Worship, despite supposedly being a simple task is a topic of much controversy. Instead of worship being about God, we make worship about ourselves.
“Do we allow drums?”, “Should we sing hymns?”, “Should we have an actual worship band or should we instead have a choir, or an orchestra, or one singer?” and, “do we raise our hands and clap, or do we not?” “Is the music too loud?” “Is it too soft?” “Is it too old?” “Is it too new?” “Will people like this song?” These are the questions that plague any worship leader and Pastor in both our own Adventist churches as well as our friends in the evangelical and Catholic world.
The topic of worship has been distorted, and instead of drawing us to God, the protocols of worship have drawn us away. Instead of praising God, it becomes more focused on our personal tastes instead of on what worship is supposed to be – focused on God.
Worship is dividing churches when it should be uniting them. Worship is leading discussions in church and board meetings, when the church needs to be strategizing ways to reach the community and share the Gospel to the world. Worship is keeping people away from God when it should be drawing people closer to Him.
Now don’t get me wrong worship is undoubtedly important. The First Angel’s message in Revelation 14:7 even commands us to “worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”(Revelation 14:7)
Worship is important, it is just that we’ve forgotten how to embrace worship and instead we’ve become distracted by the formality of it. We’ve become distracted by the type of instruments we should use, the genre of music or whether or not clapping or raising hands are okay.
Worship is not any of that. True worship isn’t worried about what instruments, what music, and how worship was enacted instead the Bible claims “shout for joy to the LORD… worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with songs of joy” (Psalm 100:1-2) while Psalm 150 lists a whole range of ways we can worship from instruments to where and how we can worship.
So whether hymns or whether modern contemporary music, whether Amazing Grace or whether we’re repeating the bridge from one of Chris Tomlin’s classics for the 50th time, whether you like the music from the church services or whether you don’t, none of this should matter. Our worship is about God, not us. The music for worship is not for us but is instead for God. The acts of worship are not for others, but for God, the protocols we follow in worship are not restricted to the old people or the young people but is for everyone to be able to connect with God. Worship shouldn’t distract us from God, and it shouldn’t divide us but it should encourage us, unite us and help us to truly understand the awe and wonder of our all-powerful, amazing God.
WRITER: Timothy Pinzone, attends Epping Seventh Day Adventist Church, NSW.