I value what you're saying. I think you have good insights into this subject and appreciate your reflections; so thank you for sharing them.
I too feel a huge lift when the congregation really gets into the music, singing strongly, jubilantly, etc. But what I'm saying is, if I am seeking my joy it will always tend to be just about that . . . how am I feeling in worship. Worship becomes something for me and about me! This is wrong. Worship is for God, not for us. It is about what brings pleasure, honor, and satisfaction to God, not necessarily to us. It is a capacity God has given us to express our love and His greatness back to him.
Having said that, I confess to the discovery of a great truth! After 36 years of marriage, I have found my deepest needs being met, and my most satisfying joys being realized, not in seeking to meet my needs or pursue my joys, but rather in seeking to know the needs of my wife and practicing the service of her needs and joys. It has been interesting to me and deeply satisfying and joyous to me personally when I serve her, rather than myself. I think I experience the same thing in worship, i.e. when, in worship, I seek to honor and serve the desire and pleasure of God rather than of me, then God also meets with me in worship in ways that are truly pleasurable and life-changing for me. But when I seek to use worship as a means for my own pleasure I adulterate the worship. In such a case, no matter how fervently I sing or bow or confess, "worship" does not connect my soul to God's. God may still be honored by my commitment to worship duty, but I don't feel God's presence, nor the joy connecting with God in the worshipping community.
So, in short I begin with this maxim: Worship is for and about God, not me. But neverthless, God seems to enjoy pouring back on me some of the joy he must experience as He dwells in the midst of His worshipping people. And that is deeply satisfying to me as well.
Do I detect a common presupposition in this thread? A presupposition is an an assumption or supposition one is making without realizing he or she is making it? Nevertheless, as a supposition that is "precognitive," it still influences and structures one's thinking on a subject. The presupposition I may be detecting is that worship ought to be pleasing (or otherwise acceptable) to the worshiper. It seems like much of the critique is influenced by this presupposition. How might we evaluate worship services if our only question was more clearly defined by something like, "is (was) this worship service, pleasing to God?"
Have you noticed the questions that people ask their friends as they're leaving the service? "Did you like the worship?" In our self-centered society, it has not even occurred to us that we are usually "worshiping" God really for our benefit and enjoyment, not for God's pleasure and glory. Would you like to hear people leaving your church after the service asking their friends, "Did God like the worship?" "Was God honored by our worship today?" "Did you worship God in spirit and truth?" You get the point; in other words, how would the worship service be evaluated from God's perspective rather than ours?
Father, may you find in us the kind of worshipers you seek, those who will worship you in spirit and truth, for your glory and pleasure. Should we personally also enjoy the worship service . . . well, thank you Lord for you blessings.
AMEN. Well written Neil. This is "Basic Christianity." But it is also "Intermediate Christianity," and it is "Advanced Christianity." That is, we must always be totally reliant on the Holy Spirit to live a life honoring to God whether we are a new babe in Christ or a maturing elder. We do pick up skills and understanding along the journey, but unfortunately when we do, we tend to move out on our own before prayer and surrender to God, thinking something like, "we know what to do." We might be right. We might in fact approach our task exactly as the Holy Spirit would have us approach the task. But with one critical missing element--the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. Why? Simply because we did not pause long enough to submit ourselves and the task to Christ in prayer before we got started on it.
Posted in: “Contemporary Worship” Doesn’t Have to Be Empty of History
Hi John.
I value what you're saying. I think you have good insights into this subject and appreciate your reflections; so thank you for sharing them.
I too feel a huge lift when the congregation really gets into the music, singing strongly, jubilantly, etc. But what I'm saying is, if I am seeking my joy it will always tend to be just about that . . . how am I feeling in worship. Worship becomes something for me and about me! This is wrong. Worship is for God, not for us. It is about what brings pleasure, honor, and satisfaction to God, not necessarily to us. It is a capacity God has given us to express our love and His greatness back to him.
Having said that, I confess to the discovery of a great truth! After 36 years of marriage, I have found my deepest needs being met, and my most satisfying joys being realized, not in seeking to meet my needs or pursue my joys, but rather in seeking to know the needs of my wife and practicing the service of her needs and joys. It has been interesting to me and deeply satisfying and joyous to me personally when I serve her, rather than myself. I think I experience the same thing in worship, i.e. when, in worship, I seek to honor and serve the desire and pleasure of God rather than of me, then God also meets with me in worship in ways that are truly pleasurable and life-changing for me. But when I seek to use worship as a means for my own pleasure I adulterate the worship. In such a case, no matter how fervently I sing or bow or confess, "worship" does not connect my soul to God's. God may still be honored by my commitment to worship duty, but I don't feel God's presence, nor the joy connecting with God in the worshipping community.
So, in short I begin with this maxim: Worship is for and about God, not me. But neverthless, God seems to enjoy pouring back on me some of the joy he must experience as He dwells in the midst of His worshipping people. And that is deeply satisfying to me as well.
Posted in: “Contemporary Worship” Doesn’t Have to Be Empty of History
Do I detect a common presupposition in this thread? A presupposition is an an assumption or supposition one is making without realizing he or she is making it? Nevertheless, as a supposition that is "precognitive," it still influences and structures one's thinking on a subject. The presupposition I may be detecting is that worship ought to be pleasing (or otherwise acceptable) to the worshiper. It seems like much of the critique is influenced by this presupposition. How might we evaluate worship services if our only question was more clearly defined by something like, "is (was) this worship service, pleasing to God?"
Have you noticed the questions that people ask their friends as they're leaving the service? "Did you like the worship?" In our self-centered society, it has not even occurred to us that we are usually "worshiping" God really for our benefit and enjoyment, not for God's pleasure and glory. Would you like to hear people leaving your church after the service asking their friends, "Did God like the worship?" "Was God honored by our worship today?" "Did you worship God in spirit and truth?" You get the point; in other words, how would the worship service be evaluated from God's perspective rather than ours?
Father, may you find in us the kind of worshipers you seek, those who will worship you in spirit and truth, for your glory and pleasure. Should we personally also enjoy the worship service . . . well, thank you Lord for you blessings.
Posted in: Waiting for the Spirit
AMEN. Well written Neil. This is "Basic Christianity." But it is also "Intermediate Christianity," and it is "Advanced Christianity." That is, we must always be totally reliant on the Holy Spirit to live a life honoring to God whether we are a new babe in Christ or a maturing elder. We do pick up skills and understanding along the journey, but unfortunately when we do, we tend to move out on our own before prayer and surrender to God, thinking something like, "we know what to do." We might be right. We might in fact approach our task exactly as the Holy Spirit would have us approach the task. But with one critical missing element--the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. Why? Simply because we did not pause long enough to submit ourselves and the task to Christ in prayer before we got started on it.