times I am asked my view on Worship in the church. Which style do I prefer? Why is one better than the other? so on and so forth. Honestly my position on worship will offend both sides of the traditional versus modern/ contemporary aisle.  I think both have it wrong. I think worship in most churches today is so screwed that very little honor and praise comes from it.  here are the issues I see

rings true in the hearts of many

1. We have put style over substance
   • Whenever we pick a style we often eliminate an aspect of our culture. The great music of years gone by still has relevance and still rings true in the hearts of many. If we are going to eliminate such large portions of our history and culture then we will feel shortcomings in our time together and our worship.
2. We have put preference over reverence
   • How many churches have pitted generations against each other over this issue? At any time do you think God was honored? No The fact of the matter is when we pick what we prefer over what is reverent and unifying is disrespectful to the very God we claim to serve.
3. We have put performance over relevance
   • This is the thing that bothers me the most. For years we have hired MUSIC directors in church. The number one qualifier for these men or women were that they had a degree in MUSIC we have been so concerned with the timing and the pitch and the tempo. We have become so concerned with perfection of the music that we have overlooked the perfection of the WORSHIP. Music and worship have to be understood as two different things some of the best worship leaders I know knew nothing about music beyond singing and reading a few notes. they couldn’t play and instrument well and they weren’t going to be asked to sing on a lot of albums but when they were there before the people they opened there hearts and led the people to the throne of the Father with such passion it blew me away.

The main thing the I seek, whenever I lead worship or am in worship is that in the course of the singing and the playing that the people being led get lost in the experience and connect with God in such a way that they forget there is anyone else in the room. It is in that that we should be focused and tied to.