While in an elevator I overheard a discussion between two Worship Leaders. They each were experiencing the battle of the worship styles. You know the one, traditional hymns versus contemporary songs. The one leader said he had just spoken with someone who told him “ your type of worship is just not for me. We are going to be looking for a different place to attend church”
I was at my floor before I could hear the repose but this got me thinking. How many times have I sat in a service and thought “this type of worship is just not my style, it really is not for me”.
As I continued pondering this idea of worship I realized there were two separate issues in this conversation that was weighing on me. The first being that age old debate between traditional and contemporary worship and if there is a place for both within a church. Robert Webber states that “A worship that will have staying power is a worship that is firmly grounded in the old, yet aware of and concerned for new ways to respond to the old, old story.”
I do believe there is room for both. And our pastor has found a way to include both traditional hymns with the contemporary worship songs in our corporate worship. She calls these mash-ups. Two songs written decades apart are grounded in the same scripture/truth.
The second involved the statement “this type of worship is just not my style, it really is not for me”. How arrogant of me to think that.
Worship is a response to God, an offering to Him. We should be more worried about if it is pleasing to God.
At the heart of corporate worship is one on one worship. Matthew 15:8-9 clearly shows us that Jesus is just as concerned with the heart of the individual as he was with the congregational worship.
“People honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are nowhere near Me. Because they elevate mere human ritual to the status of law, their worship of Me is a meaningless sham.” Matthew 15:8-9
Paul understood this and we to must acknowledge that our entire life takes place before God, an individualized demonstration to Him. And it is this demonstration that has an ongoing effect in how we set ourselves apart.
We were created for one purpose, to worship God. And to do that in its entirety we must become a living sacrifice. Worship is not just those few minutes before the message on Sunday. Worship is a way of life. Our lives are no longer compartmentalized, our entire life every aspect of “personal life”, “work-life”, “social life”, and “church life” merges into an active life that is willing to submit to God and reject the world.
As Christians, we must pursue God and offer up our everything.
Worship to is not just about encompassing all areas of your life but also about worshiping in all the ups and downs too, and who best to exemplify this than Job. Job praised the Lord in the good times and in the worst of times. His commitment to the Lord set the perfect example of giving the whole of your life.
“Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship, and said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. ” Job 1:20-21
Worship is looking inward and responding to God with a heart that treasures Him and that is content in His love. God’s gift of worship is meant to be a testament to our relationship with Him. Therefore the simplest thought is that worship is a response to God, an offering to Him whether you take the traditional route or the contemporary one.
Matthew 2:2 “We have come to worship Him…”