Not My Words: Worship-The Ultimate Priority

   "In the minds of many contemporary evangelicals, the word worship signifies the musical portion of the order of service, as opposed to the sermon of the offering. The chief musician is called the "worship leader" to distinguish him from the pastor (whose role apparently is perceived as something other than leading people in worship).
   Music is of course, a wonderful medium for worship. But true worship is more than just music, and music-even Christian music- is not necessarily authentic worship. Music can be an instrument for the expression of worship, but there are other spiritual disciplines that come closer to the essence of pure worship-activities like prayer, giving, thanksgiving, and listening to the Word of God as it is proclaimed and expounded. It is significant that Jesus spoke of truth, not music, as the distinctive mark of true worship (John 4:23-24)
    But many people do not feel they have worshipped at all until they have been swept into a trancelike state of nebulous passion, usually by a series of choruses. That's why so many songs written for corporate singing are long and repetitive-and they are deliberately sung in a certain order so that the tempo, beat, and volume build to a stunning climax.
     That soul stirring crescendo is thought to be by many to be the very essence of worship. The feeling associated with such an emotional high is sometimes deemed even more important than what we are singing about. The truth-content of the lyrics takes a back seat to the drama of the performance." -John MacArthur -Worship; The Ultimate Priority

     Certainly, this statement is not true of every church, and I would suggest that most don't even realize that this is what is happening in their church service, nor are all those who write repetitive choruses motivated by what this excerpt is speaking of. But certainly Christians must be aware that true worship is not limited to just music and the wonderful emotions it brings to us. We must also be aware that musical worship is not necessarily for us, but for the glory of the Lord. I think back to a quote given by Mark Dever and I paraphrase "I been in numerous churches where the church is swept up in the music and the songs are crying out to the Lord with phrases such as 'reveal yourself to us Lord, or "speak to us Lord,"...all the while the congregants Bibles are sitting closed on the chairs behind them." I share that not to speak of whether the Lord speaks outside of Scripture or not (which may have been Dever's original intention when giving that quote), but to shed light on the dangers of considering music as the only means of worship.