Fully Abandoned Worship

Another really good one by Lee Grady - Take the Test: Are You Fully Abandoned in Worship?

I was raised in a traditional church where people worshipped God reverently while holding identical blue hymnals. The only instruments in our church were a piano and an organ, and nobody got too excited except for the one old man on the front row who sometimes belted out an uncomfortable "amen" during the preacher's sermon.

Then, at age 18, I had a life-changing experience with the Holy Spirit—and I ended up visiting an African-American church on the other side of town. These people worshipped Jesus with no inhibitions. They flailed their arms, shouted "Hallelujah!" and swayed to the beat of drums. I was so energized by their passionate praise it that I couldn't wait for the next meeting.

I soon learned from studying Scripture that my African-American brothers and sisters were worshipping the biblical way, even though it was foreign to me. God never intended His people to hide their enthusiasm. The more exuberant I became in my worship, the more personal freedom I experienced. I began to leave the shallow waters of religious tradition. I ventured into the deep ocean of total abandonment.

I learned what it means to worship God with my whole heart—with no fear of people's opinions.

Many churches today have adopted a free style of worship, and some of the best praise music ever recorded is available to our generation. Yet I find that many Christians have still not learned the secret of uninhibited praise. Many of us are content to listen to a music team on stage when God never intended a worship service to be a concert. He invites all of us to be fully and radically engaged in extravagant worship.

Have you shed your inhibitions in worship? I often challenge people to compare their worship experience with the book of Psalms, which should be the standard for every church regardless of nationality, culture or denomination. Psalms calls us to joyful, energetic, unreserved, high-voltage praise.

Have you found the freedom to express your worship in these ways?

1. Declaring praise. The psalmist says: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." (Ps. 107:2). Praise is simply honoring God for His character and attributes. But it is not enough to just think nice thoughts about Him—you must verbalize how much you are thankful for His mercy, forgiveness and goodness.

2. Raising hands. King David said: "I will lift up my hands in Your name" (Ps. 63:4). I'll never forget the first time I saw a room full of Christians praising God with their hands in the air. It looked like a bank robbery! God asks us to raise our hands because our physical posture affects our hearts. Lifting your hands will help you surrender totally to Him.

3. Singing. Can you imagine a world without music? It lifts our hearts, releases joy and breaks the power of anxiety. The psalmist said: "I will sing of lovingkindness and justice, to You O Lord I will sing praises" (Ps. 101:1). Don't just listen to songs in church or mouth the words halfheartedly. Turn up your volume and belt it out—and don't worry if you are in tune. All God wants from you is a joyful noise.

4. Shouting. We don't think anything about screaming at the top of our lungs for our favorite sports team. But are you comfortable cheering for Jesus? The psalmist wrote: "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You" (Ps. 71:23). The shouts of God's people caused the walls of Jericho to fall. Some types of spiritual resistance will not come down until you raise your voice.....

Much more at the link.

Jesus' Favorite Singer

From Radio Free Babylon

(Click image to enlarge)

We Need More Singing

4 Ways to Kill Worship Fast by Thom Schultz at Charisma:

Why isn't everybody singing in church these days? 

Looking around the church last Sunday I noticed that the majority weren't singing. And most of those who were singing barely moved their lips. The only voices I actually heard were those on stage with microphones.

That's been the case for years now—in churches large and small. What used to be congregational singing has become congregational staring.

Even when the chipper "worship leader" in contemporary churches bounds on stage and predictably beckons everyone to "stand and worship," the people compliantly obey the stand command, but then they turn into mute mannequins.

What's behind this phenomenon? What happened to the bygone sounds of sanctuaries overflowing with fervent, harmonizing voices from the pews, singing out with a passion that could be heard down the street? I suspect it's a number of unfortunate factors.

Spectator set-up. Increasingly, the church has constructed the worship service as a spectator event. Everyone expects the people on stage to perform while the pew-sitters fulfill the expectation of any good audience–file in, be still, be quiet, don't question, don't contribute (except to the offering plate) and watch the spotlighted musicians deliver their well-rehearsed concerts.

Professionalism. It seems it's paramount for church music to be more professional than participatory. The people in the pews know they pale in comparison to the loud voices at the microphones. Quality is worshipped. So the worshipers balk at defiling the quality with their crude crooning. It's better to just fake it with a little lip syncing.

Blare. The musicians' volume is cranked up so high that congregants can't hear their own voices, or the voices of those around them, even if they would sing. So they don't sing. What would it add? The overwhelming, amplified sound blares from big speakers, obliterating any chance for the sound of robust congregational singing.

