Let’s Put Worship Back in the Worship Service

July 30, 2005, by Rebecca Merrill Groothuis

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Although we all have different gifts, callings, achievements, and stations in life, every believer is called to worship. The celebration of worship in the church service is the ministry of all the people. Worship is not merely the ministry “left over” for those unable to pursue the more “important” and “influential” ministries. Worship of God is the chief vocation for which we all were created. This is the one thing that makes our lives worthwhile, without which any life, no matter how accomplished or exemplary, is ultimately worthless.

Worship is both vocation and celebration. As vocation it is the continuous, lived-out worship of our daily work, performed in the presence of God, for the glory of God. As celebration it is the intentional acting-out of our worship in a kind of ritual drama—an outward enactment of our inward faith and conviction—in the church worship service. Both ways of worship are interrelated and essential. The celebration grows out of the vocation, and the vocation is confirmed and further established by the celebration. Viewed rightly, our diverse vocations here on earth—the unique ways in which we each live out our devotion to God in service of his kingdom—are various manifestations of our one eternal vocation of worship.

Worship is not only our most important vocation, but also the most enduring. Of all that we do in this life, worship alone will remain in the next. Worship of God is the organizing principle, the chief occupation, of the citizens of heaven. So it ought to be for believers on earth. Most of the skills we must learn in order to get along successfully in this life will be of no use in heaven: treating the physically ill, producing and consuming goods and services that help us negotiate a hazardous environment, mediating between parties of hostile intent, carefully protecting the egos of those in authority over us, and so forth. Even much of the work of the “ministry”—such as evangelizing the unsaved, counseling the emotionally devastated, providing services for the socially and economically disadvantaged—will be unnecessary in heaven. But when we invest ourselves in learning to worship, we invest in an occupation that will be essential throughout eternity.

The relationship between worship and work—or worship as celebration and worship as vocation—is expressed beautifully by Ben Patterson: “There is a wonderful and pregnant ambiguity in the Bible’s words for work and worship: in both the Old and New Testaments the word for each is the same. . . . Only the context determines which meaning should be selected by the translator. . . . In the Bible there is an indissoluble unity between worship and work, since both are forms of service to God. There is the service we render to God in our worship and there is the service we render to him in our work. The former is the liturgy of the sanctuary, the latter is the liturgy of the world. But of the two forms of work—or worship, if you will—it is only the liturgy of the sanctuary that is eternal. Whatever you happen to be doing now from nine to five will one day pass away. . . . Even the work we do for the kingdom of God will outlive its usefulness. . . . But the work of worship will go on forever.”

The Bible says we are to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Knowing the truth about God prepares our hearts for worship and safeguards our worship from idolatry. As we align our understanding of God with biblical teaching on God’s character and attributes, we are protected from the idolatry of fashioning a god out of our own imaginations. It is all too easy, especially in a culture that emphasizes personal experience over objective truth, for our worship to slip into an idolizing of our emotional state during the “worship experience.” But when we worship God according to a true knowledge of God, our spirits are opened to receive a further revelation of who God is and how he loves us. As our knowledge of God increases, so does our desire to worship him.

In a culture that focuses on self-expression, worship is readily perceived merely as an expression of our feelings about God and what he has done or can do for us. The other side of worship—that of God making himself known to us—often goes unacknowledged. As a result, our worship songs are too often simplistic and self-centered, adequate perhaps as an expression of simple gratitude, but woefully deficient as a means by which the glory and greatness of God can be revealed to us.

Worshiping as Artists

Like any artistic endeavor, music is an utterance, a form of communication—whether with words or without. Artistic creativity is prompted in the human heart by the fact that God created humans in his image. Made in the image of God, we are meant to be a reflection of God’s glory. If human art were perfect, and the reflection it gave were wholly clear and unclouded by sin, we should always see in our art not only our own image but a reflection of the one in whose image we were made.

