Utilitarian Worship

What is the purpose of sung corporate worship? We can articulate theological truths, ascend to intellectual ideals, and quote chapter and verse of Scripture. Still, our worship has become utilitarian when worship is primarily about hammering the truth into people, filling time before a sermon, or experiencing God.

Utilitarian worship is a pitfall for every theological stripe. For my reformed brothers and sisters, utilitarian worship can become an appetizer to the main course: the sermon—a sampling of scripture for the real biblical work of the preached Word. We can so limit our choices of songs, that we force our people to run a mental marathon. For my charismatic brothers and sisters, we can so emphasize worship as the place of experiencing and encountering God that everything else becomes secondary. Ultimately, we turn our people into sugar fiends, chasing an ever-elusive high.

But what if worship is not about mental marathons or sugar highs?

What if our aim in discipling our people, leading sung worship, planning set lists, choosing songs, and leading the liturgy is to help turn the affections of our people to delight in God? What if our worship is aimed toward the delight of God? Songs and experience matter - but only so much as they turn our attention from ourselves and toward the God who is worthy of our delight, and who delights in the praises of His people. Utilitarianism and delight cannot occupy the same space. Lead toward delight.

15 October: Tuesday Refocus

"When my little world is falling apart and the dream castles of my ambitions and hopes crumble into ruins, can I honestly declare, 'Surely-yes, surely-goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life'?" - Phillip Keller

Life with God is having our desires transformed (Psalm 37:4). Life with God is recognizing that, ultimately, he is our greatest desire (Psalm 73:25). And if God is my greatest desire, regardless of what happens around me, my life is securing in choosing that which can not be taken away (Luke 10:42). Because my life is hidden with Christ in God, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Colossians 3:3, Psalm 23:6).

Father, may we choose the good portion. May we respond to you in faith and joy. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

Limiting Choices

As worship leaders, we make many decisions when it comes to choosing songs - what songs we will introduce, what songs will be a part of our set list, what songs will make it to our master song list, and what songs will roll out of rotation and frequency.

The church I serve belongs to a network of churches that has very clear convictions around the kind of songs - but more specifically, the kind of writers - whose songs many of the network churches are willing to use. As I understand it, the concern is essentially that using a song from a particular church or movement is viewed as an endorsement of its theology. Don’t get me wrong, songs matter, and so does theology. Songs often function as portable theology for our congregations. And so therefore we should be discerning about what we put in the minds, mouths, and hearts of our people. But our primary responsibility is not to be gatekeepers of songs, but disciple-makers. We need to teach, lead, and serve in such a way that our people become increasingly discerning of the diet of songs they listen to and love.

As I have developed my own philosophy of worship, and frankly, as worship songs have become an industry saturating our choices as local church worship leaders, it has become harder for me to listen to an album and want to introduce every song to my congregation. Because I am often considering the holes in my master song list, I become less convinced that just because this is an artist I love, and with whom I am theologically aligned, does not mean that every song they send into the world is one I will receive.

Let your convictions guide your choices. If you feel convinced that songs from churches you would not attend will be more harmful than helpful for your congregation, then do not use those songs. My conviction is that we need songs that are deep theologically, and emotive responsively - seldom do those two factors exist in a single song. So that shapes the songs I choose to introduce and the way I construct my set lists.

If this post was helpful, you may also be interested in:

• Why churches should write original songs

• Choosing new songs

• Songs of devotion, songs of corporate worship

• Songs for the season

• Songs and explanations

8 October: Tuesday Refocus

“We love the old saints, missionaries, martyrs, and reformers. Our Luthers, Bunyans, Wesleys and Asburys, etc... We will write their biographies, reverence their memories, frame their epitaphs, and build their monuments. We will do anything except imitate them. We cherish the last drop of their blood, but watch carefully over the first drop of our own.” - A.W. Tozer

King David said he would not offer a sacrifice to the Lord that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Jesus said in order to find our lives we must lose our lives (Matthew 10:39). The Apostle Paul said that he no longer lives, but it is Christ who lives in him (Galatians 2:20).

In resource-rich societies (such as ours) we will happily lend our expertise, our money, and maybe even our time to causes we deem worthwhile. But what about our very lives? What of taking up our crosses and following our Savior (Matthew 16:24)? What if following Jesus will take us to places we do not want to go - like, the mission field? Like a simple, quiet, and obscure existence whose faithfulness is seen only by the Father? Like a life of discomfort, free of the ways we distract, avoid, and numb the pain, suffering, and brokenness within and without?

