When Is Worship Not Really Worship?

I recently joined an online Christian community of worship leaders and musicians called Worship the Rock. Very cool place.

Among other things, WTR also has a forum where questions and issues get posted and discussed. Mostly, I stay out of it. But the other day, I saw the following comment about worship in our congregations:

Have you found that the more we polish the worship team, the worship trend becomes more performance minded rather than worship? I have watched worship leaders parade across the platform interacting with the congregation and members of the team as if it is a performance at a concert or a show. I am finding myself hunting for the true worship in this. What ever happened to the simple, meaningful, heartfelt worship…How do we get back to the true heart of worship?

As you’ve probably guessed, I just had to reply to this one. And my reply seemed like a good piece for today’s devotion.

Here’s what I had to say:

I feel you, Bill. I struggle with the same thing.

As a musician and songwriter, and also as a worship leader in our church, I struggle with the issue of "entertainment", not only in our P&W service, but in Christian music in general.

Is being entertained wrong? Probably not.

Is it a waste of God's time? Again, probably not, but not exactly the most pressing of His desires for us, I would guess.

It's cool to be entertained. And excited. And emotional. And all that. God created us as emotional beings, and our emotions (very much so, through music), help pave the pathway to communion with Him. There's nothing wrong with a good song.

Remember though, we don’t NEED our emotions to commune with God. Just like we don’t NEED a diving board to dive into the pool. The diving board is a vehicle that helps facilitate the process. God doesn’t need us to need a diving board to dive into Him.

We just jump because we choose to.

But it does help us overcome a lot of our human shortcomings, and circumvent a lot of the self-imposed barriers that we have when it comes to entering into His presence…so to speak.

At the end of the day, I think we have to determine where we (and God) draw the line between "ushering in" the presence of God and simply rockin' out.

In my opinion, I'm not a huge fan of the current worship climate. I love the fact that people are openly and excitably worshiping the Lord, I dig the crowds, I’m all about the guitars and drum solos and amazing harmonies.

But when it takes a top ten worship tune to wake the congregation up, while a simple rendition of “I Surrender All”, puts them to sleep...something's wrong.

When we base our ability and willingness to worship and honor our Holy and deserving God and King, upon the popular acceptance and statistical success of a certain song...when we ignore the truth and simplicity of the lyrics and gravitate only to clever twists of a phrase...when we say we can’t “get into” worshipping because a particular song isn’t “working”…something is very wrong.

Since when do we NEED a song to worship God?

Did you NEED to get a present, in order to thank your parents? While most of us would PREFER it that way, that answer is still “no”. Neither do you need a gift or a word or a miracle or a certain style of song, to worship God.

Maybe you’ll say “But some songs are just anointed by God.” And I agree.

But don’t you realize, the anointing isn’t some coat of paint that God applies here and there, that we have no part in at all? The anointing, is upon you. Upon us. Upon God’s people. Through the sacrifice and redemptive power of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we don’t need an anointed song in order to worship our Father…any more than we need a certain brand of shoe or shirt before we can get dressed.

I don't want to squash the freedom of P&W in our churches. But we MUST NOT compromise the holiness of God, for the pleasure of the moment. We can (and should) passionately worship God, with or without our Praise Teams.

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Prayer: Father, please help me to remember that my worship is most pleasing to you when it comes from a heart of gratitude and love, not through the artificial stimulation of something outside of You. Outside of me. I will promise You to not let my worship be controlled by my circumstances, my surrounding or my worldly influences. But I will praise You, regardless, no matter what may happen around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


Scripture: Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.


Think About It: The Lord our God not only desires our heartfelt praise, but requires it. Would God require something of you and then not provide a means for that thing to happen? So if our best praises requires the company of a great and anointed song, are we to disobey God when the music stops?

Increasing My Surface Area

I love the Lord and I love to sing. And I love to hear other people singing. So leading worship at our church gives me the best of all worlds.

God has been very gracious to me and has blessed me with so many opportunities to share with others. And in leading P&W, I not only get to worship Him in a way that is effective and expressive to me, but I get to light a potential path for my brothers and sisters to do the same.

It’s a sweet deal.

But being a worship leader carries with it a host of assumptions and expectations, many of which, just aren’t my thing. I am who God made me and not someone else. And it’s important for each of us to find his or her own “voice” when it comes to our praise. Even though I may lead in worship, I still have my own, personal praise that I seek too, and finding and knowing my own voice of praise is a crucial element in my spiritual journey.

So how do you find your voice?

