The Dichotomy of Worship

So I’m setting at home tonight, nothing really interesting to do so I decided to find some worship music to listen to.

There’s one favorite site of mine I go to when I want to listen to worship music. When I want to worship. The music is just the right vibe, just the right style for me. love it. I want to play and sing along. I want to do it just like that in my church.

Then there are the others. The others I cringe at. The others that make me sick, make me laugh. The others I turn away from as soon as possible.

There was one worship leader that reminded me of what a host from Branson, MO must look and act like. Then another from the South that reminded me of Keith Urban. Then yet another that had his wool knit cap and scarf on during the worship time, playing guitar the first song then switching to the rhodes organ for the second song. Doing his best to look like some indie/alternative worship leader.

I’m watching these people and I’m so judging them. Which I feel terrible about, but it’s entirely human I think. Which made me gasp… What do people think of me when I’m leading worship? Do they think… Oh this guy is the wanna be brooding rock star kinda guy, trying to sound a little like Aaron Lewis (Staind) or Mac Powell (third day) or Chris Tomlin. Then on other songs with a slight english accent of Tim Hughes or Mat Redman. Come one!

How does one separate the worship from the worshipper? Without knowing the worshipper, the worship seems a little false at times, pretentious, like a performance. After all the worship platform is the closest all of us wanna be Rock Stars will ever get.

But when you know the worshipper I think it’s different. The worship and the worshipper are intrinsically linked you cannot separate the two. If I knew the heart of Mr. Branson imposter, or Mr. Keith Urban or Bon Iver wanna be… I’m sure they love Jesus…maybe even more then me. And they are just doing they’re best to do music, worship God in a way that is real and genuine to them. If that’s the case and I would say it is for 99.9% of worship leaders. Then who am I to judge? There’s not really a right way, a wrong way, a better way…there’s just ways. Ways we worship, ways in which we seek to use our creative gifts and abilities to make music that moves us a little bit closer to our creator.

So MR/MRS worship person I’m sorry I hate your music, it’s not your fault it’s all mine. It’s just that I don’t know you, if I knew you I’m sure I’d hate your music less. And If I loved you, I would learn to love your music. Because your music is an expression of the unique person that God created you to be. So continue to do your best…Continue to Rock or Chorale or Southern Gospel or emo or trance or punk….oh you get the picture…Rock on!

Where to go from here?

Ran across a great quote today that sums up my life.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to walk from here?”

     “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

“I don’t much care where.”

     “Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk.”