Christian Songwriter's Network

In Psalm 33:3 it states "Sing to Him a new song, play skillfully, and shout for joy". While these simple words are easy to gloss over in the midst of an otherwise beautiful passage of scripture, I believe these simple words contain crucial keys to vital worship.

Sing to Him a new song... I received an email yesterday from a dear friend who observed "almost all churches do the same music". Certainly, the catalog of worship songs available today is as good as it's ever been, but are we in danger of being so comfortable with the established liturgy that we deny our magnificent Lord the fruit of His gift of creativity? Creativity is not limited to a specific role or position or necessarily related to music at all! In fact, some of the most intimate worship I've ever experienced has been in total silence. Creativity is boundless, uniquely personal and intimate – a piece of ourselves, if you will – and therefore wholly suitable for worship.

Play skillfully... As a lifetime musician, it's easy to recognize that "playing skillfully" takes a LOT of work. In my teens it was nothing to spend countless hours with my guitar, but as the years have passed there's less time available to practice and gain any kind of significant skill. Does the contemporary church treat worship this same way? Each Sunday when crowds gather to worship, has everyone been practicing worship all week to be able to worship "skillfully"? Or are people showing up expecting to be "led"? Skill takes practice, and without it, it's no surprise when people leave the worship experience with exactly what they brought into it.

Shout for joy... I remember my father saying about the church of my youth: "If someone were to shout for joy in this church they'd remove them in a straightjacket". I believed him. Sunday services were painfully quiet, excruciatingly reverent, and the concept of raising your voice over a whisper – even in song – was a frightening prospect. Where is the joy in all that? Do we gather in joy, or do we gather out of a sense of duty and decorum?

Perhaps I've just been a party to some really horrible churches, but I have this fear that the contemporary church at large has lost much of its collective soul through boring repetition, lack of preparation, and decorum over joy. The problem is not terminal, however. We must step up to take back worship, to place creativity over conformity, to prepare ourselves as if God Himself will be there (He is, by the way), and to allow ourselves to experience and express so much joy that it simply cannot be contained, to the praise of His Glorious Grace.

As you prepare for worship this week, simply ask yourself: if God walked in the back door during the service, would He be able to tell you were gathered in His name?

Something To Think About:
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19:39-40 NIV)

Hey Kevin
Thanks for this..........