Well for me, it’s through a combination of scriptural study, prayerful searching and, to an extent, being around or watching the people whom I respect and admire. As for the latter…

There are and have been remarkable worship leaders. I mean, just dynamic. The first person that comes to my mind, and one of my biggest musical influences, is Lyndell Cooley. When the Brownsville Revival was building into a global phenomenon, Lyndell was at the heart of the music pouring out of that place and his direction literally changed the way most of us looked at “church songs”. He was (and continues to be) a naturally gifted leader, vocalist and songwriter and a generation of P&W leaders owe their positions, in no small part, to Lyndell and his ability to find his own voice.

And then today, we’ve got an amazing group of newer worship leaders in our midst. People like Paul Baloche, The David Crowder Band, Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Laura Story, Matt Papa, Aaron Shust, Vicky Beeching, Matt Maher…I really could go on and on and on. Not only are these people anointed ministers and incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, but they are animated and charismatic and downright infectious with their passion for worship.

Then, there’s me.

Although I’ve been influenced by so many of these musicians and artists in the church, none of these people are exactly me. But they’ve all had a hand in helping me find who I am. My voice.

Where do I fit into the current landscape as a P&W leader? I’m not sure. I play. I sing. I write some. I’m not shy, but I’m not “bouncy” either, if you know what I mean. I tend to stand fairly still when I sing. I generally close my eyes. And I rarely pay attention to anything going on in the congregation or on the stage area. I’m typically lost in my own world.

I just worship and lose myself and do my thing, and hopefully God has an avenue for that type of worship, with His people.

I’ve said it before, I love the “Spirit-filled” congregation. I love to be in the middle of it and see God’s personality revealed in His children. But I, myself, am not a shouter. Or a runner. I’m not a dancer, a twirler, a stutterer, a stomper, a spinner or a jumper. I don’t leap the pews. I don’t wave my arms. I don’t shake my head or make siren noises. Although those things are all cool, and I love to observe them (if they’re all done orderly and in-sync with God’s design), they just aren’t part of my personal make-up.

There are two ways the Holy Spirit seems to manifest Himself in me. Weeping and hand raising.

Why do I weep? I have no idea. But at times, I’m suddenly overcome with emotion and it just causes me to quietly cry as I sing or pray. Some would say it’s just an emotional response to something. Some might argue that I’m reacting to external stimulae like stress or nervousness or vitamin deficiency. Some doctors might diagnose me as bipolar or manic depressive. But I don’t need therapy or a doctor or a vacation or a pill…I believe it’s part of God’s expression, in and through me. All perfectly normal.

Having said that, my other thing is raising my hands.

Not too intrusive. Not loud. Not attention-getting. But just semi-privately lifting my hand or hands as I praise Him feels good to me.

Why? I mean “Why do I do it?”

I look at it as expanding my surface area.

Since turning about 30, I’ve been expanding my surface area quite regularly (aka the middle aged spread). But what I’m talking about here is an opening up of myself, spiritually and emotionally…and yes, physically too.

If you had two sail boats and one had a small sail and the other had a large sail, which one would catch the most wind? The larger one, of course. The sail with the greater surface area has the best chance of coming in the most contact with the winds and thus, moving the boat.

So I look at raising my hands and arms and opening myself up in that way, as a type of enlarging my spiritual sail. Or moving my Jesus-boat. As I expand my spiritual surface area, the better chance God has of showering Himself on me.

I know, kind of weird. And not exactly theologically sound, but that’s the visual image I hold and that’s the idea that helps me to freely worship God and express myself.

You may try it (or something similar) and find it works for you too. Or you may need to pursue a completely different path. Regardless, pray for God to open a way for you to find your unique self in your praise and for Him to help you express yourself in a way that’s consistent with your own personality.

Today hand-raising. Tomorrow…who knows? I may do the robot at the altar.

OK…not the robot.

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Scripture - Psalm 63:4 - I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.


Take Away – There is no essentially right or wrong way to express yourself when praising God. But relax and know that God created you and made you who you are, even apart from your praise activities (or lack thereof). So rest in Him and trust that He will create in you, an expression of praise that is in harmony with your own personality.


Prayer - Father, You have placed within me, a desire to praise You. So please help me to find my true self, so I can express my love and gratitude and honor for You in the best way possible, whatever that involves. Starting today, I will no longer limit myself to ideas and activities that may cause me to praise You in any way that is not full and truthful and free, and overflowing with all my passion and intensity and desire to please You. In Jesus Name, Amen