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An offering of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for the
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Praise and Worship and
Church Growth
The praise and worship band generally has to be guitar-driven in its song leading capacity and led by a good-looking youngster who fits into a particular contemporary “image.” When you are attempting to impress a world enamoured by youth by conforming to it, it’s all about looks. And, in the name of being commercial, the worship leader “look” is a look-alike of whatever contemporary Christians artists are being promoted by the praise and worship music record companies who likewise dictate to the church what their musical formats will be.
To the shame
of the church, its leadership had encouraged the demise of the youth by making the song
service all about him to begin with. However, in response to the praise team leader’s
sin the embarrassed church leadership, driven by the political ramifications of the
affair, will generally condemn and chastise the unfortunate young person and move on to
the next hand-picked praise and worship rock star modeled after contemporary Christian
music commercialism. I have yet to see an instance where these churches minister to these
ill-fated defunct praise leaders once they have fallen from grace. They simply use these disposable praise song worship leaders up
and throw them away. Hence the shelf life of a musician in the church these
days tends to be very short. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea
with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to
sin. (Luke 7:2)
The whole
idea of a person placed in the center of a church’s worship life is an oxymoron in
itself. Worship is about God, but the Church Growth crowd has made it all about a person.
One can expect the same results in the church as we see with rock and roll super stars in
the world. Look at the lives of these music icons to behold the future of the church that
has taken on the world. But how can a church that conforms to the ways of the world be the
light of the world? (Matt 5:11-14)
This
“seeker-friendly” relate to the world motif extends into the teaching of the
Word as well. In “seeker-friendly” Church Growth settings, the pastor needs to
stay away from doctrines that may “offend” listeners. . .or they might not come
back. They hesitate to give altar calls because singling someone out might make that
someone uncomfortable. Forget about talking of the consequences of sin. References to hell
are out of the question. And the pastor dare not talk about Christianity as it relates to
our morally bankrupt society or the IRS may take his non-profit status away. It becomes
all about money and the proclamation of God’s Word becomes the ultimate victim.
Therefore,
the Church Growth congregation feigns from becoming too doctrinal in their worship
singing. The emphasis is on happy praise and worship songs that leave everyone feeling
good about themselves. Out with the old and in with the new. Throw out any music that was
written before the last ten years, which leaves praise hymn singing out of the question.
Cut the church off from it’s past to adopt a pop culture dumbed-down religion devoid
of a solid foundation. That is the motto of the Church Growth consultant.
Though the
entire parody is labeled as “praise and worship,” it is not worship at all. It
is contemporary Christian music entertainment in the name of commercialism and marketing. The idea is to give the congregation a short and
orderly pop culture presentation in song followed by a “feel good” motivational
sermon that will please the eyes and ears of a narcissistic society reared by
In the mean
time very few people are being saved in Church Growth congregations. Instead, Church
Growth-inspired compromises have encouraged Christians to church hop to the latest and
greatest. Whoever has the newest and nicest buildings, “best worship,” hottest
band and most creative stage setup and multimedia will win the day. The Church Growth
consultants claim that their extravagant unbiblical devices are for the purpose of saving
souls, when in fact it’s all about filling pews with members of neighboring churches
and accumulating large offerings. Wealth is the central goal. The growth that provides
this wealth is the result of pilfering congregants from the church around the corner. And
it will be only a matter of time when the Church Growth congregation’s buildings and
equipment get old and outdated. They’ve gotten themselves too far into dept by this
time to update. Finally bored with the same old thing the church hoppers who have been
stolen from other churches will run to the next big thing. And
they will take their money with them to support their newly-adopted temporary church abode
that has mortgaged their future in order to get ahead of the Church Growth game.
No matter
where you look, everyone who submits to the dogma of Church Growth crowd loses.
To the angel of the church in
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say,
‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not
realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from
me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can
cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be
earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev 3:14-22)
There is a better way . . .
In
the Bible, the Samaritan woman at the well presented a question to Jesus asking where God
was to be worshipped. She was wondering if it was to be on their mountain or in
Jesus is assuring us that worship is not something that is done at a
particular time and in a particular place. Worship is not defined as a contemporary praise
music singing event. . .though singing to the Lord in song is a worshipful activity.
According to the Bible worship is something that we do with our whole life. Hence Paul
declared to the Romans: Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom 12:1) Worship is a
lifestyle that involves sacrifice. Worship is not a feeling that we get when we sing
praise and worship music. Worship in song is not a means of conjuring up the God who is
always present. God is omnipresent and His Holy Sprit lives inside us. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from
your presence? (Psalm 139:7) (I Cor 6:19) So how is it that so many Christians believe
that worship is about ushering in the presence of God? How is it that people believe that
praise and worship music is all about bringing down the Holy Spirit when David proclaimed
in the Psalms that there is nowhere we can go to escape God’s Spirit and Paul assured
us that His Spirit lives inside us?
Worship is not for us. It is for God.
Worship is service to Him. And since God is forever present and near,
worship is something that we do with all our lives. Christians live always before the God
who is there. Therefore Jesus declared: “‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two
commandments.” (Matt 22: 37-40) A lot of people have the “love the Lord your
God” part down, at least when they are in church. But too many times the “Love
your neighbor as yourself” part of worship falls by the wayside. But loving your
neighbor is putting the act of loving God into action. And without loving your neighbor,
it cannot be said that one loves God. (I Jn 2: 9-11; 3:11-20)
Christianity is not relegated to being simply a vertical religion.
