We’ve all got our ideas of what Sunday morning singing should look like.
Some people envision a congregation full of exuberant, hand-raising, worship-hopping, “glory!”-whooping worshipers. Others picture a more reverent, solemn scene. Some might say that if you’re not clapping, you’re not worshiping. Others might say that if you are clapping, you’re being irreverent.
But what does scripture say?
I find Psalm 108:1 to be particularly helpful:
My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!
Our Sunday morning worship is to be done with our whole being. Not half of our being, not part of our being, but our whole being. And my guess is that some scriptural expressions of “whole-being” worship might make us squirm in our denim.
For example:
- Ps. 47:1 – Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
- Ps. 149:3 – Let them praise his name with dancing…
- Ps. 95:6 – Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
How comfortable are we with clapping, shouting, dancing, bowing, kneeling, and every other physical expressions of worship described in Scripture? To be honest, I’m not real comfortable with the thought of giving a shout-out on Sunday morning. And yet Scripture seems to describe shouting to the Lord as an appropriate and God-honoring expression of worship.
Worship for God starts in the heart, and then moves outward into physical expressions of worship.
Isn’t this always the case with all loving relationships? I love my wife Jen very much, and it would be really freaky if she came to give me a hug and I said, “You know what, I love you very much in my heart, but I’m not really into showing affection.” She would think I was crazy. It’s the same with our relationship to God. We love him with our heart, and then display it outwardly.
In his book Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin asks the following helpful question:
Is there any physical expression of worship that God has given us in scripture that I’ve never displayed? And if so, why not?
None of us worships God as he truly deserves, which is why I’m so grateful for the gospel. But I do want to grow in my expressiveness in worship. Maybe I need to get more comfortable with a shout. Maybe I need to care less about what others think of me.
What about you? Do you struggle with being expressive in corporate worship?
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Yes and No.
Growing up, expressive worship was practiced and encouraged in my family. I grew up watching my parents worship on Sunday mornings. They taught me pretty much everything you said above, Mark. I love to worship expressively, especially at conferences. I feel like one of hundreds (and at Next, thousands). No one is noticing me. But, on Sunday mornings, standing on that front row, temptation rears it’s ugly head. Fear of man assails my soul and I want to stand there and just quietly sing. Several years ago, I heard someone say that when we worship, we are worshiping an audience of One. As long as I’m not drawing undue attention to myself, it doesn’t matter what other people think. I am worshiping my AWESOME God and Savior. I have been snatched from Hell. That thought alone should produce some serious, expressive worship.
Yeller – It’s funny how we get self-conscious during worship when in reality we should be forgetting ourselves. But I can totally relate. My desire is to grow in self-forgetfulness and God-centeredness. And in using more hyphenated-words.
Yes, i definitely do. I never raised my hands in church growing up, and still havent since coming to sovereign grace (even though it was the hand-raising, passionate worship that first drew me – the authenticity)
I am convicted by it all the time. At covenant life, the worship leader will sometimes ask us to pray and worship out loud, making our own sound. While this sounds (and is) uncomfortable, the real question is “Why?” Isn’t he worthy of that? What are we afraid of?
I never like the answers to those questions. The truth is that I am more concerned with looking good than about worshipping with all my heart. May God help us to care less about we look, and care more of praising him for his grace!
js – Thanks for honestly sharing your struggles. I’ll admit, being expressive in worship can be intimidating even for me. It’s something I believe the Lord wants to give us grace to grow in. Do you think there’s a small step you could take in the right direction?
sound* – I meant song
At the same time, some expressions of enthusiasm aren’t appropriate all the time. Picture a romantic date in a fine restaurant – how impressive would a shout-out to your sweetheart be in the middle of dessert?
But I really appreciate your point about being involved with worship. It’s too easy to stand and sing in a normal voice without motion (or emotion) while life-changing gospel truths are pouring from my lips! Truth about our God and his sovereign love for us deserves a response of passion. Sometimes humble reflection and intimate prayer, sometimes raised voice and triumphant exultation, sometimes an ear-to-ear smile!
James – You’re right, there is an appropriate place for expressions of enthusiasm. Sometimes it may be more important just to stand in reverence. It seems like the context would determine that.
Stephen, I am a bit different from some of the others who have commented here. I’ve been a member of my church’s worship band for about 22 years now, and began raising my hands in church in my college days. The church I attended in college had many students who worshiped exuberantly, so I had a good atmosphere to begin stretching my worship wings, if you will.
Now that I am up front facing the congregation, I feel it’s part of my “job” as a worship leader to model praise and worship in all its forms, as I feel led according to the song and the atmosphere. If I raise my hands, then perhaps folks in the congregation will feel more free to do so, too. “Dancing” and shouting are not part of every service, but have their places, too, as well as kneeling or laying face down before the glory of the living God.
To be honest, my thoughts often include asking myself if I am being demonstrative for the wrong reasons. I, too, must remember that I have an audience of only one that matters.
May the Body of Christ learn to worship in spirit and in truth!
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