Music choice. Sometimes people refrain from singing because the songs are unfamiliar, hard to sing or just cheesy. Sometimes worship leaders choose a song that may thematically tie into the day's sermon topic, but it's unsingable. Sometimes worship leaders choose lame songs written by their favorite songwriters–themselves.

I admit. I've joined the majority. I've stopped singing. I'm not happy about it. I know I should overcome these barriers and just praise the Lord with my very unprofessional vocalizations. But I long for an environment that evokes my real heartfelt vocal participation.

A Danger for Worship Leaders

I read a very good article this week by Zack Hicks, worship leader at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church (Where Tullian Tchividjian pastors). The title is A Reason to Be Suspicious of Worship Bands.

Hicks begins by quoting a passage from a book from the mid-1960's by Jean-Jacques von Allmen about misuse of choirs in public worship. He points out that everything said in that passage about choirs is very relevant today if you substitute "worship band" for choir.

...You and I live in a cultural age where the faithful are "increasingly reluctant to commit themselves to liturgical life," where worship is ever in danger of becoming a commodity of branded consumer goods. The warning von Allmen gives here is that what we do "up there on stage," whether we're a choir or a worship band, can contribute to and encourage the passivity toward which many folks are already inclined to lean. "I just want to soak in the great music." "Man, she has a great voice!" "Wow, that was a ripping electric solo!"

As worship leaders, we must tune ourselves to become hyper-sensitive to anything that discourages the active participation of the people of God in the songs, prayers, and actions of the worship service, and sometimes the performancism of it all--whether lit-stage, rock-band-led or organ-and-choir-led--can be a major deterrent. Von Allmen exposes what's at stake. To put it directly, we put ourselves in the place of Jesus, the only mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim 2:5). That's what von Allmen was getting at when he said that those up front can unknowingly become the "vicarious representative" of worship for the people....

Read it all at the link.

Men That Sing

I sing in church every Sunday - Do you? From Church Leaders - The Secret That Keeps Men From Singing in Worship:

It happened again yesterday. I was attending one of those hip, contemporary churches—and almost no one sang.

Worshippers stood obediently as the band rocked out, the smoke machine belched and lights flashed. Lyrics were projected on the screen, but almost no one sang them.

A few women were trying, but I saw only one male (other than the worship leader) making the attempt.

A few months ago, I blogged “Have Christians Stopped Singing?” I did some research, and learned that congregational singing has ebbed and flowed over the centuries. It reached a high tide when I was a young man—but that tide may be going out again.

And that could be bad news for men....

After a brief history of congregational singing, the article concludes:

...Men are doers, and singing was one of the things we used to do together in church. It was a chance to participate.

Now, with congregational singing going away, and communion no longer a weekly ordinance, there’s only one avenue left for men to participate in the service—the offering.

Is this really the message we want to send to men? Sit there, be quiet and enjoy the show. And don’t forget to give us money.

There’s nothing wrong with professionalism and quality in church music. The problem isn’t the rock band, or the lights, or the smoke machine.

The key is familiarity. People enjoy singing songs they know.

How do I know? When that super-hip band performed a hymn, the crowd responded with gusto. People sang.

Even the men.  

Read it all at the link.

Understanding Worship

From Ron Edmondson on "10 Signs You May Not Understand Worship":

1. The volume or tempo of the music determines whether you think it’s a worship song. 
2. A slight change in the order of the service makes you think they’ve harmed “worship”.
3. You think raising hands or not raising hands determines the depth of a person’s worship.
4. You believe the “proper” length of a “worship” service is dictated by your lunch schedule.
5. You think worship has to be in a service or part of a programmed event.
6. Certain instruments keep you from thinking worship is possible.
7. You think worship is confined to a certain place or a certain time.
8. The clothes you wear determines the quality of worship…for you AND others.
9. You think worship always involves music.
10. Your attempt to worship has more to do with a personal preference than the subject of worship.

If any of these describe you, then you might need a refresher study of what it means to worship God.

HT: Blogotional

God of Angel Armies

I'm really enjoying this song by Chris Tomlin - on the radio and at Sunday worship.

Verse 1:
You hear me when I callYou are my morning songThough darkness fills the nightIt cannot hide the light
Whom shall I fear?
Verse 2:
You crush the enemyUnderneath my feetYou are my Sword and ShieldThough trouble lingers still
Whom shall I fear?
Chorus:
I know Who goes before meI know Who stands behindThe God of angel armiesIs always on my sideThe One who reigns foreverHe is a Friend of mineThe God of angel armiesIs always by my side

The Story of "The Crazy Worship Lady"

Have you ever met (or acted like) The Crazy Worship Lady ?

From Parchment and Pen
(Be sure and read the last few paragraphs)