Worship

Wow, it has been over a month since I wrote anythin gon here. Time flies I guess. I am still Going through my Bible. I just got done with the Gospels and I will be heading back to Joshua.

The reason I am on here today is because I just sent an email to my pastor and as I wrote it I felt it was something worth sharing here.

I would like to be involved in the music ministry at church so I have been researching what kind of music is appropriate and acceptable to God for worship. The church I was raised in made a switch to contemporary praise music so that was what I was used to when I went on a search for a church of my own. I actually put traditional worship on the negative side of my list when balancing the pros and cons of a church. I finally decided that doctrine was more important than music and when I came to First Baptist the pros far outweighed this minor "con"

My worship was part of my regular prayers because I still wasn't sure I was able to grasp what real worship was supposed to be like. As I attended First Baptist I began to feel a real appreciation for the old hymns. I still didn't see anything wrong with contemporary worship, I just felt that my personal preference was changing to come in line with my church family. (one of the things I had asked God for) Then I was asked by my brother to attend a service at his church. He said they were going to gather at the park. He thought it would be nice if the family would all go the same church that day and have lunch together afterward. I had only recently decided First Baptist was the church for me and was very excited about that and didn't really want to miss the service that week but I didn't want to shun my family either so I went.

This is where my attitude about contemporary music changed. First of all it was apparent that this was not a church service but a concert. I was upset that I had missed the opportunity for a lesson. It was music from beginning to end and not the kind you can sing along with either. After a few songs they would throw you a bone and sing a praise song that you could remember and join in with but for the most part it was obvious we were just suppose to listen to them. I felt dooped into attending a concert and skipping church on a Sunday morning. I thought if they had wanted to have a concert they should have had it on Saturday. Then they did something all together out of line . They sang "spirit in the sky" and even the lyrics "I'm not a sinner, I've never sinned" I don't know how a Christian could even let those words escape their mouth! Since then CCM has bothered me. I had a few CD's at work I used to listen to and I tried to see the worship in them but it just wasn't there. I think the emotions that came with that music was from just that, the music. It had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. I really see no difference between them and the secular music industry and we are not suppose to be of the world, we are suppose to be a peculiar people.

After all this I knew what wasn't worship, but I still didn't know what was worship. I decided to fast and meditate on the Psalms. What a great experience! I never realized how many of our hymns came from this book. One day I was driving home from work and I was super joyful about my blessings and one of those songs ( I don't remember which one) came bursting forth out of me. There was the difference plain as the nose on my face. The contemporary music was always a tool to produce a feeling I wanted for myself. This worship I had experienced in my car was different. The song came forth because of my admiration for Christ. This was truly for Him. I wasn't after something for myself, I was realizing what he had already given me and I was giving Him something in return. Now my worship has finally become what it should be. Songs burst forth out of me on a regular basis.

(I just wish to add that this is not a settled issue with me. I do not believe that all new contemporary worship is wrong. There will always be new music created for our Lord. I just feel that we need to take a closer look and such music to be sure it is spiritually sound. We must remember that just because something has a Christian label on it, does not mean it is always edifying.)