Rooted and Relevant

What does it mean to be rooted? In short, it means to know where you came from. We are not the first generation of people who have worshiped God through music, and we won't be the last either. We are at a unique time in history, where change is extremely rapid, but all of our technology doesn't change the gospel or our need to be humble. Some of us didn't grow up singing the classic hymns, in fact some of us are quite new to the faith. The hymns are full of rich theology and those of us who know them should be willing to gracisouly teach them to those that do not. They cover a broad range of topics that some of the songs written in the last twenty years just don't address, and that is not surprising given the fact that the hymns have been written over hundreds of years and the best of the best are still sung today! The reason we still use traditions such as hymns is that it shows that we follow in a long line of worshipers who have desired to bring glory to God just as we do. "That doesn't mean that hymn melodies are sacred, are the best they could ever be, or should never be altered. Most hymns were written as text without music. They were joined to various tunes until one became more popular than all the others. But we're just plain arrogant when we think that all the great melodies have been written in the last twenty years."

All of that being said, "too much emphasis in traditions and roots can cause us to depend on them. Many traditions began as an earnest attempt to to protect the faith, but over tine they became separated from faith, resulting in dead orthodoxy. They now practice a form of godliness but lack true spiritual power. There will never be a perfect liturgy or tradition that ensures the continued faith of future generations."

The greatest traditions in the world don't mean anything unless they help to effectively communicate the gospel to those we are trying to reach. That means that we have to evaluate everything that we do and see if the people are actually getting it. This is a constant within every organization, including the church. "We want to proclaim the unchanging gospel in ways our culture can comprehend, ways that will make it easy for people to perceive who Jesus Christ is and how he has changed us." That doesn't mean that we should expect everyone who walks in our doors on Sunday to understand everything that is going on, but we do have to make sure they don't feel like they are hearing a totally foreign language either.

That is why the church must have a healthy tension of relevance to balance out the roots that we hold so dear. That looks different in every church! For some churches that may mean adding a jazz band and webcasting, for others it may mean a banjo and a bulletin. "Every church should make sure that the story of God's redemption can be clearly understood and experienced by those they are seeking to reach with the gospel.

Just as with roots, clinging to relevance can be a bad thing. We can easily find ourselves looking for the latest gimmick and the message of the gospel can become lost in how 'cool and creative' we become. That is where staying rooted can help us. It reminds us that above all we are to remain faithful to the message, not the the culture around us.

The most important thing to remember is that "when it cones to forms of worship, any form that facilitates and encourages worship in spirit and truth by a particular gathering of people, at a particular tine in history, in the context of a particular culture is pleasing to God. That implies that no one form can fully express the vastness of God. No given time, culture, or generation can give God the honor He deserves. This understanding keeps first things first. Cultures change, styles change, traditions change, times change. God remains the same. Through wise leadership and a faithful example, let's draw upon the rich heritage of the past, while at the same time seeking to communicate the eternal gospel in ways our culture can understand."

Enjoy the Journey

Planned and Spontaneous

Most churches lean one way or the other. Things are planned out months in advance or they aren't planned out at all. I've worked with churches that you had to submit a request to have coffee after service 6 weeks in advance and I've been at a church on Sunday morning and been asked to lead the songs 10 minutes before service started because the worship minister didn't show up! Planning and spontenaity both have their strengths, but the best case scenario is when they are used with a healthy tension. You see, there are things that planning offers that spontenaity cannot, and the opposite is also true.

Planning can never replace dependence on the Holy Spirit. I don't know how many times we have had a great plan for worship and something happens mid-week or even Sunday morning that changes everything! Continuing with a celebratory service when a tragedy has just occurred may not make sense, and the opposite is true as well.

Planning also doesn't mean that everything will go right. Just because we plan something doesn't mean that everyone will follow it, that the sound system won't blow up, or keep some other disaster from happening in the middle of the sevice! What we need to realize is that having plans is a good thing, but there is nothing sacred about them. They are mean to serve us, not to rule us.

Planning does help us to utilize our time effectively. We have an hour and fifteen minutes to convince people who are hurting, confused, and empty that Jesus is bigger than all or the problems that are going on in their lives and that He loves them and came to earth to save them, and that is hard to communicate without a plan! Planning also helps us to use different ways of expressing the gospel each week, whether through different musical styles, preaching, testimony, or a variety of other ways.

Spontenaity is hard for me. I like the plan. God likes to step in and change the plan, sometimes it seems like every week He does...or maybe that is the pastor :) This gives us the freedom to address the needs that need to be addressed right then and there, such as last week when we took time to pray for the Kamara family. Spontenaity may look like that, or it may be as simple as repeating a chorus so that we can dwell on the truth we just sang a little longer. Either way, we must be open to following the Spirit whereve He leads.

