Current Issues

Worship

q Click on a study title you’d like to see q

2 Introduction

13 Study 1: Worshiping Well

Leader’s Guide — Article

22 Study 2: Eyes Wide Open to God

Leader’s Guide — Article

Study 3: Fear and Friendship:

32 Two Sides of Worship
Leader’s Guide — Article

45 Study 4: Preparing for Worship

Leader’s Guide — Article

55 Study 5: David’s Dance across the Line

Leader’s Guide — Article

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Introduction
How to Use This Course for a Group Study

This course can be used for individual or group study. If you intend to lead a group study,
follow these simple suggestions:

• Make copies of the article for everyone in the group. Or if you would like
them to have more information, you can give everyone a copy of the Leader’s
Guide as well. You have permission to make up to 1,000 copies for your
church or group as long as you do not charge for them.

• Make sure your group agrees to complete confidentiality. This is essential to

getting people to open up.

• When working through the questions, be willing to make yourself vulnerable.

It’s important for your group to know that others share their experiences.
Make honesty and openness a priority in your group.

• End the session in prayer.

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Worshiping
Well
I n an age of c h oice, how can we b e st ex pre ss
our l ove to G o d?

For millennia, people have been debating how

best to worship God. Churches today wrestle
with issues of musical style, personal
expression, and theological preaching in
worship services. But what should be at the
core of worship, no matter which church we
attend? In his Christianity Today article “9.5
Theses on Worship,” Gary Parrett offers his views on
how we should worship. This study, based on that article,
will help you consider why and how we worship.

Scr ipt ure: R o man s 12 ; R o m ans 1 : 1 8– 2 5; var io u s Ps alm s

B ased o n : “9. 5 Th es es o n Wo r s hip, ” by G ar y A. Par rett,

C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay , Febru ar y 2 00 5, Pag e 38 .

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Part 1 Identify the Current Issue

No te to lea der : Pri or to this class, prov ide for e ach st ude nt
t h e a r ti c l e “9.5 Th eses on Wor ship” from C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay
m a g a z i n e,i n c l uded at th e e nd of this st udy.

Congregational worship currently comes in a number of different forms and

expressions, yet there are some clear families of worship practices. Most widely used
today are variations on these five styles:

Liturgical Worship: Characterized by ritual, ceremony, and sacrament. Churches

practicing this style of worship value symbolism in word, object, and action. They value
order and form and view worship as an act, not necessarily an experience. Each week’s
worship is much the same in form, but the content is dictated by the church seasons of
Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.

Dialogic Worship: Designed with preaching in mind, this worship is deeply theological
and social. Elements of worship form a dialogue between God and his people. Bible
study, doctrine, morality, evangelism, and missions are prominent themes. Hymn
singing plays an important role.

Charismatic Worship: This worship style had its beginnings in the 1960s with the
introduction of contemporary choruses and pop Christian music. Spontaneity, bodily
movement (including raising hands, dancing, kneeling, etc.), and congregational
involvement are hallmarks. There is usually an extended teaching time that is separate
from the musical portion of the gathering.

Praise and Worship: This style makes a distinction between the terms praise and
worship. Praise happens first, then comes worship. The order of worship is based on
a re-enacted movement of Old Testament temple worship: first you enter the outer
courtyard, then the inner court, and finally the Holy of Holies, each progressing
with more intimate music, from celebration and praise, to more subdued personal
expressions of devotion to God, followed by a biblical study or teaching as one engages
God in his holiness. Music is almost exclusively contemporary and is led by praise
bands or praise teams.

Seekers’ Service/Believers’ Worship: This style reserves Sunday mornings for seekers.
It offers a non-threatening presentation of the gospel through Christian entertainment,
a public witness of faith, and a sermon on a real-life issue that reflects a Christian point
of view.

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Discussion Starters:
[Q] What churches can you think of that express the various worship styles above?
[Q] Do some worship styles remind you of particular denominations? In what ways Is
there a theology related to each style?

[Q] What style of worship do you have at your church? Did it emerge from the church’s
history, theology, or some specific ministry choices that someone made along the way?

[Q] Whom does your church expect to gather at worship services? Members? Members
and visitors? Primarily non-Christian seekers? People predominantly of a particular social
or ethnic community? How are your worship expressions connected to the expected
attenders?
[Q] What is the style of worship in some of your neighboring congregations? What are
the major emphases of their worship services and how do they relate to elements of your
worship services?

[Q] What do you like best about your worship services? What would you like changed?
What influences your opinions about these things?

Part 2 Discover the Eternal Principles

Teaching Point One: We are made to worship God.

The Bible begins with the story of creation (Genesis 1–2), declaring that all of life is the work
and gift of God. Furthermore, humankind is the inspirational summit of God’s creative work;
we are made to be like God in sharing the ongoing care and development of the world, and
we are to acknowledge God as the source of all good. Evil, shame, and destruction entered
this world only when the primary values of creation were ignored (Genesis 3). So the Bible
assumes that humanity should exist in a continual relationship with God. As Augustine said
in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless, O God, until they find rest in You.” The very word
worship in our English language emerged from an older form, worthship, which reminds us
that the act of worship is to declare the worth of the one who is worshiped.

Read sections 1 and 2 of Parrett’s article, and look up the Bible passages Parrett mentions.

[Q] What does it mean that “the whole life of believers should be worship”? How do we
worship God at work? In recreation? In career choices? In politics? In relationships?

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[Q] What role do our public congregational gatherings for worship play in our expression of
worship for God? Why do churches hold worship services?

[Q] How do we show worth to people we honor in our societies—presidents, kings,

governors, mayors, etc.? After listing these, think of parallel ways we might declare the worth
of God in our public worship gatherings. How does that relate to the elements of liturgy?
How do we worship God in our singing? How do we worship God when we are not singing?

Read Romans 12.

[Q] How is the “spiritual act of worship” in verse 1 related to vocation in verses 3–8 and
daily lifestyle in verses 9–21?

Teaching Point Two: Because of sin, our worship is often misdirected.

If we are to bring the best of our “worthship” to God, the truly worthy One, we must recognize
the ways in which our culture and our selfish tendencies have encouraged us to worship
inappropriately.

Read Romans 1:18–25.

Here Paul reminds us that we have a sin-developed tendency to twist worship and make it self-
serving rather than God-serving.

Theses 3, 9, and 9.5 in Parrett’s article reflect on this idea. In Thesis 3, Parrett reminds us that
our worship must be God-focused and must help us dialogue with God about our lives. This
includes receiving as well as giving, but the receiving is more than just a good feeling or emotional
hype. Our worship services should never be mere sideshows that provide a fun thrill in our quest
for experiences. While we worship God with our emotional life, we also need to worship him
intellectually and volitionally.

[Q] How do our worship services encourage dialogue between God and us? When are we
speaking to God? When do we hear God speaking to us? Is there a rhythm to this dialogue
that makes sense?

[Q] Under what circumstances might we not enjoy a worship service, yet still leave it
profoundly aware of having been in the presence of God?

[Q] What parts of the divine dialogue do you enjoy most? Which do you enjoy least? How
might you experience a broadened conversation with God during your public worship
services?

Parrett talks about God as the primary seeker in our worship gatherings. He mentions God’s

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long search for us through history. Some years ago the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
planned a series of seven television programs on the major religions of our world. The series,
titled “Man in Search of God,” surveyed the rituals, beliefs, and goals of Hinduism, Buddhism,
Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, and Islam, before coming to Christianity. But when the
BBC tried to develop this last program in the series, the title no longer seemed to fit; for
Christianity, according to the Bible, it is not “Man in Search of God” but “God in Search of
Man.” We who are God’s creatures and children have become myopic and spiritually blind.
And God has been like Frances Thompson’s “Hound of Heaven,” pursuing us with tenderness
and love. Don Francisco wrote a song that summarized this outlook:

Unashamed and naked, in a garden that has never seen the rain
Rulers of a kingdom full of joy, never marred by any pain
The morning all around them seems to celebrate the life they’ve just begun
And in the majesty of innocence, the king and queen come walking in the sun

But the master of deception now begins with his dissection of the Word
And with all his craft and subtlety, the Serpent twists the simple truths they’ve heard
While all around them is a world that has been placed at their command
And all their unborn children die as both of them bow down to Satan’s hand

Though the curse has long been broken, Adam’s sons are still the prisoners of their fears
Rushing helter-skelter to destruction with their fingers in their ears
While the Father’s voice is calling with an urgency I’ve never heard before
To come in from the darkness now before it’s time to finally close the door.

“Adam! Where are you?

Adam! I love you!”

Parrett’s Thesis 9.5 is a reminder that we have become consumers who look out for our own
interests and often expect the same of our worship services. We switch churches to get better
experiences; we hire music directors and worship leaders to make the product more attractive.
Among the many shopping malls of America, sometimes our churches become another store
pandering goods, trying to get self-concerned spiritual consumers to come, experience, buy,
and pay.

[Q] How do our worship services develop our interaction with God? Is praise the only
language of our songs? How do we listen to God, even before the message is presented?
Where do we find calls to confession? How do we make expressions of sorrow and
repentance?

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[Q] What should we do if we don’t like the music that is part of our worship services?
How do we engage in dialogue with those who disagree with us? When is it right to
move to another congregation? Is our taste in music sufficient grounds? Why or why
not?

Teaching Point Three: Our language of worship needs to grow and

expand.

Parrett’s remaining “Theses” on worship (4–8) focus on the actual practices of our Sunday
gatherings. Parrett’s primary message is that we may be too narrow and limited in our use of
songs and prayers, especially if we have succumbed to the idea of selecting a particular style of
worship or music for each congregation’s worship expressions.

Read Parrett’s Thesis #5, including the explanatory paragraphs.

Parrett reminds us of the wonderful songbook found in the Bible—Psalms. The Book of Psalms
is God’s own songbook gathered and collected for the use of God’s people. Among its 150
poems and verses are at least eight different types of expression.

No te to Lea der : ha ve different p eople in the group lo ok up one or more

Ps a l ms listed for each t yp e and then explain in their own words what
t h is t y p e of Psal m i s ab out:

Individual Laments: cries of persons going through tough times (22, 42, 51, 120)
Communal Laments: mourning of communities in pain (79, 80, 137)
Songs of Praise: exuberant declarations of God’s goodness (8, 100, 145, 150)
Hymns of Thanks: specific expressions of thankfulness (75, 118, 136)
Testimonies of Confidence: declarations of how God has helped and guided (23, 91, 139)
Royal Psalms: in praise of good rulers who bring blessing to the people (45, 72, 110)
Songs of “Zion”: in praise of God’s presence on earth (48, 84, 122)
Chants of Instruction: reminders of what values need to shape godly living (1, 15, 107)

[Q] Which of these types of Psalms is most reflected in the songs of our worship?
Which is least reflected? Why?

Optional Activity: Divide the class into several groups, and assign one or more of the Psalm
types to each. Give each group the songbooks used in your worship services, and ask them to list
songs that fit under their categories.

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[Q] Which type of songs does our church tend to sing most? Which do we tend to sing
least? Why do you think that is?

Some churches follow the standard lectionary readings to shape their teachings and the themes
of their worship services. This does two things: first, it ensures that the teachings brought each
week will span all of the Bible and not dwell on only a few themes or books of Scripture; second,
it places the worship of individual congregations within a larger community by reminding them
that other congregations (even from other denominations) are reading, studying, and singing the
same passages.

[Q] What are the strengths of using the Common Lectionary or similar devises to plan
worship service themes? What are the weaknesses?

In Thesis #7, Parrett reminds us that we are part of a much larger church than just our local
congregation or even our denominational or association; we are a part of the global body of
Christ, which makes up more than one-third of the earth’s population, and sings and speaks in
every language on this globe.

[Q] How is the global and multi-cultural character of the body of Christ acknowledged
and honored in our worship services? What are some ways to make this global identity more
visible on a regular basis? What are some benefits of raising this significance? What might be
the downside?

[Q] How does our congregation relate to other area congregations? Are you aware of what
other local churches are doing? Should you be? What benefits might be found in holding
joint worship services now and again? What might be reasons not to do this?

[Q] How is the global mission of Jesus’ church felt through our congregation’s ministries,
especially through its worship services?

Part 3 Apply Your Findings

Plan a mini-worship service for the next time your group meets. Pick a worship theme,
determine the flow of the worship, and choose appropriate songs for that flow.

To make this exercise even more interesting, ask a similar group in another church to do the
same exercise, then meet with that group to compare notes.

