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For the past six months or so I've been struggling with the worship in my church. I couldn't put a word to it but something began to not set right in my spirit. One day I read an article in the Christian Post online about a worship team in Indiana who said they felt more churches were becoming performance-based in their worship services. IMO a worship leader should bring the congregation into a time of worship, not sing like it's all about watching them.
In addition I also realized that 90% of the music choices are self-centered, and not worship to God. Singing about how God makes you feel, and what God does for you is not worship IMO. A lot of the songs are ones you'll hear on Christian radio. But true worship is praising His name, giving Him the glory. There are traditional songs and more current songs that show true worship. What are your thoughts on the type of worship in your church?
What are your thoughts on the type of worship in your church?
A friend told me that truth is not found in a church, but truth is a personal effort.
I believe that.
I'm kindof obligated to go to my church (yeah, I know free country & all - long story)...
So, I always bring along some good stuff to read, & I even clipped out some cool pictures from magazines to put in my scriptures to read while I'm less than inspired at church.
Honestly, my worship time is rarely at church, but it's sometimes dancing, going into nature, playing music, laughing with my kids.
I'm also learning to simply take a moment here & there to "be still and know that I am God."
In my experience and belief, worship and attendance at any church in conjunction with "faith" is also going to expose you to "religion" (which I see here as the customs, rituals, legalism, etc, at any specific church).
If the Spirit is leading you to feel the church you attend is not properly worshipping and glorifying the Lord, then maybe it is time to pray about a possible change in church for yourself.
Ive actually been the worship leader of a few different churches and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with performanced based worship per se, but I think not having a good balance is unwise. Performance based worship music Can be a very active form of evangelism for non believers/seekers just to get them in the door and maybe come back. But obviously, not everyone who goes to Church is a non believer ;D There are also the more emotionally driven Christians who need powerful etherial repetative sounding worship themes to lead them to a state of worship and others that need to be intellectually stimulated by the lyrics to lead them there.
How much performance should should be included in the church service is should be based on the overall mission of the church. For a very mixed congregation I find its good to have a mix of contemporary and traditional to cover all bases but to each his own. For those of you who are completely against the idea of performance based worship, I'd ask you what brings God more glory: a bunch of mature christians worshipping Him well to music or seekers wanting to go back to church and not thinking its boring? Of course, there is a not a completely correct answer to that question.
Last edited by Jrhockney; 06-04-2012 at 01:37 PM..
Reason: messed up a sentence
There is an interesting contrast between the OP's point and the #4 response of Jrhockney (a worship leader). The OP says, "a lot of what is going on isn't really helping me in my worship experience" and JR says, "performance based worship helps a lot of people."
As a preacher, I've sometimes found myself of both opinions. In some cases, it seems like there is an effort to 'manipulate' people into a 'spirit of worship' (particularly, for example, when a chorus is repeated 25 times) ... or when a music leader attempts to insert 'sermons between songs' --- In other cases, I and others are greatly moved by the 'Spirit' in the music ... and the music itself becomes a worship service.
So what's the difference?? -- In my opinion, it's whether or not the music is reaching out to God in Spirit and Truth .... or more focused on entertaining and getting the involvement of the congregation. In all fairness, the same thing can be said of sermons. When the goal is to worship and glorify God, things always go better, than when the preacher (myself included) get's more focused on the response of the congregation.
There is an interesting contrast between the OP's point and the #4 response of Jrhockney (a worship leader). The OP says, "a lot of what is going on isn't really helping me in my worship experience" and JR says, "performance based worship helps a lot of people."
As a preacher, I've sometimes found myself of both opinions. In some cases, it seems like there is an effort to 'manipulate' people into a 'spirit of worship' (particularly, for example, when a chorus is repeated 25 times) ... or when a music leader attempts to insert 'sermons between songs' --- In other cases, I and others are greatly moved by the 'Spirit' in the music ... and the music itself becomes a worship service.
So what's the difference?? -- In my opinion, it's whether or not the music is reaching out to God in Spirit and Truth .... or more focused on entertaining and getting the involvement of the congregation. In all fairness, the same thing can be said of sermons. When the goal is to worship and glorify God, things always go better, than when the preacher (myself included) get's more focused on the response of the congregation.
I tend to agree with that philosophy myself and that has been my own focus when I lead, but I tend to not judge performance based worship and much as I use to for the reasons I mentioned above. Ive seen its effectiveness on many occasions and anything that can be considered an effective evangelism tool should be considered glorifying to God and an act of worship. I think we all can agree that today evangelism can use all the help it can get and its arguable that this even more important in Gods eyes than traditional congregational worship from mature Christians. I think it has its time and place but not necessarily a good idea at every church.
I want to tread lightly here, but when I visit a church like that, I can't help but feel as if it has succumbed to the Entertainment Disease. I think there's a fine line between trying to make the message more involving to a modern congregation and simply eschewing content altogether. Christianity is not all about rainbows and butterflies and feeling good about oneself. It's about hard choices and denying one's own nature sometimes to do what is better in God's eyes. So the entire experience comes off to me as one that's vapid and shallow, not fulfilling in the least.
Hey, I love just about all forms of music. I was a drummer in both a rock and a jazz band. But modern music in a Christian service just seems to fall flat to me, and Christian rock is just a strange disconnect that I've never reconciled myself to. For rock is largely about the testing and question of values, while Christianity is about the upholding of most of them. What's more, a reliance on modern worship music is really about chasing the Next New Thing for things become dated much more quickly. In that sense, traditional church music has a much longer shelf life than many of the supposedly current offerings.
What's more, all the accoutrements of this style of worship, the lighting and microphones and sound systems and behind-the-scenes technicians and equipment is all very expensive and must be maintained and replaced on a constant basis. The times I've attended those kinds of services, I've looked at the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff that it takes to put on these kinds of production and couldn't help but ask, "How many poor folks could have been fed with this?"
I realize people will take issue with what I've said. But when my hip and with-it teenaged kids are sitting at the dinner table talking about this kind of performance-based worship and dogging it, it says something to me. And, really, if one feels that the message of Christ is not sufficient and requires all kinds of over-the-top theatrics, then how convinced are you of its power?
I believe thats some people are losing sight of the purpose of praising God through music, in church and in other aspects. It does seems to be performance based for many. Isn't there a show that now has a contest between gospel singers to see which one is the best or something like this? I also heard a gospel singer make a reference to another singer winning a Grammy in an almost enviable way. I think that it has gone way over the top for some people. Thanks for sharing this though provoking thread. God bless and peace.
I totally agree with the OP and I will take it one step further.... u can't live like the devil or the world and then lead worship in song and expect it to be anointed or make a difference or be anything more than a secular type performance. U have to be anointed to lead worship because it is the anointing that destroys the yoke. I used to attend a service where the choir had talent, but frequently the young people went clubbing into the wee hours of the morning and then just showed up to sing... where is the worship in that. And I am not being judgmental. The point I am making is your heart has to be into worship and if your heart is really in it your lifestyle is going to reflect it and the worship service is going to be the proverbial "proof in the pudding."
i dont need a choir, worship "leader", air conditioned building, comfortable chairs, a projection screen, a foyer, a bookstore, leader for everything, a coffee shop, a nursery, an usher, a greeter, etc... all this that has been added to the church. it is a sad state what it has become. All i need is Christ. The rest is dung.
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