What is worship?

I was asked, “what is worship to you ... what is your hope when you sit behind a keyboard and strike the first note of a service ... where do you hope to be going?”

Worship is our response to God.

God has revealed Himself to us in creation, His covenant with Israel, and, most profoundly, in Jesus Christ. Worship, the offering of our bodies as living sacrifices to God, is our response to that revelation. We are the Lord’s and He is ours.  

The Christian assembly.

Jesus rose on the first day of the week. Sunday has come to be known as The Lord’s Day. “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” When I sit down at the piano in a Christian assembly, I hope to facilitate that rejoicing and gladness through music and words that become an essential part of the celebration. Psalm 68:4 exhorts us to, “Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds ; his name is the LORD - and rejoice before him.” I hope to assist in that rejoicing.

God centered worship.

We are dead. Our lives are now hidden with Christ in God. Our worship in this life is a participation in the worship of heaven where all eyes are on the Lord God Almighty. It is ongoing, continuous adoration and we join our voices with the choirs of heaven. Song selection, preparation and implementation are employed with that reality in sight. 

God centered worship is first an offering. Nobody in heaven is complaining, “I didn’t get anything out of worship” because it’s not about them. It’s not about getting a buzz or emotionalism. But how can we not be moved and touched in our soul during corporate worship? Experiences and self-realization are the result of our upward gaze, not the motivation.

If the medium obstructs, is it still a medium at all?

When a music minister gets in the way, s/he is no longer ministering. As a “chief musician” there are many ways that I can be a stumbling block in the celebration. Two major impediments come to mind: (1) seeking the praise of man; (2) being unprepared and making a mess of it. Both are gross distractions. Excellence of the heart and excellence of the art, rather than being mutually exclusive, are two sides of the same coin.

Who should lead the crowd?

Those who are gifted, called and seek to walk in a manner worthy of the calling should lead the throng in song.