­­—Study prepared by Wayne Brouwer, senior pastor of Harderwyk

Ministries in Holland, Michigan.
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Recommended Resources
¿ Check out more Bible studies at: ChristianBibleStudies.com

¨ Authentic Worship in a Changing Culture, CRC publications (Faith Alive, 1997;

ISBN 1562122576)

¨ Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations, Dan

Kimball, David Crowder, and Sally Morgenthaler (Zondervan, 2004; ISBN
0310256445)

¨ The Renewal of Sunday Worship, “Descriptions of Worship Renewal,” Robert E.

Webber (Hendrickson Publishers, 1995; ISBN 1565631870)

¨ The Sacraments in Protestant Practice and Faith, James F. White (Abingdon, 1999;
ISBN 0687034027)

¨ Trouble at the Table: Gathering the Tribes for Worship, Carol Doran & Thomas
Troeger (Abingdon, 1992; ISBN 0687426561)

¨ Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts, Harold M. Best
(InterVarsity, 2003; ISBN 0830832297)

¨ Up With Worship: How to Quit Playing Church, Anne Ortlund (Broadman &
Holman, 2001; ISBN 0805424601)

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Article

9.5 Theses on Worship

A disputation on the role of music.
By Gary A. Parrett, for the study “Worshiping Well.”

For the past 30 years—as a parishioner, pastor, songwriter, musician, and now seminary professor—I
have witnessed what some have called the “worship wars” raging in our churches. Many churches
continue to be torn asunder because of questions like these: Shall we sing “traditional” hymns or
“contemporary” choruses, or both? Shall we accompany our singing with organ and piano only, or
with guitars and, gasp, even drums? As we sing, shall we lift our hands or only our voices? Shall we
read our lyrics by looking into a hymnal or by looking up at text projected on a screen?

We desperately need theological discussions of worship in general. But what many congregants want
is something more practical and immediate—a coherent and biblical understanding regarding the
songs we sing and the instruments we use in worship.

In 1517 Martin Luther posted on the door of the Wittenberg Chapel his 95 theses, entitled Disputation
… on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences. Indulgences were a tangible symbol of the deeper
concerns that Luther addressed as he called for a reformation of church thought and life. My desire in
writing this article is, similarly, to call for a genuine reformation of our thinking and practice relative to
public worship. I do so by calling attention to a visible and tangible symbol of public worship today—
music. Unlike Dr. Luther, however, I offer not 95 theses, but a mere 9.5.

1. Our heavenly Father wills that the whole life of believers should be worship.
Jesus made clear, in John 4, that worship is not an activity limited to certain places or times.
Rather, worship is the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, vocation of all believers. God is Spirit—
unbounded by constraints of time or space—and thus his worshipers must worship him everywhere
and at all times (John 4:23-24).

Furthermore, that which God requires he powerfully provides for. For with his reference to an hour
that is at once both “coming” and “now here” (v. 23, ESV), Jesus presents a theme central to John’s
Gospel: The Holy Spirit would soon be poured upon all believers, and would permanently indwell us
(see John 7:39 and 14:16–17), making us living temples of the living God.

Any discussion of worship, then, must begin with the biblical concern for worship as lifestyle, not
merely as a formal gathering that features specifically “religious” actions. This is a theme consistently
affirmed, in most forceful language, throughout the Bible. In passages such as Isaiah 1:10-17 and
Amos 5:21-24, God actually rejects the very worship practices that he had himself commanded of his
people—assemblies, sacrifices, Sabbath observances, prayers, and the like—because these actions
had been severed from a more fundamental commitment to lives of justice, mercy, and humility (Mic.
6:8). Religious actions at religious gatherings of the community were not intended to be substitutes
for a life devoted to the true worship of God but, rather, were to be its celebratory overflow.

2. The word worship, when applied to public gatherings of the saints, must not
be reduced to a synonym for singing praises to God.
For many today, especially in evangelical churches, worship is only that portion of the service that we
devote to singing praises. This represents a significant and recent shift in our worship vocabulary.

In 1985, I attended an evening service of a large church. The service began with about 20 minutes of
chorus singing, accompanied by guitars, with lyrics projected on a screen. After the guitars were put
down and the projector switched off, a pastor came to the podium and announced to the assembly,
“Now we will begin our worship.” Naturally, I wondered what we had been doing for the past 20
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minutes. But I came to understand that in this church, at that time, worship was what happened after
the guitars were put down and the projector turned off.

Fifteen years later, I returned to the same church to speak in an evening service, with many of the
same people present. The opening of the service was familiar—singers, guitars, projector, choruses
of praise. But this time, when that singing had ended, a pastor stood before us and said, “That was
a wonderful time of worship. And now …” The “And now …” was pregnant with meaning. It was clear
that the definition of worship had changed.

Almost every time I hear the word worship used by believers today, it is clear that they are referring
to singing praises. Many, of course, if pushed on this matter, would confess that worship involves
far more. But words matter, and our language betrays our misperceptions. When we call those who
lead us in song our “worship leaders,” our true convictions are revealed. It is imperative, then, that we
work diligently to reform the vocabulary of worship.

3. Worship involves a rhythm of revelation and response: God graciously

reveals himself to us, and we faithfully respond—all the elements must help
worshipers participate in this rhythm.
God initiates the worship experience by graciously revealing something of himself—his character,
his mighty deeds, his will for our lives. Our obligation, having received this revelation, is to respond
appropriately. The pattern is evident throughout the Scriptures: God, the Lord, is one; therefore, we
must love him with all that we have (Deut. 6:4-5). God has demonstrated profound mercies to us; in
view of these mercies, we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1).

One of the most striking examples of this rhythm of revelation and response is recorded in Isaiah
6:1-8. There, the prophet has an amazing encounter with the living God. First, God’s character is
revealed: God is high, lifted up, and holy, holy, holy. The prophet’s response is exactly right: “Woe
to me, I am ruined!” But God graciously reveals more. He is loving and merciful. This is revealed
by atoning action and explanatory speech. Isaiah’s response, again, is the right one: He humbly
receives God’s grace and believes God’s word. Finally, God’s work and will are revealed as the Lord
himself asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah faithfully responds: “Here am I.
Send me!”

As we read this account, we are reminded of Romans 12:1—”in view of God’s mercy, offer your
bodies as living sacrifices.” Indeed, the Isaiah passage provides a wonderful example of a pattern
that could, and perhaps should, mark all of our worship gatherings. First, we are reminded of God’s
awesome and holy character. In light of this, we are moved to humble confession. Next, we are
reminded of how God has intervened on behalf of us sinners, by sending his Son to be an atoning
sacrifice for us. This good news we humbly receive and believe. Finally, God charges us to be
engaged in his ongoing work in this broken and defiant world. We respond by offering our lives afresh
for his service.

Like other elements in our worship gatherings—preaching, sacrament, offerings, Scripture readings,
prayers, and more—our songs should aid us either in clarifying what God has revealed to us or in
guiding us toward faithful response, or both. Sadly, many of our songs are deficient on both counts.
They do not speak clearly of God’s character, deeds, or will. Nor do they speak substantively of the
response God requires of us. We should encourage those who lead us in song to select songs of
substance, and we must pray that a new generation of songwriters will rise up to compose such
songs for the saints. The church must retain those songs of old that were most helpful in terms of
revelation and response. In some cases, new melodies or arrangements can be employed to help

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younger generations access these treasures of the church. Thankfully, there have been encouraging
developments in these areas of late. Perhaps a new wind of theologically sensitive songs will blow
some of the chaff out of our sanctuaries for good.

4. Those who lead the congregation in song must be theologically equipped for
this important task.
Many in our churches have their theology formed principally by our hymnody. When we recognize
young men and women in our congregations as gifted in the areas of musical composition,
performance, or leading, we should encourage them to pursue theological training and support them to
do so. This may mean sending them off to seminary, Bible college, or some other venue.

Others, for whom such training seems inaccessible, should be mentored by those in the congregation
who are more biblically literate and mature. Pastors must not relinquish “worship leading” to a
theologically unequipped person simply because that one is musically gifted. Song selection and
composition can be conducted in partnership with those who are, or ought to be, teachers in the flock.

5. Faithful response to God involves more than praise—we need a much broad-
er range of songs available for congregations.
The Psalter—Israel’s prayer book and hymnal—provides a good model for us. In the Psalms, we find
that the songs of praise take their place alongside songs and prayers of lament, confession, adoration,
complaint, spiritual warfare, thanksgiving, and more.

A couple years ago, I felt compelled to compose a hymn based on Psalm 88, which is generally
acknowledged as the darkest of all the psalms. It begins in confusion and ends, it seems, in utter
frustration. Searching through the Scripture indices of the hymnals in my office, I could not find a single
hymn based on this psalm. Yet is it not a God-inspired prayer for people of God who find themselves in
a dark season of life? Do we not ask such people to stand alongside us in our congregational worship
and join us in singing the triumphant songs of praise? Are we unwilling to join them in crying out to God
for mercy? In our churches, sadly, it often does not go both ways—we rejoice with those who rejoice,
but seldom do we weep with those who weep.

The other side of this coin, of course, is that what God has revealed about himself is not always what
we would like to acknowledge. Do our songs address the full range of his attributes and actions, or only
those that we delight in? We sing often of his love and kindness. But what of his wrath, his jealousy, his
inscrutability—do we sing honestly of these things? Surely we should.

6. The body of Christ in worship is more than an assembly of individual wor-

shipers—we need more we songs.
Not long ago, the practice in churches I attended was to project songs onto a screen with overhead
transparencies. These were stored in some sort of file-folder system in alphabetical order, based
on the first line of the song. But we had one problem: We continually needed to add more folders to
accommodate songs that began with the letter I.

When I attend services that feature “contemporary” worship today, it seems that 80 percent to 90
percent of all the songs sung by the congregation prominently feature that familiar trinity of I, Me,
My. Rarely do we sing songs that remind us of our identity as the body of Christ, the people of God.
There are simply too few we songs in our congregational gatherings. It seems that many songwriters
have taken songs directly from their personal devotional life into the assembly, without considering
the possibility of adapting the songs for congregational use. In cultures that are already dominated by
narcissism, this is unwise and dangerous.

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From Jesus’ teaching about praying to our Father in secret, to Paul’s admonition that tongues
without interpretation should be kept to oneself, we are reminded that a distinction should be drawn
between personal worship of God and worshiping him in the assembly of the faithful. It is not that I
songs are unhelpful or unnecessary, it is simply that we are badly out of balance here, and we need
a corrective. Our hymnody must play a part in this. In many cases, a song can be easily adapted for
such purposes by changing a few pronouns. Better by far, however, is composing songs with a true
vision of the church and rediscovering those great songs that already feature such a vision.

7. The body of Christ is far bigger than what we see in the gathered communi-
ty—and our songs should reflect this.
There is only one church—”one holy, catholic, and apostolic.” When my local assembly gathers for
worship, we join ourselves with “the communion of saints” (Apostles’ Creed), those who have gone
before us and those who will come after us, and with the millions upon millions who fill the earth
today. This reality should also be reflected in our corporate worship. This means we must move
beyond the chronological snobbery that insists that “newer is better” when it comes to our songs
of worship. Likewise, we must move beyond a narrow vision of a church based on nationality or
ethnicity. Incorporating songs, confessions, and other liturgical resources from around the globe and
from other eras is an enriching commitment. It brings us closer to the beautiful vision of worship in
passages like Revelation 7:9-10, where we read of an innumerable throng of worshipers from every
nation, tribe, and tongue praising God in one accord.

8. Those who lead the church in song are called to assist the congregation in
its singing, not to replace it—technologies such as amplification must be used
with theological and pastoral sensitivity.
On many Sundays, nowadays, it seems that it does not matter if I sing during worship, for I cannot
hear myself even if I do. Nor can I hear the brothers and sisters sitting near me. In fact, we can only
hear those few people standing up front with their microphones. Sometimes, we barely hear even
them, because their voices are also drowned out by the amplified instruments that are supposedly
accompanying all of us as we sing.

When I mention these things to song leaders today, I am often told that this is a generational matter,
that younger people simply like it louder than do older people (like me). But I don’t buy it. Israel’s
praise was no doubt often lively and loud. But throughout the history of Judeo-Christian worship, if
the volume was loud, it was the sound of the people themselves, or the glory of our great God, that
made it so. But in our day, our volume comes mostly from amplifiers. We simply have not sufficiently
wrestled with how to use the host of new technologies. We need, among other things, a theology of
electronic amplification!

The Bible commands us to “speak to one another” in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19;
Col. 3:16). I find myself longing for such experiences today. I need to hear my sisters and brothers
confessing the faith into my ears, and they need to hear me. Surely it is not only the professionals or
the gifted who believe the things we are singing. Those who lead us in song must do precisely that—
lead us, not replace us or overpower us. Let the amplifiers provide for a volume level loud enough to
help us do our job, for it is the congregation, and not the band, that is the true “worship team.”

