As a jumping off point for our discussions about such topics as worship, the arts, the church, community, ministry, etc. I want to take the opportunity to give perspective to the place that I come from in my discussion and thoughts. There are many ways things can be defined, so I want to set some base premises for my perspective. This will allow us to have a starting point for discussion; it doesn’t mean you have to agree with me, but at least you will have a better understanding of what I mean.
First a definition of what I mean when I say worship. It’s probably already obvious that I don’t mean just “music” or even just “the arts” I’m talking about a larger encompassing concept and term. We will expound and dwell on this more over time, but to give a foundation I want to borrow a definition, that I appreciate, from Harold Best in his book Unceasing Worship.
Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing God.
- Harold Best / Unceasing Worship / Pg. 18
This gives incredible depth to the discussion of worship, let’s break it down even more. If worship truly is a “continuous outpouring” then that would mean it is constant if it is “all that I am, all that I do” then it is everything. if we attach the two words of “constant” and “everything” to the definition of worship then the concept of worship has suddenly become significantly larger and more important then just what we do on a Sunday morning or even what we do in our personal quiet times.
Lets go a step further, by defining worship in this way suddenly worship is important to our understanding of community, mankind, and our nature and makeup outside of the bounds of Christianity. According to Genesis, we were created in the image of God, he has imprinted his image on us. That means that worship thereby must be intrinsic to the image of God, this holds true if we go to Scripture as well. There are a myriad of images, stories and statements of worship in Scripture. In Genesis, God walked with Adam. After the fall there are stores of men of faith walking with God. That then gives strong connection between worship, fellowship, and community.
Before the fall, before sin entered the picture, God walked with us; after the fall some of us walked with God. That entails a relationship, that entails a connection. Walking is the base way we get anywhere, we “walk through life”. Thereby let’s come back to worship, worship being constant and everything, being thereby intrinsic to the image of God, must then be intrinsic to the nature of mankind. That means we don’t just worship once we are saved, it means we are made to worship. It means worship is at the core of who we are. Coming to Christ does not reawaken our ability to worship; instead it awakens our ability to direct our worship towards the one it was originally intended for.
I say all this to mean we worship something. As we see people struggle with addiction, with idols, remember we were intended to worship, we were created to worship. Being fallen, being depraved, we are living out what we were created to do, without being able to direct it towards what it was intended to be directed at.
This then gives incredible responsibility to us as leaders in the church. We have been tasked with showing, in the most excellent way possible, what it means to worship freely, in freedom. Once we have been saved, we have been rescued by our God. The gap is bridged, our worship can once again be directed at its intended target. We are warring against a world that is depraved, a nature that has habits and old idols, but we have been set free, we can worship our creator once again.
Well there is a premise and starting point for the discussion of worship. This is at a very broad level now, we will drill in closer together.