General Superintendent
Max Edwards
March 12, 2024
This is the third of seven installments … thoughts which I believe the church of today needs to hear. In the first two, I’ve talked about the unchanging Gospel, and the need for holiness without comprise
The third thought I’d love the church to hear is this:
In many churches, the ‘worship wars’ seem to be over, but let’s not worship “worship”!
Over the previous decades, many congregations have struggled with competing opinions regarding musical worship. We’ve allowed ourselves to be somewhat divided, debating the issues of hymns vs. choruses; traditional vs. contemporary music; and deciding just what ‘blended’ worship really means.
Now, please hear me, I’m not advocating for one musical style over the other. I tend to enjoy a very broad variety of musical genres and styles. A piano accompaniment to a sacred hymn is beautiful to me, and I also really enjoy a full worship team with many musicians leading people in praise and adoration of the King through choruses and newly written contemporary songs.
What I do want the church to guard against is settling into an overly emotional response to musical worship, so much so that we can forget that the focus of our adoration isn’t music at all - - our focus is the KING Himself. He can be adored in a wide variety of expressions:
§ In silence
§ Through upbeat vocal and instrumental exuberance
§ While feasting on the poetic and theological beauty of a hundreds-of-years-old hymn
§ Enjoying beautifully arranged instrumental melodies and harmonies
No matter what our church’s particular expression or style is, we must never forget that the Father, Son, and Spirit are the focus of our corporate or individual worship. He isn’t the audience, watching us perform. God is on the stage … God is the centerpiece. God is the reason we worship.
In the words of Jesus, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ Worship is all about HIM, not about our methods, or modes. Revelation 5:13-14 – “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!’ The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”