I'm Coming Back to the HEART of Worship

Hold on to your hats, folks! I just had a very interesting thought.

As most of you know, I'm dating a girl that is part of a church community that worships in Spanish. I have told her on multiple occasions that I would like to attend a service there, but of course I don't speak Spanish. One would think "there's obviously a language barrier that would interfere with you being able to worship," right?

The more and more I think about it the more and more I want to go experience it. Of course I wouldn't know the words to the songs, but who cares? I think all too often we get caught up in the words, and our own knowledge keeps us from experiencing true worship. Fact of the matter is that not knowing the words could make for a better worship experience. One wouldn't be focused on keeping the beat or staying on pitch. One would be focused on one thing --worshiping God. O, how awesome that would be.

Now, I'm not going to post the words to the Matt Redman song that is the title of this post, but the song basically talks about a heart seeking God rather than a body seeking attention. The song seeks to make people realize that we shouldn't focus on words or the beat or whether the choir is on tempo. It clearly seeks to put the focus of our worship on Christ. "it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus."

My theory is this: If I don't know the words, I can't try to "perform" or whatever. I'd be standing there like a mumbling idiot just praising God. I'm not focused on singing on pitch or knowing the words. I'm focused on one thing --glorifying God.

Then comes the preaching. I obviously wouldn't understand the words coming out of the preacher's mouth, but does that mean that I couldn't get anything out of it? I think not. First of all, I believe that one can decipher a lot just based on non-verbal communication. However, I also believe in the Lord's ability to break down language barriers. Would I go in expecting a mystical miracle where I hear everything in English? no. In fact, I would hope to continue to hear in Spanish. I do believe that the Lord would teach me. And I could continue in my worship. It would be quite the experience indeed.

I hear of way too many churches or individuals that attend a specific church whining and complaining of how there's no traditional hymns being played in worship. First of all, as one who has studied philosophy, I would have to ask how one defines "traditional." Then, after hearing aforementioned definition, (which, by the way, would most likely consist of "the way you do it is too fast" or "we're used to an organ" or "i don't like the drums" or "it's too loud.") I would have to go one step further and ask "how do you know that to be the correct definition?"

See, there really is no "traditional." There is "the way things have been done," and there is "the way things will be done." At times they can overlap, but both are constantly changing and progressing, transforming. In the context of worship, however, I must ask why we are concerning ourselves with petty issues of "Why isn't there an organ in the worship room?" Seriously, if you have a heart seeking worship as opposed to a heart that is seeking a certain sound or a heart seeking confrontation you really have to step back and ask yourself..."who gives a damn?"

God, help me not to lose focus of the heart of worship. Bring me back there. Make me realize that It's all about you no matter what the words say, no matter how long the bassist's hair is, no matter whether the worship leader is bare-footed, no matter how loud the music is...no matter what. Create in my heart a passion for seeking to live a lifestyle of worship...for YOUR glory. Amen.

A New View on Church Work...

In the past several days I've come to a conclusion about work in the church.

Previously, I viewed working in the church as sitting in my office, planning events, preparing to teach, reading, praying, etc... Now I have a somewhat differing view of what it means to be at "work."

I was talking with my amazing girlfriend the other night, and she asked me why I refer to my job as going to "work" or being at "work." My answer: because church work is my job. Plain and simple. I love my job. So much of the time we always place a bad stigma on being at "work." The word itself has come to carry a negative connotation. I love my job. I love being at "work." Nonetheless, I think still "work" is the proper label for it.

I do, however, have a different opinion on what it means to be at "work."

I've come to view being at "work" as a lot more than spending time inside the walls of the building where our church meets. The way I see church work is this: The church that hires me (Fair Haven UMC as of right now) gives me the resources to do ministry as I see fit. I am the youth pastor, therefore my primary target is youth. So much of the time we see our pastors as those who minister solely to a congregation. Now, we, as pastors, are definitely that. But we are called to do so much more.

If you've known me for about five minutes you know that one of my favorite television shows is a show called 'SportsNight.' It ran for two seasons on ABC several years ago, and was canceled after the second season. In one of the episodes, titled The Quality of Mercury at 29K, one of the main characters, Dan Rydell, searches for a charity to give some of his disposable income to. At one point during the episode, Dan's broadcast partner, Casey McCall, tells him "You can't fix everything, but you know what you should do? Anything. As much and as often as you can." I think that's the way we should do ministry --"Anything. As much and as often as possible."

We shouldn't restrict ourselves to...well...ourselves. We need to be doing ministry and seeking discipleship as much and as often as we can. In my mind my employer hasn't hired me just to minister to the youth of the church. They've hired me to work along side them in ministering to the community...as much and as often as I can. They've also hired me to sharpen myself as a minister. That means reading, fellowship with other ministers, and other things. By these things I become a better pastor.


God, I pray that you help me to do ministry as much and as often as I am able. Let your name be glorified by what I have done and what I will do. Amen.