God’s desire is to redeem the art of his people, that it might clearly reflect his glory and speak forth his praise. God’s work of creation was, in effect, a double-barrelled effort: God created creators to create for him. Thus, our works are to be his works, our words his words. A Christian need not be a Beethoven or a Michelangelo to create under divine inspiration. God wants each of us to become a finely tuned instrument through which God’s own glory and creativity may be revealed.

Although worship does not begin and end with the church service, it is here that worship becomes art. The singing and other activities that take place in the worship service are a ritualized expression of what is to every true believer a way of life; the worship service is a symbolic acting-out of what should be to the soul an ongoing inner reality. As our relationship with God is celebrated in this way, it is confirmed and established in our thoughts and our lives.

If worship is an art, then worshipers are artists, expressing in tangible form the attitude of their hearts toward God. The worship service is to be the work and the word of the Lord in us being expressed through us. It is a drama that the people stage before God. This is our ministry to the Lord, our reasonable service of worship: the conscious, intelligent act of presenting ourselves—our bodies, our voices, our hearts—as living sacrifices unto God (Romans 12:1).

When we come to church in order to worship, we come to desire and enjoy God for whom he is, rather than merely for what we can receive from him. We come first to bless the Lord, and secondarily to be blessed by him. Thus, the criterion for good worship music is not how well it blesses us, but how well it blesses the Lord. But how can we know what styles of worship are most pleasing to God?

Selecting Styles of Worship

The worship style adopted by a church will largely be a product of that church’s view of culture in general and art in particular. A church’s style of worship will, in turn, act back on the church, influencing or reinforcing the people’s view of art and culture. The medium often serves as the message, and those in the pews are likely to draw conclusions about the relationship of the church to the world, based on how the worship music compares to the music of the outside culture. Therefore, selecting the type of music used in worship is not a trivial concern, but one with considerable theological significance. It not only determines the parameters of the quality of worship, but also ramifies in areas other than the worship service, such as the church members’ understanding of what it means to be “in the world” yet not “of the world.”

A church that is uninterested in developing a theology of culture or worship will view art merely as a means to an instrumental end; therefore, in selecting music for worship, it will take the path of least resistance and reach for the lowest common denominator. Such a church will either follow the lead of contemporary popular culture, or (less commonly these days) will react against popular culture by developing its own subculture. Either way, the worship style will be simple (often simplistic) and easily accessible to people with relatively little acquaintance with or interest in music or the arts.

Those churches that most readily incorporate elements of contemporary pop culture into their worship services are those that are least likely to appreciate the need to confront and transform culture according to biblical truth. Likewise, those churches whose worship is most rigidly removed from current styles are least likely to perceive that there are elements in secular culture“both past and present”that are compatible with biblical truth and therefore worth conserving.

A church that has an interest in cultural and artistic endeavors will seek to develop a style of worship that is characterized by artistic integrity. This will make possible an expression of worship that will encompass thoughtful reflection concerning the character of God and encourage a heartfelt response of praise and thanksgiving. A worship style that conserves the best in culture and employs it in the service of God—thus transforming it for God’s glory”does not merely meet the people where they are, but lifts them up and urges them on toward a fuller understanding of God and a richer expression of worship.

Because the primary purpose of worship is to please God rather than people, the paramount issue in determining appropriate music for worship should have more to do with whether it meets minimal aesthetic standards than with people’s preferences for musical styles (classical, contemporary or traditional hymnody) or musical instruments (electronic or acoustic, drum set or pipe organ). Many styles of music and many musical instruments are suitable for use in worship, and the selection of musical styles and instruments should be based not merely on personal preferences, but on the place and purpose the music is to have within the worship service. There is both good music and bad music within nearly every musical style, and any instrument can be performed either poorly or well.

But whatever the musical style, music that is offered to the Lord in worship ought at least to be good music performed well. Although the concept of objective aesthetic standards is bound to be unpopular in an individualistic, consumer-driven culture that has largely dispensed with such standards even in truth and ethics, it is nonetheless an idea that deserves serious reconsideration in churches today.