The biggest takeaway is this: The Holh Spirit often guides us in spontaneous ways. "Of course, the Spirit can also use us in powerful ways as we play notes we've practiced for hours during months of rehearsals. But isn't it helpful to be able to do both?"

Enjoy the Journey

Vertical and Horizontal

When we come together and worship God, we need to engage in two different types of worship: Vertical and Horizontal. Vertical worship is direct praise of God. After all, He is worthy of all praise. He created us so that we might know Him and love Him and give Him praise. When we give God glory, we are joining an activity that has been happening and will continue to happen for all eternity! You would think that we wouldn't need to be reminded that worship begins and ends with God, but sometimes we do. Sometimes we get so caught up in what we are doing or in what we like or don't like that we forget the entire reason we are doing what we are doing is to bring glory to God!

God's value doesn't increase or decrease because of anything that anyone does or says about Him. It's not like a public opinion poll of a politician. God is as glorious today as He has ever been and that will never diminish or fade. He doesn't command us to worship Him so that He can gain more status. He commands us to worship Him because we need to worship Him. As we've said before we are always worshiping something in our lives, and to worship something other than God is idolatrous, so we need to worship Him!

Worship is also not a 'means to an end.' Worship isn't something we do to help church growth, evangelism, or some other ministry. Worship, as many have said, is 'heaven practice,' we are getting ready to do what we will do forever in heaven! God's glory is the end of our worship, not the means to some other end.

But there is also a horizontal element to worship. Our worship builds our brothers and sisters up. Ephesians 5:19 says that we are to "admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs," while at the same time "singing and making melody to the Lord." Yes the entire point is to bring God glory, but we also reap the benefits of worshiping with a group of people! "We aren't having our own little worship experiences independent of each other."

"David Peterson (who wrote 'The Message') has helpfully pointed out that 'edification and worship are different sides of the same coin.' Then he adds, 'This does not mean that prayer or praise is a means to an end, namely edification. We worship God because of who He is and because of His grace towards us.'" The great thing is that when we worship God together, we are built up. He gets the glory, and we also get benefit out of it. There is a healthy tension that needs to be maintained: let us build each other up for the glory of God.

Enjoy the Journey

Internal and External

Usually when someone is describing someone else as a "real worshiper," what they mean is that they are very expressive when they sing. But truthfully that person may just be outgoing, they may be trying to draw attention to themselves, or they could be worshiping God biblically. We can't really tell if a person is worshiping just by looking at them from the outside, we have to know whets going on in their heart. We learn in 2 Samuel that God looks at the heart. God isn't looking for outward expression and inward coldness. God wants our hearts, and if He doesn't have them, then He isn't really interested in whether or not you raise your hands during the singing.

The heart is the most important thing. That being said, what we do with the rest of our body isn't irrelevant. Just saying, 'I'm worshiping God on the inside' isn't going to cut it! I can tell Abi that I love her all day long, but if I never do anything to show that love what good is it? She won't be too impressed if all I ever do is tell her I love her, but I never even give her a hug!

"Our bodies naturally respond to what affects our souls." In other words, there are not a set few things that you must physically do in order to have worshiped. I jump up and down when UK hits the winning shot as time expires, I spread my arms when my nieces and nephews come running in to greet us, I cry when someone we love has a major tragedy in their lives. No one has to teach us how to react to things, it comes naturally. When we are physically expressive in worship, it should be a natural response to what God is speaking into our lives during that time! That means that we won't be physically expressive all the time, and it means that sometimes we will react differently than other times. Like we've said many times, people can tell when you are putting on a show and when you are genuinely worshiping. Don't start trying to be physically expressive in worship just because others are doing it, it needs to be a response that is personal.

Some people are not physically responsive because they are afraid of what others will think of them. If that is you, remember that the only opinion that counts is God's. We are not worshiping to impress anyone, but to bring glory to God. Some people are not physically responsive because their view of worship is that it should be done with 'reverence and awe.' If that is you, remember that while those things are appropriate in worship, don't forget the numerous commands in scripture to celebrate, lift your hands, raise your voice, and dance! Still others are not physically responsive in worship because they do not want to distract others from worshiping God. This is a noble thing, and we never want to draw attention away from God and put it on us, so please be expressive, but do so with consideration of others in mind.

When we gather together to sing, we have to pursue "theological depth and passionate expression." God did not intend these to be separate! We want to worship with both our minds and our hearts. God is worthy of our deepest affection, and our bodies should show it.

Enjoy the Journey