A new blogging series: Thoughts from Unceasing Worship

I'm going to spend the next period of time trying to bring thoughts from the book Unceasing Worship every day. It might be something that I'm working through, a quote that I found interesting or something challenging I've read. I'll just start at the beginning of the book and move forward. Hopefully it will inspire those of you from WLA to take me up on my offer to get the book. For now, let's be sure we know just exactly what we're talking about.

What is Worship?

This is such a fundamental question - what is worship? I mean, most of us who call ourselves Christians say we worship but I wonder what we mean when we say that? Do we mean that we gather together to sing? That's certainly part of it but not the whole. Are praise and worship different? What about contemporary worship and traditional? I'd like to suggest that all of these categories are for the most part fruitless. They miss the point. Worship is not about music only.

It's become popular to say that worship is a lifestyle. That statement sounds true, doesn't it? There are two problems with it though. Firstly, no one does anything about it. If worship is a lifestyle then why do we insist on labels like worship music, worship service, the worship time...lifestyle implies a continuous being. If one chooses to live a lifestyle they don't stop all of life to do that, they simply are what they've chosen to be.

Second, and more importantly, it's not true. Worship is not a lifestyle or even like a lifestyle. Worship is simply something EVERYONE does. Christian, atheist, or any other system of belief, we all worship something. It would be better to say that worship is human nature than a lifestyle. See, we are always ascribing worth to something. Hopefully its God. However, it can often be things or heroes or money or any range of things we choose to make more valuable in any given moment than God. If we are choosing to live in a worldly way at any point we are worshiping that thing, that value system, and not God. Worship is continuous...we are always directing ourselves toward something and with that in mind I present to you the definition Harold Best gives to us for worship:

Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god. (18)

Have I convinced you? Is there more to it? Less? Is he wrong? Take some time and think on it...I'll come back tomorrow and lay out for you his biblical foundations for this definition. In the meantime, leave a comment or ask questions of one another.

I hope through this process that God gives me the grace not to seem condescending or prideful. My heart and hope is that by fleshing these thoughts out in public that I'll encourage you to join me in thinking deeply about worship, about who God is and about how we can serve him better and make his greatness known more vibrantly. I'll ask you to call me out if I'm getting out of line and I'll do my best to submit to God through the instruction he brings to me through you all.