9. The Seeker that we must serve in our worship services is, first and fore-
most, God himself.
One of the more obvious “worship trends” in the past three decades has been the emergence of
“seeker services.” In some instances, these have been Sunday services totally redesigned with
“seekers” in view. Surely being “seeker friendly” is a better option than being “seeker hostile” or
“seeker indifferent,” as too many congregations seem to be. But there are problems.
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For one thing, while attempting to reach unchurched people, churches may actually be “unchurching
the churched” (as Michael Horton argues) or otherwise “dumbing down” for the sake of evangelism
(as Marva Dawn puts it). I know of a church, for example, that has printed the Scripture text in the
bulletin or projected it on screen each week, as a concession to seekers who might be attending
without a Bible in hand. An unintended consequence, however, has been that the believers have
stopped bringing their Bibles with them and the sound of pages rustling as the saints move from
passage to passage during the sermon is seldom heard.

The more significant issue is that our worship services should not be people-centered at all, but be
first and foremost for and about our awesome God. This should affect our music and hymnody as well
as every other aspect of the service. Our emphasis should be on content that serves the rhythm of
revelation and response, not on pleasing guests with particular musical or stylistic choices. Worship
should not be designed to suit unbelievers’ tastes; nor should we shape it to suit our own. We are to
worship God according to his requirements and for his own sake.

The good news, however, is that when we do so, we find that other wonders follow: The saints are
well formed, and unbelievers who may be present in the assembly are challenged by the presence
of the living God. The fact is, we cannot outdo God in serving seekers, for he is the first and truest
Seeker of all. There is no one who seeks God (Rom. 3:11). But from his asking, “Where are you?” in
the garden (Gen. 3:9), to seeking worshipers who will worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24), to
sending his only Son “to seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:10), our God is the great Seeker of
lost sheep. When he is first in the formation and conduct of our public worship, much good will surely
follow.

9.5 In its services of public worship, the church must obey such Scriptures as
Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should
look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
When my first church home divided over musical issues and others aspects of our public worship,
many hearts were broken. I remember the final act of our final service together. We were asked to
form a circle around the sanctuary and join hands. Together, we sang the chorus “We Are One in the
Bond of Love.” Then we closed the service with prayer; many hugs and tears followed.

It was very emotional. It was also very hypocritical. We were not, of course, one in the bond of love.
Far from it—we were the victims of self-seeking from the various sides. We had not obeyed the
admonition of Philippians 2:3-4, nor that of Ephesians 4:3 to “make every effort to keep the unity of
the Spirit through the bond of peace,” nor Christ’s new commandment to “love one another as I have
loved you” (John 13:34).

My earnest prayer is that such scenes will occur with far less frequency as the people of God think
more deeply about the nature and purposes of worship, and that a renewed approach to music and
hymnody will lead us all to greater love of God, love of one another, and love for all our neighbors.

—Gary A. Parrett is assistant professor of Christian education at Gordon-

Conwell Theological Seminary. He is coauthor of A Many Colored Kingdom:
Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation (Baker, 2004).

“9.5 Theses on Worship,” Christianity Today, February 2005, Page 38.

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L e a d e r ’s G u i d e

Eyes Wide
Open to God
To s e e G o d “ h i g h a n d l i f t e d u p , ” j u s t
open your eyes.

A popular song quoted by CT columnist Andy

Crouch, “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” raises
several questions: Can we really see God?
What do we really mean when we say “I want
to see you”? And if we ask to see God, what
will he show us?

In this study, we will explore the concept of seeing

God as found in several biblical texts, and we’ll turn to
the passage that gave expression to the prayer. Paul says
that when our eyes are opened, we’ll be wowed.

Scr ipt ure: Ephesia n s 1 : 1 5 - 2 3 ; J o h n 1 4 : 8 - 1 1

B ased o n : “B lin ded by Po p Prais e, ” by Andy Cro u c h,

C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay D ecem b er 9, 20 02 . Vo l. 46 , No. 1 3, Pag e 56 .

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Part 1 Identify the Current Issue

No te to lea der : Pri or to m e e ting, prov ide for e ach p e r son the ar t icle
“B l i n ded by Pop Prai se” f rom C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay magazine, include d at
t h e en d of th i s study.

At Christmas time, the answer to the prayer “Open my eyes to see God” is ready-made. I
will see Jesus in the manger: precious, innocent, and innocuous. In December, our Lord
seems to be all the things a baby is supposed to be. But is that an accurate picture? It
certainly isn’t a complete picture.

The prayer to have one’s eyes opened to see God seems safe at the holidays. But would we
pray this prayer with Moses atop a mountain haloed in smoke and lightning? Would we
be so brazen as to tell Jesus in the upper room, “Show me the Father!” Would we ask to see
God while soldiers stripped, beat, and bloodied Jesus, then drove spikes through his hands?

That is a risky prayer.

Several witnesses from the Bible would advise: say this prayer with caution.

Discussion Starters:

As we begin this study, examine several hymn texts that express this desire. Here are some
examples.

Le a d er ’s Note: You m ay wi sh to print the m out ahe ad of time. I f

t h es e son gs are n ot i n your hy mnal or re p e r toire, lo ok t he m up on t he
i n ter n et. Th e y are readi l y a vailable.

“Open the Eyes of My Heart” by Paul Baloche

“Open Our Eyes, Lord” by Robert Cull
“Open My Eyes that I May See” by Clara H. Scott
“Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face” by Horatius Bonar

[Q] Do you detect, from the older texts to the newer ones, any shift in expression?
[Q] Do you think the writers of these lyrics meant them literally?
[Q] Do you think it is a common prayer to see God? What do you think people mean
when they say that?

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Part 2 Discover the Eternal Principles

Teaching Point One: Can we see God?

A number of people in the Old Testament had encounters in which they were said to have seen
God. Yet in the New Testament, we are told that no human has seen God. Let’s quickly explore
some of these verses.

For each of the following verses, list what the people saw. What is physical and what is spiritual?
What did the sighting reveal about God?

God sightings:

Abraham: Genesis 12:7, 18:1

Isaac: Genesis 26:2

Jacob: Genesis 32:30

Moses: Exodus 24:9–11, 33:11, 33:23; Deuteronomy 34:10

The Israelites: Numbers 14:14, Deuteronomy 5:4

Samson’s parents: Judges 13:22

Isaiah: Isaiah 6:1, 5

Amos: Amos 9:1

God unseen: Each of these verses stipulates in some way God’s hiddenness, but there is a provision
for humans to have awareness of who God is. If he can’t be seen directly, he can be explained,
demonstrated, or experienced. Read these verses (and some adjacent to them, if needed). Look for
ways God has revealed himself to human beings, even those who have not looked directly on him.

Exodus 33:20

John 1:18

John 6:46

1 Timothy 1:17, 6:16

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1 John 4:12

In John 14:8–11, it is Philip who should be called “the doubter.” Thomas has questioned where
Jesus is going. Jesus’ response is, “You know the way to the place where I am going…. I am the
way” (John 14:4,6). Then Philip pipes up: “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus’ reply is instructive to us on two levels:

(1) If we have seen Jesus, we have seen the Father. That is in part Andy Crouch’s message. At
Christmas, perhaps more than at any other time, this truth is evident at a billion mangers: If
you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God (John 1:14, 18). Jesus is the embodiment and the exegesis of
God. He is God and he explains God. If we want to understand God, we need look no farther
than Jesus. He is our means of seeing and knowing God.

(2) Seeing the Father is not about “laying eyes on him,” i.e. witnessing his person by some
physical means. It is about seeing what he is like, what he thinks is important, his character in
action on earth. In a way, the disciples had seen God because they had looked at Jesus who is
God; but they had also seen God’s character at work in the sacrificial love of Christ.

A request to see God may be a demand for a physical manifestation of his presence (maybe
one of the fist-shaking “God-if-you’re-real” variety); but, more likely, it is a plea for God to
demonstrate his reality by divine action in keeping with his character.

Depending on your interpretation of the Old Testament passages, you may conclude that God,
in some fashion, has been seen. But rather than seeing his visage, humans have had personal
experience with God’s messengers, his divine activity, the “weight” of his presence, and the love
of his Son.

[Q] So, what do you think we really want when we say “Open my eyes…”?
Teaching Point Two: What will we see about ourselves if our eyes are
opened?

Read Ephesians 1:15–23.

It is from verse 18 that the songwriter takes the phrase “open the eyes of my heart.” But, as Crouch
points out, the meaning is closer to “enlighten” rather than “open.” In any case, the concept here
is that the believers for whom Paul prays will have mature understanding of spiritual things and
about God. He wants them to grow; specifically, he wants them to know more about who God is
and what he has done for them in Jesus Christ.

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This passage is one of Paul’s four “prison prayers.” (The others are Eph. 3:14–21, Phil. 1:9–11,
Col. 1:9–12.) For the churches at Ephesus, Colossae, and Philippi, Paul desires a new level of
maturity. He had planted these churches and sent instruction to each church from a jail cell
in Rome just prior to his execution. Embedded in his letters are prayers for their continued
development in the faith.

In our times, “open eyes” carries some near-gnostic expectation, that the believers who have
this experience will suddenly know things no one else has known, or that God will manifest
himself by his Spirit in ways new to us. But the text that inspired the song is a prayer that be-
lievers come to understand an old truth, not a new one.

What is this old truth Paul wants his children in the faith to know? It consists of three things:

(1) The hope we have in God’s calling.

For Christians, calling is an important word. It is one basis on which the church is founded.
The church is the ecclesia (ek-luh-SEE-uh), from two Greek works that combine to mean
“called out.” We, the church, have heard God’s call to come out from our old habits and habi-
tats, and to become a new people with a new purpose in Christ. That is a hope-filled calling.

The hope we have in God is wed to the promise of a better future. Even if earthly life is hard
and trying, even if it requires that we surrender things (or even people) that are very dear to
us, we have the promise of a bright future with Christ in heaven. And the meaninglessness, the
senselessness that many people feel about life is replaced by hope. In Christ, the tough stuff on
earth has purpose in heaven. That’s the hope of God’s calling.

(2) The riches of being Jesus’ inheritance.

Warren Wiersbe points out that this does not refer to our inheritance in Christ (as in verse 11)
but instead to Christ’s inheritance in us. Wow! Suddenly it becomes clear that we have value
in God’s eyes, so much so that he has bequeathed us to his son Jesus. Jesus inherits the saints.
What a special treasure we become when we accept his calling. Doesn’t that change everything?
Look into a mirror and say, “I’m Jesus’ inheritance!” Does that give you some sense of how
special you are to God?

In other words, Paul prays that the believers at Ephesus will have a new appreciation for who
they have become. So many believers live a defeated life. But Paul prays that we will get a new
view of ourselves.

In Christ, we’re a treasure.

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(3) The power at work in believers’ lives.

God’s power is what makes it all possible. Truth is, once we weren’t treasures. Without Jesus, we
were contaminated by sin and deserving of punishment. Certainly we had no place in heaven,
and we could make no demands on him to give us an abundant life. But in Christ, we have
all that and more, because the same power that raised Jesus from the dead raises us from the
death-grip of our sin, gives life to the soul, and begins transforming us so that we will look like
Jesus. That’s powerful.

[Q] When we pray “Open my eyes,” what do you think it demands in how we view
ourselves? Name specific things.
Le a der ’s Note: I t ’s ri sk y to pray “O p e n my e ye s” b e cause we discove r
t h at mature faith demands a ne w vie w of oursel ves. I t is a vie w that
co rrec ts our resp on si bi l it y as calle d-out p e ople. I t give s us fre sh
u n derstan di n g of our ro le as the inhe rit ance J e sus re ce ive s, the
t rophies of his grace. A nd we see that the resurrec tion p ower that
ra ised J esus f rom th e de ad is still wor k ing on us. This ne w v ie w of
t h e regenerated b elie ver bro oks no excuse for wallowing in sin or
b emoaning a defeated lifest yle. Who wants a laz y workforce or a
s ul l i ed i n h eri tan ce?

Teaching Point Three: What will we see about Jesus when our eyes are
opened?

Peering into the hay-crib at Christmas, we see Jesus the way many would prefer to experience
him, all warm and cuddly. Crouch also points to his humanity, as a baby who needed to have
his diaper changed, and whose crying, albeit holy crying, signaled need. That is the safe Jesus.

The unsafe Jesus is the one we glimpse when Paul draws back the curtain of heaven. He is
high and holy and once again in his rightful place in the universe. His salvation mission ac-
complished, he sits on the favorable right hand of God the Father.

[Q] Name some ways that we need to see Jesus as he is.

