Chapter 25 - Skilled and Authentic

The tension between skill and authenticity in church worship can often be a heated topic but Kauflin addresses this difficult issue head on and nails it.

"Churches that minimize the need for skill can tend toward sentimentalism, sloth, and pride in 'genuineness'" but at the same time, "All the musical skill in the world won't substitute for a genuine heart of worship." (p. 195)

There must be a balance between these two issues.  If we want to honor God by leading His church in worship, then we need to have the ability and skill set to do that.  If we don't, it will be very difficult for us to point people to our awesome God because they will only be focused on our own inability and lack-of-awesomeness.  Also, if we expect to lead His church in worship, then we had better have a genuine relationship with Him that is alive and active each day or we will only be a shell that's making noise and directing people to our own talent.

However, if we pursue either skill or genuineness (which is often mis-understood to be simple emotionality) or even both as an end in themselves, we will still come up empty.  The point is not to be better at this or that, "The point is, I do everything to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ.  That's worship." (p. 197)  This definitely includes being skillful and being genuine, but do you see how the focus has shifted?  It is no longer about me and what I have done or what I can do or can't do, instead it is about "magnifying the greatness of God in Jesus Christ."  Instead of just saying "I want to pursue excellence in my skills and abilities" or "I want to focus on being more genuine."  we should be saying, "I want to be the very best I can be [in both my skill and in my relationship with God] so that I can serve others more effectively For God's glory." (p. 196)

As a worship team, as we play our instruments and sing with our voices what is it that we want?  Is everything we do with a desire of "wanting people to see  and celebrate the supreme worth of God[?] [Because] that's leading worship.  If that's not why [we're] doing those things, [we weren't] worshiping God to begin with." (p. 197)

I like the phrase, "It's not about me, it's not about now" and I would add to it, "it is about God and it is about His eternity".  This makes me ask, "Since life is about God and His eternity, what can I be doing in my life as a worship leader (as a dad, as a husband, as a friend) that will help me to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ?"  I hope that this makes you ask this question for yourself and perhaps even make it a part of your prayer time.  What can you be doing in your life as a ______________ (fill in the blank with whatever roles God has placed you in) that will help you to magnify the greatness of God in Jesus Christ?

Chapter 24 - Rooted and Relevant

Too often today I hear people talk on one side of the issue or the other.  They either can't stand the old hymns and traditions of the church or they can't stand the new music, style, technology, and new traditions of the church.  Kauflin gives us a refreshing look at both.  He reminds us that we aren't, "the first to think about and pursue Biblical worship." (p. 189)  and that our own culture, time, and generation doesn't have a corner on the market for worship.

We, as Christians, come from a long line of strong Christian men and women throughout the ages and those men and women had the same Spirit of God in them that we have today.  God spoke to those men and women and they had lots of valuable ideas and insights into Biblical Christian living and worship if we are willing to look into their traditions and see them.  However, "The greatest traditions in the world are meaningless unless they effectively communicate God's truth to the people who come to our meetings." (p. 191)  Wonderful, theology-rich traditions are pointless if people don't understand them.  It is important that, if we are drawing upon those traditions, people clearly understand the meaning behind them.  There is value to be found in the hymns and traditions of the church past.  There is also value in being fresh and new and giving people ways to see and hear the gospel in ways that they have not before.  "Being the church is no reason to be thirty years behind in decorating styles, graphics, and technology...our goal is to communicate clearly..." (p. 192)  Both the old and the new can be wonderful tools for bringing people to a greater understanding of God and who He is.  But the point is that no matter what we draw upon, whether it is Old or New, that the focus is not upon the tool of communication, but rather the focus is on the purpose of the communication...the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  "..every church should make sure that the story of God's redemption can be clearly understood and experienced by those they're seeking to reach with the Gospel." (p. 192) 

"When it comes to forms of worship, any form that facilitates and encourages worship in spirit and truth by a particular gathering of people, at a particular time in history, in the context of a particular culture is pleasing to God...Cultures change, styles change, traditions change, times change.  God remains the same." (p. 193)

Chapter 23 - Planned and Spontaneous

In this chapter Kauflin presents a great contrast of using both the planned and the spontaneous during worship to follow the Spirit's leading.  There are many Christians who reside in the camp of "If you've planned it and it's not spontaneous, then it's not from the Spirit."  But this is simply a bogus notion.  God is a planning God.  He planned the universe through from it's beginning (creation), to it's redemption, (Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection), to it's conclusion (new heaven, new earth, and the bride of Christ (the Church) finally is united with Him), and on through eternity.  Saying that the Spirit must be spontaneous is like saying "The Spirit can't possibly plan ahead."  I for one have no intention of saying that the Spirit of God is limited in what He can do.  "We've found that the Holy Spirit's most important guidance often comes before the meeting even begins." (p. 182)

