The Purpose of Worship Through Song

I've been posed this question a few times before, but I was just thinking about it again on my drive home from leading worship for a retreat this past weekend.  The question pertains to the role of singing songs in the corporate setting of the Church.


First off, we are called to encourage each other through "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs"(Eph. 5:19) and James 5 tells us "Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise".  There are also countless verses throughout the Bible that talk of singing songs of praise to GOD and significant moments that are accompanied by song (Exodus 15, Judges 5, 2 Samuel 22, Luke 1:46-55, 67-79, Psalm 96:1, Psalm 100:2, Isaiah 55:12, Rev 5:9, among many others).  However, none of these speak specifically to the use/purpose of songs within the context of the corporate gathering of the saints.


So, where does that leave us?


I think the role that music plays in the corporate setting (for our purposes we will consider this the "Sunday morning service") varies with different groups people.


For the regenerated believers, those who have confessed with their mouths and believe in their hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, our entire lives should be an act of worship.  This, then, carries over into our time spent with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  In the corporate gathering, singing songs and worshipping through music is a time to lift the name of GOD in unity, praising him for the victories of the week, thanking him for the blessings in our lives, and drawing near to feel His comfort through the unified voices of His people.  This worship in unity is found when our voices rise together.  We don't really feel that connection during the sermon, as we worship with our financial offerings, or even in the act of communion - these are very individual acts.  They are done together, but are personal acts between us and Christ.  In the singing of songs we offer ONE voice to our Father in Heaven.  It is the collective praise of GOD's people.


I think there is also an element to preparation in the songs of the redeemed.  Now, I don't believe that singing, in and of itself, can prepare us to enter the presence of GOD and to open our hearts to what He has brought us there to hear from Him - this is an ongoing process.  I believe this preparation starts on Monday morning and must be cultivated throughout the week.  However, there is something to be said for having a specific time where your focus is on the worship of GOD.  This can be an excellent time to breathe and leave all the distractions of the morning behind while you remember who GOD is, what He has done, and what He is preparing you for in a life lived for His glory.


I think for those in an intermediate stage of faith, those who understanding or are starting to understand who GOD is, but have not yet become regenerated through belief and confession of who He is, it may be the only time in the week when they truly present themselves before GOD.  When they let down all their defenses and praise Him for being the almighty GOD of Heaven and Earth.  This is now a preparatory stage for GOD to truly speak into their lives through the preaching and teaching of the Word (be that from the Pastor or from the people that GOD has placed in that person’s life).


For the person who is still far from GOD, music creates an emotional tie that brings them near the family of GOD.  It is an opportunity to speak GOD’s truth into their lives in a theologically sound and biblically relevant manner that they may not even be aware of.  For these people it is often through the way that the congregation, the family, responds in song that shows the depth of love that GOD has been poured out on His people.  In any scenario, regardless of style of music, I believe this is an important aspect of the corporate gathering.

Part two of this discussion generally comes around to how I, as a worship leader, make this happen.

I don’t make it happen.  Only the Holy Spirit makes any of this happen.  I find when I put all my effort into making this work it never occurs.  However, I do try to come prepared to serve when the Spirit opens people’s hearts.  The first step is for me to come prepared to worship.  No matter how tough a morning, week, month, or year it’s been for me I have to be in a place, spiritually, where I can say, “GOD you are awesome and I love you and I NEED to praise you today”.  That’s sometimes very difficult, but if the worship leader is not leading in worship, he is never effective.  I also believe that I have to be willing to get out of the way.  It is important to discern where the Spirit is leading you have to be able to bend to His will.  Sometimes the Spirit may move you to say something, sometimes he may just tell you to sit down and let the people reflect on what GOD’s telling them.  You have to be able to adjust either way.  I think another means of being effective is to be excellent in a musical sense.  This includes performance, ambiance, set list, order of service.  The key is to present a service that guides people into GOD’s presence without distraction.  This rarely goes off as planned (let's be honest, I don't think it ever goes off as planned), but if everything is well prepared, the flow is right, and you are open to the leading of the Spirit then the minor distractions that Satan will undoubtedly throw at you can be overcome.


