My Thoughts on Worship...
Part I

During recent years I have repeatedly asked the question, “how do we worship God?” The concept that we can orchestrate, develop, and market a “how to” for worship is presumptuous at best and idolatry at worst. In his book, To Know You More, Andy Parks says, “Christian worship is a living thing; its form can never be packaged and finalized. If we had a prescribed order of service or format to follow, we would worship it instead of God. Our worship would become stale – a rote religious exercise.” Worship cannot be limited to order and structure but encompasses the totality of all we are in Christ. The desire to separate the notion of worship from our lives, or limit it to a corporate setting, has compartmentalized our expressions of adoration and renders the church as the only place for worship.

The recent revitalization in worship has attacked the problem backwards. We have sought to change the outward expression of worship within the congregational setting to more of a celebration resulting in a grand worship experience but leaving the believer’s personal responsibility to come prepared for worship unchecked. Believers are responsible for their contribution to the gathered worship time. This begins with a life that is seeking to bring glory to God in every aspect. We encounter God in all of life and therefore should respond to Him in a manner that declares His worth. True worship does not limit itself to order, structure, and location but instead encompasses all we are. We must prayerfully seek to provide a authentic worship experience that all people regardless of age, gender, or background will be empowered to worship God with their total being. In order to effect this transformation within our body of believers, we must begin with a compelling and comprehensive theology of worship that drives the experience despite internal and external roadblocks inherent within our church, its membership, and me.

May God grant us the opportunity to see His glory and respond with all our hearts in worship!