Worship and Entertainment

"The church that can’t worship must be entertained. And men who can’t lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment." -A. W. Tozer

As a worship leader, Tozer’s words make me really stop and think. His quote could have been said this last week instead of 45 years ago, and made me want to explore what he said further. This exploration is done with fear and trembling, since Tozer was one of God’s giants and I don’t feel as if I could add anything to the power of his words. [I would encourage the reading of his What Ever Happened to Worship and Worship the Missing Jewel for some background.] Of the many discussions that could be made from Tozer’s comment, I just would like to briefly focus on the “entertainment” aspect and do it in a Q & A type format.

Q: What so wrong about entertainment, anyway? I listen to the radio all the time and when I go to church, I want to hear my favorite songs there too. Couldn’t it be both worship and entertainment?

A: The first thing we need to clarify is what is meant by the terms “worship” and “entertainment.” For simplicity, let’s define worship as that obedient response to the revealed nature and character of God. Remember in Isaiah’s experience [Chapter 6] God revealed Himself as Holy and the prophet saw himself as sinful, confessed and was forgiven. He was then able to hear God’s voice and responded in obedience, “Here am I, send me.” The focus of biblical worship is always God and God alone; Scripture calls anything less than that idolatry. Entertainment may be defined as “An activity designed to give pleasure or relaxation to an audience, no matter whether the audience participates passively as in watching opera or a movie, or actively as in games; a show put on for the enjoyment or amusement of others.” [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/entertainment] In both the intent of those performing and of those in the audience, the implied focus is, “How much does it please me?” Success in entertainment is measured in how well the audience found the performance personally pleasing. By nature it’s designed for that purpose. The central focus of worship is pleasing God. Personal likes and dislikes are laid aside as the worshiper seeks to focus on thanking God for what He has done and praising God for His nature and character. Entertainment and worship are polar opposites in relation to their focus and purpose.

In a consumer-driven culture, we are accustomed to having everything cater to our personal desires. However, rather than being salt and light and a reflection of biblical values in the culture around us, many Christians have allowed the attitude of “have it my way” infiltrate worship in the church. One might expect this from a believer new in the faith, much like a baby who is unaware of anything but his or her immediate needs. The tragedy occurs when the baby never moves beyond this point, – as a human being or as a worshiper– each day living as if the world revolves around “I want this,” and “I only like that.” Unfortunately, our culture certainly provides little encouragement toward more mature attitudes.

Confusion also exists between entertainment and inspiration. Look at this definition of “inspirational” and compare it to that of entertainment: “[a] a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation [b] the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions...” [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inspirational ] That which is inspirational can help move someone beyond selfish motives. It may or may not be spiritual in nature; as in the inspiration received watching the Olympics and the fruit of hard discipline and practice, and it may even motivate to be more diligent in exercise. Some music may inspire people toward a deeper relationship with God, but the focus remains on the receiver. A person being entertained with music might only want more entertainment for their own personal fulfillment. [Some may consider that inspiration is related to worship, since it might result in some kind of response, while others may debate it still would be too tied to personal feelings and not solely centered on God. That is a debate best saved for another time.] Suffice it to say that there is a confusion between entertainment and inspiration and it seems wiser to err on the side of caution, and maintain that worship finds its center in and on God, His nature and character and what He has done.

As we look at these considerations, we also need to reflect on why we approach God in worship in the first place. If we worship God so that our needs are met, we are focusing on ourselves. However, when we really focus on God in worship, somehow in God's grace, He meets our needs; the focus is on Him, not my needs or desires. We aren’t to pretend we haven’t needs when we come in worship. God invites us to bring our needs to Him; it is part of the model prayer that Jesus taught: “give us this day our daily bread..” At the same time we must remember that in that same prayer Jesus begins with a recognition of God’s nature [hallowed or Holy is Your name] and a complete submission to God’s will and purpose: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Even in the context of the Model prayer, it is a matter of priority. In worship, as in prayer, the priority of our focus must be on God.

Q: How do we measure what is entertainment or not? Is it dependent on style or tempo? Should we question motives of those leading? Can those that lead worship do it in such a way that it is worship for them, but received as entertainment, or led is such a way that it is entertainment, but received as worship?

A: Judging or trying to discern whether or not something is “entertainment” is problematic in at least two points: First, our responsibility in worship is to focus on God, not measure how pleasing it may or may not be to us personally. We are not to approach worship from the standpoint of entertainment in the first place. Secondly, if we are focusing on God’s nature and character, we are not trying to judge motivations of those participating.

Those leading worship who approach the service as “just another gig” are clueless as to their responsibility. While hypothetical situations are not always the best models to attempt explanation, I believe that there is less of a possibility of an entertainment-driven model producing worship, simply because the goal and the focus of the performers would not center themselves in God and would not be driven and controlled by the Spirit. I don’t doubt that such a situation might produce a myriad of emotions, but our measure of worship is adherence to biblical truth, not feelings, since the “heart is deceitful above all things.” [Jer. 17:9] As to whether a group that has lead worship in truly biblical manner might be perceived as entertainment, I believe that it is certainly possible if those on the receiving end are ignorant of what worship is and unprepared for it.  

Worship should not be defined in terms of emotional expression, though such expressions are sometimes a result. The danger arises when we begin to measure our worship experience in terms of an emotional response. Consider the following statement: “I don’t think I really worshiped today, I only got to like a ‘5,’ instead of the “10" I had last week.” Although few might say this out loud, the number of worshipers that “church hop” from church to church seem to express the intent. Let’s review again the definition of worship: that obedient response to the revealed nature and character of God, not some predetermined level of emotional response. However, worship is not the annihilation of our personalities; reading through the Psalms confirms the myriad of expressions David had in worship.

Q: How are we to deal with our emotions, then, in worship?

A: Consider this illustration: A father goes on several business trips a year and each time brings a gift for the children. After a while, the children would meet him at the door when he returned, but they really didn’t want to see him as much as to see what he might had brought them. Their focus has changed from their father to what might be given. If we are not careful, our worship can shift from waiting on “Daddy” to the “gift.” Whether or not there is a gift of emotion, that should not become the measure of our worship or the change of our focus.

The depth of our knowing Christ is related more to our experience with Him, than just our feelings of emotions. The broader and deeper our life experiences, the wider and more profound the depths that God can take us to show us more of Himself. I can only know Him as “Comforter,” when as I experience sorrow. I learn to know Him as my “Refuge” when in storm; as my “Healer” in sickness, etc. I may know mentally that He is my “Teacher and Guide,” but when I am faced with a difficult decision to make or direction to take, as I trust in Him, I learn from experience who He is those areas. True depth of our knowledge of Christ is much more profound than our feelings and help us learn the multitude of facets of His nature and character.

The role of the worship leader is not one of providing great entertainment. Churches that demand such only reveal how bankrupt they are in their understanding of biblical worship. Leaders that succumb to the temptations of entertainment miss the joy of pleasing the One who really matters. May God keep us focused on His priorities and grant us the desire to remain grounded in a biblical understanding of worship.
  

Ed Steele