I love Bethany Church. This is my home. I can hardly put into words how much this place means to me.
But every Sunday morning I walk into the sanctuary and there is this gigantic elephant in the room. I think you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, let me enlighten you.
We have a wide range of ages in our church. And this is beautiful.
This wide range of ages enjoys different styles of things. And this is beautiful.
Music is one of those things. It just so happens, music is that elephant that I mentioned.
And every Sunday morning I walk into the sanctuary and there’s that elephant, and I feel like it’s looking at me square in the eye.
You see, we are a multi-generational church and there’s beauty in that.
But even more so, there is beauty in worship.
Let’s get this straight though.
Worship does not mean music.
Music is what we listen to and sing along with. I love music.
Worship – that’s a lifestyle.
I listened to a song recently called “Clear the Stage”. In fact, as I write this, I’m listening to it on repeat.
This may be the most convicting song I’ve ever listened to, and I’m going to ask you to take a listen. But please, stop whatever you’re doing for 5 minutes and just listen. The words are powerful.
Take time to listen and then finish reading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6smGew7dGto
Here are the words to help you follow along if you’d like:
Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that’s the measure you must take to crush the idols
Jerk the pews & all the decorations, too
Until the congregations few, then have revival
Tell your friends that this is where the party ends
Until you’re broken for your sins, you can’t be social
Then seek the Lord & wait for what He has in store
And know that great is your reward so just be hopeful
‘Cause you can sing all you want to
Yes, you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to
And still get it wrong;
Oh, worship is more than a song
Take a break from all the plans that you have made
And sit at home alone and wait for God to whisper
Beg Him please to open up His mouth and speak
And pray for real upon your knees until they blister
Shine the light on every corner of your life
Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open
Then read the Word and put to test the things you’ve heard
Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken
‘Cause you can sing all you want to
Yes, you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to
And still get it wrong;
Oh, worship is more than a song
We must not worship something that’s not even worth it
Clear the stage, make some space for the One who deserves it
Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
And anything I can’t stop thinking of is an idol
And anything that I give all my love is an idol
‘Cause I can sing all I want to
Yes, I can sing all I want to
And we can sing all we want to
We can sing all we want to
We can sing all we want to
And still get it wrong
Worship is more than a song
Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that’s the measure you must take to crush the idols
Do we care about the idols that we unknowingly have or is ignorance bliss?
During the bridge it says, “Anything I put before my God is an idol”.
That includes everything we put before God moment by moment.
Recently, I struggled at a Bethany Church service. I sinned. I was so angry. There was a song that some people didn’t like because the instruments that were being used weren’t of their liking. They were asked to stand and they sat. Many of who had their arms crossed. Later, instruments changed and everything changed. All who were sitting stood up with a smile on their face, arms no longer crossed.
I believe that what I’m about to say is a terrible truth.
Instruments and “performers” during the singing are idols to many people.
That includes the drums.
That includes the organ.
That includes the bass.
That includes the choir.
That includes contemporary music.
That includes hymns.
You can disagree. That doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me because I’ve witnessed it time and again and I know this to be true.
When people say they’re going to leave the church because the choir doesn’t sing often enough, that’s sin.
When people say they’re going to leave the church because the music isn’t loud enough, that’s sin.
I say this in as much love as I can muster to a place and people I dearly love.
Please. Check your heart.
If you’ve said these things or have thought these things, that’s sin. You have turned all of these different aspects of the music into idols.
I’m no different. I’ve had thoughts on the music. We all do. If you’d like, I can share them with you.
But that’s not the point.
The point is this: We are sinning and we don’t care.
1 Corinthians 10:14 says, “So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols”.
Flee. Run. Take off. Turn away. Don’t look back.
And when we begin to worship anything else but Jesus Christ, we’re wrong.
So we need to humble ourselves, get on our knees, and repent.
This is wrong and to be frank, this should make us sick.
And I confess to you, I’m here as well. I need to confess, humble myself, and repent.
I’m no different.
We are sinning and we don’t care.
“You can sing all you want to, and still get it wrong. Worship is more than a song”.
Very good, not sure about the Silk commercial at the end.
Amen Jason, I love that you aren’t afraid to step on toes. Sometimes the truth is uncomfortable but still needs to be said. I am also looking to myself because there has been times that I really wasn’t into the music. Thank you for putting it into perspective for me.
Our generation has confused music with worship. It irks me when we introduce the singing part of the service as worship. I always struggled with the term “worship leader” even when I had such a role.
In the Old Testament, as in most religions, worship is associated with sacrifice.
In Romans 12:1 Paul ties worship to sacrifice–only instead of being bulls and goats, it is our very selves. Any less than offering all of all of our lives to God would then seem to be incomplete worship. We can do that with our without music.
Interesting that Matt Redman’s song, “The heart of Worship” grew out of a time when the pastor of his church thought that worship was getting music dependent–so they went a while without it.