Weaknesses of Method-Worship

"Worship" is the big buzz word in the Church. I've been visiting churches in the Littleton, CO area since we moved here in November and everybody thinks they've got a handle on it. I don't want to come off as having a "critical spirit" in the very first post, but some of these folks are sadly mistaken.

I used to have my own very well defined idea about how to lead worship. There was a method to it. Song placement strategies...Up tempo here...slow it down there...a Capella tag...nicely done. I call this "method-worship" because it is similar in many respects to method-acting. Method-acting attempts to conjure the emotions of the character by reliving a similar situation in the actor's experience (i.e., reliving the emotions of a great loss when portraying a character at a funeral). In the same way, method-worship attempts to conjure a worshipful experience by following a specific best-practice. But method-worship fails in two ways:

First, it fails to bring the Presence of God. Period. It's almost humorous to watch a church try to recreate a visitation of the Holy Spirit...or it would be if it weren't so sad. But I've seen it many times in churches famous and not-so-famous for their spiritual awakenings. Some of them (once they've codified their method) will open a ministry school to teach others how to duplicate the experience. And while a list of actions, attitudes and activities that will drive out the Presence is easily composed, any methodology for bringing the Presence will certainly fail to produce consistent results because God is not interested in endorsing our methods. On the contrary, His eyes move back and forth on the earth that He may "strongly support those whose hearts are His." (2 Chron. 16:9)

The second failure of method-worship is that it seeks to manipulate the worshipper into a specific emotional state. I'm not advocating an emotionless worship...the problem is the manipulation. Jesus told the woman at the well the true worshippers would "worship in spirit and truth." If the emotions of worship must be conjured up by a clever arrangement of music, then I question the authenticity of the experience. No, the worshipper must prepare his own heart. We sully the intimacy of true worship when we counterfeit it in this way.

Heart is the center of worship. I am a musician, but the most intimate times of worship for me specifically exclude music. For me, the technique of music is a distraction from whole heart worship. I have found that I must enter into an intimate encounter with God before getting up to lead congregational worship. Otherwise, my leadership is compromised because my heart is not in it.

And it's not just the heart of the worshipper...it must be the heart of God that we seek. In these purposeful, intimate encounters with God, we get a foretaste of what it will be like to be the Bride of Christ. I daresay that most of the singing that goes on in the name of worship is lacking this kind of heart to heart encounter.

I want to encourage a dialogue about worship...one that is both intellectual and meaningful. I welcome the feedback of others that share this desire.