Le a der ’s Note: H e i s ab ove : rule and aut horit y, p owe r and dominion,
a l l titles, all things, all t imes. H e is not onl y ab ove, but far ab ove. A n d
we, the church, are connec ted to J esus Christ as the head is connec te d
to th e b o dy, wi th th e resp onsibilit y to car r y out his wor k on e ar th
u n ti l h e return s.
H e n ce, wh en our e yes are op e ne d, we se e w ho G o d has place d ab ove
a l l c reati on ; wh om G o d has made us to b e through sal vation in J e su s
Chri st; an d our obl i gati ons to wor ship and ob e die nce.

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Part 3 Apply Your Findings

[Q] Are you comfortable with the concept of “seeing God”? What other terminology might
you use to express your desire to know God?

[Q] If you asked God to enlighten your heart, what would you hope he would reveal to
you?

[Q] Is there any such revelation you would fear?

[Q] How might you be changed by fresh insight into the person of Christ?
Close with a devotional time. Choose one of the songs from Part 1 and sing it as a prayer. Or
read aloud Revelation 4. Then sit quietly in God’s presence and see what happens.

­­—Study prepared by Eric Reed, managing editor of Leadership Journal

and author of numerous studies in this series.

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Article

Blinded by Pop Praise

To see God “high and lifted up,” just open your eyes.
By Andy Crouch, for the study “Eyes Wide Open to God.”

This year, an upbeat song called “Open the Eyes of My Heart” has been storming up the charts of the
Christian worship industry. (Yes, worship music has bestseller lists.) Taking its cue from Ephesians
1:18 and Isaiah 6, this song has millions of us imploring, “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to
see you high and lifted up, shining in the light of your glory.”

Scripture, of course, implies that we might not be eager for this prayer to be answered. After his
brush with the hem of God’s robe, Isaiah responded with dismay—not quite the stuff of up-tempo pop
music. Indeed, even if we make a more modest request from pop praise music’s early days—“Open
our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus”—the scriptural record of both Christmas and Easter suggests
that we probably wouldn’t recognize him at first.

Still, we’re not the first to ask God to do something for which we may be unprepared. Americans of
an earlier generation heartily sang, “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold,” with no
particular effect on their bank accounts, but that wasn’t the fault of the song. God’s people can pray
and hope for face-to-face intimacy with their Creator, even if, like Augustine praying for the gift of
celibacy, we softly add, “just not quite yet.”

But what puzzles me is why we sing these songs with our eyes firmly shut. What would Jesus have
said to Bartimaeus and the other blind beggars if they had asked for sight while squeezing their eyes
closed as tightly as possible? Yet in churches across the land we sing about open eyes—in the words
of another chart-topper, “I once was blind, but now I see”—while inducing voluntary, albeit temporary,
blindness.

Maybe we evangelical Protestants shut our eyes because there is so little to see in our churches.
Open your eyes in, say, an Orthodox church, and you are surrounded by images of saints and
stories from salvation history. Open your eyes in many Protestant churches and you see, well, other
Protestants. Not always the most inspiring sight.

But I suspect the deeper reason is our assumption that spiritual sight—the “eyes of the heart,” to use
Paul’s phrase—has nothing to do with the world of the senses. For the biblical writers, the eyes and
the heart were joined in a careful balance of inward will and outward attention—”My child, give me
your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways,” admonishes the proverb—but for us, the outer world
is just a distraction from our interior life. The world inside our eyelids is where the action is.

Christmas refutes this equation of sensory deprivation with enlightenment. Jesus began life as a
wide-eyed baby—and surely a crying baby as well— notwithstanding the pious embellishments of
“Away in a Manger.” Was there anything less spiritual about the baby Jesus’ cries for his mother’s
milk than the adult Jesus’ prayers to his Father? To answer yes is to chip away at the Incarnation,
setting us on the road to a shut-eyed spirituality. As the church fathers wrote, that which is not
assumed—taken into God’s own life, made spiritual not by being removed from real life, but by being
fully lived for the first time—cannot be redeemed. From birth to death and back to life again, our
Christian holy days are feasts of embodiment.

Indeed, because Christ lives in my body, not just in my heart, my spiritual life has everything to
do with whether or not I’ve exercised properly in three weeks, that Haydn is on the radio at the
coffeehouse where I am writing, that my cell phone is sitting in my pocket with 4.8 comforting ounces
of always-on distraction, that the tea I was served half an hour ago has produced a pleasant mental

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buzz and a certain restlessness in my legs, and that my nose is still aching from a collision with my
son’s head yesterday during one exuberant leaping hug.

The challenge of the spiritual life, of course, is to find Christ there, which can seem like searching
for a manger in a haystack. That is surely why Paul prays, in the text to which the song alludes, that
the eyes of our hearts will be enlightened so that we can indeed perceive God in the world beyond
our eyelids, with its perplexing mix of magnificence and misery. As for opening our eyes—well, even
Bartimaeus and his friends had to do some of that for themselves

“Blinded by Pop Praise,” Christianity Today.

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 Current Issues
L e a d e r ’s G u i d e

Fear and
Friendship: Two
Sides of Worship
H o w d o w e b a l a n ce i n t i m a c y a n d a w e ?

Worship offers a great challenge: to live in fear

of God while walking with him in friendship.
How do we approach God with wonder while
claiming the intimate friendship Christ offers
(John 15:15)? Philip Yancey writes in an article
for Christianity Today that authentic worship
requires profound awe—one of the toughest tasks
for 21st-century people.

How does worship connect with our personal walk with God? How do we
balance intimacy and awe? These are the questions we’ll be asking and
discussing in this study.

Scr ipt ure: Psalm 9 5 : 1 – 7; Is aiah 6: 1– 8 ; J o hn 9: 35 – 41 ; R o m ans 1 2: 1 – 3 ;

Co lo ssian s 3: 15–1 7; R evelatio n 7: 9– 1 7

B ased o n : “A B ow and a K is s, ” by Philip Yancey, C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay ,

M ay 2005, Page 80

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Part 1 Identify the Current Issue

No te to Lea der : Prior to the class, provide for each p erson the ar ticle
“A B ow an d a K i ss” f rom C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay magazine, included at the
en d o f th i s study.

Theologians have stressed through the centuries that human beings were created to
worship. As we know from Genesis, had Adam and Eve not sinned, they would have
remained in Eden and worshiped God in profoundest relationship. The Bible ends with
testimony in Revelation that all creatures will fall down and worship Almighty God.

So why do we struggle to find depth in worship? John Calvin, an influential theologian

of the 16th-century Reformation, reflected often on the challenges people face in
worship. In his Commentary on Jeremiah, he examines Jeremiah 9:24: “Such is pure and
genuine religion, namely, confidence in God coupled with serious fear—fear, which
both includes in it willing reverence, and brings along with it such legitimate worship
as is prescribed by the law. And it ought to be more carefully considered that all men
promiscuously do homage to God, but very few truly reverence him. On all hands there
is abundance of ostentatious ceremonies, but sincerity of heart is rare.”

Discussion Starters:
[Q] What do you feel more strongly for God: fear or friendship? Why?
[Q] Have you had what you would call profound worship experiences? Describe
what they have been like and what made them powerful for you.

[Q] What is the importance of corporate worship? How do we worship God

differently in church than we do in private prayer?

[Q] Do you feel more intimate with God during corporate worship or during
personal prayer? Do you feel more in awe of God during corporate worship or during
personal prayer? Why?

[Q] Have you ever coached, trained, or taught someone how to worship God? In
what ways have you been taught or led to worship?

[Q] Some people think worship means singing, or performing rituals, or simply
showing up for church. What do you think worship means?

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Part 2 Discover the Eternal Principles

Teaching Point One: Authentic worship of God results in a deeper fear
of him.

Read Psalm 95:1–7. The psalms were used in worship to help bring people in their humanness
to God in his divinity. This psalm describes the acts of worship in what seems to be
contradictory terms: joy and reverence. David calls people to “sing for joy” and to “shout to
God,” but also to “bow down in worship” and to “kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Philip
Yancey says, “In the Hebrew Old Testament, the primary word for worship means ‘to bow down
in reverence and submission.’” Words such as reverence and awe stress that, in God’s presence,
we discover his greatness and majesty in contrast to our humanity and brokenness.

Read Isaiah 6:1–8. Isaiah was a faithful servant of the Lord. He was worshiping when, during the
sacrifice according to the Law, he beheld the Lord seated on a throne, and the worship of angels
crying out, “Holy, holy, holy!” Instead of being filled with excitement and joy, he cried out in
fear, “Woe is me!” He declared he was unclean, as were the people of Israel. God responded by
purifying Isaiah. Even in reverent submission, Isaiah was in communion with God for the work
ahead.

[Q] Philip Yancey says, “God is both transcendent and immanent, the theologians say. God
inspires at once awe and love, fear and friendship.” How do you think awe and love find a
balance in the presence of God? How can fear of God help or hinder friendship with him? In
what way is fear different from fright?

[Q] As he reflects on 21st-century Western Christianity, Yancey states, “To most moderns,
however, a sense of awe comes with the greatest difficulty.” What are some of the difficulties
in contemporary life that hinder a sense of awe?
[Q] What distractions make it difficult for you to worship with a sense of awe? What steps
can you take to deal with those distractions? Are those distractions more prevalent at church
or at home?

[Q] What are some of the challenges to worshiping in church in reverent submission?
[Q] Yancey is critical of making music synonymous with worship. Yet Augustine of Hippo,
a major theologian of the fifth century, said, “He who sings prays twice.” What is the
difference between worshiping in song and worship as song? Is Yancey’s criticism justified?

Teaching Point Two: Authentic worship of God stems from a deep sense
of friendship with him.

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Read John 9:35–41. Jesus restored the blind man’s sight. In conversation with Jesus, this man
grew in insight as well, becoming aware of God’s presence and work in the world—and the lack of
reverence and joy on the part of the Pharisees. After the religious authorities cast the man out of
their presence, Jesus showed care for him by revealing his divinity and talking with him. The man
declared, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Jesus. This man discovered that authentic worship
could take place while conversing with Jesus.

Read Romans 12:1–3. When Christians are in church, they worship physically and spiritually.
When we offer ourselves in sacrifice daily, Paul says this is spiritual worship, because we come into
the presence of God in spirit to give ourselves to him so he may renew us. We seek out God’s will
as we enter into prayerful conversation with him, and we allow him to shape us as human beings.
There is a sense of reverence in friendship with God. Yet in that reverence there is intimate com-
munication. We can talk with him about those things that are most wonderful or most troubling
in our lives. Yet we do not treat him casually. Instead, we worship him as we find closeness with
him that we cannot have in any human relationship.

[Q] Philip Yancey points out that “Jewish ethicist and writer Abraham Heschel made the
observation, ‘Awe, unlike fear, does not make us shrink from the awe-inspiring object, but,
on the contrary, draws us near to it.’” Why would awe draw a person closer to the “awe-
inspiring object”?

[Q] How did the blind man gain insight after Jesus restored his physical sight? How did his
communication with Jesus draw him to worship?

[Q] What kinds of experiences have you had that have caused you to worship God in your
daily life? What does the term spiritual worship mean to you?

[Q] Yancey notes that recording artist Matt Redman “continues exploring the borderland
between friendship and fear, for authentic worship encompasses both. It is the proper
response when a holy God extends to flawed human beings an invitation to intimacy.” In
what ways does God extend an invitation to intimacy? How do we miss that invitation? In
what ways do we hear that invitation in daily life?
[Q] In what way is friendship a good word to describe a close walk with God? What are the
elements of real friendship in your life? How is that different from knowing coworkers or
neighbors? How can we build a closer friendship with Christ?

Teaching Point Three: The church has worshiped in many ways through
many centuries and cultural expressions—but always with both awe
and intimacy.

Read Colossians 3:15–17. One of the challenging tasks in the early church was to find com-
mon ground in worship between Jews who were believers in Jesus the Messiah and Gentiles who

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knew the worship life of ancient pagan temples. Even though all were Roman citizens, each had a
strong subculture in Rome, Greece, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Finding a way to worship both
in fear and friendship and blending the experience of worship with the life of worship proved to
be a creative opportunity to build God’s people.

Paul called the Colossians to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, and the word of God to
dwell in them richly. In culturally specific ways, believers could develop and maintain an intimate
walk with God. At the same time, as they gathered together, Paul called them to sing psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in their hearts. Paul called them to strike a balance
between reverence and intimacy, fear and friendship.

Some cultures express their deepest worship in quietness, others in exuberant singing and danc-
ing. For some churches, the preached Word is at the center of all worship, while other churches
focus on Word and sacrament, and still others on praise and worship choruses in a contemporary
music format. Authentic worship has the same start and end: awe and intimacy in the presence of
God.

[Q] What worship pattern and style appeals most to you? Why? In your spiritual journey,
how have you learned new ways to approach God?

