A Renewed Mind

If it’s brief, it must not be mine. I tried to keep the next post short, but somehow… 

Any way, I really appreciated this explanation of preaching on the Desiring God blog entry “What I Mean by Preaching.” No other living person has shaped my understanding of preaching more than John Piper. Nor does any other person challenge me and make me want to be a better preacher.

Maybe that’s why I identify with him when he says:

If you’re used to a twenty-minute, immediately practical, relaxed talk, you won’t find that from what I’ve just described.

• I preach twice that long;
• I do not aim to be immediately practical but eternally helpful;
• and I am not relaxed.

I hope that I can follow–not imitate–his example. Please take a few minutes to listen.

Concert? Worship? Concert of Worship? Part 2

Two people attending an event like this one could easily have two very different conclusions.  It would be easy for one person to love the singing and the music and the preaching and the feeling, and so conclude: “This is it! This is the greatest thing; this is what I want; ‘church’ should be more like this.” It would equally be easy for the person sitting (or standing) next to him to be critical and say, “This is too loud and too emotional; this is not historical Christianity; we must protect the church from this kind of spectacle.” And the reality is that both of them are wrong.

Is that what real worship is?  From simple, outward observation we can identify some of the elements of corporate worship and we can see that many of them were present in this “event.” Most notably, of course, congregational singing was the primary focus of the event. In a typical concert, there is a clear distinction between the performers and the spectators—the performers sing, the spectators listen. However, in this event the lead singers and planners clearly intended for everyone in the arena to sing. The lyrics were placed on the screen; the “congregation” was exhorted to sing; instructions were given at appropriate times. Much care was taken to involve the audience with what was happening on the stage. 

Also notable was the fact that a fairly large portion of time was given to an extended meditation on God’s greatness through the communication of God’s word. Perhaps this was particularly notable in this context because in so much of contemporary “Christian” entertainment it is so painfully absent. (Eagerly anticipating the preaching, I was probably one of the few who actually brought a Bible, forgetting of course that I would be sitting in a dark arena.) Though different from preaching in the historical sense, the aim of the preacher was to accurately portray the biblical vision of God in such a way that the hearers would be affected and place their trust in the God who is sovereign over their lives. He was true to this aim and I am sure that many believers were strengthened by God’s grace to keep hoping in Jesus. 

Following this exhortation there was a call to respond to God. Though there was not an altar call, yet there was a time of commitment and response; private prayer was encouraged, and corporate prayer was offered.  

Of course there were many outward differences that highlighted the “performance” nature as well: the lighting and effects, the seating and stage arrangement, the volume, and even the many of the musical selections themselves. Many would say that these kinds of things actually prevent worship, but that is not true by definition, and would be more reflective of a particular person’s tastes and preferences. 

The real concern. These outward similarities and differences are not what concern me most. In fact, it is the focus on these outward things that I find most disturbing. The reason both people described in the first paragraph are wrong is because both of them have drawn their conclusions about worship from merely outward things and how those things make them feel. This is the way of modern America, of course—how we feel is the guide to whether something is good or bad. In reality that doesn’t work for anything, especially for genuine worship. And this is where I sense danger.

In an event like this our emotions are so easily and deeply affected by the music and the atmosphere and the lights and the energy that we conclude that this must be what it is like to be in the presence of God; this must be what the joy of the Lord is. And God must be doing this, right? It’s not natural for fallen, self-centered, sinful human beings to find joy in singing songs about God is it? Thus, we equate these feelings as being the work of God and His desire for us. 

And yet, the striking reality of the biblical witness is that it is possible to be caught up in all of that activity and all of that emotion, and never truly enter into worship! Consider what Jesus says:    

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).   

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:  ⁸ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; ⁹ in vain do they worship me…” (Matthew 15:7-9). Isn’t that amazing! We can passionately sing loud, strong, God-centered, God-exalting songs, and do it all in vain—bringing God’s contempt rather than His pleasure. Isn’t that incredible! We can experience the nearness of God without ever coming to God Himself. That is breathtaking for me. That should cause us to fear God in such a way that we humbly draw near to Him. As a pastor who must give an account for the souls entrusted to my care, that is what makes me tremble.  

