Excellence In Worship

In our postmodern American culture, the Christian Church is in a state of crisis. As the median age of those attending Christian churches approaches the 40s, many are wondering why young adults do not find church homes and are seeking a spiritual walk on their own. Postmodern culture includes distrust in institutions such as the church and a desire to set out on a unique path, sending young American Christians away from the local church and into a spiritual seclusion, which is not biblical. Churches are scrambling to find the most effective tools to reach this highly-spiritual, yet irreligious demographic and some are finding great success, while others are missing the mark.

I believe that the sense of distrust in religious institutions which lies within postmodern thought, originates in the impersonal and inauthentic relationships which are often unfortunately developed in religious groups. Postmodern young adults seek friendship and acceptance in a strong, gracious community whose agenda is to be caring and loving. A church will obviously come to the conclusion that they need to cultivate this type of community in a biblical context by fostering a caring, genuine environment. Looking deeper into how a church can develop a trusting relationship with its young members, I believe that it’s possible to communicate genuine care through the excellence and intentionality that is seen through the church’s worship.

The byproduct of some contemporary churches is a laid back and relaxed worship. This style of worship may appeal to some who are turned off by organized religion. However, this may also come across as laziness or a general lack of devotion on the part of the church and its leadership to the spiritual growth of its congregation. At the other end of the spectrum, a church may spend so much time on its production that it loses touch with the needs of its attendees and becomes focused on performance rather than genuine worship. The performance of church becomes more important than the relationships of church.

In the first chapter of Malachi, God communicates through His prophet the disappointment He has in His people for bringing inadequate worship. The people of Israel, under the sacrificial system, were bringing offerings to God which were lame, stolen, and tainted. He places a curse on them and their offerings, just like He had done when Cain’s offering was inappropriate. Why would those who knew God intimately and were under Him bring Him inadequate offerings? In a sermon by John Piper, he explores two important reasons that God’s people have been guilty of "Careless Worship."

The first reason is that they do not recognize God’s sovereign love. In verse 2 of Malachi 1, God says, "I have loved you." He follows this up a few verses later by listing the ways He has shown His love to the negligent nation of Israel by saying, "I forgave you. I cared for you. I’ve been patient with you. I’ve provided for you." We too can be forgetful of God’s love, even haven been given eternal assurance in Jesus by His death and resurrection. The second reason that Piper gives for careless worship is that His people forget that He is their Father and Leader. God had not only provided for His people in love, but He had also disciplined them and led them in His infinite knowledge. As a Father and Leader, God had led and instructed them in a better life. Although God had been caring for them, their response was inadequate, empty, and careless. Careless worship, according to Piper is meaningless religious activity. More specifically, careless worship is going through the motions of worship carelessly.

Although God does not appreciate careless worship, He does not want us to completely swing the opposite way. Worship can be so planned out and performance oriented that those who participate forget what is important in worship. True worship is outlined throughout scripture as an overflow of what God is doing for His people. From the first Sabbath in the Garden of Eden, to the second coming of Christ, worship is a time of celebration of God’s love and grace. It is neither meaningless lip-service, nor an impersonal performance for man. It is a response from the heart to who God is and what He has done.

In the book of Nehemiah, we read the story of Israelites who felt compelled by God to rebuild their city’s walls and turn back to Him. Nehemiah, our author and narrator, walks around the broken city night after night mourning over the nation of Israel which was broken physically, politically, and spiritually. He began to rebuild the walls with some of the others and when they were finished they realized that they needed to corporately turn their hearts back over to God as well. They gathered together and had the prophet Ezra read from the books of Moses the law and the story of salvation, which the Lord had given their people. Once they remembered the great God He is, they broke out into worship! This genuine worship also inspired them to confess their sins as a nation to God and recommit themselves to His will. This powerful worship experience was led by the tribe of Levi, which had been called by God to the priesthood. The Levites were specially trained to be excellent worship leaders and bring those who had fallen away from God back to His throne.

Another special instance of worship that was lead by the Levite worship leaders is found in 2nd Chronicles 5. When the Ark of the Covenant was being placed in the temple, newly constructed under King Solomon, the King summoned all the leaders of the tribes and families to worship together in the temple. When they had all come together, the worship ensemble included 120 priests playing trumpets and many others playing instruments such as the harp, lyre, and cymbals. Together with their voices and instruments they praised God with all of the joy and excitement He had given them! As a result of their jubilant worship, God’s glory showed up in a way like never experienced before. In verses 13 and 14, it says, "…Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God." God’s glory became visible to His people because they had given themselves wholly to Him in their worship. They were giving their hearts completely in thanks and in love. In this story, we see the importance of commitment on the part of those involved. If they were not committed to worshipping God fully in that moment, His presence would not have been manifested in such a powerful way.

The musicians of Levi led worship all throughout the Old Testament and even in David’s court. These musicians were not only talented, but called by God and set apart for His work. They led some of the most powerful worships we see throughout the scriptures, calling for repentance and giving God glory! In David’s court, they led Psalms which David and other Levites had written for corporate worship. The entire book of Psalms is a collection of their worship music, complete with annotation on the tune, instrumentation, and proper occasion for its use. These songs were well written and highly organized for proper use in worship. The songs were all labeled adequately so that the Levites could instruct the musicians properly and the songs could be played skillfully for God’s glory. Psalms 33:3 even says, "Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy!" We can only imagine how the collection of musicians which David assembled for his courts sounded!

Looking into the New Testament for guidance on worship we see some more important values which play into excellence in worship. Paul writes that everything should be done "orderly" in worship so that God’s glory can be maximized and we will not distract from Him. I am able to best worship when it is presented orderly and without interference. Not only does it help me see that the church leaders genuinely want to assist in my spiritual journey, but it also helps me focus on God and my relationship with Him.
While Jesus was on earth, He set an example for us of ministry in an excellent and intentional approach. Mark 7:37 says, "People were overwhelmed with amazement. ’He has done everything well’ they said." As He performed miracles and related to people, He set an example of excellence in ministry. Excellence seems to be integral to the character of God. As the Creator and Savior, His life and love are excellent in every way. The more we can emulate His excellence, the more His light can shine through us and He will draw men unto Him.

The bottom line is although our church is in trouble, there is hope for us. This trouble, I believe is from a complacency and mediocrity which stems from us living in a society where we have everything we need and depend on and care only for ourselves. This mentality even seems to be acceptable to some churches. If we are to take God and His will seriously, and we want to open the hearts of the world to accept His everlasting Gospel, then we must take a stand for excellence and give ourselves completely to His work. By striving for excellence in worship we will see the glory of God move in new ways in our own hearts and the world will be forever changed for His glory.