[Q] How can we worship authentically no matter what the worship service style?
[Q] How does singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs draw you closer to God? What
can music do in worship that no other method or approach can offer?

[Q] Philip Yancey notes that the style of worship “swings back and forth like a pendulum,
from Orthodox to Doukhobors, from Anglican to Quaker, from Lutheran to Moravian,
from state-sanctioned churches to counter-cultural emergent churches, and perhaps we need
a bit of both.” Do you agree with Yancey? Why or why not?

Teaching Point Four: The contemporary challenge in worship is to

return to a sense of awe, reverence, and fear—and love, intimacy, and
grace.

Read Revelation 7:9–17. John of Patmos beheld a vision of a multitude of people in God’s pres-
ence, worshiping him as they cried out their praises in a loud voice. They stood in cleansed white
robes, fully healed and redeemed. God stood with them in their sufferings and persecutions. Now
they stood with him in joy.

Revelation reveals the intent that God has for his worshiping people. He desires them to be in his
presence both in reverence and friendship. Philip Yancey says: “In the Hebrew Old Testament,
the primary word for worship means ‘to bow down in reverence and submission.’ And in the New

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Testament, the most common Greek word for worship means ‘to come forward to kiss.’ Between
those two—or combining both—lies our best approach to God.” When Christians worship in this
life, it is a rehearsal for eternity.

[Q] How can we worship well when we encounter struggle and suffering? In what ways can
we continue to experience the power and presence of God as we receive comfort and love?

[Q] Sometimes people who are in the midst of struggle and suffering discover a much deeper
kind of worship than they ever have experienced. Why might that be?

[Q] Describe a worship experience in which you sensed both “bowing down in reverence and
submission” to God and “to come forward with a kiss.” What helped make this possible? How
did you prepare yourself to experience God in this way?

[Q] Do you think the unchurched have a longing to worship? Why or why not? What would
be important to communicate to unbelievers about authentic worship?

[Q] How can worship be an evangelistic tool? How does worship address the needs
contemporary people have?

[Q] The author Sally Morgenthaler has written, “The way we worship is often as much a
part of our Christian identity as whom we worship—sometimes even more so.” What is more
important: the style of our worship or the object of our worship? How can we keep a right
perspective on the importance of worship style?

[Q] Does worship style have an impact on deeper beliefs about the nature of God and the
person of Christ? Why or why not?

Part 3 Apply Your Findings

In her book Worship Evangelism, Sally Morgenthaler diagnoses the problem with much
contemporary worship. “We are not producing worshipers in this country,” she writes. “Rather,
we are producing a generation of spectators, religious onlookers lacking, in many cases, any
memory of a true encounter with God, deprived of both the tangible sense of God’s presence and
the supernatural relationship their inmost spirits crave.”

There is no doubt that churches of all types, and the people who attend them, need to go through
a re-evaluation of the worship experience. Historic rituals, contemporary music, dramatic
interludes, personal testimony, and video presentations are all means to an end—and sometimes
very poor means, because they are too personal, professional, or pedantic. Every believer needs to
rethink how to balance reverent submission and intimate friendship with Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, so as to prepare for eternity and to bring others into God’s presence eternally.
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[Q] What do you think of Morgenthaler’s assessment of the 21st-century worship

experience? What is the difference between a worshiper and a spectator? Do you know when
you are one or the other?

[Q] How can you teach worship to someone who has been unchurched? What would that
person need to learn in order to worship? What lessons would work well in communicating
reverence of God and intimacy with Christ?

[Q] Philip Yancey writes: “For several months my church went on a hunt for a ‘worship
pastor,’ and a parade of candidates auditioned with their guitars and backup groups. Some
of them prayed, ‘Lord, just, you know, really be here tonight with us, just let us know
you’re here.’ None showed much knowledge of theology, and assuredly none led us toward
anything like awe. Worship today means loudly filling every space of silence.” What do
you think the role of silence is in worship? Does silence just happen or can it be part of the
worship design?

[Q] How can you help children in your family become stronger worshipers? In what ways
do they understand worship that adults can’t seem to grasp? What can children teach adults
about worshiping in fear and friendship?

­­—Study by John Throop, a writer on theology, ethics, and church ministry

and the executive director of the Association for Volunteer Administration.

Recommended Resources
¿ Check out the following Bible studies at: ChristianBibleStudies.com

• “A Better Look at God’s Face”

• “Eyes Wide Open to God”
• “Knowing God Through His Names”
• “Spirituality for Today”
• “Worshiping Well”

¿ Building Church Leaders: Leadership training resources from Christianity Today

International, www.BuildingChurchLeaders.com

• “Knowing God” Training Theme

• “Worship” Training Theme

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¨ Knowing God, J. I. Packer (InterVarsity Press, 1993; ISBN 083081650X)

¨ Pursuit of God, Aiden W. Tozer (Christian Publications, 1982; ISBN 0875093663)

¨ Signs of Wonder: The Phenomenon of Convergence in Modern Liturgical and

Charismatic Churches, Robert Webber (Star Song Communications Group, 1992;
ISBN 1562330004)

¨ The Wonder of Worship, Ronald B. Allen (W Publishing Group, 2001; ISBN

0849914442)

¨ Worship Evangelism: Inviting Unbelievers Into the Presence of God, Sally

Morgenthaler (Zondervan, 1999; ISBN 031022649X)

¨ Worship His Majesty: How Praising the King of Kings Will Change Your Life, Jack
W. Hayford (Gospel Light Publications, 2000; ISBN 0830723986)

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Article

A Bow and a Kiss

Authentic worship reveals both the friendship and fear of God.
By Philip Yancey, for the study,
“Fear and Friendship: Two Sides of Worship.”

Christianity claims a unique place among the world’s religions. Our faith tells of a God before whom
the strongest saints took off their shoes, bowed down, fell on their faces, repented in dust and
ashes. At the same time it tells of a God who came to Earth as a baby, who showed tender mercies
to children and the weak, who taught us to call him “Abba,” who loved and was loved. God is both
transcendent and immanent, the theologians say. God inspires at once awe and love, fear and
friendship.

To most moderns, however, a sense of awe comes with the greatest difficulty. We have domesticated
angels into stuffed toys and Christmas ornaments, made cartoons of St. Peter at the gate of heaven,
tamed the phenomenon of Easter with bunny rabbits, and substituted for the awe of shepherds and
wise men cute elves and a jolly man dressed in red. Almighty God gets nicknames like “The Big Guy”
and “The Man Upstairs.”

An article in the February 2005 issue of this magazine addressed one of my pet peeves. How did it
happen that the word worship became synonymous with music? For several months my church went
on a hunt for a “worship pastor,” and a parade of candidates auditioned with their guitars and backup
groups. Some of them prayed, “Lord, just, you know, really be here tonight with us, just let us know
you’re here.” None showed much knowledge of theology, and assuredly none led us toward anything
like awe. Worship today means loudly filling every space of silence.

I welcome the sense of celebration and joy apparent in much recent music. Yet I wonder what we are
missing when we seek to reduce the distance between creature and Creator, a distance expressed
so eloquently by Job, Isaiah, and the psalmists. John, the disciple Jesus loved, who had lain against
Jesus’ breast, records in Revelation that he fell at his feet as though dead when Jesus appeared in
full glory.

The style of worship swings back and forth like a pendulum, from Orthodox to Doukhobors, from
Anglican to Quaker, from Lutheran to Moravian, from state-sanctioned churches to counter-cultural
emergent churches, and perhaps we need a bit of both. Søren Kierkegaard once said that we
treat worship as if the pastor and choir are the actors and the congregation the audience; instead,
God should be the audience, the pastor and choir the prompters, and the congregation the true
participants. Which brings up an interesting question: What kind of music does God prefer? We will
have a long time to learn the answer to that question, it seems, as Revelation gives many scenes of
creatures worshiping God through music and through prayer.

Jewish ethicist and writer Abraham Heschel made the observation, “Awe, unlike fear, does not make
us shrink from the awe-inspiring object, but, on the contrary, draws us near to it.” And Martin Luther
was said to pray with the reverence of addressing God and the boldness of addressing a friend.

One worship leader, who is having an increasing impact on Christian music, strives to hold in
creative tension the two elements of friendship and fear. Matt Redman, author of such songs as
“Heart of Worship,” “Better Is One Day,” and “Let My Words Be Few,” leads the group Soul Survivor,
which meets in a large warehouse in London, England. One year, concerned that worship music
was turning the focus to musicians rather than God, Redman and his pastor took the daring step
of eliminating all music from worship services. After that period of “fasting,” he emerged with a new
understanding of worship. As he said in a radio interview:

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Article

[Worship] is best summed up in Ephesians 5:10, which says, “Find out what pleases the Lord.” If
you’re talking about music, you want to bring an offering that is going to please him and obviously
he is not worried about the music, what style it is or if you’re playing in time and stuff. When you
pour out your heart with the music and you back it up with your life, that is probably the heart of
worship.

An album Redman released in 1998, The Friendship and the Fear, takes its title from a verse in
Psalm 25: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him.” Redman continues exploring the
borderland between friendship and fear, for authentic worship encompasses both. It is the proper
response when a holy God extends to flawed human beings an invitation to intimacy. In the Hebrew
Old Testament, the primary word for worship means “to bow down in reverence and submission.” And
in the New Testament, the most common Greek word for worship means “to come forward to kiss.”
Between those two—or combining both—lies our best approach to God.

“A Bow and a Kiss,” by Philip Yancey, Christianity Today.

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 Current Issues
L e a d e r ’s G u i d e

Preparing for
Worship
Study Deck: Preparing your mind and heart for
worship begins at home.

It is difficult for drained and distracted

worshipers—worn out from jam-packed
schedules and constant demands—to
connect with God in a meaningful way.
So how can churches engage exhausted
worshipers? In a Leadership Journal article,
John Ortberg and Pam Howell suggest that
balancing intellect and passion doesn’t begin in
the pew. Instead, they emphasize the importance of
preparing for worship at home.

This study explores the process of preparing spiritually, mentally,

and physically for worship, so the worshiper is fully invested in the
experience and ready to offer his or her heart wholly to God.

Scr ipt ure: 1 Ch ro nic les 28 : 9 ; Ps alm 2 4: 1– 6 ; 32 : 1 – 5; 3 4: 1– 3 ;

R omans 12:1–2; 1 T i m o t hy 4 : 7 – 1 5

B ased o n : “En gage B o th H ear t and M ind in Wo r s hip, ”

J o h n Or t b erg & Pam H owell, L e a d e r s h i p J o u r n a l , Apr il 1, 19 99 .

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Part 1 Identify the Current Issue

No te to lea der : Prior to the class, provide for each p erson the ar ticle
“En g age B oth H ear t an d M ind in Wor ship” from L e a d e r s h i p J o u r n a l , inclu d e d
a t t h e en d of th i s study.

Typically, those who take the main stage during a worship service have spent their week preparing
for Sunday morning. The worship team chooses songs, rehearses, prays, and arrives at church
early. The pastor studies the text, prepares the sermon, and meditates on the concepts all week
long. Even the projection technician has prepared the slides for the songs, media clips, and
sermon points. But how prepared for worship are the people in the pews?

Many who come to worship arrive just minutes before the band or organ strikes the first note,
slipping into their seats preoccupied and rushed, thirsty for something to hydrate their parched
souls. Some, there by coercion, sit with arms folded. Others lean forward, pen in hand, eager to
take note of life-changing truths. Still others struggle against the temptation to nap during the
sermon.

Some who come will leave feeling empty, not because there was nothing there for them, but
because they weren’t prepared to invest anything of themselves. Worship doesn’t happen to us. It
happens in us. And it begins with preparation of the spirit, mind, and body.

Discussion Starters:
Le a der ’s Note: A l th ough t he discussion fo cuse s on S unday mor ning s,
s o me par ti c i pan ts m i gh t atte nd S at urday night or mid-we e k se r v ices.
Q uesti on s sh oul d b e m o difie d to fit your group.

[Q] What is your typical weekend like? Do you feel more relaxed or hurried on Sunday
mornings? What is the rest of your weekend leading up to Sunday morning like?

[Q] Do you have any responsibilities such as leading worship, teaching Sunday school, or
being a greeter on Sundays? Tell the group how this affects your frame of mind on Sunday.

[Q] Have you ever wished you could just stay home on a Sunday and skip church? Why?
[Q] If you have skipped church, how did it make you feel? Or how have you felt when you
have gone to church despite wishing you could skip?
[Q] Which aspect of preparing for worship do you think is more important: spiritual,
mental, or physical? Why?

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Part 2 Discover the Eternal Principles

Le a d er ’s Note: J esus quoted D euteronomy 6:4–5 in Mark 12:29–30, wh e n
h e s a id to love the Lord wit h all your hear t, soul, mind, and strength. No te
h ow lovi n g th e Lord by con ne c ts w ith t he te aching p oints in this st udy.

