| I recently visited a US-based worship website that I often find useful, and came across a worship leader’s forum discussing the Hillsong “brand” of worship. It was a very interesting read, and it was clear that the contributing worship leaders were a fairly even split of “love it” and “not my style”. Fair enough; everyone is entitled to their own opinion when it comes to style and whether it works for them or not. But I was disappointed to read that some people in the “not my style” camp were not just stating their opinion, but they were very much caught up in the topic of style in worship. Some even slammed the “agonisingly predictable” and “clichéd and repetitive” Hillsong style as being “mediocre melodies and lyrics (which are) accepted so unthinkingly by churches simply because those songs are labeled “Christian.”
As I read these criticisms, I couldn’t help but feel that they had completely missed the point. As with these worship leaders, we all are in danger of falling into the trap of having a favourite worship style, and I think the most important thing to remember as worshippers and as musicians is that worship has absolutely nothing to do with style. Us “purist” musicians and music lovers must particularly be careful so as not to fall into this mindset. Does it really matter what style the music is when we worship? Why is it so important to us? Are we missing the point?
On the Hillsong argument, yes, I agree that they do have a distinct style of music. On a personal level, I used to enjoy that style more than I do these days, partly as my musical tastes have changed over the years. As a musician, I would also agree, in part, that some song arrangements can be predictable at times. However, having experienced the Hillsong culture first hand, and having spoken with Darlene on many occasions, the last thing I would call them is mediocre, as labelled by the person on the web forum. In fact, Hillsong is one of the only churches I have seen first hand reaching for excellence to such a degree, to be relevant to our media-saturated culture of young people, that they put most other churches to shame. Their love for Jesus and desire to reach out to the community provokes them to excellence everything they do, including skilful, passionate worship that catches the attention. Regardless of their style, I still am able to lose myself worshipping God through their songs. Why? Because God lives in the praises of His people, no matter what style it is. What truly matters in worship is our hearts, as Matt Redman so accurately noted in his signature song years ago.
Consider the following quotes from other worshippers :
“Music is merely an expression of what is already going on inside of your heart,” says praise and worship artist Ron Kenoly. “Worship is a heart attitude before it is anything else, before it becomes translated as music.”
Chris Tomlin, a popular American praise and worship recording artist, says, “We have to avoid worshiping the worship music instead of God, to whom it’s directed,” he says. “No matter how beautiful a song is, how catchy, we need to always remember that we’re sending it up to God. Sending it with ourselves attached.”
Even Saint Augustine wrote that he feared music appealed to him strongly because of the aesthetic pleasure it afforded him, rather than because of the sacredness of its words. He was clearly aware of this danger.
A Christian researcher named George Barna has said, “Most of the people who fight about their musical preference do so because they don’t understand the relationship between music, communication, God, and worship. Church leaders foster the problem by focusing on how to please people with music or how to offer enough styles of music to meet everyone’s tastes, rather than dealing with the underlying issues of limited interest in and comprehension of the fervent worship of a holy, deserving God.”
What captures your attention more when you sing worship songs? The music you hear, and whether you think it sounds good or not? What song you’re singing? Or the person of Jesus in all His glory?
When it’s just you and God (i.e. when not in a team, where thoughts will be of a more practical nature!), try to check your first thoughts or expectations of that worship time. What goes through your head? Is it a practical thought (possibly related to the team or worship leader, or even another aspect of the service)? A musical thought (the song being sung, or the guitar not being quite in tune)? Is it a spiritual thought? “Jesus, I’ve come here because I want to commune with You and seek Your face today. I’m excited about what You want to do today, and I am open to You doing this Your way. It doesn’t matter what the music sounds like, whether good or bad, my preferred style and songs or not; I make a choice to come into Your presence with an offering of worship that pleases You”.
It just too easy to just go through the motions singing worship songs, and we can be so far away from intimacy with God in that moment, because all we can think of is how much we dislike their version of the song, or thinking, “if that church would only change their annoying style so I could worship better”. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you let style or preference affect your worship to God, or even how you worship. This is an important lesson for all worshippers.
Our ultimate goal is to come to God ready to worship, out of our love for Him and gratitude to Him; out of an excitement to be with Him. We need to come to worship with a willingness to do it His way - thus abandoning our preconceptions of what might happen, as well as any personal preference we may have. We need to be ready to flow with God’s agenda - not ours.
So, we have established that when we worship, it’s about God’s way. It’s also about our heart rather than the music that’s important to the Lord. But how are we to worship Him?
The last word must come from the one who taught us first on the subject. Jesus showed us through His life and teachings that true worship transcends musical style, and told us what God himself is looking for when we worship : “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23).
Have you ever really thought about what “in spirit and truth” looks like? We are to worship led by the Holy Spirit - in other words, His way. The spirit leads us into true worship, and shows us the ways to worship that are glorifying to God. This must mean that not everything we do in worshipping God is necessarily glorifying to Him, if what we do is not led by the Holy Spirit. We are also told to worship the Father in truth - this speaks of honesty and transparency before God. When we worship the Lord, He wants us to be as we really are before Him, to be honest and transparent before God in what we sing and what we say, not just to spout spiritual lyrics we don’t understand without engaging our minds. Matt. 12:36 reminds us that we will give account for every careless word we have spoken, so we need to mean what we sing, as well as what we say, in our worshipping.
Here’s a thought. When we are in heaven we will have every tribe, tongue and nation together giving glory and worship unto God, at the same time, in the same place. Think about how many styles that could be! Think about what that might sound like! Yet it will all be true worship in spirit and in truth, aside from the cultural expression or musical style, and is a sweet smelling offering to the Lord. This is what God seeks after in us, not the sound of the offering you bring.
My favourite quote on this mater is from Jami Smith, and sums it up beautifully : “A heart in love with Jesus does not need its favorite song, led in its favorite key by its favorite worship leader to lose itself in the arms of God. A heart in love with God needs one thing: God.”
Some quotes taken from Christianity Today International/Today’s Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader) Copyright © 2003 by the author |
