The Way We Worship
Close your eyes and imagine,
You are sitting on a pew bench within your church, waiting for your pastor to come up to the front and begin the service. He makes his way to the pulpit, and after the usual good morning greetings, he says, "We will now begin to worship". Now open your eyes.
What came to your mind when you thought about being led in worship? Were you going to sing your heart out to a moving worship song like "Reckless Love"? Were you going to spend time praying thanksgiving to God? What if I told you that either of these things were acceptable, and in fact there are many more ways that you could take on a posture of worship. If that is the case though, you might ask, "How do we define worship and what does it look like in one's life?"
Worship for the Christian is commonly known as an adoration or devotion to God. This opens the door for many different outlets, as the way a person worships is a personal encounter. I think often times we tend to limit worship to specific practices that are most common among our congregation, and it is true that we should worship as the corporate body, but I believe this can limit our ability to worship God in a way that is meaningful to us in an intimate way.
There have been times where I have been on the end of feeling like I could not worship God the way I wanted, feeling those around me might judge me for raising my hands or dancing along to a powerful song. However, I have also been on the opposite side of seeing someone worship in a way that was different than my own, and am ashamed to say I too have judged.
Yet, as we have established, worship is the adoration or devotion to God, not to others. Therefore in order to cultivate a place where people feel free to give their praise to the Creator in their own personal way, we must understand that true worship is not something that can be narrowed down to a specific guide or rule-book, but instead must be experienced as an outpouring of one's own personal encounter with God.
For some, this means using different mediums, skills, or pleasures such as art or music in order to experience an awe for the Creator. Through art, some are able to "...imagine, to see pictures in (their) heads... to make visible to others the beauty and meaning God has first pictured or introduced, into our imaginations" (Shaw, 18). Art can be a means in which people connect with and reflect on God in a way that a message or reading about God won't. Therefore we need to be willing to allow others to use different means in order to learn about and praise the Father.
On the other hand, expressive means such as art and other visuals may not be for everyone. As Hilary Brand expresses so clearly, "Those who prefer their worship plain and unadorned are not necessarily Philistines and art-haters. For some, worship is all about coming aside from everyday life... Perhaps all we can conclude...at the subject of the arts in worship is that it will always be 'different strokes for different folks'" (Brand, 7). With this in mind, our focus as a church should move from restricting worship to certain practices and should instead begin to understand that the best type of worship is one of genuine relationship that comes from a personal encounter with God, which will look different for each person.
I hope you enjoyed this week's post! I encourage you to reflect on the subject of worship and would love to hear the ways in which you connect with God best! Comment below!
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Bibliography
Brand, Hilary and Adrienne Chaplin. 2001. Art & Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Shaw, Luci. 2007. Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination and Spirit: Reflections on Creativity and Faith. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
You are sitting on a pew bench within your church, waiting for your pastor to come up to the front and begin the service. He makes his way to the pulpit, and after the usual good morning greetings, he says, "We will now begin to worship". Now open your eyes.
What came to your mind when you thought about being led in worship? Were you going to sing your heart out to a moving worship song like "Reckless Love"? Were you going to spend time praying thanksgiving to God? What if I told you that either of these things were acceptable, and in fact there are many more ways that you could take on a posture of worship. If that is the case though, you might ask, "How do we define worship and what does it look like in one's life?"
Worship for the Christian is commonly known as an adoration or devotion to God. This opens the door for many different outlets, as the way a person worships is a personal encounter. I think often times we tend to limit worship to specific practices that are most common among our congregation, and it is true that we should worship as the corporate body, but I believe this can limit our ability to worship God in a way that is meaningful to us in an intimate way.
There have been times where I have been on the end of feeling like I could not worship God the way I wanted, feeling those around me might judge me for raising my hands or dancing along to a powerful song. However, I have also been on the opposite side of seeing someone worship in a way that was different than my own, and am ashamed to say I too have judged.
Yet, as we have established, worship is the adoration or devotion to God, not to others. Therefore in order to cultivate a place where people feel free to give their praise to the Creator in their own personal way, we must understand that true worship is not something that can be narrowed down to a specific guide or rule-book, but instead must be experienced as an outpouring of one's own personal encounter with God.
For some, this means using different mediums, skills, or pleasures such as art or music in order to experience an awe for the Creator. Through art, some are able to "...imagine, to see pictures in (their) heads... to make visible to others the beauty and meaning God has first pictured or introduced, into our imaginations" (Shaw, 18). Art can be a means in which people connect with and reflect on God in a way that a message or reading about God won't. Therefore we need to be willing to allow others to use different means in order to learn about and praise the Father.
On the other hand, expressive means such as art and other visuals may not be for everyone. As Hilary Brand expresses so clearly, "Those who prefer their worship plain and unadorned are not necessarily Philistines and art-haters. For some, worship is all about coming aside from everyday life... Perhaps all we can conclude...at the subject of the arts in worship is that it will always be 'different strokes for different folks'" (Brand, 7). With this in mind, our focus as a church should move from restricting worship to certain practices and should instead begin to understand that the best type of worship is one of genuine relationship that comes from a personal encounter with God, which will look different for each person.
I hope you enjoyed this week's post! I encourage you to reflect on the subject of worship and would love to hear the ways in which you connect with God best! Comment below!
_____________________________________________________________________________
Bibliography
Brand, Hilary and Adrienne Chaplin. 2001. Art & Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Shaw, Luci. 2007. Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination and Spirit: Reflections on Creativity and Faith. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
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