The "Worship" Service

By Gobel Brockman

I am a musician. My Dad taught me how to play guitar when I was seven, and I fell in love with it. When I became a Christian at age 18 I prayed that God would give me the ability to play keyboards. I don't consider myself a good musician, but I enjoy it very much.

I also love playing in church. One of my favorite parts of any church service is the music - some churches call it the 'song service', some call it the 'worship service'. Regardless, I love using music to express praise to God. But there's something I'm going to be honest about (knowing I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with this one). I sometimes wonder exactly how much 'worship' takes place during the 'worship' service. I've led worship in several churches and church settings over the years, and it always interests me that there's always some one who will find fault with it. If you play the older hymns, there's someone there to say, 'Do some new songs'. If you play new songs, there's someone there to say, 'I don't like these new songs, I miss the hymns.' Which brings me to this realization: we're becoming CONSUMERS instead of WORSHIPPERS.

A few years ago I read a story about a church that was being used by God to send worship music throughout the world. But the Pastor of the church began to notice some of the things I'm talking about. Then God led him to do something very interesting. He went to his Worship Pastor and told him, "Don't panic, you're not fired or anything, but we're not playing music in this church anymore until we learn to worship God without it." For a few months they struggled with what to do during the 'worship' time. Eventually they began to do just that - Worship the Lord. When the Pastor saw that his people were really becoming worshippers, he turned the music back on. During the first service, the song leader played a song that God had given him during this time. You may have heard it - it's called "The Heart Of Worship" (When the Music Fades).

I guess the point I'm trying to make is this - the point of the 'worship' service is to worship the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. If your focus is elsewhere, it may be time to readjust.