“Worship with us…our band is AWESOME!”

by Mike Tummillo

If I’ve heard this kind of thing once, I’ve heard it a thousand times. The talented musicians are often the main draw for many church attendees.

I once heard a man who taught music at a Christian college speaking on what he called a “counterfeit anointing.” He explained that the loud decibel levels used by many churches during worship is enough to raise goose bumps and cause many to “feel” differently. What’s referred to, he explained, as “the anointing” is merely physiological changes occurring within the body when exposed to really loud music. If you’ve ever sat next to a car where the bass from the stereo system was loud enough to rattle YOUR teeth, it’s guaranteed that the driver was having some kind of a “feel good” experience right there behind the wheel.

Many are do the same thing in their pews.

MUSIC OR NOT, DOES IT REALLY MATTER TO GOD?

In most instances, the American Church has reduced what we call “worship” to a Sunday morning sing-along. For some Christians, such as the church of Christ, woe unto anyone who worships God with music. Yet for others, if there’s no musician in the group, no one dares to attempt singing a capella (without instrumental accompaniment) and, therefore, no worship will take place at all.

I was baptized in the Duncanville, Texas church of Christ, a group in which I remained for about 8 years. I recall experiencing some very moving moments of worship there. I’m not sure if God enjoyed it, but I did! I learned a great deal about worship during my 8-year stint. The church of Christ, for those who don't know, is a group that, with few exceptions, does not believe it’s acceptable to play music in church services. These days, I can worship God with a kazoo, or a kickin’ praise band. I can make a joyful noise to any kind music or none at all.

I was never quite in agreement with the church’s stance that music was not permissible in the service. After all, I reasoned, we are The Church – each Christian individually and as a family, 24/7, everywhere we go. If that’s true, why did it matter what we did in one manmade human structure on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s as opposed to what we did in any other manmade structure all the rest of the time?

For those who think the church of Christ is "strange" or "odd" for believing in this way, here are what some others throughout history have had to say about the playing of musical instruments in their church services:

McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia reads: “The Greek word psallo is applied among the Greeks of modern times exclusively to sacred music, which in the Eastern Church has never been any other than vocal, instrumental music being unknown in that Church, as it was in the primitive Church.

Sir John Hawkins, in the History of Music, makes Pope Vitalian, in A.D. 660, the first who introduced organs into churches. But students of ecclesiastical archaeology are generally agreed that instrumental music was not used in churches till a much later date.

Thomas Aquinas, A.D. 1250, wrote: "Our Church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaize."

John Calvin wrote, “Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things from the Jew. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise: but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostles is far more pleasing to Him.”

John Wesley said, “I have no opposition to the organ in our chapel provided it is neither seen nor heard.”

Charles Spurgeon, when asked why, in the twenty years he preached in London, never used the organ in worship, cited 1 Cor. 14:15 and said “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also, I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”

Adam Clark wrote, “I am an old man, and an old minister; and I here declare that I never knew them to be productive of any good in the worship of God; and have had reason to believe that they were productive of much evil. Music, as a science, I esteem and admire; but instruments of music in the house of God I abominate and abhor.”

Personally, I contend that WE are the "house of God" and that nowhere in Scripture has God condemned the use of mechanical instruments of music in Christian worship, but nowhere has He commanded their use. It is man, in his desire to please God, who has introduced so many rules and regulations to Christian life and practices, not God Almighty.

ACCEPTABLE ACTS OF WORSHIP

Why do so many from my old church of Christ camp forbid music within the church? Many use Ephesians 5:19 as an edict forbidding the playing of musical instruments during church services: "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” Question: When was the last time anybody walked up to you and spoke a psalm, a hymn, or a spiritual song? As for me, in almost 50 years, never. That "make music in your heart" portion is the key prohibition aspect of that verse. For those who might refer to any Old Testament verses pertaining to music to justify the playing of instruments, apparently, the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever has changed His mind regarding music under His NEW Covenant. My experience has been that such OT verses will be disallowed in most churches of Christ where the subject of mechanical instruments is concerned.

Then I learned that the word “pslam” literally means “to pluck.” Pluck what… a chicken? Eyebrows? I think not. We pluck harps, lyres, guitars, banjoes and mandolins.

I recall once knocking on the door of a man who led worship at a Church of Christ. He and his family had a bluegrass band and were practicing with the door open as I walked up to the door.

There was an awful lot of plucking going on in that house as I approached. These days, fully believing that WE are The Church in everything we do or say, everywhere we go being the holiest “Holy land” in which we could ever imagine standing, I see the lunacy of teaching that music in a church building can be any more right or wrong than music played in the building called a “house.” The only dwelling place God is concerned with, frankly, is the one called US!

The truth is, everything we do is an act of worship. Even the act of Work itself is actually Worship. The Hebrew word "avodah" is the root for the word from which we get the words “work” and “worship.” Work, in its many various forms, is mentioned over 800 times in Scripture. That’s more than all the words used to express worship, praise, music and singing combined! As a Workplace Chaplain, I often find myself reminding people of the fact that they are worshiping God while they work.

THE PURPOSE OF WORSHIP

Let’s focus on that wonderful music we all know and love to hear at church services or on our favorite CD or Christian radio station. What is the purpose of all this worship music? Is it intended to usher us into God’s presence? Is it working? Is it worship at all? Is it all about Christian musicians earning money with their gifts? Just asking. That’s between them and God, after all. In a church service, is a Worship Leader in charge of ushering us into God’s presence as some attest? I can’t buy that because God lives within ME and doesn’t even show up until I get there.

When I was the Assistant Pastor of a church in Arlington, Texas, a couple was asked to lead worship and train our “worship team.” I wasn’t there, but later heard that the first thing they did was to tell the group, “Put down your instruments…we’re going to worship God.” I heard that several within the group began crying, finding themselves clueless, frightened and frozen without their instruments.

We were created to worship God. I dare say that it’s our reason for being, more an attitude of the heart than something we do with our vocal cords or even with our instruments. After all, if it’s all about singing – just another way of worshiping God - one who is mute or retarded or has laryngitis cannot do so. God, as always, is more concerned about the condition of one’s heart than the words being mouthed, no matter how beautifully.

Following is a fascinating article from a website Ezine called “Next Wave-Church and Culture. The article is entitled “Worship as Evangelism” by Sally Morgenthaler. Sally had previously written a book entitled “Worship Evangelism” but has actually recanted her own book’s message, concluding that worship- driven churches are doing nothing to reach the lost. Read it and pass it along. Quite thought-provoking stuff!

One of those who responded to her article wrote: “Thank you for this. As the pastor of a year old church plant, I have watched our group struggle through the hard work of realizing that worship evangelism … doesn't work, but only manages to bring the dechurched back to church (not a bad thing, but not the same). The fact is, there is a level of "affirmation of message" that has to exist for a person to be able to worship. The idea that any type of worship that affirms "Jesus is LORD" would attract those who aren't sure He is (or are quite sure He isn't) is a bit absurd. If, then, worship is more for the already convinced than the unconvinced, we must create a better way to engage the unconvinced…this conversation has, in many ways, defined our church plant … Whether it is the decision to have house churches on Sundays and worship on Wednesdays or giving up on the idea of "getting people to go to church" and instead "being the church and going to people", this is a conversation every church needs to be having."

John 4: 23, 24 declares, "A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit (a spiritual Being) and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (reality)."

There's so much more to worship than we've made of it. It's worthy of some self-examination.

Are YOU a TRUE worshiper? It's attitude of the heart and nothing else.