On the flip side, though, God has, and can certainly speak in the moment as well.  "Planning doesn't substitute for listening to the Holy Spirit during the meeting either." (p. 182)  This last weekend was a good example of how and why God might choose to speak in the moment.  If you weren't there this weekend I shared a short testimony of what God had been doing in my life and challenged people to actively pay attention to the Holy Spirit (and yes, I did cry in first service).  This is something that I couldn't have planned ahead of time because it wasn't until during the sermon that I made the connection between my experience and what Jim was saying.  And if I had tried to plan it all out and had a rehearsed speech to say, it wouldn't have had the same impact as it did in the moment.  I know for certain that the Holy Spirit was moving in me to share at the end of first service.  However, I'm still not sure if God intended for me to say it again at the end of 2nd service, but being unsure I decided to go ahead anyway.  I'd rather mess up trying to follow what I thought was God's leading rather than do things smoothly while ignoring Him.

"Spontaneity gives us the freedom to respond to present needs and promptings." (p. 185) "...the Spirit can also use us in powerful ways as we play notes we've practiced for hours during months of rehearsals.  But isn't it helpful to be able to do both?"

I think I (and we as a team) weigh more heavily on the planning side of the scale.  I like Kauflin's idea of "practicing spontaneity".  Being capable and able to readily respond to the Spirit at a moment's notice might take practice but it could help balance the scale.

Chapter 22 - Vertical And Horizontal

"One of the primary ways we worship God is through proclaiming His glories, perfections, and works.  But another equally significant way we worship God is through building one another up through encouragement and blessing.  Different activities, but the same end."  (p. 178)

There are times in church services that I forget that God has called us to "Speak to one another with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." (Ephesians 5:19a).  We get so caught up in the vertical plane (our relationship with God) that we forget to move in the horizontal plane (our relationship with those around us).  God is honored when we encourage each other.  We worship Him when we show love for, pray for, and serve each other.  When we come together to worship by singing praises, taking communion, and learning from Scripture we aren't supposed to be a bunch of separate individuals who are looking only for a one on one experience with God.  Individual experience is involved, but we are to be His body with all the different parts working together to bring Him glory (1 Corinthians 12).  If the body is thirsty doesn't the hand bring water to the  mouth?  If the body needs to move won't the legs move the body where it needs to go?  The body of Christ is meant to function as a single unit that all works together for the Glory of God. 

The next time we come together as the body of Christ, as we participate in our vertical relationship, let's also try to keep our eyes open to the ways that God might want us to participate in our horizontal relationships.  Let's look for ways to encourage, pray for, and serve one another and in doing so worship and bring glory to God.

Chapter 21 - Internal And External

Kauflin covers some points that are kind of touchy for many Christians in this chapter.  What role does physical expression play in worship?  Many Christians think that worship ought to be restricted to reverence and awe without much, if any, physical expression.  Others put great emphasis on outward displays of worship.  As Kauflin points out, however, the Bible gives examples of both reverence and awe as well as exuberant physical expressions of worship. 

It is important that we recognize first, though, that any form of worship (physically expressive or not) must be based in a accurate view of God.  If our worship is based only on what we feel, or on our awareness of our image and reputation, then it is not God that we are worshiping, instead it is ourselves and our emotions or are pride that we begin to worship.  "God-pleasing worship involves a heart engagement and an active faith in the existence and goodness of God (Hebrews 11:6) (p. 169)"  God looks at our heart as we worship Him.  This might lead some to conclude that it is really only what is in someone's heart that matters, but Kauflin points out the error in this way of thinking.  I liked how he expressed this in the example with his wife.  "If I told my wife, Julie, that I loved her, but never looked glad to see her, never hugged her, and never demonstrated my affection in any concrete way, she wouldn't be too impressed.  We wouldn't have much of a marriage either." (p.170)  Love that is never outwardly expressed isn't really love at all.  True love chooses to act for the benefit of the one being loved without regard to self.  Is it important what is in our hearts?  Of course, it is absolutely vital, but that doesn't excuse us from the expressions of worship that are modeled for us in the Bible like "...clapping, singing, bowing, kneeling, lifting hands, shouting, playing instruments, dancing, and standing in awe." (p.171) and these can only be meaningful to God if our actions each day demonstrate our love for Him.

Kauflin made two other points that I think are vital to the discussion of physical expression in worship.
 
