Worship: It's That Important (Part 3)

And, this whole worship thing goes way beyond what happens here on Sunday mornings. Here’s the thing; anything that you or I can think, say or do can and should be an act of worship. Let me say that again: anything that you or I can think, say or do can and should be an act of worship. Get it?

The real worship equation should look like this:

Worship = Anything I can Think, Say or Do that brings Glory to God

And the cool thing about worship is, everybody has a different personality and style. And, at NHC, we try to give people the freedom and options to worship God in the ways that best fit their SHAPE.

So, the question is, what is your style of Personal Worship?

Just for the sake of time and relevance, and since everyone now agrees that worship is more than music, let’s talk about personal styles of musical worship. Again, everything we talk here about can be applied to every aspect of our worship gatherings and our lives.

Every one of us has personal preferences when it comes to music styles. And, my guess would be that every one of you has a different musical style than the people around you. In fact, take 30 seconds to turn to the person next to you and tell them your favorite style of music. Go!

Now, here’s the deal, the music style you like best says more about you than it does about God. The style of worship that you feel most comfortable with says far more about your cultural background than it does about your theology.

There is no Biblical style of music. We could sit here and discuss, or even argue theology for hours on end to great benefit. But, the moment we begin arguing about music style in a theological sense, we’ve crossed onto a path that has no good destination. We might as well be discussing our favorite brand of shoes.

I bought a pair of new running shoes a few weeks ago. I bought them from Overstock.com because I wanted something cheap. They are bright orange (see below), and I posted a picture on My CF Blog, and you wouldn't believe all of the nasty comments I got from people who are supposed to be my friends and family. But, that's OK, because I like them and they fit my personality.


It all comes down to the fact that our personal preferences about music and everything else are just that…preferences. Get it?

Turn to the person next to you and say, “You’re different, and that’s OK.”

And, if you’re like me, you’re preferences are always changing. And, that’s OK! Take our drummer, Chris for example. Chris’s preferences in music style have changed dramatically in his lifetime. Don’t believe me…watch this...



(Here's a picture of Chris now. He had no idea we were going to show this video (at least during the first gathering), and he was up on the stage at the time...good stuff!)


Yeah, that was Chris on the drums about 27 years ago. That music video was actually one of the very first videos played on MTV way back when MTV actually showed music videos in the early 80's. I think you can all agree with me when I say, thank God Chris’s music AND hair styles have changed.

The thing is, personal preferences are a good thing. Imagine how boring this world would be if everybody looked the same, acted the same, smelled the same, talked the same…how painfully dull would that be? And, I know personal preferences are a good thing because it was God’s idea to make us this way. Turn to the person next to you, take a good long look and say, “God made you like that.”

(Tomorrow I'll post Part 4...Check out the other parts of this series: Part 1, Part 2)

Nate

Any thoughts so far? I'd love to have some discussion and hear some more from you about this stuff.