Don’t get me wrong, the feelings and emotions generated in a “worship event” like this one are not wrong, and it is not wrong to want to feel them. In fact, genuine worship will captivate the emotions and fill us with the joy of the Lord. The danger is that we stir up the emotions without ever touching the mind or changing the heart. I saw this at this worship event in two ways.

At the beginning of the concert everyone is milling around, chatting, snacking, reading, looking at their watches, then suddenly the lights go off, the stage lights up, and everyone is standing with their hands in the air singing, “Holy is the Lord God Almighty, the earth is full of His glory!” Of course, this is not bad; it is always good to sing of the Lord’s greatness everywhere. But here’s what arrested my attention: one moment people were milling about indifferent to the Lord’s presence, focused on themselves and their surroundings, and thirty seconds later they were seemingly passionately involved in singing about His glory. What was it that created the change? Did God do something to arrest our attention? Did God speak? Did He give us a word that revealed our self-centeredness and led us to return to Him on our thoughts and affections?

No. The lights went off and someone started playing one of our favorite praise songs. That’s all. It’s that easy to generate emotions toward God and express them in a seemingly God-exalting way. Can you see the danger? We can reach an emotional high even when there is no inward experience or joy that comes from the God we sing about. Just push a couple of buttons (literally), strum a guitar, and boom: there’s worship. Outside the arena, I am often reminded that genuine worship and genuine godliness are much harder to come by. Out in the real world—even in church—I find that it’s much more difficult to turn away from self-centeredness due to the terrible reality of my own depravity. There in the wilderness of my sin, I find it much more difficult to connect with God. I need much more than bright lights and moving music. I need God Himself.

Where God reveals Himself. Genuine worship begins with a work of grace in the heart in which we are called out of our selves to the Person of God so that we turn to Him in faith. Apart from God’s deeper work in our hearts, we will not worship Him no matter what we sing. 

The crucial question then is: how does God work in our hearts to produce genuine worship? God speaks to us through His Word. Over and over again the Scriptures show us how God speaking His Word to His people creates overflowing worship. Consider Colossians 3:16-17 where this connection is explicit:   Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  

What produces the singing of psalms hymns and spiritual songs from the heart?  What produces a life lived in worship? Answer: the Word of Christ dwelling richly in the heart. And who is Jesus after all? Is He not the living Word that reveals the Father to us, giving us the right to become children of God? Isn’t He the One who creates all things by His word—even those who worship in spirit and truth?  Or consider Isaiah 66 where God is addressing the problem of false worship. God contrasts two kinds of worshipers. There are those who are merely going through the outward motions of worship (Isaiah 66:3-ff); God says they are like a person who kills a man or blesses an idol. But in verse 2 we discover that God receives the worship of the one who “is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my [God’s] word” (emphasis mine). The Word of God produces reverent fear that draws us to God and wonder at His mercy and love. We see this over and over in Scripture from the life of Abraham to the life of Paul. And we can see it in our own day and our own salvation. This has many implications, but I’ll close with one. The Word of God must be central in all of our worship. The Word reveals the greatest, deepest, most excellent reality that exists—a holy God—and at the same time, exposes the most horrible reality of all—that we have forsaken Him—and at once makes known the most amazing reality of all (lots of superlatives here)—God offers mercy through His Son. This is what we need to hear and meditate on and see. We need the Word to inform the mind and heart, and to seize our attention and direct it to the cross of Jesus. We should strive for biblical language in our songs and exhortations and sermons even as we wrap modern language around it.  

So then…  Worshipers, let us seek God where He most clearly reveals Himself—in His Word. Let us engage our minds and hearts in the Word and let us think about the truths we sing over. Let us come to His Word with the plea and the expectation that here God will show us His glory—not in all of the trappings of technology and sound and music, but in His spoken Word. Let us refuse to pursue emotional highs and self-centered satisfaction with God’s gifts, for that can never be enough. But let us pursue God Himself. If that leads to rejoicing with hands held high, praise God. And if that leads to brokenness and a contrite spirit over our sin, praise God. And if that leads to correction and quiet trust and assurance, praise God. And if that leads to weeping over our lost world, praise God still.  