Of course, cultural discernment and artistic skill in worship music does not in itself guarantee a high quality of worship. The substance of worship, aside from its stylistic expression, depends on the people’s understanding of their purpose in going to church. If the worship service is seen primarily as a time to be inspired or entertained, there will be little substance to the worship. But if the people gather together in order to glorify God, enjoy his presence, and come to serve and know him better, then the worship will have truth and substance.

Neither a worshipful attitude nor its artistically excellent expression comes naturally to people. Both must be carefully cultivated if worship is to be a Spirit-filled celebration of who God really is.

Becoming Cultured and Christian

But what about the age-old worry that if worship music becomes so aesthetically fine, the worshiper will worship the music rather than the God of whom the music speaks? The concern is a legitimate one, but it has had the unfortunate effect of convincing most Christians that spiritual maturity entails cultural mediocrity. A hunger for the things of God is assumed to rule out a desire for the finer things of culture (i.e., that which engages and develops a person’s aesthetic and intellectual faculties). After all, doesn’t the Bible say something about “not many wise, not many noble” (1 Cor. 1:26)?

But there is no commandment in the Bible that says believers are to eschew wisdom or nobility. The point rather is that the wise and the noble will be more strongly tempted to pride and therefore less likely to bow in repentance and worship before the Lord. The sin at issue is not wisdom or nobility, but pride. For that matter, it is quite possible for the uncultured and uneducated Christian to take great pride in his “humility.” If art is a vessel, the spiritual capacity of which increases with its degree of artistic excellence, then how can we deny our worship of our matchless God its fullest and finest expression? How can we settle smugly into a monolithic mediocrity?

Although even the greatest art is not worthy of God, does not God deserve the very best we have to give? And how much more fully are we able to comprehend and respond in worship to the greatness of God when we have developed our God-given abilities in creative and artistic expression? And in receiving such an offering of excellence, how can God not be pleased?

Worship music of dubious artistic merit, or music performed sloppily by worship leaders who are musically untrained, would seem to say something different about our view of God than would music of artistic integrity presented by the best talent a church has to offer. Moreover, when people who are musically literate come to a church and hear bad music performed badly, they will be strongly discouraged from returning to services the following Sunday. Is this the sort of witness we want to present to the world?

Whether our own part in the worship service consists of participating in the pews or performing on the platform, if our hearts are focused on the God of whom we sing or speak rather than on the quality of our singing and speaking, then our offering of worship can be as excellent as we are able to make it; it will only redound to God’s glory.

With worship music that is excellent, as well as preaching that is thoughtful and carefully crafted, our spiritual insight can be sharpened to perceive the beauty, the wisdom, and the glory of God. A fine expression of worship from a pure heart should inspire a larger vision of God and, in turn, a deeper and truer worship. The greater the artistic merit of the worship music, the greater its capacity to reveal the glory of God. The musical vessel is never too grand if it is used to pour out praise that is potent and pure and free of pride.

This does not mean that the nonmusicians in the church are unqualified to minister to the Lord in worship. It is possible for music to be technically simple, yet still be true art capable of expressing the Spirit of God and the worshipers’ love for God. Worship leaders should try to enlarge the people’s artistic capacities by leading them in songs that, although simple, possess artistic integrity. Every worshiper is an artist in her own right, and when she offers the best that she has to give, it is a ministry acceptable and pleasing unto the Lord.

What If?

What would happen if churches began focusing on ministry to God in worship before concentrating on ministries geared toward meeting people’s many needs? What if “upreach” preceded outreach? If church growth were understood in terms of the spiritual growth of its members? If, as a result, there was such a desire to offer mighty praises to God that only the best music came to be seen as an appropriate expression of such worship? Spiritual revival, effective evangelism, cultural influence without compromise, yes, and even church growth would doubtless follow such a revolution in the perception of the place and purpose of worship in the worship service.

Let us, therefore, take seriously the task of perfecting the art of worship. This is not only a duty; it is a delight. For in worship more than in any other activity we begin to realize the meaning of our existence, and the reality of God’s.

(An earlier version of this article was published in Denver Seminary’s Focal Point, Summer 1997.)