For me this is a constantly evolving idea.  As I progress in my Christian walk and as I continue to gain more and more experience as a worship leader I remain open to the knowledge and insight that GOD allows me to receive.


What do you think?

We Sing Our Theology

I was talking with a friend of mine a a few weeks back and we got into the topic of congregational worship through song.  I was telling him about my thought process in selecting the worship set for that particular week.  He asked me if I thought anybody picked up on the thread running through all the songs that week. 

It’s an interesting question.  Does the congregation grasp the entirety of the service? 

We agreed that most people wouldn’t pick up on all the idiosyncrasies of the worship set and the service.  Most will catch the obvious connections, but there are always a few more subtle relationships that will be glossed over.  I think it’s something that may be difficult to fully comprehend even if you’re looking for it.

At first this was a little disheartening to think about.  I mean, I spend a lot of time and effort to make sure that the service flows and the songs follow a logical progression that speaks to the heart of the day’s message and convey Biblical truth.  However, as I thought deeper I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t really matter if everybody "gets it" or not.  The truth is that, whether we intend to or not, we as a congregation sing our theology (I heard a quote to that effect once, maybe it was Martin Luther - I can’t remember).  The songs we use to praise GOD, to surrender to Him, and to repent before Him on a given morning are the things that will shape our thought processes.

I’ve read that people are likely to retain, at best, 10% of what they are taught.  That means that if people are leaving the service and then talking about what was taught that day then they will be lucky to remember about two-and-a-half minutes worth of information (based on a 25 minute sermon).  Even if this much is retained, how many people do you know who walk around quoting their favorite 150 seconds of last week’s sermon?  On the other hand, how many times have you found yourself walking around still singing the songs from Sunday morning on Wednesday afternoon?

The point is that people are more likely to walk out of the service humming a chorus of one of the worship songs than repeating lines of the sermon. 

(NOTE - There’s a whole other related topic about not inflating the importance of the music in the Sunday service.  I think that’s important to note, but I won’t get into it here.)

Music is an interesting study in that it’s one of two things that everybody likes (food being the other).  We all have our own taste in music, but you will never find anybody who flat out doesn’t like music of any kind.  So the songs that we sing on a Sunday morning are more likely to run through peoples’ heads during the week.  This being the case I, as a worship leader, have a great responsibility to take time and reflect on what theology I am leading people into.  Our worship sets can’t be about the songs I like to sing, the newest music on the radio, or even a catchy melody.  None of those things are bad and I think it’s important for those things to play into our musical selection, but they have to come AFTER sound theology.

A musically well-crafted worship set that does not speak pure Biblical truth is a waste of time and energy.  Not to mention the fact that it can even draw the ire of GOD.  In Amos 5:21-27, we see a people who worship GOD with their lips, but are devoid of knowledge of and surrender to who He is.  It is because of this empty lip-service that they are left without GOD's presence.  What GOD desires is not a perfect song transition, or beautiful four-part harmony, or wailing guitar solos, what GOD desires is a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).  Once again, the focus of our worship of GOD through song must begin and end with theologically sound, exaltation of who GOD is, what He's done in our lives, and our proper response to Him. 

So where do we go from here:

For me (and for worship leaders everywhere) – I must dig deep.  I can’t settle for a worship set that simply sounds good and that I think is fun and energetic.  I must constantly seek to lead the congregation, challenge them, push them to worship with rich theology.  This may, at times, go against my personal preferences, but the highest importance must be in the function of our songs and the purpose of our praise.  Our worship is not displayed for our own pleasure, but for the pleasure of our GOD and King.

For you – Take some time this Sunday to think about what you’re singing.  Not just the song you’re in the middle of, but the songs that came before.  How does the GOD who created the heavens and the earth and you, the GOD who sacrificed His Son for you, the GOD who works all things for His good pleasure accomplish all you’ve sung about?  How do His characteristics manifest themselves in all the songs?  This might mean you close your mouth and instead of singing a verse and chorus of one song you meditate on the words your brothers and sisters are singing.

Your personal worship will radically changed when you grasp the fullness of who GOD is and way tat plays out in the worship of the corporate gathering.