That’s what dualistic pagan religious systems such as Hinduism are all about. They
think that the world is inherently evil and hence the emphasis of their worship is to
escape the world – to transcend to Nirvana. But it is not so with Christianity.
Rather, Christian worship is about Christians interacting in a positive manner in a world
that God declared is “good” (Gen 1) in service to Him for the sake of the
salvation of souls. Therefore, when one studies the Psalms one finds that praise is about
declaring God for who He is and what he’s done to a world that is lost in sin.
Praise is an activity that as Christians we are called upon to do
all the time. And the purpose of praise is for its proclamation out in the world as a
testimony of the goodness of God. Consider how the Philippian jailer was saved as the
result of the prayer and praise hymns that were uttered by Paul in Silas when they were
confined in prison. (Acts 16: 16-38) How else, other than through the mouths of believers,
will unbelievers hear the praises of God and be converted?
Give thanks to the LORD, call
on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. (I Chron 16:8)
Where does that leave music in the Church? Paul indicated: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks
to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 5:19-20)
There are a few things we can draw from this. First of all, praise
and worship music is to be offered to the Lord with an attitude of gratitude. Praise songs
and worship singing are a response to God rather than a tactic to get Him to do something
for us. Though God inhabits the praises of His people, (Ps 22:3) we are not called to
praise Him so that He will react in a way that pleases our sensual desires or grow our
churches. We praise Him because He has come in the form of the God-man Jesus Christ who
died for our sins and raised Himself from the dead that we might inherit eternal life.
Salvation alone should be enough to keep us praising Him for eternity. We don’t need
any more. Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Ps 51:12)
The next thing that should be noted from Paul’s writings to the
Ephesians is that we should be praising God with all forms of praise and worship music in
song. That would include hymn singing along with modern music forms. How unbiblical it is
that Church Growth pastors are forsaking their rich heritage in praise hymn singing for
the sake of commercial contemporary Christian music marketing. How can God bless that?
Lastly, Paul notes that there is a horizontal aspect to praise and
worship singing in the church. We are to “speak to one another” in our singing.
Therefore worship music in the church is about service. It is about blessing God and
ministering to others in song. And it is not a self-seeking hedonistic exercise based on
self-fulfillment that the Church Growth crowd caters to.
The early Christian martyrs were led to the Roman Coliseum for the
sake of their testimony of Christ to die in the mouths of lions and at the edge of the
sword. These noble Christians did so because they refused to bow down and worship the
genus of the Emperor of Rome. Rather, they chose to worship the living God who died for
them. Thus, as recorded in Foxes Book of Martyrs,
they would be seen lifting their hands to God in praise and worship songs to Him before
the entire populace of
Praise and Worship: The
Greatest in God’s Kingdom
At that time the disciples
came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He
called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the
truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:1-4)
But Jesus called them to him,
and said to them, “You know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority on them. But so shall
it not be among you: but whoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And
whoever of you will be the most chief, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man
came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for
many.” (Mark 10: 42-45)
The Church Growth church is all about the hedonistic cult of “I
need, I need.” And pushing one’s way to the top of the heap is the ultimate goal
of this unbiblical system. But according to Jesus it is the servant of all who stands out
from the rest in God’s eye. It is the worshipper who has given his or her life to God
for the glory of His name who will receive the “well done good and faithful
servant” in eternity. (Matt 25: 14-28) And those who live a life of service in
worship will be those who truly come to praise the Lord in song at church as an extension
of their praise and worship life in everything they do. And a church that is filled with
praise ushering from the hearts of worshippers such as these will be a church that grows
as God intended the church to grow. And the salvation of many souls in a healthy and
vibrant church will be the result.
Besides, church growth is not man’s job, it is God’s. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
(I Cor 3:7)
It is not by man’s greatness, wisdom or power that the true
work of God is accomplished. God’s kingdom is not built upon novel manipulative ideas
that come from the minds of brilliant men. Rather God works through lifestyle worshippers
who have come to realize that they are nothing without Him. He uses those who will humble
themselves before God and pray. With God living inside, true worshippers who have learned
to bow before God in earnest prayer and supplication will be the ones He will use to
change the world.
My message and my preaching
were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s
power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. (I Cor 2: 4-5)
So I say to you: Ask and it
will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will
be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake
instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are
evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask Him!” (Luke 11:9-13)
Don Wigton
If you liked this
CLICK HERE or call Author House @ 888.280.7715 to purchase a soft or hard cover copy of Don Wigton's book "Holy Wars" upon which this blog is based. Click Here to purchase the E-book edition for only 99 cents!While you’re at it be sure to look discover how the power of
prayer ignited a tremendous revival at the Brookland Tabernacle in the book Fresh Wind Fresh Fire: What Happens When God’s Spirit Invades the
Heart of His People.
was formed as a service to the body of Christ to encourage scriptural
worship. To accomplish this goal Wigtune Company offers free contemporary praise music and
hymn mp3 and chart material along with a free on-line worship study book for personal
devotions, Bible study groups, Sunday schools, pastors, music ministers and ministry
training. In order to bridge the gap between the old and the new the worship study
book gives solid theological and historical support to the use of traditional
Christian hymn-singing in conjunction with praise chorus singing.
Click on one of the links below to enter into the area of the Wigtune site that interests you !
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Last updated on 04/09/13 |
Copyright © 1999 Don Wigton. All rights reserved.
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