[Note: This is the fifth of a nine part series on a Theology of Worship being taught to our Worship Team, Tech Team, and Choir. Join us Wednesday evenings at 7 PM if you'd like to join the dialogue!]
A Two Way Street
Worship is dialogical. And this dialogue can be seen as a continuing cycle of revelation and response. God reveals Himself through His attributes, His mighty acts, and His Holy Spirit, and then we respond in celebration, stillness, prayer, conviction, and gratitude. This dialog can happen when we watch the stars on a cloudless night, or when we read Scripture or sing in our services, or whenever we tell the story of God.
What does our response look like? Moses instructed the Israelites to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” (Deut 6:5) and Jesus said “This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matt 22:38). In other words, we are to respond to God in worship with every fiber of our being. But there is some confusion as to what that means.
What does “Heart” mean anyway?
The heart of the worshiper is a key aspect to the worship experience, but there is some disagreement about what that means. For many, this essentially means that a valid emotional response must occur, which places the emphasis on emotion, experience, and sincerity. Unfortunately, worship that is dependent on our efforts toward sincerity can sometimes be manipulated and programmed. Moreover, this emphasis often disregards foundational issues of obedience and faithfulness, i.e., living the life of a worshiper rather than simply having experiences of worship.
But if we think of the heart in its fuller and more biblical meaning—as the core of an individual “where decisions and choices are made for the whole person” (Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard)—then a worshiping heart can be seen as one that worships as an act of the will, rather than simply as an emotion. Of course, our emotions are critical in worship. But God is worthy of worship regardless of how we feel.
So when we bring this sense of purpose to worship, it doesn’t matter if we are “in the mood,” or if it is the style or song we prefer. All of that becomes subservient to the purpose of meeting God and fully responding to his action and presence in our lives. This is a subtle but important distinction. Instead of revving ourselves up emotionally for a worship experience, we instead choose to worship—assuming an internal posture of obedience and surrender—as an act of our will, and then allow the Holy Spirit to move us emotionally. Emotions are important, but emotions follow the will, not the other way around.
Worshiping with the Other Parts: Soul and Strength
The passages in Deuteronomy and Matthew listed above aren’t meant to be an anatomy lesson, describing heart, soul, and strength as discrete parts of a person. These human aspects are much more interconnected and blurred than that. That being said, we can safely assume that Jesus meant for us to love God also with our intellects and our bodies.
So what does it mean to worship with our intellects, our minds? In “Part 2: God’s Story,” we discussed the foundational importance of telling God’s story in worship. This is not possible without engaging one’s intellect in the process of remembering, relating, and responding to God’s revelation. This is why we use responsive readings, use Scripture in our call to worship, study the Bible in the sermon, and choose songs with more lyrical depth and integrity—we engage our minds as we develop a greater understanding of God’s attributes, ways, and story. We also must do the hard work of understanding ourselves as we go through the process of spiritual transformation. And sometimes, this is a stretch for people.
Worshiping with one’s strength is another uncomfortable stretch for many. The Bible describes many bodily forms of corporate worship: singing, shouting, clapping, stillness, hand raising, dancing, drumming (insert your own drummer joke here), bowing, etc. Obviously, the body plays a physical role in interacting with God in worship. Often, we hear people say something to the effect of, “well, I didn’t feel like raising my hands, and I would be feel like I’m faking if I do.” We would argue, however, that God is worthy of lifting our hands, whether we feel like it or not. As we stated above, worship is not primarily an issue of feeling but of choosing. This is why we encourage everyone to choose to raise hands in anticipation, to clap with joy, and to kneel with reverence—for God is worthy, regardless of our comfort level in that bodily expression.
Implications
• When we see worship as a dialogue, an interaction between the divine and humanity, the eternal and the temporal, the Holy God and His people, we begin to see it as the transcendent and mysterious and holy act that it is.
• Worship begins as an act of the will, an act of obedience and surrender that allows God to have control of our lives (Romans 12:1). When we come before God and engage in dialogue with all we are, worship becomes an act of the will that unites and engages all aspects of our personhood: our intellect, body, emotions, history, and unique personality.
Question for Discussion
• When you are in corporate worship, are you aware of the dialogue (revelation and response) that flows, not only horizontally (between you and others, the worship leaders, and the pastor) but vertically (with God)?
• Where is the “stretch” for you in worship? Is it in using your body? Engaging your emotions? Paying attention to words and their meaning? If we don’t give all our hearts, soul, strength how does it affect our ability to meet and respond to God?
• If heartfelt worship were merely about feelings, how about when you don’t “feel” like going to church? Or you don’t “feel” like raising your hands? Or you don’t “feel” like giving to the offering?
Happy New Year! As always, I am thankful for everyone who serves so faithfully in our IMPACT Ministries. We had a very productive and artful year at Oak Hills, and we appreciate all of the artists—musicians, sound and lighting and multimedia and camera techs, dancers, actors, choir members, producers, playwrights, poets, stage designers, visual artists, and breakfast teams—who helped make 2011 so. From our annual Intersections Conference to Arts Camp, from our Holy Week to our Advent season, from Men’s Steak Night to Cappuccino Christmas, from our July Arts Month to our busy December, the year 2011 was certainly memorable. At the same time, we said goodbye to some very dear friends and grieved their loss with one another. So while it was memorable, we are happy to turn the page of this last year and move on to 2012.
Speaking of 2012, I want to update you on some things coming up. First, please note that I will be leaving for my Missions Trip to the Philippines February 1-20. For those who haven’t heard yet, I will be teaching at our NAB Bible School in Legazpi City. Specifically, I’ll be giving instruction in worship and the arts to the Bicol Center for Christian Leadership (BCCL) in support of our denomination. I am still looking for financial and prayer sponsorship, so please let me know if you’re interested in partnering with us on it. For more information, please go to my Philippines Missions link.
I also want to give you a heads up on our upcoming Intersections: Faith and the Arts conference coming up on March 17. Last year’s conference was off the hook with some amazing speakers and equally amazing food. And this year’s conference is shaping up to be our best ever. So make sure you mark the date, and sign up for this one-day conference. And bring ALL your artist friends.
Finally, please check out the HEADS UP section for other things coming up on the calendar, including Men’s Retreat, Women’s Retreat, Holy Week and Easter. We look forward to what God has in store for us in 2012. So buckle up and let’s go!
