So you walk in on a Sunday Morning...

You are running a few minutes late. The band has already started and people around you are singing. The song is an up tempo one that talks about God’s love and how he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Except that you don’t feel that. You aren’t quite there yet. Your kids have toothpaste in the hair and their clothes don’t match; your spouse is frustrated at something and you’re not quite sure what it is. Traffic was bad on the way to church and you are not sure why you came in the first place. All the easy seats are taken and you might have to squeeze in between some people with their eyes closed. What now?

Focus on the words. Yes, the words of the song. Hopefully the worship leader has chosen songs that are theologically rich and singable. Songs that tell of who God is and what he has done for all of mankind, specifically you. While your church may have a hot band that can rival American Idol, the reason they are even up there is because of the words. The words are there to preach to us, for us to memorize and recall later when we are not surrounded by Christians. The words tell us of the Gospel and why Jesus had to suffer and die for our sin. The songs use words in a poetic, beautiful way that gives us a fresh perspective on our situation as sons and daughters of God. If ‘brevity is the soul of wit,’ then songs are witty ways of hearing the scriptures said another way.

Focusing on the words helps you focus less on the music. Your church may not have the best musicians but they play their best so that the Bride of Christ can sing to the Groom. Focusing on the words brings to mind pictures and stories from the bible, complementing the song. Focusing on the words helps us forget our troubles and brings us closer to seeing heaven. Of the few things we know about heaven, we know for certain that we will be singing there. Revelations even shows a picture of God singing over us. Now, how cool will that be! God singing over His people. ..do you think he’s a baritone, bass or tenor, hmmm…?

The words remind us to forgive each other. They help us remember that God can heal our pain, clean our stain and turn our sorrows into songs of praise. And they might even help you get through the rest of Sunday with your toothpasted, non-matching kids and frustrated spouse.

Body and Mind

I am married with three kids. A beautiful family. 2 Rambunctious sons and1 fascinating princess. I know they love me partly because they tell me. But if that was all they did, tell me they loved me, then over time I would start to doubt their true feelings. I don’t know if I could continue to believe it. If I never got a hug, or kiss on the cheek, or a jump on the back I would wonder if they were just telling me what I wanted to hear. If they physically never showed anything when I walked in the door, but instead just sat on the couch with their heads and eyes focused on the TV, I would wonder if they cared about me. You see, there is a connection between the words we say and the actions we do. Obvious you say, but do we notice this idea is at work all the time? Even at church?

When I am leading the church in song, there are parts of songs that I choose not to sing because I see the hypocrisy of the lyrics and and physical response of the congregation. For instance, the song, “I could sing of Your love forever,” has a bridge that says, “Oh, I feel like dancing, Its foolishness I know…” Now, I know that my people won’t be dancing when they sing this line . It just feels wrong to put them in a place like that. I could choose to sing the bridge and use the lyrics as a jump off point to make a point about posture, but I don’t know that it would make a difference. So I choose to skip that. There are many many songs like that. Songs that include various physical responses to worshiping God; Raising of hands, Clapping, shouts of joy, Kneeling, bowing before our maker, Crying out to God, etc… So do we skip every section of song that calls for a physical response? I believe that would be a bigger crime. We need to appropriately teach our churches how to let go.

Fear of Man is our greatest enemy. More people worry about what others think than what God thinks. God sees our hearts as we sing(thankfully so as some people sing in a different key than the rest of us, G-I’m-flat!) God knows what we are thinking and feeling as we lift our voices to Him each Sunday. What can help our minds and spirits is the aligning of our voice and body into one, unified person. To get there we have to let go of others perceptions and stop comparing ourselves to Mr. Charismatic in the next aisle. I like to close my eyes to remove any distractions around me. To be honest, it is easier to lift my hands on stage than in the congregation. I see the need to be an example and encourage others to lift their hands to the Creator when I am up there in the limelight. In the crowd, you feel everyone behind you watching you. It can be intimidating. Ultimately what is more important, others wondering about your Christianity or God seeing you abandon all others for Him. God determines your fate and it is He who gave it all for your rescue. Let us give Him our hearts and bodies as well.

Body and Mind

I am married with three kids. A beautiful family. 2 Rambunctious sons and1 fascinating princess. I know they love me partly because they tell me. But if that was all they did, tell me they loved me, then over time I would start to doubt their true feelings. I don’t know if I could continue to believe it. If I never got a hug, or kiss on the cheek, or a jump on the back I would wonder if they were just telling me what I wanted to hear. If they physically never showed anything when I walked in the door, but instead just sat on the couch with their heads and eyes focused on the TV, I would wonder if they cared about me. You see, there is a connection between the words we say and the actions we do. Obvious you say, but do we notice this idea is at work all the time? Even at church?

When I am leading the church in song, there are parts of songs that I choose not to sing because I see the hypocrisy of the lyrics and and physical response of the congregation. For instance, the song, “I could sing of Your love forever,” has a bridge that says, “Oh, I feel like dancing, Its foolishness I know…” Now, I know that my people won’t be dancing when they sing this line . It just feels wrong to put them in a place like that. I could choose to sing the bridge and use the lyrics as a jump off point to make a point about posture, but I don’t know that it would make a difference. So I choose to skip that. There are many many songs like that. Songs that include various physical responses to worshiping God; Raising of hands, Clapping, shouts of joy, Kneeling, bowing before our maker, Crying out to God, etc… So do we skip every section of song that calls for a physical response? I believe that would be a bigger crime. We need to appropriately teach our churches how to let go.

Fear of Man is our greatest enemy. More people worry about what others think than what God thinks. God sees our hearts as we sing(thankfully so as some people sing in a different key than the rest of us, G-I’m-flat!) God knows what we are thinking and feeling as we lift our voices to Him each Sunday. What can help our minds and spirits is the aligning of our voice and body into one, unified person. To get there we have to let go of others perceptions and stop comparing ourselves to Mr. Charismatic in the next aisle. I like to close my eyes to remove any distractions around me. To be honest, it is easier to lift my hands on stage than in the congregation. I see the need to be an example and encourage others to lift their hands to the Creator when I am up there in the limelight. In the crowd, you feel everyone behind you watching you. It can be intimidating. Ultimately what is more important, others wondering about your Christianity or God seeing you abandon all others for Him. God determines your fate and it is He who gave it all for your rescue. Let us give Him our hearts and bodies as well.