substance or style?
i’m listening to a series on worship - taught by a professor at our seminary.
he just said something that hit me.
hit hard:
“The substance of our worship is always more important than the style or form of our worship.”
He explains: God is concerned more about the heart, substance, content of our worship, than He is about the style or format of our worship. Many of our styles are representative of cultural preferences and generational preferences, and these will change from time to time. Whatever form we use in worship is secondary to whether or not the worship is substantive.
So, I’m thinking: how can we, as worship leaders, teach and lead our congregations to emphasize substance over style?
Quote: Dr. Gary Parrett
Gary Parrett is awesome! That’s a great quote.
We did a song at St. Paul’s that he wrote based on the tune of Come Thou Fount (called “Come Lord Jesus”).
Have you taken any classes with Jeffrey Arthurs? He teaches at GCTS and is a teaching pastor at our church.
Arthurs rocks. he’s a great speaker. really. and he’s actually the one who referred Parrett’s worship teachings to me. i’ve sat in on one of Arthurs’ classes – but that was to hear my husband preach! does that count? he he he!
I think you answered the question with the question. You have to teach and lead that it is not about style. VERY HARD to do though, because, well, you teach and lead with a style.
in my experience…not typical i might add…in blending worship and trying to teach about substance, i was trying to teach something that the people didn’t want to learn. i don’t care how great or horrible the topic or the teacher, if people don’t want to learn they aren’t going to. i just had to pray over each and every moment and ask God to give me wisdom in what to say and do. then i had to leave the results up to Him.
where i am now it’s not an issue…my focus now is teaching more and more about the substance.
I agree with Travis. We are going to have our own styles. that is inevitable. So how do we teach? We lead by example. we create relationships with our people. We talk about it. We do everything we can to encourage people to understand the true heart of worship.
what a great thing to be reminded of! thanks for sharing.
also, thanks for your comment
Well…maybe a Sunday without any music would be an idea.
Peter:
GOOD IDEA!!!
didn’t Redman try that a few years ago?
yes Redman did that…i think it had a pretty big impact too!
Such a great reminder of a Scriptural truth! As a worship leader, I think there ARE subtle ways in which we can communicate the primacy of the substance of our worship in how we lead songs and services. For some, this comes naturally, for others it is a learned intentional practice.
One important thing to remember is that, as a worship leader, my purpose in leading is not to exemplify a personal worship experience. Corporate worship is about the collective body of Christ joining in one voice. My purpose is to facilitate that collective joining together and point people to the truth of the gospel.
Here are some practical, brass tacks kinds of things that I have tended to do naturally, and that our congregation has affirmed helps them realize that it’s about what we’re singing (ie. the words), not the music or style:
1. Reflect on and give an appropriate facial or bodily response to the words as we sing them—eg. when singing a truth about God, we can affirm the statement by nodding our head as we sing; when singing a truth about our own hearts, we can indicate that by placing our hand over our hearts. When we lead songs, we are “telling that story” to everyone there gathered, inviting them in to sing it and realize it with us.
2. Use readings and transitions wisely. Be reverent, conversational and sincere, but use appropriate expressiveness and emphasis. With regards to readings, one of my seminary professors once pointed out that verbs are actually the most important part of what we read/say. Practice emphasizing verbs instead of pronouns, adjectives or adverbs.
Show people how the song that we just sang relates to what we’ve just done or are about to do. Mention the Scriptural truth that gives us the basis for this action/song/next thing. Be honest about how our feelings may not seem to line up with what we’ve just sung/we are about to sing, pointing out that truth is not so subjective.
inWorship makes a great point, too—a lot of what we teach about worship will happen in relationships. Get to know your congregation and engage in conversations about this very topic with individuals, church leaders, small groups, friends, etc.
Thanks for your post!
Just found your blog.
You’ve got some top notch discussion going on here! I had Dr. Parrett as a prof too and he influenced me more than any other to think biblically and love pastorally when it comes to gathered worship.
The quote you shared is spot on and is a warning not to elevate our preferences so high they are approach idolatry!
Great suggestions too on equipping congregations to think biblically about gathered worship. I agree wholeheartedly with Lorie and inWorship that our teaching is most effective in the context of relationship. I’m slowly learning that offering a Sunday School class on the biblical theology of worship is probably not going to solve all your problems! (it’s a good step, but one of many)
I look forward to staying connected to your discussions.
Somehow i missed the point. Probably lost in translation
Anyway … nice blog to visit.
cheers, Gerrymandering!