- First he says, "These expressions don't all have to be evidenced every time we gather...The crucial question is this:  Is there any physical expression of worship that God has given us in Scripture that I've never displayed?  And if so, why?" (p. 171)  When we lead people in worship, we don't need to feel bad or feel like something is wrong if we don't see a ton of physical expression from the people we are leading every single time.  As people go through different things in life their outward expressions (or lack thereof) will change from week to week.  Something that might give us cause to pause and think, however, is if there is never any physical expression amidst the people we are leading or if there are Biblical expressions of worship that have never taken place in our church.  This should probably make us stop and think, "Are we teaching and modeling a Biblical view of worship to the congregation?"  "People in your church will learn the most from what is modeled by you and the other leaders.  Churches rarely rise above the level of their leaders in expressiveness and genuine engagement." (p. 173)

- Second he points out that, "Our highest priority when we gather with the church is not our own personal expressiveness but the privilege of serving others. (1 Corinthians 14:12, 13:1-8).  Individuals should be following your example and direction in the area of expressiveness, not breaking into loud shouting and enthusiastic dancing just because they feel like it.  We're to be concerned about "the interests of others" (Philippians 2:4).  At the same time, more reserved members shouldn't assume that expressive individuals are hypocritical, seeking attention, or rude.  They might want to consider what they can learn from the unhindered and sincere expressiveness they see." (p. 172)  As we lead (and even as we participate as a member of the congregation) we should be aware of the atmosphere and people around us and allow ourselves to be physically expressive in a way that honors God and that isn't going to be a major distraction to the rest of the congregation.

Chapter 20 - Head and Heart

"...churches can have a hard time connecting the knowledge of the mind with the passions of the heart.  Yet they're integrally related.  And both are crucial to Biblical worship."  (p. 165)

Kauflin has touched on this subject multiple times already, but it definitely is worth being repeated because it is so important.  We must not get into the habit of promoting one area over the other.  Without accurate knowledge of the truth in the Bible our passion is meaningless and possibly idolatrous.   Without passion, the most wonderful and fantastic truth's about God are left uncelebrated and we risk becoming a "religion" rather than being a people who have a marvelous relationship with the living God of the universe.


 "The affections we're seeking to stir up are more than fleeting shallow, self-induced emotions.  We aren't trying to excite people for the sake of excitement.  We aren't leading a pep rally for band.  Godly affections are deep and long-lasting.  They're the result of focusing on what God has done and who He is." (p. 166)

As a worship team we can move peoples emotions simply by what we play and how we play it.  But, as Kauflin said, we aren't just trying to get people emotional for the sake of being emotional.  We must be careful to base whatever we are doing in the truth of God's word.  Then God's truth is the basis for the emotions that come up within people and it can lead to real change in people's lives and help them to have a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  We use music to help people along the way and to help lead them to the place where they see God's truth clearly.  Our music is a tool to be used to point people to God's truth and to bring honor and glory to God.  Music is  not the end in itself.


"When the church gathers, the sense of confidant joy in God should be pronounced.  When we fail to demonstrate delight and satisfaction in God, we're not only dishonoring God, we're disobeying Him (Psalms 32:11).  More than anyone else on earth, Christians have a reason to celebrate."  (p. 167)

These words jumped off the page and slapped me in the face.  I know that God wants us to be joyful and celebrate in His Name, but I had never thought of it as being sinful to do otherwise.  But I think that Kauflin is right.  As Christians, no matter what has occurred or is occurring in our lives, we have reason to demonstrate delight and satisfaction in God.  I don't think that this means we can't ever feel sad or troubled (Jesus felt sadness and wept on multiple occasions) But even amidst sadness we, as Christians, always have reason for hope and joy.  Even amidst difficult times and trials we can still demonstrate our delight and satisfaction in God.  Not that this is easy by any means.  It takes consistent effort and time spent in developing our relationship with God.  It takes a purposeful decision to choose God's hope and joy rather than the world's despair.

There is a woman in our church who has exemplified this better than anyone else I've ever known.  No matter what is happening she is always exuding the joy that is found only in God.  A while back her husband's health took a turn for the worse and slowly declined further and further over time until finally he passed away.  She certainly felt sadness during this time, but never once could any one question her joy in God.  She continued to demonstrate her delight and satisfaction in God all through this difficult time in her life.  She could do this because her hope and joy was based in her relationship with God and the hope he had given her of her eternal future with Him.  That is what we must take hold of and proudly claim as our own.  If we can take hold of that relationship and that hope, then we too can demonstrate delight and satisfaction in God no matter our circumstances.