Worship Part 1

It has been said that great leaders think about what they think about. The purpose of doing so is to not only be aware of what is burning mental energy but also to be intentional with what you allow to take up space in your mind. A leadership mentor of mine said it this way, “Just because something gets your attention doesn’t mean it deserves your attention.”

However, we often allow life to happen to us. We permit the messages entering our eyes and ears all day long to live in our head without ever taking much time to process if we’re making the best choices about what takes root up there. Our thinking begins to be shaped by our environment, and to just cut to the chase, it matters. Whether it’s consuming tv that promotes materialism, participating in conversations that lead to negative self-talk, comparison and anxiety or absorbing any form of entertainment that encourages us to see people as less than their design of imago dei (image of God), we must evaluate.

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,
and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8

While I can’t think of an area where this intentionality doesn’t matter, what if there are areas that matter even more than others due to how they form our theology of God? Do you think about and evaluate how even Christian content could be malforming you? I know… to some I may be sounding like a heretic, but hear me out.

Many times, I’ve heard pastors, preachers and teachers say this about their teachings: “Don’t take my word for it! Go to God’s Word! Validate every word I say for yourself through that book.” But when was the last time you thought about the words you sing in a “worship” gathering at your local church? Are we running those words through Scripture or do we just sing them without putting a lot of thought into them? When was the last time you thought about the purpose of worship?

Worship happens as a daily act of surrender to the Lord as we present our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord (Romans 12:1). Worship is an act of total devotion to God and God alone, encompassing all aspects of one’s being including heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37-28). Even though worship isn’t exclusive to singing songs, I would like us to think about what we sing as it informs our view of and belief about God.

Before next week’s blog, take a some time this week to list and listen to a few of your favorite worship songs and ask yourself these questions:

• How many of the lines talk about God’s character and who He is?
• How many of the lines talk about what God has done/can do for me?
• How many times is Jesus mentioned in each song?
• How many times do you find the word “I” or “me” in the song?
• Roughly, what percent of the song is adoring God for who He is and what percent is edifying (encouraging) the singer?

Whatever your findings may be, have you considered this before?

In Worship Part 2, I’m going to share my thoughts and convictions about what I believe true worship in song is meant to be. If you read MAKE ROOM regularly, I bet you can guess where this is going because He is the treasure. He is the prize.