Pastor Rock Star. (part 2)
“Worship” is a pretty meaningless term in our culture.
Wikipedia describes it as
“…the central act of Christian identity throughout history.”
whatever that means… but even they can’t get to the heart of its importance or significance…
“Opinions have, however, run a gamut - and continue to do so - about the relative importance of formal or ritual worship, spontaneous praise and prayer, and the expression of praise integrated with daily life.”
It seems that no one really knows what worship is anymore.
Bob Kauflin, the music pastor on staff at Joshua Harris’s church in Maryland, came the closest to a definition when he quoted Warren Wiersbe in saying:
“Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does.”
I love that… it’s a response to what God is and says and does in all that we are. It’s not a part of life… it IS life.
But most everyone I talk to considers ‘worship’ as the 20-30 minutes before the sermon when we sing a few songs.
It frustrating to me. It’s a scary thing (and a common reality today) that people choose what church to attend based on the musical styles performed by a theologically uneducated (typically, but not always) musician instead of the teachings of the senior pastor.
When did music suddenly acquire such power that it could ‘usher us into God’s presence’ more than, say, studying scripture or serving the poor?
What will it take for worship confessionals (and ‘after action reports’) by worship leaders to actually include the sermons and teachings of the church, and not just the music?
Tagged as Music, theology, Worship + Categorized as Ministry, Worship
4 Comments
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
-
isaacdowning.com » Pastor Rock Star. (part 3)
[...] Part 1 and Part 2 were posted, fellow blogger Seth emailed me an excerpt from a sermon given by Pastor Leon Ben Ezra [...]
Two thoughts.
First, you need to read Harold Best’s book Unceasing Worship. Really. If you are at all interested in pursuing this line of thought, reading Best is just about required.
Second, you express a concern about worship confessionals (aka “Actual Play”) not discussing the teaching? Well, perhaps you can begin to be part of the solution to that….
I have a few books already in process, so it might be a while before I get to Best’s book, but I’m very open to reading it.
And, yes, you speak the truth… I am pointing back at myself before anyone else. I’m primarily experiencing a lot of frustration because I’m recognizing my own fault in this.
I’ll admit that I don’t know what you have in the pile, but I might actually go so far as to recommend that you bump Best’s book to the top of your list. Especially if God has placed this concern on your heart now. This is exactly what Best is writing about.