Noordegraaf’s Weblog

For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

What is worship?

Worship is the central act of Christian identity and is to lift one’s mind, acts and heart to God. Worship is to tune in with the angels and anything created singing:

(I devote my life to..) the One on the Throne! To the Lamb!

The blessing, the honor, the glory, the strength.

For age after age after age (1)

Worship is to trim the sails of life to God and to live for Him, to be true ‘homo adorans’ (worshipping man). Worship is timeless, never ending and dynamic. Our lives touch upon God and God bends down to touch us, over and over again. Worship is about change; we cannot stay the same when we are in His presence. He is like the sun, changing our color when we life for Him. He colors us Jesus-like; pointing to the Father, caring for the poor. Worship is therefore always ‘attached to our engagement with the tangible needs around us’ (2) and ‘in tune with His principles and justice’ (3).

What does music and creativity have to do with it?

God is the creator of heaven and earth. As imagebearers of God we were created to worship Him. As imagebearers we are, like God, creators of beauty.

Music is, like all acts of art: a ‘highway into the centre of a reality which cannot be glimpsed, let alone grasped any other way’ (4). That is, when we sing songs, we ‘do worship’, we express our relationship with God, we consume His love for us and love Him back. By aligning our songs to Him we declare Him alive and present and express our willingness to get to know Him better and further. By worshipping Him, we affirm His existence and affirm Him as our Lord and give Him dominion over our lives as the only and true God.

Time has learned that through music we have a perfect opportunity to worship together, to have community, to share our Faith.

How does worship further the Kingdom Story in the world?

Through worship we first of all make the story real and relevant; ‘ we sanctify present time by enacting the past event of Jesus in time, which transforms the present and gives shape to the future’ (5). Worship reveals the story and opens up bits and pieces of God and His kingdom. Trough worship we bring ‘ words of truth’ (6). Worship also makes us participants in the story since we activate our part of the relationship with God. Through worship we can shed light on the variety of God’s dimensions and glorify them all. We need more then a lifetime and endless songs to describe His beauty, spirituality, righteousness and relational being.

How should all of the above affect how we lead worship as worship leaders?

All of the above should make us honored to be in the position to shed light on Gods greatness and to lead people to a greater intimacy and knowledge of their God. We should be aware of the great opportunity of worshipping together in unity through music. We should try to reflect all the dimensions of Gods character, and not narrow Him down. It also should make us responsible for doing this rightly and conscientiously and to live our life’s in tune with what we are singing. It is also an invitation to put our souls and minds upon Him alone and to be led by His Holy Spirit. We ought to be humble and extremely joyful at the same time cause He is our God and He wants to be worshipped.. by us!

1. Eugene Peterson, The Message, Revelation 5: 13

2. David Ruis, Simple Devotion To Christ (IW Master All, P.24)

3. Gary Best, Singing The Song Of The Kingdom (IW Master All, p.24)

4. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian (p. 201)

5. Robert Webber, The Christian Year: A Primer (IW Master All, p.246)

6. Brian Doerksen, The View From Here (IW Master All, p. 85)