Is It Really Worship?

Due to our relocation, my wife and I are experiencing something we have never gone through before: having to find a new church home. In previous moves, we were either taking a church position or connected with a church before moving. But that is not the case this time. So we’ve been visiting churches in our area, searching for a new church home.

To make things more difficult, having served as a Minister of Music and Worship for years and having taught Music and Worship at the seminary level, I have developed a set of principles, practices, and preferences with regard to the worship service in a church. I will share a few observations as a result of our visits to churches, in the hope that they can assist you as you plan, lead, or participate in worship in your church.

Worship should involve and engage the congregation as a whole. Whether we call it a “worship service,” “worship celebration,” “worship encounter,” or any other name, the goal should be for as many people present as possible to offer up their worship to God. In my understanding, this is the main responsibility of the worship leader(s), regardless of the music style that’s being used. His job is to lead, guide, encourage, and get people excited about worshiping the Lord. He or she can be exuberant or reserved, traditional or contemporary in style, but if he or she doesn’t get people involved in worship, they have failed as a leader. There are several reasons why people don’t participate in worship:

• The congregation is unfamiliar with the songs being used. If they don’t know the song, they will not sing it. The singers and praise band might be doing a great job in the front, but the congregation will just listen and watch the band sing and play if they are unfamiliar with the song. In a church I visited recently, I watched 99% of the congregation stand for 15 minutes without opening their mouths, just watching and listening to the group in the front. Then we sat down because the “worship period” had concluded. Most of us didn’t worship since we weren’t participating at all! The main reason: they were all unfamiliar songs.
• The use of too many new songs week after week. New songs should be introduced gradually and not more than one per week. The leader, the singers, and the band may be familiar with the songs because they have practiced them many times, but the common worshiper needs time to learn the music, the words, and the rhythms before they are comfortable enough to sing along. If people hear new songs all the time, they will get discouraged and stop singing altogether. Familiar songs need to be included every week in the service.
• The songs selected are not suitable for congregational singing. Many songs are written specifically to be sung by a soloist or ensemble due to their complex rhythm, melody, or harmony. Some intervals are hard for the common person to sing, and so are some extremely high or low notes in the melody. This is where the worship or music leader has to use his knowledge and criteria when choosing songs for congregational singing. There are great songs of praise that are suitable for the congregation to sing, but not all of them are. Those involved in the worship ministry should be able to tell the difference.
• The overall quality of the songs is very poor. It might be that the text does not say much or that the words don’t convey an inspiring message. Or it might be that the melody is shallow and repetitive. The majority of the songs used in contemporary worship are mellow and soft. There’s nothing wrong with that, but what happened to exciting songs that have great rhythm, inspiring melodies, and a clear message? A good song does not have to be complicated. In fact, the greatest songs of the Christian faith have simple, yet beautiful melodies that are easy to remember. Their message is clear and straight forward. Songs like How Great Thou Art, Majesty, Give Thanks, Come Now Is the Time to Worship, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, and Above All are just a few examples of music and words that have passed the test of time due to their quality and simplicity. Choose songs that say and do something to peoples’ hearts and minds!

There should be an atmosphere that reflects the nature and character of God. A common practice nowadays is to turn the lights of the auditorium down completely while leaving the platform or stage lights on. The reason most often given for this practice is that it is needed due to the use of projection screens, as well as to make it easier for people to read. Although that might be true, the result is that of a concert stage with a performing band under the spotlights, while everyone else is in the dark with their eyes either fixed on the screens or on the band. I might be old-fashioned, but that’s the impression I get in most services. Is this really conducive to worship? Most projection systems used today are powerful enough that with little or no dimming of lights people are able to read the screen without difficulty. I’m afraid sometimes the spotlighting of the platform/stage and the darkening of the auditorium is guided more by the influence of a culture of “the show” rather than by biblical, theological, or even practical principles of worship. I hope I’m wrong, but nobody has given me any reason to think otherwise nor have I read anything to support this “darkening” practice.

My problem goes deeper than that. It is based on the fact that in Scripture God reveals Himself as the God of light. Jesus Himself said, “I am the light of the world,” in John 8:12. So my question is, if God is light, why do I have to worship Him in the dark? Is total darkness in the auditorium really necessary?

In their book Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears give us a picture of the heavenly worship of Jesus in a magnificent event of light and sound as described in Revelation 21:22-23:

Soli Dei Gloria – To God alone be the glory!

Written by Jorge Sedaca. Jorge is a member of the Church Planting staff at NAMB.

[1] Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears, Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2007), 174.