For followers of Jesus, we know that we must die to ourselves. But perhaps the first death is realizing that we cannot choose the place and manner of our deaths. But it is in dying that we bear much fruit (John 12:24). It is in being united with Christ in a death like his, that we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his (Romans 6:5).

Father, we are grateful for the faithful witness of the saints throughout time and history who have given their lives - body and soul, in life and in death - to you. We pray that our lives would be conformed to the image of Christ in His life and in His death, for Your glory, and our good, amen.

Amen,

AB

6 October: Liturgy & Set List

• CREATOR

  Call to Worship: Psalm 61

  One of the functions of the modern world, especially the West, and maybe America in particular is that we can keep pain, suffering, sin, and death at a distance. Don’t like what is on the news? Turn off the TV. Don’t like what is on social media? Put down your phone. We can even keep the sin and suffering in our lives at arm’s length by avoiding it, numbing it, distracting ourselves, or ignoring it. And these strategies work until pain, suffering, and death move close. Until a hurricane rips across our state leaving significant devastation in its wake. But if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus and your heart feels faint, you can have confidence that God hears your cry. You can cling to the Rock that is higher than I. Because He is good and does good…

• WHAT YOU SAID

• HOLY FOREVER

  Sermon: 1 Peter 4:1-6

  If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you have a new heart. Your heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh, and along with it, new desires and affections. You have also been given the Holy Spirit who indwells you and enables you to put sin to death and live with self-control. But you are also called to have your mind renewed daily through the Word of God. This is part of what we do when we sing, to put the Word of God in our minds, mouths, and hearts, and by it, our minds are renewed. Would you stand if you’re able and let’s sing…

• ‘TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS

• 10,000 REASONS (BLESS THE LORD)

  Benediction

How To Lead Worship

How do you lead worship? Do you start with learning an instrument? Perhaps by choose songs to build a set list? Maybe leading worship happens when you’re standing in front of people with a microphone? While those things might be involved in leading worship, those things are not the primary ways you lead worship.

Be a worshiper

Everyone is a worshiper, so in theory, everyone is in fact a worship leader. We all direct the aim, attention, and affection of others toward what we worship. But it is only followers of Jesus who are able to rightly worship the only one worthy of right worship. And that is why to be a worship leader you must…

Have your face turned toward God.

We must continually lift our eyes to behold and treasure Christ. To turn away from sin in repentance and faith, and find the satisfaction of our soul in Jesus. Use songs, music, and liturgy to serve the people you lead to turn the hearts, eyes, and lives toward God.

Go first

In the early 2000s it was popular to call worship leaders, lead worshipers. A subtle way of saying that we go first. We lead out. We serve intentionally. Go first in your preparation, go first in your time and attention worshiping God.

What else would you add?

1 October: Tuesday Refocus

"It is going to be a very long road. Every time I pray I feel the struggle. It is the struggle of letting God be the God of my whole being. It is the struggle to trust that true freedom lies hidden in total surrender to God's love." - Henri J.M. Nouwen

For followers of Jesus, we know that our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19). We know that our very breath is a gift from God (Acts 17:25). But still we naturally cling to the natural - attempting to exert our will, our whims, and our desires on and over our lives. In prayer we come face-to-face with the God who says ‘“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding (Job 38:4).’ In prayer we recognize that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). In prayer we realize that our words should be few - because what is there to say when we see the One who inhabits the heavens (Ecclesiastes 5:2)? Prayer is not a battle of wills (mine against God’s) but the enfolding of my will into the One who knows and loves me best.

Father, may we be quick to surrender deeply, fully, completely. In Christ’s name, and the Spirit’s power, amen.

Amen,

AB

Purified Motives

As a worship leader, passages like Matthew 6:1-7 give me a significant amount of pause:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

As worship leaders, our role is public by nature. So are there ways we can ensure that our motives are pure? Because only God can see and know our hearts, it is only God who - in His kindness - can reveal to us the places where our motives are out of step with His heart. If we desire pure motives in our leading and serving, we must be people who are attentive to His voice (by His Spirit and through His Word), and be people who are quick to confess our sin to God and to others.

