Monthly Archives: December 2006

Christmas Caroling vs. Worship

It’s that time of year again when worship leaders and pastors try to fit in the traditional Christmas songs that they believe need to be sung for those visitors or twice-a-year members who stop by the church during the month of December. Unfortunately, most of us cave to the pressure, or to our own relief at not having to “wait upon the Lord” for a worship set, and we fill our December Sundays with everything from “Joy to the World,” to “Away in a Manger” and “Go Tell It On the Mountain.”

I’ve come to believe that in doing so, we miss out on one of the greatest opportunities to introduce visitors and seasonal members into the presence of God. Maybe this is why they only come once or twice a year. If we give them the cookie-cutter songs that they have on um-teen CDs at home, hear in the malls, and are rerun over and again on the radio, why would they think church was worth going to? Continue reading →

Defining Worship 3

We’ve looked at some different ideas about worship is. Along the way, I made the statement that I have no choice but to take hold of a musical definition of worship. Then I tried to make that case a bit. But there is one more aspect of using a musical definition for worship that I’d like to share with you.

You see, I do not think it is the musical aspect, in and of itself, that is the key to worship. “Music is not worship itself, but music is a means of carrying our worship” (CeCe Winans, Throne Room , 48). I believe it has to do what music does to us, and what we do through music. We might think that music is just a background addition to our daily lives, but it is much more than that. Continue reading →

Defining Worship 2

How can we take the bold step of defining worship from a strictly musical perspective? What do we have before us in Scripture and behind us in experience that can help us either make a case for that definition or defeat it?

One of the first facets I have to grapple with is that there is a definite difference between worship and service, even in Scripture. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord called the people of Judah and Jerusalem evil, “who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them,” and proclaimed judgment upon them (see Jeremiah 13:9-10). Though there are passages in the prophets that show that God was displeased by the evil His people caused one to another, there is more evidence that His wrath arose because of idolatry. Continue reading →