I saw this article on Facebook this morning and I thought it was spot on. This coming from a Newspring member for 6 years, and someone who actually USED secular songs in worship times before (even at REFUGE), but my conviction was very heavy last summer to change this. The funny thing was, Kenny was being convicted of the same exact thing. We had turned REFUGE into a show instead of a place for family to gather in unison and worship our holy Triune God. Worship means SO much to God. It’s what the angels are gathered around Him doing as I type this. They’re shouting, “Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” He’s worthy of that. He deserves it from everything He creates. Somehow, a lot of our “contemporary” churches have moved away from using theology and doctrine in worship music. They’re trying to relate to the culture of our time and use material that people coming on Sunday will know and talk about when they leave. “I can’t believe they played ‘Highway to Hell’…that was awesome,” or…”did they really just play ‘Let’s Get it On’ during their sermon on marriage? That was funny.” The thing is, this works. It brings people in the door, intrigues them, and gets them back the next week. Sad thing is, it’s not worship. It’s prostituting our churches. It’s making worship about us, not God.
Worship Pastors and Head Pastors alike are using certain verses to justify their uses of secular pop songs in their worship times together. I did it too, but at some point, conviction HAS to step in and call for repentance. I know for Kenny and I, it was too palpable and relevant to ignore. One of the most common passages worship leaders (that use secular music in church) throw at you when confronted on this matter is Acts 17:16-34. You can find Paul using lyrics from Greek poems from that time in order to relate to the culture and the crowd he was speaking to, but this wasn’t during a time of worship. He was speaking to them in a pastoral sense, not leading in the corporate worship of our holy Trinity. Worship is intended to be only about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is not about ourselves, our church, or our band. It isn’t about how we think we can use “Party Rock Anthem” or “My Hero” to relate to the message this week because it’ll be edgy and cool, AND it’ll relate to the culture so more people will come next week. Let the Spirit do His work and people will come. Disciple your congregation to go and make more disciples in their everyday lives and more will come simply because people will see what the Spirit is doing in your church. We aren’t trusting in the Spirit to change lives at this point, we’re trusting the Billboard top 20 to fill seats.
Please take the time to read the article linked HERE. I loved it. As a worship leader, my conviction is to only lift up His name and exalt Him during corporate worship times. We’re even trying to stay away from a lot of “worship” songs that use the words “I” or “me” more than references to the Father, the Spirit, or the name of Jesus Himself. Also, we’re trying to stay away from “I want to worship you, or I shout your name” type of verses and actually DO those things instead of saying we want to. Theology is key. Singing about the attributes of God and basking in His Spirit brings Him more joy. Again, look at what the angels are singing to Him in heaven. They aren’t jumping around saying that they want to “break free” or “I am free to run, dance, and live.” They are simply exalting the attributes of a Most High God and giving Him all glory and honor.
There are other churches, even some “mega-churches” that get this (such as the Village Church in Dallas, TX) and they are coming together with other churches to try and keep worship about God and God alone. A sweet new website for those interested about this is http://www.doxologyandtheology.com/. I definitely encourage you to check it out!
We have one shot to show a non-Christian who God is during corporate worship on Sundays/Wednesdays/whenever we meet. And as sad as it is, most Christians only worship God on those days too. So it’s important that we keep that time Holy, worshipping the Creator, the Son, and the Spirit only; living out John 3:30 on stage, in the congregation, and on the streets. This has to all be about Him.
Merry Christmas!
