When did the trend toward calling the music and songs we sing in a church gathering "worship". I think it happened in the '80s... That's when I was a teenager and remember the term "praise and worship" beginning to be used in that context. Of course, now it's completely the norm. What has always been even stranger to me is how "praise songs" came to be defined as those with an upbeat tempo, while "worship songs" are slow...
First off, let me be clear, in that I am referring to praise and worship in the church sense; therefore, God is the recipient. In society at large, we often praise athletes for a job well done, we praise our children when they do well, we praise our pets when they obey, etc. We also sometimes "worship" someone we consider a hero, "worship" the almighty dollar, etc. So, these terms are used in society, but in the church culture, we have narrowed them down to something very specific and often misleading.
When a person comes to a point in his life's journey where he acknowledges the lordship of Jesus Christ in his life, a change takes place in the heart, and suddenly he has a desire to worship God. Does this mean he bursts forth into song? Could be, but most of the time, it means he begins to acknowledge the sovereignty of God in every area of his life; he has a newfound reverence for God, a newfound understanding of his smallness against God's greatness... He begins to know, often without even being told, that he must now live his life differently...no longer for his own selfish gain but for God's glory and honor... He now sees clearly that his life is important, yes, but not in the way he used to think -- how does God want to use him, what can he do to please God and bring honor to God, how can he live his life in such a way that God is lifted up and others can discover God's amazing love and mercy...? It is now all about God, and how does he, as a mere mortal, fit into the grand design... THAT is worship... Worship is more than words, more than a song. Worship is a way of life.
It's not that I think most true Christ-followers don't know this. It's more that we have allowed ourselves to follow a trend of using certain verbiage to describe things we do in a church setting. And, when we do this, we not only limit the meaning of the word "worship", but we also limit the kind of music and songs we share... As if a song's lyrical content must be expressing worship and/or praise of God in order to be shared in that particular environment. And, who, I ask respectfully, made up that arbitrary "rule"? I abhor all the unspoken, and sometimes not so unspoken, "rules" of church culture... We have made it incredibly difficult for people to respond to God, while Jesus made it so easy. So many of us look more and more like the Pharisees whom Jesus vehemently rebuked. Why do we cling so to certain things and think that if someone down the road does it differently, they are so wrong?
The passion which God has put within me as far as the music and songs we share in a church gathering goes like this:
Some of the songs we share are, lyrically, straight-up worship of God.
Some of the songs we share are, lyrically, straight-up praise for God -- his works, his power, his deliverence of us, etc., etc. (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with the tempo of the song and which, also incidentally, is the dictionary definition of a "hymn").
Some of the songs we share are, lyrically, a challenge to the listener/participant/attendee; a challenge about his lifestyle, a challenge about his choices, a challenge about his distance from God, etc.
Some of the songs we share are, lyrically, a meditation...
Some are a lamentation: an expression of sorrow or regret for something, a crying out in grief...
Some are an admission of guilt or wrong...
Some are an expression of need...
Some are a prayer...
Some are an invitation to surrender, to accept God's love, to open one's heart to something new...
Some are an expression of that surrender...
Some are an expression of realization, like the light bulb suddenly coming on...
Some are expressions from God's perspective... of his love, of his desire to live in relationship with us...
Some are upbeat and happy, some are downright heartbreaking...
And, the list goes on...
But, do you see what I'm saying? The songs we share are not confined to one specific topic. As much as this is the passion God has put within me musically-speaking, I have no issue with people who want to share songs whose lyrical content would be described strictly as "worship". The problem is, I find the opposite is too often not true. Don't judge me and my passion, just as I won't judge you and yours.
When it comes to the actual style of music played during said songs, including even those devoid of lyrics, it simply does not matter. People can get so tangled up in this point that they won't even give it a chance, which is always sad to me. Since when did music become "Christian" or "non-Christian"? Music is music, plain and simple. Music is notes and beats and sounds all mixed together to hopefully create something that will move the soul. Therefore, can we not enjoy music in a church setting simply for the sake of enjoying music, just as we would in any other setting? And, are we not free to use any style of music to accomplish our goals -- country, rock, reggae, classical, easy-listening, pop, hip-hop, r & b, alternative, screamo, surfer, techno, folk, hillbilly, good-ol' backwoods guitar-pickin' bluegrass, and any morphed style within a style, WHATEVER!?!... Why does it matter? Why do we think God cares about that or prefers a certain style over another? Do we think he actually considers one style of music more sacred than another?...
The truth of the matter is, music crosses all boundaries, defies all barriers and moves all hearts in a way nothing else can. Music is so powerful that we should use it to the fullest extent in our church settings to melt the heart of the listener and hopefully make a way for truth to enter. Music calms the angry beast, soothes the panic-stricken heart, and expresses emotion in a way mere words or images alone cannot.
One of my favorite things to do in a church gathering is to share a song from mainstream radio. Of course, the lyrical content is the important thing, not the person who sings it on the radio. Many songs written to a loved one can easily be understood as directed to or about God; many are even written by people who are expressing something to or about God, but simply are played on mainstream radio instead of radio that is directed specifically toward a "Christian" audience. And, many songs written from a godless perspective are some of the best to describe the human quest for peace, love and happiness, as well as raising questions we all have about life. Why should it matter who wrote the song? ...if he is labeled a Christian or non-Christian? And, frankly, only God knows the heart of each individual anyway... How great it is for our kids to hear one of these songs on mainstream radio and think back to when they heard it in a church gathering and how it applied to their lives spiritually - they begin to hear the song in a completely different way! And how rewarding it is to take a song which may have been intended to direct a person's attention elsewhere, but used in this context, directs him to God. Isn't that just like God, anyway? To take something the devil intended for evil and use it for good?
In essence, this is simply another way we humans try to put God into a man-made box. God is bigger than all of us, and he is bigger than all of that. Just when you think you have him all packed in, he busts through the packing tape and makes a mess of everything again! And, aren't you glad, really, that we will never be able to get him all boxed up, packed in and wrapped up with a nice little bow on top?! Whatever we do, let's strive to worship God from a heart filled with wonder and honesty and openness and humility... Let's worship him with our lives. And, let's allow ourselves to shed our narrow-mindedness concerning music.
c2009 Lorenda Houston
