“Why I’ve Stopped Singing in Your Church”,
is an article I read and am commenting on.
The author of that blog, well he’s rather
self-absorbed in my opinion. I noticed the word “I” so many times. Me thinks that as a true worshipper, we should
be worshipping on our own throughout the week and not just on Sunday. We should
spend every day worshipping the God who created us all, in a very unique
way. This can be done with singing or
praying the Psalms or just having a conversation with Papa God. It is a time of
relationship between you and God the Father. A special time with the One you
love.
Now, when we come together on Sunday, we
sing together as the worship leader, leads. They don't perform, but lead. Of
course, it is a fine line that one travels when leading worship.
(Let me say here, that I understand that
there is a performance issue in some churches. The lead guitar or singer doing
something that the congregation can’t sing. But remember, even an organist is
performing before the Lord of Hosts. The
choir performs before the Lord of Hosts. A soloist performs before the Lord of
Hosts. The congregation performs before the Lord of Hosts. So don’t get your
knickers in a bunch. Even the Angels
perform before the Lord of Hosts.)
The worship leader is dealing with so
many different people with diverse tastes and backgrounds. There are the older
folk who grew up in the church with the stalwart hymns, my age group who grew
up in the 60’s and 70’s either grew up in the church or were saved through the Jesus
People Movement with a mix of “New” Christian music along with the hymns. Then
there are the younger ones, who were born in the 80’s and 90’s and enjoy a
totally different style of music and maybe didn’t grow up in the church; all
very diverse, from all walks of life and that’s just the way Jesus wants it
would be. He didn’t call the church-goer,
He called all people to Himself. He called all people into a relationship with
Himself. As we develop our own
relationship with God, it becomes deeper and more worshipful. We then know WHO we are IN Christ (our true
Identity) and can then move into a greater relationship with one another.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with
Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
12 Therefore,
as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and
forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as
the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were
called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ
dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom
through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude
in your hearts. 17 And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
(Colossians
3:1-3; 12-17 NIV)
As verse 16 says, we need to “let
the message of Christ dwell among you richly as
you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and
songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Maybe, we all need to sit back and
refocus as to WHY we are sitting in a pew every Sunday. Not every song these
days touches my heart at first, but I refuse to become self-absorbed with the style
of music “I” like. God is so much bigger than that. My worship is more than
what “I” like about style of music or the sermon. Yes, I wish to learn and be encouraged in my
journey with God. That is why we gather
together to worship and why we need to worship at home as well.
You must remember however, that all the
enemy wants to do, in our mind is to only focus on the music and style instead
of our Creator. Don't allow that. That becomes prideful, which was Satan's
downfall. Don’t allow the “old man or
carnal man” to speak to you. That Old
Man is dead. The new man is alive and
worshipping the Creator God.
So, let us congregate together,
encourage one another and worship the God who lives in us. Remember, His
fullness abides in each believer. Let us worship in love one for another. In
doing so, we honor God who created each one of us and we honor each of our
gifts. This includes music as well.
