When I first started following Jesus, Christian worship music played a huge role in my life and transformation, which I am incredibly grateful for. It greatly impacted me and I needed it at the time to seek God. But as time when on, I ran into a problem. I had a really difficult time connecting to God if I wasn’t listening to worship music, so I had to learn how to connect with God without music as well, which I did eventually. But it would take years to make that switch and sometimes I still feel a bit of guilt if I am not listening to Christian worship music because I was so conditioned to do so in a Christian Culture where its so dominate. Now, although I appreciate Christian worship music and what it does for other people, worship music now actually distracts me from connecting with God. Now I prefer silence, meditation, and I love the connection I get with God when I read scripture.
When I am in a Christian public setting, I understand that people like to worship God with music, so I am fine with that no matter what church setting I am in. But that doesn’t mean I am connecting with God in the room like everyone else is. I’m still distracted and I just meditate or connect with God the best I can. While that’s me, many people connect with God with music and that’s great. The point is, we are all different and we need to be ok with it and allow different options or forms of worship.
The other problem that I had when worship music was the only way I connected with God, was that I judged people who didn’t worship like I did. I remember when I was in bible college I would get so sad or even frustrated in chapel because I didn’t see people raising their hands. I even used to purposely sit on the front row so everyone could see me raising my hands. My motive, so I thought, was to inspire other people to worship. I then remember one of my professors challenging us of the danger of defining Christianity or even peoples salvation based on how they worship. I blew that off at first but it really stuck with me because that is exactly what I was doing. I literally thought the people who were not raising their hands did not have a real relationship with God. It’s shameful that I even thought that, but I know this can still be a big issue with people and churches because I have been a part of those cultures.
It really wasn’t until I started studying or being exposed to other cultures and denominations, that I realized that it is ok to worship in different ways. Do you know what really got me to open my eyes to being ok with different worship styles? It was reading the Bible. Believe it or not, you are not going to find Hillsong music, Chris Tomlin, or any other worship bands in the Bible. That might sound funny to say, but how many of us act like the worship music or style in todays world has always been around since the beginning of time and we act like the best way to worship, is how my church does it.
The interesting thing about the history of worship, is if you take a deep study on how Jesus or the early church worshiped it might surprise you. There were hymns and even instrumental music, but lots of their worship actually sounded like chants, similar to what a Mosque or Synagogue would sound like today. I think a lot of us would be uncomfortable with the way it sounded and the way it looked. If we heard Jesus and the early church do worship, we might think it’s too formal or it’s not spirit led. This might sound funny, but these are real thoughts that people would have.
Now it doesn’t make any sense to uncomfortable with something Jesus and the early church did. But it goes to show how sacred we hold onto our current worship practices. The point is, we need to think about this and realize that worship was different at different points in history. It changed in every century, and we shouldn’t judge others or feel guilty when our worship style isn’t like everyone else’s.
I am sure many of you have experienced this or have been around people who have issues with different worship styles. I know some churches or leaders are ready to go to battle over different worships styles. Or they treat it like doctrine or it’sjustjust blasphemous if they even worship in a different way. The Charismatics are judging the non-Charismatics and the non-Charismatics are judging the Charismatics and it goes back and forth and on and on.
Let this sink in. Estimations show there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the U.S. and a 45,000 globally, according to the World Christian Encyclopedia. Although this number comes with controversy that stems from how denominations are defined or counted. It doesn’t really matter to me who is right on this, but to me, each country, language group, or culture would be a different denomination. If the word denomination is too strong of a word to use here, let’s just agree that most churches are different from each other, especially when it comes to country, language, and people group. The point is, we need to realize that there are a lot of different forms of church and worship in the world today.
So what is Worship?
Worship is when we give our deepest affections and highest praise to something. True worship of God is when we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s when we put God above everything else and put Him first in our hearts.
The Bible says that true Worship is done by offering ourselves fully to the Lord. Romans 12:1, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” The Bible implies that we should present our bodies as living sacrifices to God because that is what spiritual Worship means.
There are Different forms of worship, including singing praises, offering sacrifices, prayer, meditation, acts of service, and much more. Again it needs to be pointed out that worship can happen without singing or with worship music.
Genesis 12:8 There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:28 Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.
Jeremiah 26:19 They turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord.
Matthew 2:11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Matthew 14:33 After Jesus walks on the water; “Then the disciples worshiped him.
Matthew 28:9 After appearing to his disciples after the resurrection.. “Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him”.
Matthew 28:16-17 16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him.
Luke 24:52
So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.
In these passages, they immediately started to worship God right then and there. They didn’t need worship leaders or worship music. We can worship God anytime and anywhere.
All of these issues are important when reaching the unchurched. We can’t just assume that when inviting someone to church they are going to like our worship style or even love our church. We all come from different backgrounds. We were all created differently. We all have different preferences and we need to understand that and be ok with it if we are going to reach the unchurched.
I point this out a lot, but This is especially true when reaching out to other cultures. An Afghan Muslim who just became a Christian is probably not going to understand the worship music in your church. They might not even speak English. Most churches are not set up for other languages.
So what can we practically do to introduce worship to the unchurched ; especially people of other cultures? Like I have said before, I wouldn’t advise bringing people of other cultures to your church, at least right away. Even with Americans who grew up here, I would be slow to invite them, but just use your discernment.
For me, the better solution is to help them start a group on their own with their friends and family. And as far as worship, let them read the Bible and seek God on what their expression of worship is supposed to be. This is not a bad thing. This is a beautiful thing! And it adds to the beauty of the different expressions of the church in the world.
Although it is going to be much easier just to invite someone to your existing church, it may be much more impactful if you have them start their own group. Although it takes much more effort, we have to remember, we have to do what it takes to reach and love all people.
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