We are incapable of purifying our own motives. But we can (and should) test our motives.

Some questions to consider in testing our motives: What do I want? How do I respond when I don’t get what I want? Why do I react that way? What are the stories I tell myself in the quiet of my own heart and mind?

24 September: Tuesday Refocus

“Prayers are the life signs of faith. They occur as naturally as the cries of newborn babies.” - Simon Chan

Need lives unashamedly close to the surface for children. This does not change as adults - our needs are buried under layers of pride, self-sufficiency, and fear. Even from God - the One from whom nothing is hidden - we attempt to cover, minimize, or hide our need (Genesis 3:8-12, Psalm 139, Luke 8:17).

It is God who ‘…gives to all mankind life, and breath and everything (Acts 17:25).’ In prayer, we acknowledge that we are people of need. In prayer, we acknowledge that we cannot provide for our deepest needs. In prayer, we acknowledge that it is God Himself that we desire.

Father, may our prayers be frequent, honest, and bold, because You hear us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Amen,

AB

Is Leading Worship Performing?

Is leading worship a performance?

In christian spaces the word performance can have negative connotations. I think we can often confuse performing (definition: carry out, accomplish, or fulfill an action, task or function) with being performative (definition: relating to or of the nature of dramatic or artistic performance). We think of performing as playing a part, acting, seeking attention. And to be sure, anyone can go through the motions of leading worship in a way that is aimed toward self-glorification.

But in a very practical sense, there is a performance involved in leading worship. We prepare readings, prayers, we plan and select songs, we practice and rehearse until we feel our performance is the best we can offer in skill, time, and as little distraction as possible.

Do we perform? Yes.

Is it performative? I suppose that depends on our motives. This is not a question that can be truly and honestly answered apart from the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.

17 September: Tuesday Refocus

‘Every art unfolds its secrets and its beauty only to the man who practices it. To the humble soul who prays in the obedience of faith, who practices prayer and intercession diligently, because God asks it, the secret of the Lord will be revealed, and the thought of the deep mystery of prayer, instead of being a weary problem, will be a source of rejoicing, adoration, and faith, in which the unceasing refrain is ever heard: "My God will hear me!”’ - Andrew Murray

It is easy to lose patience in prayer. It seems slow, and we wonder if anything is happening. It seems important and yet we wonder if we are doing it right. Like the Psalmist - and every person in Scripture, and throughout history - we wonder aloud: ‘I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where Is Your God? (Psalm 42:9-10)”’ 

But if we labor on, lean in, show up, bring our sighing and ourselves we find “…the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name (Isaiah 45:3).” This is not easy work - not because God is withholding, but because we are often half-hearted in our pursuit of the One who gives us Himself (Psalm 38:9, John 1:16). Why else would we call those rare saints who seem to have been able to lay hold of something deeper and more meaningful in prayer, warriors?

Father, would you make us persistent in prayer? Amen and amen.

Amen,

AB

Songs and Explanations

I came across a video of a successful podcaster (and former pastor) who was wondering out loud if congregants now require advanced degrees in Hebrew to be able to participate in corporate worship. Referencing a handful of songs listing the Hebrew names for God, he posited that, unfamiliar language creates unnecessary blockers for non-Christians in our midst, and increasingly Christians as well. From what I can tell, this leader - who I respect and have learned from his ministry, writing, and podcast - has a very different philosophy of ministry from me. If the goal of a church service is primarily to provide an outlet for seeker-sensitive worship, then Hebrew names of God may very well be too significant of a hurdle to overcome. This is partly why understanding your philosophy of worship is important - the why shapes the what.

Songs for corporate worship are needles of truth thread with beauty. There is a difference between corporate worship songs and songs of personal devotion. But just because a song uses words we do not use in everyday life does not mean it should not be included in a setlist. I would encourage worship leaders to choose songs that allow opportunities to stretch the minds, hearts, and language of the people we lead. Choose songs that grow with your people. Choose songs that help to shepherd your people - and even use your lyrics projection to shape the people. But be aware of songs that require an explanation to appreciate or enjoy.

While I do not currently lead any of the songs our podcaster friend referenced, if your master song list has songs with the words Emmanuel, or Hallelujah - you do have songs that include Hebrew words.

Songs matter, language matters, but let’s not get rid of opportunities to train the people we lead.