When worship "sucks"

Sorry for the slightly provocative subject, but I was given an interesting compliment after last Sunday's meeting from a relative of a friend who visited our church. The comment was along the lines of thanking me for an awesome time of worship and encouraging me to not underestimate the significance of my ministry. All well and good--to God be the glory for using a sinner like me for the praise of His name and the benefit of His people! But then an interesting contrast was presented, because you see, worship at this person's church "totally sucks" as of late, so our morning meeting had been a refreshing change.

Now let me be up front--when I hear comments that are critical of any meeting's worship, it usually tells me a bit more about the person making the comment than the actual quality of the worship being commented on. Now of course I don't profess to know the person's heart, and I can certainly discern quality of musical arrangement, musicianship, and presentation--and am keenly aware of when any of those elements fall short when I'm leading. And in this example, I get what she was saying and I thanked her for being there and that God is able to use me in some way to bring people worshipfully into His presence.

But it got me to thinking, at this person's church, someone is spending time to pick and prepare songs and work with volunteers to present an offering of worship each and every week. Unless they have a rotation of worship leaders, that's the logistical bare minimum. Perhaps this person spends more time trying to work out a smooth flow to the set or how to call the congregation into worship or how to most appropriately bring God's people before Him in prayer. And maybe this person even works to offer creative arrangements to the songs. I can attest to the fact that all of these things can add up to a significant amount of time and effort. Maybe this person is also a volunteer and receives no pay for this role. And this person is a brother (or sister) in Christ, but it "totally sucks."

At this point I'll be the first to say that round pegs don't fit into square holes, and it's not at all outside of the realm of possibilities that this person--as genuine as their heart may be--just isn't in the right role according to their giftedness, and for whatever reasons, others have not sufficiently come alongside this person to help them find what that role truly is for them in God's kingdom. Maybe there's nobody else at the moment and they're filling a gap. Maybe they actually are quite capable but have other challenges with the volunteers that are involved in maintaining the desired standard of musical quality. Or maybe they're a bit despondent or just getting by each week. All that to say there could certainly be legitimate cases for needing someone else in that role, or at least the need for renewing or ongoing discipleship to encourage this person's growth in their walk with the Lord and in their ability as a worship leader.

In any case, it's worth remembering that all of us are broken sinners who bring broken offerings each and every week and that only through Christ's atoning work on the cross are we made whole and are our offerings accepted. And praise God for that! There are sometimes weeks where I get more caught up in new musical arrangements that are "just gonna rock!" only to show up on Sunday and have flubs all over the place--yet God shows up and is worshipped heartily by His people... and I receive a lesson in humbleness and priorities. Worship was "great" but it clearly had nothing to do with me. And honestly, that's the best place to be. We strive each week to bring and offer our best, while remembering that it's not about us--and that's a good thing.

So back to my original example that seems to reflect the sentiment of a "consumer" approach to worship--whether or not that was this particular person's heart, God knows. I'm inclined to root for the struggling worship leader or the meeting that just "isn't happening", because I know what goes into the process and all the challenges that come with it--and I know that the genuine worship of our Savior isn't dependent on our skill or musical preference. But it raises the question--how do we combat a "consumer" approach to worship--both in our own hearts and in the hearts of those we lead and shepherd? How ought we to respond to comments like the one I received in a way that points them towards an understanding of true worship and towards a bigger view of the Savior?

One thing I realized (to my fault) was that I passed up an opportunity to pray for that situation right then and there. I could have hopefully reflected the heart of God on what is happening at this person's church. It could have gone something like this: "Father, thank you that you allow us into your presence to worship you. You are worthy of more than we could ever offer you, but you accept us because of Jesus. We desire to worship you in spirit and in truth, seeing you more for who you really are. Bless my friend's church with leadership and servants who you can use to help your people truly worship you. Thank you for the gift of music. Raise up skilled musicians who will offer vibrant and creative worship with the gifts you've given them. Whether you use those who have already been serving or you bring new people, worship is ultimately all about you. Help us to understand that more as you mold our hearts and make us more like Jesus." This could have served to lift up the situation immediately before the Lord, affirm that musical quality matters, but reflect on the fact that it doesn't matter most.

Now the discussion on how to shepherd a group of worshippers away from consumerism and towards true worship is a broad one, but I realized there can be much to learn from thoughtfully processing the comments we receive after our meetings. In the end, God is about His glory and our hearts, and last I checked, neither of those are dependent on musical quality or style. When worship "sucks", people are usually referring to the music... but music is just a tool--a very powerful and effective tool--but not a master. We serve one master in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and let's strive to keep it that way.