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Unauthentic Worship
08-15-2008
by Mike Donehey
So I'm sitting in church on Sunday, and the topic of worship is brought up. See, one of the things I love about my church is the time between the greeting and the sermon, where every week our pastor gets in front of the congregation and opens the floor to questions. You never know what you're gonna get in this impromptu Q&A time, and you certainly never know what the people are going to ask or say, or even what the topic will be for that matter, so it's always fun to sit and watch things unfold.
In any case, this past week [our pastor] took on the topic of worship. How do you do it? What style should it be? Is music the same as worship, and can worship really be described as a genre? You know, good stuff.
So, being a bit of a worship leader myself I was more than interested in the conversation when a woman asked, "How do we worship authentically?" We were talking about lifting our hands, and our pastor, Craig, was explaining that we don't lift our hands when we sing because we feel something, but maybe we do it because certain physical gestures remind us of our position before God and can actually help lead us into an experience with our Savior. So of course, someone asks, "What if I don't feel it? Doesn't that make my worship hypocritical?"
Craig was quick to shoot back, "Don't forget that you've never had a completely pure motive in your entire life. Christ died because we can't be pure. He was pure for us. If I wait until I'm really authentically worshipping, chances are, I never will. We don't lift our hands or kneel or dance simply because we're having an experience. Oftentimes, we need to do these things to wake ourselves up to what is true."
This, of course, got me thinking. When I sing or pray or lift my hands in worship, who am I worrying about offending? If I'm constantly worrying about being authentic, then chances are, I'm actually more concerned about offending myself than I am the majesty and worth of Christ. And isn't that what worship is anyways? Ascribing worth to the One who deserves it?
You see, He doesn't just deserve it when I feel like it. He is worthy at all times, and so I must, therefore, offend myself. I must lift my hands and sing and kneel and pray even when I don't feel precisely because the One I am worshipping is always who He is, even when I'm not who I should be.
Let's say I treated my wife like my wife only when I felt like it. Instead of coming home to her every night, I'd only come home when it was convenient for me. Instead of listening to her when she has a problem, I would only pay attention when she was complimenting me. And instead of wearing a ring all the time, I could just keep it in my pocket and only pull it out when I really felt like being married. Well, I think we'd have a problem on our hands. If the moment should arise that I don't feel particularly romantic or kind or gentle on a certain day, that does not excuse me from my obligation to be the loving husband my wife needs. Not that God needs us, but the point remains. We don't treat Him according to how our feelings dictate. We must let who He is dictate our feelings.
So if you're in a worship service, or leading a worship service, or maybe just in your car on the way to work, don't be afraid to feel unauthentic. Chances are, your feelings are the ones that need to be changed, not the One you're worshipping.
Mike Donehey is the lead singer and guitarist for Tenth Avenue North. The band’s debut project is called Over and Underneath (Reunion). Check out tenthavenuenorth.com for more info.
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