Teaching Point One: Worship begins with spiritual preparation.

There are two key aspects to preparing spiritually for worship: practicing regular personal
worship and having a pure heart. Personal worship plays a key role in preparing for corporate
worship. King David understood the importance of a lifestyle of praise when he said he declared
God’s glory all day long (Psalm 71:8). Read Psalm 34:1–3.

A popular worship song written by renowned worship leader Darlene Zschech echoes those
words when it says, “Your praise is always on my lips. Your Word is living in my heart.” But
what is praise? Zschech says it is “a declaration, a victory cry, proclaiming faith to stand firm in
the place God has given you.” She calls it “an explosion of faith that allows you to run straight
into the loving arms of Jesus.”1

[Q] What does “at all times” and “always on my lips” mean? What does it mean to have
God’s Word “living” in your heart?

[Q] Should worshipers expect to receive some sort of blessing or benefit when they go to
church? Why or why not?

Let’s imagine that you eat only one meal per week, and you are invited to a grand buffet with
everything that makes your mouth water. You arrive starving; a waiter hands you a plate and
beckons you to fill it. Now, imagine that you have just stuffed yourself on that buffet, but as
you walk away patting your belly, you realize that you won’t be eating for another seven days.
“That was good,” you say, “but it wasn’t enough.”

Next, picture a different experience with the buffet. Imagine that you eat three balanced meals
and snacks every day, and you are invited to dine at the same buffet. This time you’ve eaten a
wholesome snack before arriving, so when the waiter hands you a plate, you decline the offer
and you begin serving food, clearing dirty dishes, and talking with other guests.

One hour on Sunday isn’t a buffet that is supposed to keep us spiritually fueled for the other
167 hours in the week. If we think that’s the intent, we’re placing the spotlight on us instead of
on adoring God. And when we arrive starving, it’s difficult to focus on anything but our needs.
Just as David declared God’s glory all day long, we can spiritually prepare our hearts for worship
by meditating on God’s goodness, love, and mercy throughout the week. Then, Sundays
become an overflow of the rest of the week rather than a feeding frenzy.
1
Darlene Zschech, Extravagant Worship (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2002), 52–53.
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[Q] Discuss giving versus receiving in worship. When you give, how can you also receive?

Read Psalm 24:1–6.

Note that David begins with a reminder of God’s greatness and power. Throughout the Psalms,
he reminds us of the need to praise God regularly and to meditate on his character. While Bible
study, praise, prayer, and mediation are crucial for spiritual preparation for worship, there’s
more. David demonstrates the second aspect of spiritual preparation: a pure heart.

In Psalm 24 David said, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy
place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or
swear by what is false” (v. 3–4). It’s clear that sin interferes with worship and our relationship
with God (v. 5). Note also that when we come to worship with a right heart, we do receive
something—a blessing from the Lord.

Regular confession restores our hearts and prepares us for worship just as it restored David’s
relationship with God. Read Psalm 32:1–5.

[Q] What is “confession”?

[Q] How should we confess our sins? Should it be to another person, a priest, in public,
in private? See Hebrews 4:14–16 for a hint.
Le a der ’s Note: This question may prompt some discussion dep endin g
o n th e bac kgroun d of yo ur group. Confe ssion is admit t ing our sin
a nd accepting resp onsibilit y for our ac tions. Emphasize that b ecaus e
o f J esus, we can approach G o d direc tl y with our confession without
g oi n g th rough a pri est. H e is our gre at high prie st. Emphasize that
w h en we con fess si n , we are forgive n (1 J ohn 1: 9).

Teaching Point Two: Worship deepens with mental preparation.

In several New Testament books, Paul compared the Christian life to a race, and worship is a vi-
tal part of that race. An athlete who wants to do well prepares mentally for his game and focuses
on his purpose—thoughts of the prize fill his mind. Although worship isn’t an athletic competi-
tion, it is an opportunity to bring our best and fulfill our purpose of bringing glory to God.

Read 1 Timothy 4:7–15.

[Q] What are the things Paul tells Timothy to do as part of his training for godliness?
[Q] What does 1 Timothy 4:15 instruct us to do?

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[Q] If you were to give complete attention to or devote yourself wholly to worship, what
actions might you take? How would mental preparation play a part in being wholly devoted
to worship?

Read 1 Chronicles 28:9.

[Q] The New Living Translation of this verse says to “worship and serve him with your
whole heart and a willing mind.” What are some things that distract you from worshiping
and serving God with your whole heart and a willing mind? What makes it especially
difficult on Sunday morning.

In the accompanying article, John Ortberg and Pam Howell encourage worshipers to engage
their minds through conscious thought, rather than by waiting for something to grab their
attention. They explain, “Too often in worship, people experience what psychologists speak of as
mindlessness. They go on autopilot.” Investing the mind in worship is independent of whether
or not we feel like worshiping. By investing our intellect in praise and deliberately surrendering
our will to God’s, we devote our minds to worship before we arrive at church with any sort of
expectation of being entertained.

Think of the athlete again. He doesn’t dally at the starting line, nor does he need the proverbial
carrot on a stick to entice him to get moving. In fact, he doesn’t need to see the trophy in order
to picture the delight of receiving it. He knows exactly where he’s going when the starting gun
cracks, and he’s ready to run because his mind has been in the race since long before his feet
arrived at the starting line.

Mind preparation is more than intellectual. Ortberg and Howell propose that the “single most
important aspect of balanced worship … is making sure our hearts and minds are fully engaged
and devoted.” This means that worship is emotional, spiritual, and intellectual all at the same
time.

[Q] Why do you think Ortberg and Howell think it is so important for worship to be
balanced? What might happen if a worshiper neglects the mental aspect of preparation for
Sunday?

Optional Activity:
Leader’s note: Ask your pastor about the sermon topic and the main Scripture passage for
this week. Ask your worship leader for a list of the songs that will be sung this week and find
one or two on a CD that can be played in class. If your church prints the order of service in
the bulletin each week, bring some copies of the bulletin to class as well.

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Purpose: To practice being mindful about preparing for worship.

Activity: Divide the class into several groups and assign each to read the Scripture for this
coming Sunday aloud together. If it is a short passage, read it several times. Have group
members point out 3–4 main ideas in the passage. Then, using the order of service listed in
your bulletin, pray together over each aspect of the upcoming worship service. If time permits,
listen to one of the worship songs on CD.

Teaching Point Three: Worship awakens with physical preparation.

here are two aspects to preparing physically for worship: preparation of the physical environment
and preparation of the physical body.

Old Testament worshipers prepared their physical environment the night before the Sabbath.
They cooked the meals for the next day so they wouldn’t have to work on the Sabbath day of rest,
and modern Jews still prepare for the Sabbath by having meals prepared and clothing readied for
the next day. Since the Sabbath, or Shabbat, begins at sundown on Friday for Jewish families,
they typically gather for a relaxed, festive meal on that evening. Perhaps similar traditions
such as bathing on Saturday or setting out your clothes have carried over into your traditional
preparations for Sunday.

[Q] Brainstorm as a group about some specific things that you could get ready the night
before so you could be more relaxed and ready to worship on Sunday morning.

[Q] Read Romans 12:1–2. How does this passage describe our bodies? How does this apply
to worship?

Many worshipers play hard on weekends and are exhausted by Sunday morning. They stay up
late watching television and socializing with friends and family because they don’t have work the
next day. Yet many worshipers who wouldn’t dream of going to their jobs on just a few hours of
sleep come to church with bags under their eyes and a colossal mug of espresso, hoping they’ll
make it through the service without snoring. Relationships and fun are important, but a tired
mind and a sluggish body aren’t as capable of vibrant worship.

Adequate sleep isn’t the only physical preparation for worship. Since our bodies are temples of
the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), we need to honor God with our bodies. Consider how this
applies to preparation for worship.

[Q] Think of some ways that nutrition and health could affect worship. How might a
food become an object of worship? What other addictions might have a negative effect on
worship?

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Le a der ’s Note: Encoura ge par ticipants to identify how physical

s te wardship is ob edience, which is another form of worship. A lso, no te
h ow n egl ec ti n g th e b o dy can le ad to de pre ssion or ot he r proble ms t ha t
h i n der abi l i t y to worsh i p.

[Q] Look at Romans 12:1–2 again. What does “spiritual act of worship” mean?

The Pharisees in the New Testament fell into legalism when it came to physical preparation for
the Sabbath, observing it according to stiff ordinances instead of according to a desire to honor
and please God. That isn’t the intent of this study. Instead, it’s important that we consider our
motives for being physically prepared for worship—to bring ourselves wholeheartedly to God.

[Q] Romans 12:1 gives us a great reason to desire to give ourselves wholeheartedly to God.
What is that reason?
Le a der ’s Note: S ome translat ions say “in v ie w of G o d’s me rc y, ” w hile
o t hers say, “b ecause of all he has done for you. ” H e re t he fo cus shou ld b e
o n worsh i p b ecause of all t hat G o d has done for us in light of sal vatio n,
n ot on al l th at we wan t G o d to give us.

Part 3 Apply Your Findings

Some people are spiritually ready for Sunday worship, but their bodies are too exhausted to
cooperate. Others are extremely organized, and they show up on time with everyone clean and
pressed, but their hearts are empty. Some are rested and ready. Which area is the most difficult
for you to apply to preparing for worship: spiritual, mental, or physical?

Action Points:

• Think of what your worship experience might be like if you were well
prepared and balanced in spirit, mind, and body. Write a note of what you
envision it being like. Read that note several times this week and ask God to
help you cultivate that kind of worship.

• This week, take note of what, if anything, is different about your worship
experience this coming Sunday as a result of deliberate preparation,
including the group activity in this lesson. Journal your worship experience.
With everything available to worshipers in our technology-friendly culture,
we have no excuse for coming with empty hearts on Sundays. With Christian
radio, worship CDs, pocket Bibles, MP3 players and internet resources, we
have a treasure trove of daily worship and Scripture study opportunities.

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• Think of some ways that you can incorporate worship and study into your
daily activities based on what you have available to you. Make a list. Now
choose one of those and plan how you are going to use it this week.
What did you identify in your group brainstorming about physical
preparation? Here are some more ideas. If you need help simplifying your
Sunday morning rush, designate a tote bag or attaché case for your church
things. If you teach Sunday school, put your lessons and your Bible in the bag
the night before. As you find things throughout the week that need to go to
church, you can put those in the bag and save your mental power for worship.

• Think of three specific things that you can prepare on Saturday night
instead of on Sunday morning. For example, choosing clothing to wear. Plan
to do those things this week.

­­—Study prepared by Michelle Rayburn, a Bible study leader and worship

leader in her church, as well as a freelance writer and conference speaker.

Recommended Resources
¿ Check out the following Bible studies at: ChristianBibleStudies.com

• “A Better Look at God’s Face”

• “Eyes Wide Open to God”
• “Spirituality for Today”
• “Worshiping Well”

¨The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life, by Louie Giglio (Multnomah, 2006). A
challenge to increase worship beyond church walls or a Sunday routine, so all of life
becomes a response to God.

¨Extravagant Worship, by Darlene Zschech (Bethany House Publishers, 2002). A

thoughtful exploration of worship as a way of life that involves emotions, intellect,
and a yearning for more of God.

¨My Heart’s Desire: Living Every Moment in the Wonder of Worship, by David
Jeremiah (Thomas Nelson, 2004). An invitation to discover a fresh understanding of
worship, exploring what it means to encounter God every day with a heart filled with
marvel and praise.

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¨31 Days Of Praise, by Ruth and Warren Myers (Multnomah, 2002). A one-month
devotional with encouraging suggestions for experiencing deeper love for God in the
midst of hardship and struggles.

¨The Unquenchable Worshiper: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship, by Matt

Redman (Gospel Light, 2001). A passionate call for a return to an unadulterated,
first-love lifestyle of worship.

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Engage Both Heart and Mind in Worship

How to prepare for worship
By John Ortberg and Pam Howell, for the study
“Preparing for Worship.”

“But Mo-o-o-o-m!”

There’s an old joke among Meyers-Briggs users. Question: what happens when a passionate, hyper-
expressive, exquisitely emotional feeler meets a logical, hyper-rational, Mr. Spock-type thinker?

Answer: they get married.

Too often deep thinking and profound feeling never meet in the one place they are most needed: in
worship. How can we worship in ways that both engage the mind and touch the heart?

Some churches specialize in generating emotion. The platform people are expert at moving
worshipers to laughter or tears. Attenders gradually learn to evaluate the service in terms of the
emotion they feel.

In time, however, the law of diminishing returns sets in. Prayers are offered in highly emotive style
and bathed in background music. Stories have to get more dramatic, songs more sentimental,
preaching more histrionic, to keep people having intense emotional experiences.

