BETTER WORSHIP

"Good, Better, Best, never let it rest, 'till the good is better, and the better, best." - I don't know who made this famous, but it was recited often by my high school principal, Sam Harvey. 

Working towards "best" is something we all desire. Few of us set out to do a mediocre job, right? For we who serve as artisans in the church, this topic seems to pop up quite often, especially in an era where high quality Christian music is the expected norm.  Sadly, over the past few decades there has been a somewhat unspoken teaching that "better music" = "better worship." 

Let's talk about this hot-bed, shall we?

What is Worship?

First, let's agree on what worship is, and is not.  Worship is purely a response to God for all He is with everything we are.  We use all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, to respond to God's awe, power, and might.  We respond to his favor and grace; his mercy and love.  That can be accomplished with very few, if any, extras.  In other words, we do not need a guitar or piano or drum set or choir or light kit or sound system in order to adequately worship God. In fact, we can have all of those things operating at full-throttle, all the pistons firing perfectly - and never, once, actually worship God.  This is because worship is a HEART issue, not an ART issue. 

The worship of God is actuated when the children of God bring to him their hearts, their souls, their minds and their strength.  One person alone in the desert with only the clothes on their back can completely and adequately worship their Creator, God - and, He is completely pleased and blessed by that worship.

Aids to our Worship

The Bible offers many aids or tools we can use to help us in our worship of God.  They are not at all mandatory but God, because He loves us, and has created us to be creative and expressive, has helped man develop various means of worshiping Him.  The musical world is filled with examples such as a wide variety of musical instruments, voices and songs, as well as an array of gizmos, gadgets and equipment that have come into development through the centuries.  A piano is not worship.  An electric guitar is not worship.  A choir is not worship.  A modern Christian song is not worship. A hymn is not worship.  All of these are tools we use to help us and aid us in our worship of God.  

We bring these various elements together to help us express to God our glory, praise and worship of Him. That is all they are. Nothing more.  They are similar to hammers, screwdrivers and saws that one might use to help build a house.  Nobody, when viewing a new home, comments on the wonder of the hammer that helped nail the joists together.  In the church of today (and even of yesteryear in many cases) we have put far too much emphasis on the creation OF the worship - rather than on the Creator who is to BE worshiped. And, it has messed us up.  

What is Excellence?

Now, the Bible does mention the importance of worshiping God with excellence.  Though in many churches (and Christian conferences and music companies and concerts, etc.) we have taken this notion of excellence to the excess and moved it more towards the idea of "perfectionism."  Of course, being good Christians, we would never really come right out and SAY that we want things to be perfect because we know deep down that God accepts us "just as we are."  So, we beat around the bush and make wide sweeping statements about the importance of excellence inferring that God will be BETTER or MORE worshiped the more excellently we play or sing.  

Sorry to burst your bubbles, but that is simply not something the Bible ever commends at all.  And our rationalizing of the concept doesn't make it true.  The bottom line is this - if you want to play really well, go for it!  But God will not be more pleased by your effort.  The only thing that pleases God "more" is our honest, heartfelt level of love, adoration, glory, praise and worship of Him - no matter how "excellently" we perform. 

Worship Performing, er - uh - I mean Leading

So - we live in an age where music, in general, is at extreme levels of perfectionistic performance.  American Idol, The Voice, and similar shows have trained us to seek "the best" performers out there. Those who do not measure up are discarded as if they have no value at all.  Very sad, and that is a topic for another blog article someday.  But this same mindset has crept into the church.  The Jesus Movement ushered in a new kind of church music which my generation welcomed gladly as it sounded nothing like "church music" and everything like "rock music." (That is a vast generalization, but pretty close to reality.)  Not long after this movement hit, Christian bands formed that led to the writing of a specific type of Christian music that actually encouraged the singer to connect with God at a heart level.  We called this music "praise choruses" but they were far more than that.  Some have shared that, where the traditional hymns pre-Jesus Movement tended to speak ABOUT God, the new songs were speaking directly TO God.  There was a new, "first-person" feel to the songs that seemed to help draw the singer into a deeper connection with God.  

It is my contention that, in a very real sense, these years (about 2 decades or so) of church music truly were "leading in worship."  But as music technology changed, we suddenly saw a transformation in the music and musicians.  Slowly, worship "leaders" were becoming worship "performer" and even worship "celebrities" with churches doing all they could to emulate what they heard on radio and saw in concerts.  Churches realized that, in order to keep up with trends, they had to create the same level of perfectionism that was being produced for the Christian masses.  Right or wrong, this is what took place.

Show Me The Money

Now here is where things get sticky.  Unless a church is blessed with high quality musicians who can actually pull off what is being produced by Christian worship celebrities on radio and in concerts, then they must find ways to build their base of musicians to a level that sounds and looks similar.  This means either God brings them the volunteers who can accomplish the task or the church pays pro musicians to fill this need.  

There are churches who do both.  Some have been blessed.  Others have been budgeted.  The reality is that those churches who have a budget set aside to pay for their musicians will, most likely, have a "better" quality stage presentation of the music.  And, for churches who see this as a high value, they will move in that direction.

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

The question must now be asked: "What does your church want, and why?" As we said at the outset, a group of people can gather and worship their God with heartfelt gusto without the aid of a pro band. One person with a guitar or piano, plus a few singers, can easily create an atmosphere where God is glorified providing these musicians truly are men and women after God's heart when it comes to worship.  

How can I say this?  Because I have experienced it.  I have been in a worship setting where the singer was not "the best" and the musicians were "pretty good" and the Spirit of God was flowing through the room in a powerful way because the musicians were worshiping and encouraging those in attendance to do the same.  

This is NOT a plea for mediocrity!  This is a reminder that God is the one we worship - not the presentation of the music.  The story may be very different at your church.  You may decide that you need to fill your 1000-seat auditorium three times each weekend and, therefore, you need to bring the best performance you can for every service.  My word of caution is that you always remember that just because you are putting butts in the seats does not automatically mean those people are truly worshiping God.  They might be.  But they also might be enjoying the fantastic God show you are putting on.  And - I actually think that is fine!  My issue only comes when we re-define worship as somehow directly related to the presentation.  It's not. Ever. 

Conclusion

I don't have a conclusion. This topic is never-ending and always on the table for debate.  Strive for excellence because God wants us to do our best for Him.  If you are not as good as the hip church down the street, you can moan about it, you can upgrade what you offer to compete, you can buy your way to a presentation that makes other churches jealous. Or, you can thank God for bringing you servants who do the best they can with hearts of worship to glorify their Creator.  Because, the truth is, in God's economy - Good is okay, Better is okay, and Best is okay - when the worship is for God and God alone.