Worship leaders, take the Word and wield it with prayer that the Spirit will move in the hearts of His people by His Word. Use the Word to direct the hearts of the people to the heart of God—to the cross of Christ. DON’T ASSUME THE WORD. Make it explicit. Help the people to hear the very voice of God by speaking His Word. Preachers, let us open the Word with fear and trembling and humility and power so that God may reveal Himself to our people again and again. Let the Word speak about God first and foremost because if our people can see Him, they will know how to respond. And may the Lord grant that we would be the first to worship through the Word so that as we preach our own delight and joy and satisfaction in God’s truth will inspire such worship in the congregation.  

[As I have been thinking about the opening question, I was helped a great deal when I came to Leviticus 9 and 10 in my devotions earlier this week. I thought I would share that now, but it will have to wait for next time. Thanks for listening and thinking with me.]

Last week I attended the Chris Tomlin. Louie Giglio, & Matt Redman “concert” at the Wolstein Center here in Cleveland, as did many of our college students and young adults. The last time I had attended such an event was 1999 when I took part in the Passion Conference led by Louie Giglio in Fort Worth. 

Let me say first that I did enjoy the whole evening. I enjoyed standing with hands lifted high to join together with God’s people to praise Him and declare what a great and indescribable God He is and to bless His name and wonder at His amazing grace that caused my chains to fall off and praise the God who will never, no never, no never let go of me. It was a privilege to worship God as His servant told again the greatness of God as seen in His stars and in His suffering. It was a great joy to have my sons with me taking all of that in for the first time. (It’s an even greater joy to hear them singing the songs now at home and in the car.)  I even enjoyed the lighting and effects (maybe not the fog). I would have really enjoyed hearing the 3,600 others singing with me, but I could only hear about 4 of them. I’m sure there are many who would be appalled at the whole thing, but I wasn’t.

Even though I enjoyed the evening and felt that I had indeed worshipped the Lord in spirit and truth, it left me with questions and an uneasy feeling about what this kind of event says about the modern state of much of Christianity in America. I’ll list the questions here, and then begin to expand on them in the next entries.  (Starting tomorrow!)

1. Is that what real worship is?  Where does the line between worship and entertainment fall?  What does this say about the corporate worship in probably 99+% of the world’s churches that will never look anything like this? 
2. Is this a healthy and accurate way to portray the gospel? 
3. Is this a healthy and edifying way to gather the church?  What affects will such events produce in the lives of the younger generations whom they attract?  Do such events lead people to want the church to be something that it is not meant to be? 
4. What does this particular event say about the state of the church in Cleveland? 

These are more than philosophical questions for me. I think how we answer them will have very practical and very profound implications in my church and yours. (In fact, we can probably see something of how a church would answer these questioins simply by visiting on Sunday morning.) And, I think these are necessary questions for those of us who are concerned about the mission of the church and the proclamation of the gospel (and that should be all of us who believe). 

Whatever else you surmise as you read on, be certain that I am not critical of anyone who loves this kind of thing, nor am I critical of those who led us. I know Louie Giglio to be a godly man who loves Jesus with all his heart and who has a call on his life to communicate the glorious gospel of an infinite God to this generation. I was eager to hear him preach (in fact that’s why I was there). I applaud his whole-hearted and selfless effort to do so with a passion, and I thank God for Louie and his ministry to the church of Christ. (I have no doubt that Louie himself has grappled with these kinds of questions; maybe by thinking through these things we can catch up to him.) By their association, I assume the same must be true of Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. It is easy to discern the difference between their God-centered, passionate praise songs and the shallow, man-centered kinds of songs (and performances) that pass as “contemporary Christian music.” 

So let’s think carefully about worship and the gospel and our witness and the Church.  And while we think, let us “stand and lift up our hands” to worship the “indescribable, uncontainable [God who] placed the stars in the sky and knows them by name, the all-powerful, untamable” God” and let us be “awestruck and fall on our knees as we humbly proclaim [to Him], ‘You are amazing God.’”