Such worship is often shallow, sometimes artificial, and rarely reflective. Little attention is given to
worshiping with the mind. It produces people who have little depth or rootedness. They may develop
a “zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Rom. 10:2). They become worship junkies,
searching for whichever church can supply the best rush.

This is Scarecrow worship: it would be better if it only had a brain.

On the other hand, some churches focus keenly on cognitive correctness. They recite great creeds,
distribute reams of exegetical information, craft careful prayers ahead of time. And yet the heart and
spirit are not seized with the wonder and passion that characterize those in Scripture who must fall
on their faces when they encounter the living God. No one is ever so moved that she actually moves.

This is tragic because, as Dallas Willard writes, “to handle the things of God without worship is
always to falsify them.”

Those who attend such services may be competent to spot theological error, but the unspoken truth
is they’re also a little bored. Their worship is dry—it does not connect with their deepest hurts and
desires. Rarely does it generate awe or healing, and never raucous joy.

This is Tin Man worship: if it only had a heart.

Some attempts to bring head and heart together have led not to the glimmering Emerald City, but
to the Wicked Witch’s forbidding dungeon guarded by drones. At times we’ve gotten it backwards,
managing to combine in a single service the thoughtfulness usually associated with chandelier-
swinging Pentecostals with the emotional expression of Scottish Presbyterians.

There must be a better way. How can we pursue worship that links well-ordered minds to overflowing
hearts?

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Yellow brick makers

People have the tendency to approach worship as consumers. The focus is on my experience, sitting
back with arms folded and saying to those leading worship, “Wow me.” Do something to grab my
attention, catch my interest. They assume worship is like watching a movie; it’s something I critique
afterward.

Can you imagine the Israelites, freshly delivered from slavery, before a mountain that trembles
violently with the presence of God (Exod. 19), muttering: “We’re leaving because we’re not singing
the songs we like. Like that tambourine song, how come they don’t do that tambourine song
anymore?”

“I don’t like it when Moses leads worship; Aaron’s better.”

“This is too formal—all that smoke and mystery. I like casual worship.”

“It was okay, except for Miriam’s dance—too wild, not enough reverence. And I don’t like the
tambourine.”

No, Scripture doesn’t read like that. The people were filled with awe and wonder and trembling and
hope and fear, because there in the middle of nowhere, before this bunch of ex-slaves, was God.

Getting a head start

In our day—when the beauty of liturgical traditions, the freedom of charismatic expression, and the
intellectual rigor of the Reformation are being cross-fertilized—we have a wonderful opportunity to
pursue worship that balances intellect and passion.

We must address the issue head-on, so we often challenge our congregation:

1. Prepare yourself to worship

Football players prepare for the big game. Sales people prepare for a big pitch. And worshipers
should prepare to worship, both mind and heart. We frequently tell our worship attenders that they
should prepare at home and even in the car enroute to the service.

2. Invest yourself fully in each moment we’re together, regardless of how you feel.
Too often in worship people experience what psychologists speak of as mindlessness. They go on
autopilot. Worshipers need to be taught not to wait for something to grab their attention. They need to
say to God, “I’m fully present—listening, praising, confessing, responding—every moment of worship.
I offer myself fully to you.”

3. Learn to make the most of the service.

Some people need to be encouraged to become freer in their expressiveness. It can be like when
someone hits a home run. The stadium erupts with celebration: hugs, high fives, roars of joy, blowing
kisses, arms raised in triumph.

Some worshipers need to say something like this: “I’m not going to raise my hands way up like that
in church. After all we’re not celebrating a home run. But since we are celebrating that Jesus died for
my sins, saved me from hell, overcame my guilt, was raised from the dead, and will share his triumph
with me through eternity, maybe I’ll at least put my hands in my lap with palms up.”

On the other hand, some may become so expressive that they create a distraction. They need clear,
gentle (sometimes not-so-gentle) reminders to balance their desire for expressiveness with what will
help the body of Christ.
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The single most important aspect of balanced worship, though, is making sure our hearts and minds
are fully engaged and devoted. When this happens, moments will come when worshipers feel and
understand God in ways no one could have planned.

This was adapted from the article “Can You Engage Both Heart and Mind?” which
first appeared in Leadership Journal, April 1, 1999.

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David’s Dance
Across the Line
What some vie w as disresp ec t can b e the
h ol i est ac t of worship.

The image of King David dancing joyfully

before the Lord in 2 Samuel is a powerful
image and is often used as a model for how
we might worship. In Mark Buchanan’s article,
we see this and more, as he puts David’s dance
in a larger context. There’s a bigger theme than
worship style here. David’s dance teaches not only
about how we might worship but, more importantly, whom we worship.

Scr ipt ure: 2 S amue l 6: 1-8 , 1 6-2 3; J o hn 4 : 1 -26

B ased o n : “Dance o f t h e G o d - s t ru c k , ” by M a r k B u c h a n a n
C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay . O c to b er 7, 20 02 . Vo l. 46 , No. 1 1, Pag e 50 .

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Part 1 Identify the Current Issue

No te to lea der : Prior to the class, provide for each p erson the ar ticle
“D a n ce of th e G o d- struc k ” from C h r i s t i a n i t y T o d ay magazine, include d a t
t h e en d of th i s study.

Discussion Starters:
[Q] When was the last time you danced in public?
[Q] How did you feel during the dance? Did you get self-conscious or did you revel in
it?
[Q] Do you remember watching someone you know dance? What did you think about
that?

When David danced before the Lord in public, he made himself vulnerable. The words of
his wife, Michal, dripped with disdain for his acting in such an undignified way in front of
common people. Don’t we often go to great lengths to avoid such vulnerability ourselves? It
can be awkward to both be on display and to see others act spontaneously. But those things
didn’t matter to David.

[Q] What do you think would be a modern equivalent of David’s actions?

[Q] What do you think gave David the desire to break with established social
conventions?

Part 2 Discover the Eternal Principles

Teaching Point One: God requires respect.

Read 2 Samuel 6:1–7.

After years of fighting both his own compatriots and foreign invaders, David had finally
established himself as king of all Israel. In keeping with his designation as a man after God’s
own heart, he was determined to serve the Lord wholeheartedly and to lead his people to
do the same. And since the ark of the covenant represented God’s presence in a profound
way, David wanted it in Jerusalem.

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In this passage we see David and his priests preparing to bring the ark into Jerusalem, and the
tragic consequences of their “innovation.”

The verses that describe this incident are brief in relation to the treatment the article gives them.
We simply don’t know the nuances of this story. But Buchanan takes a poetic approach to filling
the gaps, leaving us with a portrait of a man with whom all of us can identify to some degree,
and a God who threatens to reject our best-laid and “proper” plans.

[Q] Based on the passage, why do you think God struck Uzzah dead? What do you think
about Buchanan’s speculation in answering this difficult question? Does it seem probable?

David’s coronation as king was an important point in the history of Israel and, at this crucial
moment, the people were reminded that God’s laws were to be fully obeyed. The deaths of
Aaron’s sons (Lev. 10:1–3), and later of those of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11), served the
same function.

Uzzah’s death gives a vivid example of how easy it is to show disrespect to God when our focus
is on something other than his holiness—his awe-inspiring wholly otherness. In Uzzah’s case,
his focus was on the logistics of taking care of God—a concern that seems benign, even good,
on the surface. But in reality, this concern revealed disrespect and condescension. Ultimately,
our urge to innovate must always be subject to the sovereignty and revealed will of God.

[Q] Can you think of areas in your life where you attempt to “take care” of God?

Teaching Point Two: God requires truthful worship.

How did Uzzah’s death make you feel? It made David angry. He didn’t even try to hide it. In an
honest expression of emotion that was so characteristic of David’s relationship with God, verse 8
(look it up) provides this chapter’s first glimpse of what God really wants in worship—the truth.
It’s important to note that David’s anger was accompanied by his utmost respect for God, in keep-
ing with teaching point one.

Three months after Uzzah’s death, David made a successful bid to bring the ark into Jerusalem.
This time he was confronted with disdain from those within his own household.
Read 2 Samuel 6:16–23.

In this passage, we see David fully engaged with what Buchanan would call Deepest Reality. His
actions—dancing, feasting, burning sacrifices, providing gifts of food for his subjects—were all
ways in which he worshiped and told the truth about his Lord. This Lord is so glorious and holy
that he inspired a king to spontaneous merriment, surrender, and generosity.

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[Q] What do your actions say about the God you serve?
In the spirit of worship, David arrived at his palace to bless his household. He must have been
surprised to find his queen in a bad mood. Saul’s daughter and David’s wife, Michal, ridiculed
him for his “vulgar” display. Her disdain for David’s worship revealed the extent to which she
was wrapped up in the façade of prestige and power. She might as well have said that there is
no one, not even God, before whom the king should humble himself. One can imagine that
her idea of worship would have been far more dignified and “appropriate”—but this is not
what God wants. Keeping up appearances rids worship of truthfulness, and worship filled with
pretense is no longer worship. Michal’s lie is one that we struggle with even today. With all of
our knowledge, technological power, and other luxuries, it can be difficult to present ourselves
with abandon and joy in the presence of one who is greater.

[Q] You don’t have to be a queen to get wrapped up in the pretense of power and
prestige. Pride has many manifestations. Are there times when you identify with Michal?
Explain.

God’s requirement for truthful worship does not end in the Old Testament. Jesus reiterates
this requirement in a conversation with a Samaritan woman in John 4.

Read John 4:1–26.

[Q] What do you think Jesus meant when he referred to worshiping “in spirit and in
truth”?

Commentator Robert Kysar explains the passage this way:

“Spirit (pneuma) more likely stands for the divine presence than the human spirit; hence,
the point does not have to do with sincerity in worship but the relationship with God
out of which believers offer their worship. It is this kind of worship in full knowledge of
the Father that God wants. The title Father suggests an entirely new relationship with
the God who is now worshiped. Verse 24 repeats the point of v. 23, prefacing it with the
assertion that God is spirit. The spirit in the context of which true worship takes place is
none other than God himself. This is not an attempt to describe God but to affirm the
way in which God deals with humanity and the relationship God has with believers as a
result of the revelation” (Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament).

That’s how David worshiped. Similarly, for today, to worship in truth means to submerse
ourselves in the reality of the Incarnation and salvation provided through the Messiah.

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Part 3 Apply Your Findings

David’s dance before the Lord is often used as a model of how to express ourselves in worship.
The irony is that this picture of David dancing is, in fact, one of David losing sight of himself;
he’s probably unaware of his style of worship. It says less about the dancer and the “dance”
(worship style) and more about the audience that the dance was meant to please. This dance
is about God, not David. And it’s because of this attitude, not because of his movement, that
David’s dance is a model of worship.

One could say that for all Christians life is a dance performed for this audience of one. Public
and corporate worship are important, but ultimately everything we do in our lives should
serve as testimony and thanksgiving to the graciousness of God. Often the problems we face
stem from the fact that we forget for whom we ultimately “perform.” Instead, our focus is on
our boss, our friends, our family, ourselves, etc. We easily become distracted from the Deepest
Reality and instead make mistakes similar to those of the superficially pious Michal.

In 2 Samuel, we learn that God is not impressed with superficial piety. What can seem good,
even honorable, on the surface, such as Uzzah’s effort to save the ark, can turn out to be rife
with ulterior motives. Often, such motivation keeps us respectable. It keeps us from giving
ourselves over to what Buchanan would call the “half-madness” that would ensue if we were to
truly live our lives immersed in the reality of God.

[Q] So where does this leave us? How should we apply this?
[Q] What would it be like to live life submersed in Deepest Reality?
[Q] Can you think of a time when you truly lost your self-awareness because you were so
immersed in Deepest Reality (or something else)?
[Q] What would be the equivalent of dancing down the street for you?
[Q] What things trigger you to be more self-aware?
[Q] Is self-awareness inherently bad?
[Q] How do you lose yourself in worship? (This can be a theoretical question or one that is
asking for specific examples of what people do or have done to focus on God.)

[Q] How does your church facilitate corporate worship?

­­—Study prepared by Lisa Ann Cockrel, author of various Bible studies in

this series and an editor of Moody Magazine.

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Dance of the God-struck

There’s something about worship that can
drive even a king to strip down and leap up.
By Mark Buchanan, for the study “David’s Dance across the Line.”

David Dances.
Death looms on one side, barrenness on the other, and between them, in that steep narrow place, David
leaps, twirls, shimmies wild-limbed on the air.

