Thoughts on Worship

It's amazing to me that, for most of my ministry, "the church" has engaged in what have often been called the worship wars. We spend time, energy and even sometimes money in arguing over what is "appropriate" for worship and what is not. I guess there are really three things that amaze me about this. First, that it's still going on. Second, that we argue over something Jesus gave a rather broad definition of. And third, we spend so many of our resources on this matter rather than on winning people to Christ.

We argue over instrumentation and which ones are appropriate or not. In just a quick survey of the Bible, I found these instruments specifically mentioned as being used for worship: trumpet, lute, harp, tambourine, strings/stringed instruments, pipe, cymbals, lyre, horn, and flute. In addition, there are certain actions for worship mentioned in the Scriptures: dancing, singing and clapping hands. Finally, the Bible even gives us certain songs to sing: psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. To me that indicates a wide variety in worship, a collection of musical tastes and interests.

Sometimes, when I'm in a friendly discussion with someone about worship and music, I'm told we must honor tradition. I've come to learn that "tradition" generally dates back to a person's childhood or young adulthood and not any further. Years ago, I had a funeral in which the deceased had requested we sing "the old hymns" at his funeral. I began suggesting hymns by Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts when I quickly learned that "the old hymns" were actually Fanny Crosby and that generation—in other words, songs that were popular (and new) when this person was young. Actually, if we really wanted to honor "tradition," we would probably do away with all instruments as many of our long-standing churches would have begun singing hymns and songs acapella. If we're going to argue tradition, we ought to be clear (and honest) about which tradition we're talking.

The only thing I recall Jesus really saying about worship is found in John 4, when he is speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well. She leads him into an argument (the first worship war?) about the correct place to worship. Jews insisted it must happen in Jerusalem, while the Samaritans (half-breeds, to Jewish minds) said it should take place on Mount Gerazim. These two groups had been fighting about this (and other matters) for a long time. Jesus corrected her by saying that location was not the issue. The heart is the issue. "God is spirit," Jesus said, "and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). In other words—what is our attitude for worship? What is our motivation for worship? Is it to "get something out of it for me" or is it to lift up and honor God, to declare that he is first in our lives?

Every generation since Jesus has fashioned worship which helps that generation do just that, to declare God to be first. And every generation has probably had someone to tell them they are doing it wrong. Every time I hear or see an outbreak of "the worship wars," it breaks my heart and causes me to wonder what God must think. God has given us so much, including his only Son, and the best we can do with what we have been given is fight over the right way to honor him? Are the things we fight over of ultimate importance or are they only temporal matters?

Just thinking out loud...