As my family and I have been searching for a church to call home, we've encountered a vast array of believers gathered to worship. We've been to church bodies that met in buildings that were built in the mid 1800s that housed 100 people (uncomfortably), to church bodies of about 30 people meeting in a storefront, to church bodies consisting of thousands of members meeting in a multi-million dollar facility (and that was just the cost of the "kids" wing). The worship services varied almost as much as the actual facilities that the church bodies met in. We found ourselves turning through the Baptist Hymnal to Hymn number 345 while being prompted to only sing the 1st, 2nd, and 5th stanzas or staring up at big projection screens to sing the words of the latest praise and worship songs. The beauty is, we were worshiping in both of those scenarios.
Unfortunately, the converse is also true. Some of the places that we have been consisted of worship, through singing, that was distracting. I am a musically inclined person and enjoy a good rhythm (perhaps that's my bass playing instinct coming out), beautiful melody, and theologically sound lyrics (after all, it can't be true worship if it isn't theologically sound), but in several different situations I found myself distracted. The distraction is the worship... worship that has given in to a new trend; that trend is a re-focusing of attention to people rather than God.
The chief purpose of worship is to make much of God and nothing of ourselves. It is because of who He is that we worship Him and it is because of what He has done that enables us to worship Him. Therefore, it is my belief, that worship should be focused solely on God. I know I am not alone in my view, and I feel like my view is the majority view, but nonetheless the trend seems to be gaining popularity.
In the books Why I Left the Contemporary Christian Music Movement and Can You Rock the Gospel? the gist of the authors' theses is that modern music should not be used in worship. I do not agree with that point, but I understand where it comes from. In several worship services that I have attended, my heart has sank as the lights over the "audience" have been turned off while the lights on the stage have been turned up. I feel that action tends to lend itself to more of a "concert" type atmosphere and (whether sub-consciously or consciously) focuses our attention to the stage rather than to God. The action of changing the lights has mostly been followed by a lead singer with a "concerty" voice playing a distorted guitar and, at times, the "concerty" thing of the lead singer starting a verse then backing off of the microphone so the audience can continue the verse. Or he will say things like "clap your hands with me" or "you sing" during breaks in the singing. These would be enjoyable and not distracting if I was at a concert, but in worship they are detrimental.
Our attention in worship is to be focused solely on the Creator. Anything less is not true worship because we are, in effect, worshiping something else.
My plea to worship leaders, whether as a pastor/minister or member serving in some type of worship leadership, is that you make every effort to lead others into worship of God. However that looks to you in your particular situation I pray that God be glorified through our corporate worship of Him.
I completely agree with you. Many of the churches that I have visited (on vacation or w/ family and friends, I have my own home church that I belong to) have focused more on entertainment than edification and worship through their music and message. They seem to hold to a belief that if they can entertain people that more will attend and that the high attendance will demonstrate that they are successful. While others believe that if they pack in the crowds and collect large amounts of money (that they are going to use to further the gospel, of course) they are successful. It is as if they honestly believe that God values numbers and cash more than honest teaching and worship. Now these churches won't say this directly, though some have glorified themselves bragging about it, but it is what many of their actions portray. They may as well add a couple of stripper poles and slot machines to their services and buildings....oh wait some already have. It seems that far too many churches have lost sight of the gospel and their role in it here in America. Too much of false teachings and philosophies prevalent in the modern american culture has made its way into the church. We need to seek honesty and sincerity in our worship of God, sharing/teaching of the gospel and Word of God, and our discipleship of believers.
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