He is close to 40. Maybe his wound-haunted flesh—trained for war, hardened through exile-dwelling,
borderland skirmishes, and Saul-dodging—has in these later years softened. He doesn’t have to get his
bread by begging or brigandage anymore. He doesn’t have to bully the neighbors, hide in caves, fake
insanity. He’s lord of the land. He’s king. Years of wiliness and austerity and hardship have given way to
a long season of prosperity, luxury, ease.

And maybe his body feels it. Maybe on cold mornings his limbs have a stiffness like wood splints on the
joints, and his tough supple body gathers a heaviness, a fleshy sediment: the wound of idleness and
indulgence.

But today he dances, near naked, with all his might, undignified.

He did this once before, months ago, and a man died. It was Uzzah, a priest. As David danced, there
was an accident: an ox stumbled, a cart lurched, the ark of the covenant riding on it tottered, slid,
threatened to tumble to the ground.

Uzzah’s instincts were razor-sharp and lightning-quick. He was ready for just this kind of thing, vigilant,
hands hovering in anticipation. When the moment of crisis came, Uzzah was there, prepared, saving the
day. He touched the ark, and God smote him dead.

On this day, David’s dance will end in a domestic battle, a bitter fight with his wife. Michal, Saul’s
daughter and David’s first wife, is unimpressed with David dancing. She is, in fact, disgusted. Grown
men shouldn’t carry on like that. Certainly the king shouldn’t. Kings should conduct themselves with
proper decorum, in a manner befitting their stature. It is irreverent, grotesque even, these wild flailing
calisthenics. It is what common people might do.

God struck Michal barren.

Between death and barrenness, David dances. His motions are both natural and desperate: a bird flying,
a man drowning, the thing he was born for, the thing he’ll never get used to. Choreographed by yearning
and wonder, this is the dance of the God-struck, the God-smitten. This is the dance of the one who
dances in fire, at cliff edges, on high wires, in the midst of mortal peril, between death and barrenness.

Uzzah watches with tense worry, and dies. Michal watches with brittle scorn, and dies childless.

David dances, alive, fully alive.

This is an odd story (2 Samuel 6:5–7, 16, 20–23), and startling. It is a story with a wrenching undertow
of menace and violence. It is a story too seldom remembered in context. Most of us retain only a thin
polished fragment of it: the image of the happy, leaping king. Lately the story has been used to justify
physical expressiveness in worship—from hand-raising and hand-clapping to liturgical dance to mosh
pits.
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But it is a story with a darkly textured backdrop: death looming over there, barrenness skulking
over here. It begins when David wants to make the ark of the covenant a symbol of his royal
authority. David, after seven years of court intrigue and brutal civil war against the house of Saul
and the northern kingdom, has finally been crowned king of both north and south, Israel and Judah.
Now David has breathing room. It’s time to turn his abundant energy toward other things: civic
development, cultural initiative, scientific inquiry, political fence-mending, worship.

The ark of the covenant baptizes David’s political daring and novelty with ancient authority. It gives
David the imprimatur of Mosaic legitimacy. Such might well be David’s political motive in bringing the
ark “home.” But David, who is not above shrewd political calculation, almost always transcends it. So
the ark coming to Jerusalem is not primarily a political gesture. It is primarily worship. By this, David
makes a powerful statement: God is king in this kingdom, lord of this land. The king acknowledges
the King beyond him, above him, to whom he owes all fealty. For whom he dances.

So the ark is taken out of cold storage. It’s been moldering, a dangerous neglected relic, for three
or four decades. In all the tumult of the early kingship, it was easily forgotten. Maybe for some it’s
become an embarrassment, a relic of old folkways, a hoary religious symbol, a primitive war talisman
from before the days of kings and standing armies and modern weaponry.

But David hasn’t forgotten. For him the ark is a living symbol of a deep reality: Unless the Lord builds
the house, the builders build in vain; unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen watch in
vain. So David brings the ark to Jerusalem. And as it comes, David dances. His dance is a kinetic
outburst of sheer joy. It is a pantomime of trust and surrender. Offer your body as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship. David does. David dances. But
things go tragically awry. A man dies, struck down by a fiercely angered God.

Why? Uzzah simply tried to keep the ark from tumbling to the ground. He tried to keep the flag from
touching the dirt. This is what any of us would do under similar constraints: the right thing to do, the
noble thing. But God killed him for it. Why?

Here’s my guess. Uzzah is a strange hybrid, an iconoclastic bureaucrat. He’s a rule-flouting

stickler, a nitpicking maverick. He makes radical breaks with convention, then rigidly adheres to his
own conventions. Uzzah’s willingness to carry the ark on an ox cart was in clear breach of divine
command. God had given detailed instruction about how the ark was to be transported: slung on
poles and hefted by priests. Freighting the ark on an ox cart was a Philistine notion. It must have
seemed to Uzzah—maybe it was even his idea to bring it over from the Philistines—more convenient,
efficient, elegant. The latest fashion in worship accoutrements. Why didn’t God think of it? Well, we’ll
amend that. It was always the hankering of the Israelites to be like the other nations. It’s always been
the hankering of the church, too. If everybody’s doing it out there, it must be an improvement on what
we do in here.

Rodney Clapp has written a book on the distinctiveness of the church, A Peculiar People. Clapp
argues that the strength of the church exists primarily in our peculiarity: that we’re neither for culture
nor against it. We’re simply different, a new thing altogether, inexplicable under any of the standard
categories. We’re the odd man out. We’re—yes—peculiar.

But our peculiarity has also been our burden and embarrassment, the backwoods twang in our
speech we want to lose in the city, the britches we barter for a zoot suit. So we’re prone to Philistine
innovations and refinements. Whatever keeps us current, that’s the thing.

The Bible doesn’t say this, but I think Uzzah was a novelty hound. That in and of itself doesn’t appear
to be the main problem. This is: He was also a tradition monger. He had a Pharisaical disposition:
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to contrive or embrace the innovation, and then insist on it, kill or die for it. So Uzzah gets an ox
cart, and fusses so painstakingly over every little detail. He makes such a binding tradition out of his
newfangled innovation that he forgets the one thing needed: worship. This was supposed to be about
worship.

Here is where Uzzah gets me. I’m a pastor. I am “responsible” for the church’s worship. I am paid
to make sure it all glows and flows and steps on no one’s toes. And, frankly, it’s hard to preside
and participate at the same time. It’s hard to lose myself in the presence of God when I’m the one
appointed not to lose my head. Somebody’s got to make sure the songs move in the right thematic
flow, in the perfect emotional key of elation or exhortation or solemnity. Is that guitar’s B string a
half-note flat? Why are they doing another song when I told them the offering had to be taken before
half-past? What if the ox stumbles, and the ark falls off? Who will reach out a hand to steady it? Who
will protect God? Somebody’s got to pay attention here. Not everyone can dance.

Dead.

Uzzah, at great personal cost, teaches us a valuable lesson about God. God is not safe. God is not
a household deity, guarded in our keeping. Our role on this Earth, be it prophet, king, priest, or bank
teller, is not to keep the Almighty from mishap or embarrassment. He takes care of himself.

It is, the writer of Hebrews says, a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. He’s
dangerous, not safe at all. And yet there is something far more fearful and dangerous than to fall into
his hands: not to fall into his hands. But perhaps the most fearful and dangerous thing of all is the sin
of Uzzah: to think that our job, should God stumble, is to ensure he falls into our hands.

The safest thing to do with a God like this is not to play it safe with him. It is never to get so caught up
in keeping the traditions or hastening the innovations that we forget to throw ourselves headlong into
his brusque and tender embrace, not to get so busy with protecting God that we fail to take refuge in
him. And that we forget to dance. Uzzah was struck dead by God. But in ways that matter most, he
had been dead already.

Three months later, David tries again. So the procession starts again—this time, the Philistine
innovation’s lost, and the divine prescription’s restored—and David dances again. This time, all goes
well.

Sort of. This time, a messy argument erupts in David’s household afterward. Michal has decided
to stay home today. Maybe she had a headache or a backache. Or maybe—and the text hints at
this—she is making a statement. For Michal commits the principal act of those who disapprove: she
merely watches, distant, judging. “Michal daughter of Saul watched from the window. And when she
saw the king leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart” (2 Sam. 6:16).

David, not knowing this yet, comes home exhilarated. He is exultant, radiant, extravagant in
generosity. He returns home “to bless his household.” But he barely gets in the door before Michal,
cold with contempt and hot with scorn, stands him down and tears him up: “How the king of Israel
has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar
fellow would” (2 Sam. 6:20).

Michal seems to believe that the chief end of humanity is to uphold its own reputation and guard it
forever. Religion is fine, in its place. It keeps the servant girls from stealing the silverware. As long
as it does not lead to antics and gibberish and hollering and other unrestrained emotional displays
common among the lower class, it is to be tolerated, even welcomed. But worship? Worship is

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a dicey thing, because modesty and moderation are Michal’s watchwords and worship always
threatens them, always wants to push beyond them.

There’s something about worship that can drive even a king to strip down and leap up.

Michal is one of those people who think you should never jump off the deep end. If you’re going
to jump, jump off the shallow end. Better to go through life maimed and paralyzed than embarrass
yourself by thrashing about in some desperate panicky state, needing rescue. But better still, just
don’t jump. Don’t even wade. Sit way back from the water, and avoid those noisy, bratty children who
kick and flail and splash you. Better yet, stay home, and watch from the window.

Here is where Michal gets me. Frankly, it is often hard to sort out exactly how a pastor ought to
distinguish himself in this assembly. After all, if I do lose myself in worship, if I get overemotional
and overly physical in worship—well, what kind of example is that, anyhow? People will feel
uncomfortable. They’ll be embarrassed. They’ll think that I’m not being loyal to my Baptist heritage.
They’ll question my ability to lead. And somebody’s got to make sure everything is done in an orderly
fashion around here. Somebody’s got to set the tone. Somebody has to safeguard the propriety of
worship.

What if the other pastors start falling on their faces or dancing in the aisles? What if people start
jumping off the deep end? Who will protect the dignity of those assembled? Somebody’s got to keep
their distance, watch with a critical eye, make sure no one gets carried away. Not everyone wants to
dance.

Barren.

Michal, at great personal cost, teaches us another valuable lesson about God. God is not the safe-
keeper of our reputations. God is not some priggish domestic deity, a heavenly Miss Manners
intent on prescribing the etiquette that maintains polite society, aghast by any outbursts of fervor.
And our role on this Earth, be it prophet, king, priest, or homemaker, is not to keep ourselves from
embarrassment. We must come before the King, dignified or undignified, robed or disrobed, in the
presence of the élite or in the company of slave girls, and worship with all our might.

Michal was struck barren by God. But in ways that matter most, she had been barren already.

And David dances, through mordant anger, past mortal danger, between death and barrenness.

Occasionally we get glimpses of Deepest Reality, intimations of what remains after all else has been
shaken out and burned up. This is the reality that earthy things sometimes hint at, sometimes hide. A
priest in his liturgy might do either. A wife in her domesticity also. And a king, half-naked, whirling and
leaping, also.

Glimpsing it, that Deepest Reality, can make you do funny things. You can become stony still. Or
giddily happy. Or chokingly afraid. It can calm you with uncanny peace or disrupt you with implacable
dread. It can make you, simultaneously, not yourself and fully yourself. It can make kings dance.

We have a repertoire of ways of dealing with Deepest Reality when it starts to break in. We resort
to bureaucracy or play the Pharisee. We pull back into aloofness or lash out in scorn. We become
puffed up with self-importance or shrivel up in false humility.

Or we dance.

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©2009 Christianity Today International ChristianBibleStudies.com
Worship
David’s Dance Across the Line
Article

There is a lady in my church who dances. No matter how bad the music is, no matter how flat-
voiced or squawking or mute with disapproval those around her are, no matter how hard things in
her life are, she worships with all her might, her face upturned and radiant, her arms spread angelic,
cruciform, an instinctive gesture of relinquishment and acceptance, her body alive with God hunger.
Some people see God’s bigness when everyone else trembles at the sight of giants and armies.
Some see God’s kingdom come when most others see only mad rulers issuing murderous decrees.
Some render praise when others just do their duty or pass their judgments. Some behold God where
countless others look and don’t see at all.

David was that kind of man. Where his fretful priest and his scornful wife could only see a gilded box
and frenzied crowd, he could see God. The temptation is to think men like David, at such moments,
are half-crazy, not fully engaged with reality. The truth is that precisely at such moments they are the
ones who truly see.

Hasn’t the king distinguished himself?

—Mark Buchanan is a pastor and writer living on Vancouver Island, Canada.

His most recent book, Things Unseen: Living in Light of Forever
(Multnomah), is reviewed in CT review’s “Bookmarks” (p. 108).

“Dance of the God-struck,” Christianity Today, October 7, 2002. Vol. 46, No. 11,
Page 50.

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©2009 Christianity Today International ChristianBibleStudies.com