I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.
Psalm 108:3
An American church planting pastor in Japan told me this story. Two Japanese,
who had never had any previous contact with Christianity, came into a tiny Christian
gathering. The worship that day, he said, was especially good. After the meeting,
the two visitors eagerly approached the pastor with this question: "When
you were singing those songs, we felt something. Was that God?" The pastor
was able to explain how God dwells in the praises of His people and how they
could know Him personally.
The Universal Itch
People are looking for spiritual reality. In previous decades, a secular rationalism
created antagonism toward spiritual expression. Currently however there is a
broad reaction to that worldview and an unabashed hunger for spiritual experience.
For the most part, however, the Church is surprisingly uncomfortable with its
transcendent nature.
In his book entitled The Contemporary Christian, John Stott makes this observation:
This quest for transcendence is a challenge to the quality of the church's public worship. Does it offer what people are craving -- the element of mystery... in biblical language 'the fear of God'... in modern language 'transcendence'? My answer to my own question is 'Not often'. The church is not always conspicuous for the profound reality of its worship... No wonder those seeking Reality often pass us by!
We shouldn't assume that the visitor is incapable of apprehending spiritual
phenomenon. After all, each one is made in the image of God, and, as Ecclesiastes
3:11 says, He has "set eternity in the hearts of men." The worship
experience corresponds to that universal "itch." That explains the
recent finding of the largest study of American congregational life ever undertaken
-- the FACT report conducted by the Hartford
Institute for Religion Research: "vibrant worship is at the heart of
church growth."
Let's look at some principles of how hearty worship can help our fellowships
and congregations communicate the Christian life to visitors.
Principle #1 - Worship gives a picture of kingdom life
A man I met at a conference told me this story. At a time in his life when he
was far from God, he was hurrying through a hotel lobby when he happened to
catch, in the corner of his eye, a television broadcast of a large gathering
of people worshiping. Less than a minute later, he stopped in his tracks, went
back to the TV and watched intently through his tears, knowing that God was
drawing him back. God apprehended this man through a picture of worship.
Jesus said in Mark 12 that loving God totally and wholeheartedly is the greatest
commandment. Christian worship should be living pictures of the society of those
who have exchanged self-centered living for God-centered living. The act of
corporate worship beautifully demonstrates this new life style where God is
the center. The visitor needs such pictures.
Principle #2 -- Mean what you sing and sing what you mean
The biggest hindrance to visitors is not that they encounter something they
don't immediately understand; it's encountering something that is not genuine.
Mahatma Gandhi, after several years of studying in London, said he would have
become a Christian if he had ever met one. Whatever version of Christianity
he saw, he apparently didn't see the real thing.
One study concluded that 55% of all communication is nonverbal. The visitor
is not just listening to what you say. He is intuitively observing how connected
you and your group really are with what you espouse. He's looking for emotional
and intellectual honesty, depth of conviction, and heartfelt compassion. How
we worship reflects these things -- or their absence -- more than we know.
The discipline for worship teams to learn is to mean what you sing and sing
what you mean. This will affect not only what you sing, but how you sing it.
Worship leaders, choose songs that are appropriate to your group's experience
-- there's no place for meaningless expression. And learn the songs so well
that they are literally part of you.
Encourage and train the worshipers you lead to be sure to connect the outer
acts of worship with the inner realities of the heart. Anything less is unfair
to the visitor.
Principle #3 -- One size does not fit all
To some, Jesus revealed mysteries; to others he veiled his message. In the same
way, we need to discern the level of hunger among those who are visiting.
People who come to our meetings will be at many different levels of spiritual
experience. And since the Holy Spirit knows and loves each one so deeply, listening
and responding to him is the best thing you can do for the visitor.
Don't get in a rut. Being sensitive to the Holy Spirit may mean on one day to
stir in bigger portions of fun songs; other times, the songs may be more thoughtful.
The smaller the meeting, the more flexible you can be, but this principle of
sensitivity to the Holy Spirit needs to apply for all our gatherings.
Do unto others...
Why is it so important to me that we not try to hide our worship from the visitor?
It's because I was once the visitor, as you probably were too. I can still remember
that meeting in Tallahassee, Florida in 1968 when I, for the first time, saw
people abandoned to God in worship. It awakened in me a deep sense of hope and
destiny. Like the Queen of Sheba in 2 Chronicles 9, when she was the visitor
observing Israel's worship, I was "breathless." I'll really never
be the same.
Don't you think that those who visit us should be given the same privilege?
This article is one of 10 by Gerrit Gustafson included in the book, Times of Refreshing, a collection of 100 devotions for worship teams, compiled by Tom Kraeuter. For more information, go to Times of Refreshing.