Worship is Wounded (And I Helped) Part 1

Worship is wounded (And I helped)

When I was a scrubby little kid I dreamed of being a rock star. I would get together with my buddies and we would play air guitar and drums in our living rooms before we were big enough to own real instruments. As I got older, I would attend concerts and watch the musicians perform for adoring fans and wished that I could be just like them. And I wasn’t alone. I mean, what red-blooded kid wouldn’t want to tour with a hot band and experience that kind of fame? The rock and roll dream has been around since most of us can remember.  

I eventually learned how to play a real guitar and over a period of time able to reach a (very) moderate level of success. I’ve been blessed with the experience of playing for some medium to larger sized crowds in some modest to not-so-modest venues. My amp has tossed a few power chords out there and I’ve been able to hone in on a few hearts from time to time depending on the time and place. All in all, I’m lucky to have actually tasted a small sampling of the rock ‘n roll dream. It’s tempting, it’s inviting and it’s intoxicating. I understand.

But what does that have to do with musical worship in the contemporary church?

There has been a lot of talk lately in the larger worship community about the state of modern worship in the common church model. On one hand, we’ve managed to accomplish much in creating a worship experience that keeps the attention of a common churchgoer dealing with a steadily deteriorating attention span. We have creative light schemes and high level music with decibels to match. We’ve crafted creative songs and lyrics with a multitude of styles. Pair those things with good musicians and you might have a very compelling reason to get to church before the worship set begins.

The buzz, however, is all about the worship culture we’ve created and the problems that have emerged in it. The big question that’s being asked is: “Are we really worshiping, or are we merely entertaining? It is a great question and I’m wondering if enough leaders are really asking it about their product. If they’re not, I understand why, truly, but there is no excuse for dodging this question if we are sincere with the gifts we’ve been given. The truth is: many church pastors and church weekend participators are “satisfied” with the music they are seeing and hearing from church platforms, and the reaction that their perspective worship programs are getting.

But is God being worshipped in Spirit and in Truth? Are we musicians experiencing a sacrifice of praise or a just a display of talent? Are we leading sing-alongs or are our congregations truly pouring out their love to the creator?

From what I’ve seen and experienced in my own city and around the country, it has becoming apparent that we might have blurred the above distinctions and perhaps we may not be aware of our complicity. Perhaps the reason for this is….

….. it’s not so easy to get away from the rock and roll dream that many of us still harbor in our subconscious.

Let’s look at what the “heart of worship” has become:

Step through the lobby of most churches of size and into a typical worship set and you will find rock music, rock lighting, rock sound systems, rock fans in our pews, rock clothing, rock personas, rock anthems, rock bands and even rock stage effects. I mean, it may be a church, but with relatively little effort, those of us on the “stage” can actually live the rock and roll dream, more or less, in our very own churches! I know. I’ve done my small part to keep this status quo moving along. I confess, I’ve had to pinch myself from time to time while playing “on stage” as the realization dawned on me that we were living the “dream” on that stage! The congregation loves us, the hall is packed, the music is wonderful and fun to play (and loud to boot). Even some of the music we choose has little substance for worship purposes, but we can’t help ourselves! It’s just too FUN to play this song, with this band, for this “audience”- to pass it up. I mean c’mon, we’re only going to put one of these rocking cool songs in the set that’s fun to perform. One every week won’t hurt. Just one. Well, maybe two at the most. I mean, the first song is a “throw away” song anyway, right? The audiences love these wake up songs just as much as we do! They look pretty attentive to me! Maybe they’re not really worshiping God in Spirit and Truth, but we’ve gone to wits end to make the whole place erupt with worship and although it doesn’t exactly feel the same as at the worship conferences, at least they’re enjoying the music! They tell us all the time –“great music today! Great worship, guys.!” We’re happy, the pastor is happy, the audience (hmmm...why do I keep calling them the “audience”?) is happy. It’s a win, win, win, right? If we put our heart into it God can do His thing no matter how bad our efforts are, right? Even if, deep, down inside we have to admit that many times we’re simply indulging ourselves and covering it up with a myriad of rationalizations, God can work through our sin, right? I don’t see God’s name on my paycheck, anyway!

But then we find ourselves, eventually- dismayed that we can’t get the parishioners to go crazy for God. We’ve done everything we can to replicate the world’s success in here with our music and technology. But, as frustrating as this is, we do seem to be keeping attendance at a steady level over the years, and the collections are (hopefully) there. Sure, we lose a musician from time to time, but usually someone else steps up eventually. No one is complaining too much. We’re having fun. And the pastor doesn’t question the substance of our worship. So, if it ain’t broke, why should we fix it?

Well, that’s another good question, to be sure. And here are some more challenging questions to consider:

-If we are truly attempting to stir up the Holy Spirit in our church, just what does it take to create the best atmosphere conducive to experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and should we look to the world for the answer?

-Do we really think these matters are important in the first place? Just how important? Important enough to start digging in our spiritual pantries for answers?

-And just where do we go for answers? The world can show us how to put on a good show, but if we want to move away from that trap, who is going to show us the way?

I want to explore this more in part 2...