Things that Impede Worship...

C. S. Lewis spoke how dogs generally won't look to what you point at with your finger, instead, they go sniff the finger, missing your intentions. Worship, for many, is like that. They begin to focus on worship itself, rather than the God to whom all worship belongs.   As I teach and converse with students about worship, one of the most common things I find is the fascination of the "feelings" of worship. There is a sense that if they haven't felt like they had in the past, then it must not have been real worship. Worship, like love, is reflected more in commitment, than feeling. Like the dog, they keep sniffing the finger, rather than see the point of real focus.

If we were to get specific about what some of these “fingers” are, I would start with the following, but would certainly welcome others that fit the illustration:
●    Focusing on the feelings and emotions of worship. Not that experiencing a specific feeling is wrong, but our emotional state is not the measure of our worship, but our loving obedience to what God has called us to do.
●    Worshiping “worship” itself.
●    Worshiping a musical style or the music itself. A single musical style can no more capture all of who God is and how He communicates with His children anymore than one single language and culture can.
●    Worshiping the structures of worship. Whether it might be more liturgical or the free church tradition, structures are like the frame of a picture and only facilitate the display; they were never intended to outshine the painting.
●    Worshiping the individual parts of worship. Unfortunately, many people today use the word “worship” as a synonym for the word “music.” Worship is not just the music; worship must include the praying, the reading of God’s Word, the offering, the testimonies, and yes the exposition of Scripture in addition to the musical participation or our understanding of worship is not fully biblical.
●    Focusing on the personalities leading worship. Worship leaders, perhaps should best be called, “lead worshipers,” Pastors, and virtually anyone that is in a public visible position in worship can become the focus of attention. Admiration and respect can develop into something totally askew from God’s purposes, especially in situations in which those that come to worship come with deep emotional needs and hurts and those in leadership positions seem to “have all the answers.”

What might be some solutions for these problems? The leadership sincerely desires that everyone from old to young worship God with their heart, mind, soul, and spirit, and yet many still get the focus on the wrong thing. Without trying to simplify the issues too much, again, here is just a starting list:
▸    We must teach what biblical worship is and not assume that everyone just understands. I cannot remember when there has ever been such an emphasis on worship in my lifetime. I have over 100 books in my library on worship; 20 - 30 years ago, I don’t think that would have been possible. But, with the immense growth of material written about the subject, the amount of confusion about worship seems to grow exponentially. We cannot afford the luxury of assuming the members of our churches have a true biblical understanding of worship; we must start from square one.
▸    Those that lead worship must be living models of biblical worship. The temptation to follow the “worship leading style” of someone is tremendous for many young leaders. They imitate the words and actions, but many times have not paid the price of deepening their personal relationship with Christ so that their worship is an outgrowth of that relationship. They have not paid the price to hone their musical or communication skills to lead effectively and without distraction.
▸    We must learn the principle of the unity of the body. I like what Dr. John Hopkins, Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Samford University has said, that we need not so much “a table for every person, but a place for every person at the table.”  The model of worship in heaven is one where every tribe, tongue, and nation are gathered around the throne of God in worship. Individuality melds together by the grace of God in worship. Multi-generational worship is a healthy model for children to see how their parents and grandparents respond in praise and adoration to the God who created the universe and redeems for eternity. This happens when we are more committed to making God the focus of our worship than the dictates of personal style and taste.
▸    We must develop a deep hunger and thirst to know God better and respond in loving obedience through personal study of God’s Word and prayer. However simple, it cannot be under estimated. We cannot share what we do not have and we cannot lead where we have not been.

It is my prayer that we begin the process of focusing on the what worship is, teaching it to others by personal application.

The Centrality of Christ in Worship

Although we use them multiple times daily in speech and other forms of communication, we rarely take time to consider the importance of prepositions in our language. They function to show the relationship of one thing to another. We can take advantage of these little words to help us gain insight into our relationship to Christ in regards to worship. This is provided not as an exhaustive listing, nor as a theological treatise, but simply to help us refocus as we think and dialogue about worship.

1. To Him
Worship is directed to Christ.  “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” [Ephesians 3:20-1]
Worship directed to anything or anyone other than God is idolatry.

2. In Him
His Spirit lives in us and empowers us, the  relationship that abides is that we are "in Him"
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said,
For we are also his offspring.” [Acts 17:28]  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” [2 Corinthians 5:17] The fact that He is in us should continually lead us away from worshiping any other.

3. With Him
He is present with us in worship. “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” [Matthew 18:20]. He not only lives in us, there should be an awareness of His Spirit and presence as we worship.

4. For Him
Worship is for Him.   We exist for Him, as Paul stated, “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.” [1 Corinthians 8:6] Although worship has immense  benefits for the worshipper, it is not for him, but for Christ. There is that sense that we are ministering to God as we worship. Our worship and ministry for Him is not because God needs it; He is self-sufficient. Our worship is that specific time in which we affirm His worthiness through obedience in recognizing that it is all for Him.

One might say, “I go worship because I have needs and I want those needs to be met.” I believe I understand what is meant, but we must be careful. The goal of worship is not that my needs are met, but that we worship Christ. If we focus on “our needs,” then we have redirected our attention away from the very One who is able to do anything about those needs. But, as we focus on Christ and His greatness, love, mercy, grace and forgiveness in worship, somehow He works to minister to our needs. Christ’s ministry to us then, is  a byproduct of worship and not the central focus.

5. About Him
The subject of worship is Jesus.  As Peter stood to deliver his sermon on the day of Pentecost found in Acts 2:14-36, the message from beginning to end was about Christ. Our message is to share how God from the beginning of history has moved to restore relationship with His creation through the death and resurrection of His Son. Even when threatened by the Council, Peter and John could only say, “we cannot stop speaking about what we have see and heard.” [Acts 4:20]

6. By Him
In worship we acknowledge that all things were made by Him. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him.” [Colossians 1:16]

7. Through Him
We are powerless to worship without His help. “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” [Hebrews 13:15]
“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” [John 1:3] “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” [Romans 11:36] “He helps you want to obey Him and then help you do  what He wants.” [Phil. 2:13 LB]

Our times of worship can be laden with distractions. Perhaps a simple review of some prepositions might help us see Jesus Christ as the central focus of our corporate worship. As we gather for worship let’s remember that it is To Him, and In Him; it is With Him and For Him; it is About Him, By Him and Through Him! Worship centers itself, has its central focus, all on Jesus Christ. Anything less is less than worship.