by Doug Stevens
Just because we label it “worship” doesn’t mean it is. Let me tell you what my restless mind is thinking. I’m eager to tell you and tremble at the responsibility, shrinking back at the prospect of getting it wrong, of coming up short. Though I’ve led the church in “worship” for years. But I’m greatly concerned that we have confined and ritualized worship in ways that reduce it to a solemn obligation or an emotional outburst or a mindless routine — an event without whole-life impact.
If worship is the posture of the heart in the presence of God, then worship cannot be programmed. It cannot be scheduled. It is not limited to a certain “sacred” space. It does not automatically happen because we call a special gathering a “worship service” … and the opportunity should not be missed because we are outside of a formal religious structure. In fact, wholehearted worship translated immediately into self-giving service is our constant calling and unending privilege. It is nothing like religion.
When we recognize God for all God is worth — as creator of all that is, as final authority in all that matters, as the only redeemer of all who are hurt and broken and lost, as the one we trust with our very lives and count on to provide for our every need — we are ready to worship by offering ourselves in good faith and ordering our lives in grateful obedience to God’s perfect design and loving commands.
So, how do we worship?
“In spirit and in truth,” as Jesus the Messiah very simply puts it, correcting our preoccupation with a certain venue (in Jerusalem or Samaria?) or other inconsequential traditions and preferences (and partisanship in worship wars). In other words, authentic worship emerges out of the depths of who we are (it is spiritual) and submitted to the story of God as revealed in the Bible, culminating in the Gospel of Christ (who is himself the truth).
But what does true worship actually look like?! If you’re asking about a worship etiquette, I’ve got nothing. But if you’re hoping for a fresh glimpse of something real and full of impact, here goes.
Whether in solitude, or in the company of two or three, or meeting with a house church, or streaming into a huge auditorium with thousands, worship tunes the heart to God’s presence, God’s promises and God’s priorities. And we hold nothing back. We abandon ourselves to worship. We become completely receptive, spontaneously expressive, leaning into healing and massively strengthened in our resolve to follow the Christ of God and his beautiful Way of Life.
We are fully present here — listening, rejoicing, weeping, singing, giving, confessing, sharing, praying, contemplating, imagining, encouraging and caring for those around us, warmly welcoming and embracing strangers.
But this is only a moment. There is much more to worship.
This hour plus-or-minus of worship, private or corporate, is intended to propel us into another new week of presenting our bodies, of representing heaven on earth, of extending ourselves — our energy and talents, resources and possessions, homes and hospitality, concern and compassion, knowledge and wisdom — as a living sacrifice, for a lifetime and uninterrupted lifestyle of worship that proves our hearts are on fire with Jesus-modeled, Spirit-inspired love.
Without a vision for worship as our core identity and as our driving force in everyday life … without the conviction and joy it generates … “worship” becomes bland, boring, self-focused, the occasion for sanctimony, superficiality, self-righteousness and rank hypocrisy.
I am wary of that happening to me, and it does, and worried about all of us who sometimes fail to recognize the power of God, the treasure we have in Christ, and the aching need of the world (including us!) for the splendor, justice and mercy of the King. And convinced that a deep and daring dive into worship will ignite a revolution.
