The Wars of Worship

A couple of weeks ago we were part of "A Concert of Love" held at FBC in Kemp, Texas as a fund raiser for one of the churches in the area. There were twelve churches from various denominations, and the musicians from each of the congregations shared. It was a true hodgepodge of styles (from black gospel to country to contemporary) It was a great night! I really enjoyed the variety of all of the different musical styles and enjoyed worshipping in the spirit that pervaded the room. Everyone had an understanding that what was being offered was for the Lord. That night and the common understanding shared by everyone there got me thinking about all of the contention surrounding "the right way to worship" based on the musical styles.

Over the years I have seen people adamantly dispel the validity of contemporary worship music, because by their standards “it’s worldly”. It happened to Handel. When he wrote “The Messiah”, influential churchmen of the day denounced it as “profane and unseemly”. On the same note, I have known “contemporary worship buffs” to denounce older church music as “dead”. I have found these attitudes to always be equally grieving.

It does not surprise me that the first real contention (and murder) listed in scripture was spurred by a disagreement over "right way to worship"? Cain’s attitude of jealous rage was spurred by an improper understanding of who true worship is for, and his misunderstanding was soon translated into evil action. I think we should be very wary of giving our thumbs up or thumbs down when it comes to "the right way" of worshipping. The only “right” worship is that offered to the Lord, from the heart, in spirit and truth.