Well.. The worship wasn't that good yesterday.

Well guys, here is a post from my older brother Russell. He is one of the wisest guys I know. So enjoy.

"How was church today?" "Well, it was good, but the worship just wasn't that good." I know most of us have either heard this exchange in some form or another. Perhaps, we have even casually offered this response to the question. Well, I want to take a minute to ponder that idea; to ponder worship. Now, I offer a couple disclaimers at the beginning: I understand what people intend to convey when they say this. They are either referencing their perceived lack of quality of the music that was played or voicing their disagreement with the style in which it was played. Also, this is in no way a "knock" on contemporary worship music or it's role in churches today; I love it as much as the next guy. This is more of an examination of what Matt Redman famously called the "heart of worship." So, bearing that in mind, let us look at worship for a minute. There are several points that arise from this commonly uttered phrase that I think need to be addressed.

Though it may not be quite as obvious as we would like to admit, worship is more than music. We know this. But do we know this? We simply choose to use the medium of music to express our thanks, praise, adoration, and much more to our God whom is deserving of it all. Music sung and played to God is not only a powerful way to express our worship, it is biblically condoned and even commanded. Just read the Psalms. Songs are beautiful and powerful. And today's hard-hitting contemporary style songs are equally so and aid many in their worship to our God. However, we must not restrict our idea of worship to simply songs sung to God. I want to distance the idea of worship from music as a whole because I fear they have become to closely intertwined in our minds. You all have read Romans 12:1. Well, here it is again to remind us. "...Present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Music is simply just one solitary way to worship the Lord, and it, in itself, neither adds or subtracts from our worship to God. Music is not your worship to God. It is a medium. A vehicle. I charge each one of us to look at himself or herself and discern whether or not the quality or style of music affects the quality of their worship to God. If so, I think we might have a shallow view of what worship actually is, or at least the worship mentioned in Romans 12. Having said that, I fully recognize that preferences and styles of worship are important. Wrong notes, shrill voices, or confusing songs distract us and draw our attention to them instead of its proper place. This is why it is important to find a church in which you feel comfortable and free to worship; and enjoy the type and style of music played. But, let us not be so quick to grade our worship on Sunday as sub-par because Johnny wasn't the best singer or the drummer was off a half beat. Strive to push through those little distractions to achieve what we gather to do: praise God. I often times want to respond with this, "I'm sorry I didn't know worship was for you." How self centered and "me" saturated have we become to need certain type of worship to "feel" God. Consider Chinese Christians worshipping underground who have no way to play music. Their worship is no less worthy or whole than ours, simply different. So, be mindful of how we view worship, not only in our churches but in our lives, as well. I think in this day and age of lights, smoke, and concert-like worship services (this is not sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek, it just simply is a fact of what churches incorporate into their services) we must be careful to guard our hearts. Let us not be caught up in the music, it's quality, notes or pretty tones, but let the object of our worship, Christ Almighty, always be before us. If we say, "the worship wasn't that good," to whom do we look for a remedy? We have only ourselves. Through modern and contemporary music, hymns and organs, a cappella services, or complete silence, let our God be worshipped the same: through our hearts and through our minds, and perhaps most importantly, through our actions.