worship masquerade

I recently viewed a discussion put on by Lifeway Research entitled Reverence vs. Relevance.  In the discussion, two guys, both employed by Lifeway, discussed two different philosophies on what should shape worship within Evangelical Christian churches: worship expression shaped by a desire to be reverent, and worship expression shaped by a desire to be relevant.

At the risk of adding confusion to the discussion and fire to a flame, let's get a little more clear on what reverence and relevance mean... and don't mean.  When we talk about reverence, we are talking about worshiping God in a way that is reverent of his position and nature.  Musical expressions of reverent worship vary, from majestic hymns that sing about God's nature, to quiet and reflective musical moments... even to some contemporary choruses done in a more reverent way.  The most pronounced sound the ear would hear in reverent worship might be the congregation filling the room with their voices, a choir singing 3 and 4 part harmony, or a soloist/vocal team supported by a piano.  Think: beauty, stately, classic, God transcendent, me humble and in awe.

When we talk about relevance, we are talking about worshiping God in a way that is relevant to a particular culture.  Musical expressions of relevant worship vary as well, most often taking the form of a rock-style band, playing anthems about a God who is near and a humanity that he reaches and changes.  The most pronounced sound the ear would hear might be an delayed electric guitar riff, or a lead vocal line just above the band, perhaps so loud that it competes with the sound of your own voice... and drowning out the voice of the person next to you.  Think: power, expressive, edgy, God immanent, me proclaiming and overjoyed.

From these descriptions I think you can see how the two overlap, how the two are different, and really, how the two are misunderstood or misrepresented:

• Reverent worship often gets labeled "irrelevant," as if people these days can no longer appreciate and no longer desire or need moments of quiet awe or majestic praise.  The truth is this: the soul needs these moments of quiet and awe in a loud and busy society in order to really focus on God.
• Relevant worship often gets labeled as "irreverent," as if allowing culture to influence worship necessitates looking away from God and towards us.  The truth is this: we are to use all the tools at our disposal to advance the gospel, and current music is an unbelievably powerful medium to influence the mood of the heart of both believers and believers-yet-to-be, and to tell the story of how God can change them.

I could spend the rest of this post talking about where I happen to fall on the reverence/relevance spectrum.  Maybe another time.  But what is jumping out to me now is how susceptible worshipers in either camp are to falling away from authentic reverence or authentic relevance and into a masquerade.

Here's what I mean.

If we engage in worship only when the music fits our particular preference, we are masquerading.  If you can't enter in to a hymn sung beautifully from the heart, but you have no trouble shouting along with a screamin' loud Hillsong tune, then you are masquerading.  If you can't sing for joy along with an electric guitar and are only moved by a theologically heavy tune written 100-200 years ago driven by a piano or organ, then you are masquerading.

You may think that you are worshiping when you engage with the music you like.  But I doubt it.

That may sound judgmental and overly simplistic.  And I can understand if you have that impression.  But, here's why I feel like I can confidently assert a statement like that.  I think it is in line with what the Bible says about worship.

According to the Bible, worship, at its deepest and most simplest level, is sacrificial in nature.  It is our sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1).  And sacrifices, no matter what type, always involve us giving up something.  Letting go of something.  Submitting to something.  Putting something else or someone else ahead of ourselves.  Letting the will of another dictate our own will.  It is an act of the entire person - heart, soul, will, mind, body... you name it.  It always - always - costs us something.

A worship experience that costs us nothing is probably worth nothing.

An authentic worship experience always costs us something.

To be sure, a lot is gained from a good worship experience.  We benefit quite a bit.  We experience God, hear him, encounter him, respond to him, and in so doing we become more like him as we are motivated to follow him and obey him on a deeper and more authentic level.  We experience the good things about him - his joy, his peace, his kindness, his forgiveness, his grace, his mercy.  And we love it.

But it is all too easy to seek a worship experience that serves us instead of a worship experience that costs us something.  

So: what costs are you as a worshiper unwilling to pay?