Brian MacLaren has some strong words concerning the current state of worship music.

Is he right?  Is he off-base?

Comments welcome…

HT:  Derek Webb via Twitter

Mark Galli says it’s the end of Christianity as we know it.

And, says he, good riddance.

Here’s part of his post:

The Christian faith is, at its core, not about ethics or religious experience, but a message about a God who has gone to extraordinary lengths to be and remain on our side, to become the-God-with-a-name, Emmanuel, “God with us.” Christians are not primarily mystics (those who experience God in a special way) or activists (those who live the way of Jesus).

We are mostly witnesses of who God is and what he has done and what he will do in Jesus Christ, the God who in Christ has “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10).

This is not to deny that our faith must be expressed in deeds and empowered by a genuine experience of God. Faith without works, or a genuine encounter with God, is not Christian faith.

But after promising the disciples that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus told them what their main mission was: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

We are shortchanging our people when we make worship mostly about experience or a pep rally to motivate people to good deeds. We practice religious neglect when we fail to witness to them the saving story of God in Christ and train them to be fellow witnesses of that story, so that they might share that story with a world that does not know its left hand from its right. A world which does not know God as Emmanuel, but merely as “Something.” A world that knows transcendence but does not have eyes to see God with us even to the end of the age. A world that senses “attunement with other people,” but does not recognize the One who holds everyone and everything together by his love.

Mark Galli, The End of Christianity as We Know It, CT April 2010

Worship is indeed God’s “party.”

He is simultaneously the Inviter, the Host, and the Guest of Honor.

Coming to God in worship is God’s idea, after all, not ours.

• Ron Man, Called to Worship, from CCLI blog

God instituted the model of worship found in the Old Testament.

The worship of Israel was formal and liturgical. Solemn rites were central to the experience. The setting of temple worship was anything but casual. The meeting place had an ambiance of the solemn and the holy. The ritual was designed for drama. The literature and music were high and majestic. God inspired the content of songs (the Psalms). The finest craftsmen, who were filled by the Holy Spirit, fashioned the articles of art. God designed the vestments of the priests “for glory and for beauty” (Ex. 28:2).

Everything in Israelite worship, from the music to the building to the liturgy, focused attention on the majesty of God. God, in His holiness and in His redemptive work, was the content of the form. It was solemn, because to enter the presence of God is a solemn matter.

But even God-ordained patterns of worship can be corrupted. Liturgy can degenerate into liturgicalism, or even worse, sacerdotalism, by which the rites and sacraments themselves are seen as the instruments of salvation. The forms of worship can devolve into formalism and the externals into externalism.

- R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries blog

Photo cred:  Photobucket

From Carlos @ RagmuffinSoul (who gets it):

Danny is a homeless guy in Atlanta who happened to walk up on me while I was shooting the EPK for my new record.

I was singing the song “God Of Second Chances.”

Danny walks up, kneels down, starts crying, puts his hands up in the air and this happened…

HT:  Resurgence

Christ-centered worship is not just talking or singing about Jesus a lot. Christ-centered worship reflects the contours of the gospel.

In the individual life of a believer, the gospel progresses through recognition of the greatness and goodness of God, the acknowledgment of our sin and need of grace, assurance of God’s forgiveness through Christ, thankful acknowledgment of God’s blessing, desire for greater knowledge of him through his Word, grateful obedience in response to his grace, and a life devoted to his purposes with assurance of his blessing.

- Bryan Chappell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary, interviewed by Collin Hansen of Christianity Today about his book  Christ Centered Worship:  Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice (Baker, 2009).

It is imperative in planning the worship services that church leaders give careful attention to every element and make sure that the worship retains both integrity and purpose.

People come to church generally “beaten down” by the world of deceit, distraction, and demand.  There is an extraction of emotional and spiritual energy that brings them on “empty” into the community.

The church’s task is to so prepare during the week that it is collectively the instrument of replenishment and fresh energy of soul.  Even being in the presence of fellow believers in worship is a restorer of spiritual hope.

We so underestimate the power of a people in one mind and with one commitment.  Even a prayer can so touch a hungry heart that it can rescue a sliding foot in a treacherous time.

- Ravi Zacharias, A Mighty Evangel, RZIM

Read Ravi’s story on how God moved powerfully through prayer in a meeting with atheists, agnostics, and Marxists here.

HT:  Josh @ blog.worship.com

Too many Christians stand back and live half-hearted lives of partial worship & adoration.

They pray, read the books, sing the songs, enjoy the Lord, and cheer at the events, but when it comes to doing anything – getting their hands dirty, being involved with community, or serving others in need or giving generously, it’s like – I couldn’t, I was too busy reading books about the rapture, my hope is just to leave.

No.  That’s not how Jesus lived.

- Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, Seattle.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Moving from adoration to compassion in worship is a stretch for many of us. But the Scriptures tell us that if we love God, then we’ll obey God.

If we really adore the beautiful things in God’s character, then we are to model and practice those things. If our worship is to be authentic, it has to be embodied in very real ways. Worship as compassion is an invitation to demonstrate our love for Christ by loving God’s children.

By making this commitment in worship, we move our theoretical and sometimes rhetorical confessions of God’s love, into a felt sense of anticipation.  Our compassionate worship leaves us anticipating a response. Anticipating the possibility that what we have experienced in our own faith journeys can become real for someone else.

Worship as compassion is also an indictment of our reality, testifying to the pain and vulnerability of our humanity. When we see others unjustly suffering under cruel oppression, we know that it’s not what God intended or designed.

Compassion is what takes us to the next level and compels us to act on what we know.

- Chris Tomlin, What Do We Mean By Worship, FQWorship.com.

Also see what God has to say about worship and compassion for the poor.

We all love “worship experiences” with God. Experiences aren’t evil. But the concept of worship as an “experience” is fairly foreign to Scripture.

I say “fairly” because there are times when worshipping God was definitely an experience! (2 Chron. 5:11-14;Acts 4:31; 1 Cor. 14:23-25)

However, the goal of gathering as God’s people is not to feel something but to see and remember something. That “something” is the Word, works, and worthiness of God, especially as He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6)

If I pursue goose bumps or heightened emotion during a meeting, God becomes simply one of numerous options I can choose to seek them from.

This doesn’t minimize the importance of pursuing encounters with the living God characterized by profound emotion and awareness of the Holy Spirit’s active presence. Scripture is filled with examples of longing for, pursuing, and delighting in God’s presence (Ps. 84:1-2; 1 Chron 16:11; Ps. 16:11)

But I become aware of God’s nearness by dwelling on His nature, promises, and acts, not by pursuing an emotional fix.

- Bob Kauflin, Idolatry on Sunday Mornings (Pt. 3), WorshipMatters.com