Once upon a time there was a worship leader named David who played stringed instruments. He was very handsome, brave, popular with the ladies, and a talented musician who had a heart for God. Let's clear up any confusion right now: I'm talking about the David who slayed that giant, and became the second king of Israel.
I'm pretty sure my mom named me after him, so I guess it's natural he became one of my heroes. There's an odd little story in 2 Samuel 6 about a time when King David was filled with joy for God and got a little crazy in worship... nothing major really... he just stripped down almost naked and danced like a wild man in front of everyone in his courtyard. (How's that for a creative worship idea! I'll just tell your Sr. Pastor it's totally Biblical! - How can he say "no!"...) Unfortunately for David, this little dancing-naked moment humiliated his wife (Michal, daughter of the former king, Saul) - so much so that she privately scolded him for embarrassing himself in front of everyone.
Nice to have a wife looking out for your public image, right?
God cursed her. Because of her criticism of the King's personal, passionate worship, she would never bear a child (a big deal for most women, especially a queen in the ancient middle east).
"When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” ... David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."
Worship is a personal thing - maybe the most personal thing we can ever do, if done well.
However, most Christians usually find themselves worshiping in public places - like Sunday morning church. This creates some awkwardness when most of us are taught not to express "too much emotion" in front of others, especially those we're not close to. This may also be why many Christians find it hard to pray out loud in front of others, ...but that's for another blog post.
Most of the time, guarding our emotions is practical and makes sense. Let's face it - its uncomfortable to be around someone we barely know who is sobbing uncontrollably, or who is being a lot more, shall we say, "vocal" about their feelings, maybe sharing a little "too much information" about their personal life. Add to that the formality of a church service and whatever we were taught about "proper behavior" in church - and you have the tragic situation where worshipers hold back expressing their heart to God, out of fear we might "offend" another worshiper.
It can make some uncomfortable when they see others getting emotional during a song, or saying a-few-too-many "Amen's" to the preacher's message. Many of us instinctively get annoyed with public "outbursts" like that and might even think "they're just showing off - trying to get attention by looking spiritual;" or perhaps we feel sorry for them for making a fool of themselves. We say to ourselves, "...Let's just hope this doesn't become a regular thing around here!"
Reality Check. - Worship is first and foremost for God's pleasure, not ours.
Here's a thought: Just maybe... God likes enthusiastic, passionate expressions of worship like that. If He does, then maybe they should become a regular thing!
As one who has been called to lead worship, it is not my goal to make anyone feel uncomfortable, or encourage anyone to act crazy or undignified. The goal is that God is sincerely worshiped and His people have the chance to express their heart openly and passionately to Him through prayer, singing (which is just praying with music), giving, sharing in the Lords' Supper, and responding to Him as He speaks to us through His Word.
VISION FOR WORSHIP
For His Glory,
Dave Swanson
I'm pretty sure my mom named me after him, so I guess it's natural he became one of my heroes. There's an odd little story in 2 Samuel 6 about a time when King David was filled with joy for God and got a little crazy in worship... nothing major really... he just stripped down almost naked and danced like a wild man in front of everyone in his courtyard. (How's that for a creative worship idea! I'll just tell your Sr. Pastor it's totally Biblical! - How can he say "no!"...) Unfortunately for David, this little dancing-naked moment humiliated his wife (Michal, daughter of the former king, Saul) - so much so that she privately scolded him for embarrassing himself in front of everyone.
Nice to have a wife looking out for your public image, right?
God cursed her. Because of her criticism of the King's personal, passionate worship, she would never bear a child (a big deal for most women, especially a queen in the ancient middle east).
"When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” ... David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel. I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”
And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."
Worship is a personal thing - maybe the most personal thing we can ever do, if done well.
However, most Christians usually find themselves worshiping in public places - like Sunday morning church. This creates some awkwardness when most of us are taught not to express "too much emotion" in front of others, especially those we're not close to. This may also be why many Christians find it hard to pray out loud in front of others, ...but that's for another blog post.
Most of the time, guarding our emotions is practical and makes sense. Let's face it - its uncomfortable to be around someone we barely know who is sobbing uncontrollably, or who is being a lot more, shall we say, "vocal" about their feelings, maybe sharing a little "too much information" about their personal life. Add to that the formality of a church service and whatever we were taught about "proper behavior" in church - and you have the tragic situation where worshipers hold back expressing their heart to God, out of fear we might "offend" another worshiper.
It can make some uncomfortable when they see others getting emotional during a song, or saying a-few-too-many "Amen's" to the preacher's message. Many of us instinctively get annoyed with public "outbursts" like that and might even think "they're just showing off - trying to get attention by looking spiritual;" or perhaps we feel sorry for them for making a fool of themselves. We say to ourselves, "...Let's just hope this doesn't become a regular thing around here!"
Reality Check. - Worship is first and foremost for God's pleasure, not ours.
Here's a thought: Just maybe... God likes enthusiastic, passionate expressions of worship like that. If He does, then maybe they should become a regular thing!
As one who has been called to lead worship, it is not my goal to make anyone feel uncomfortable, or encourage anyone to act crazy or undignified. The goal is that God is sincerely worshiped and His people have the chance to express their heart openly and passionately to Him through prayer, singing (which is just praying with music), giving, sharing in the Lords' Supper, and responding to Him as He speaks to us through His Word.
VISION FOR WORSHIP
- A time for God to receive enthusiastic praise, honor, and adoration from His children.
- A place for Christ-followers to openly express passionate worship as well as confession and repentance to God and not be judged
- Lots of freedom in expression (tempered by basic manners and consideration of other worshipers)
- The music teams are only facilitators and the voices should drown out the instruments, not the other way around!
- A place where God's people EXPERIENCE SOMETHING POWERFUL EVERY TIME WE DRAW NEAR TO HIM IN WORSHIP and we open our hearts to that possibility every week.
For His Glory,
Dave Swanson