Worship with Abandon
OK... so I put that in the title of a previous post, and then didn't even mention it. :-S

David worshipped with abandon and he was a man after God's own heart. Does worshipping with abandon mean "flailing around?" Sometimes yes... sometimes no. It means doing whatever God asks you to do, at that particular time of worship. I wouldn't consider myself a "flailing" kind of worshipper... but I'm definately a "dancing all over the place" kind of worshipper, most of the time. And because that has become my "natural" style of worship, sometimes God will tell me, "lay on the floor. Just lay there and listen to me". And sometimes he'll tell me to just "sit in a chair and quitely reflect on me."

Listening to his voice and doing whatever he asks, regardless of whether it is expected, how weird it seems, or how much it goes against our "natural style" is one way to worship God with "abandon". Doing whatever He wants.

I think we must always ask ourselves, "Am I doing this because it is easy and natural or am I doing this because it is helping me focus on God and because at THIS particular point in time, this is what He wants me to do?". For me dancing is easy and natural... and kneeling, sitting, - being still in any form - is hard. And usually he doesn't ask that of me, but sometimes he does and I have to just do it. As Erika said, someone might look at that and think "Boy, James doesn't seem to be into it today."

You cannot judge someone's heart of worship or their "abandon" by any one particular situation. You judge it (or evaluate it) based upon their lifestyle of worship over weeks and months.
posted by James at 8:20 AM

A specific reply
Just read Erika's post again. I'd like to discuss a particular section:
My point is, I wish people would stop trying to pressure the congregation into showing the worship leader or whoever what he/she wants to see the congregation doing.

Its not really about pressuring the congregation into showing us want we want to see. It comes from a desire to lead the congregation into worship. And teaching someone how to worship is a hard thing. One way to get them heading that direction is to take the focus off themselves, do what God wants, and just go there. Even if it is initially hard. And physically expression worship is a natural thing for our spirtitual side. Its just hard for our flesh side. So yeah, we encourage (I perfer encourage to pressure ;-)) the congregation to sing and raise their hands.

As a worshiper on a worship team, yeah, it's great to look up and see people raising their hands, jumping around, getting excited for God, but that's not what it's about.

True... Ross Parsley once raised a question at a worship leader meeting. "How do we know we are successful? Do we really judge it based on how much the people are crying, jumping, etc?" No. It isn't. Our desire is to lead people into worship. If we've lead them into worship and they are worship, then they've had "an experince with God." If they are experencing God and talking with him, then their lifes are changing. If their lives are changing, then the will "bear fruit." But... it does provide some form of feedback. Because it is a natural way to expression worship, a congregation wide lack of such expression *probably* indicates that no-one is into it.

It would mean so much more to hear that somebody came up to someone on the team and said, "Hey, thanks for doing worship, I really spent some great time with God tonight."

Excellent point!

I feel that way because I'm on the worship team because I love ministering worship to people. And worship is so much more than just an outward appearance, it's a way to for us to be with God through music.

You are right. It is "more than just an outward appearance"... It is that plus other stuff. That doesn't mean the other stuff isn't important... but it also doesn't mean that the "outward appearance" isn't important!
posted by James at 8:11 AM

Worshipping w/ Abandon... expressing your worship
I read Erika's thought proving, Worship Styles--Including Guys Jumping Off Chairs. It asks some hard questions. Questions that I've thought quite a bit about while being the Fusion Worship Director. While some blogs carry on "discussions" in their comment fields, I veiw comments as very temporairy, because they seem to disappear off of HaloScan after a bit. So I figured I would respond to some of her comments here. BTW: Although Erika said that her post was pretty much a "gripe", I don't view it that way. It is really a heart felt question?

Why do leaders put such emphasis on people "giving it their all" during worship? Why does it seem that leaders expect people to "jump around", "raise their hands", etc. or feel that they aren't "worshipping" God?

Is there a "right" way to worship God?

"It is worth repeating that we do not praise God in our own way... but Christians need to do more than simply praise according to their own feelings and desires. We will never grow and mature in our expressions of praise until we are willing to praise in a manner please to the Lord - the way He wants us to praise... The biblical forms of praise comprise for us the spectrum of possible ways to praise the Lord, but God does not want us to clone his praises by legalistically conforming to his demands. Rather, he wants us to praise him authentically and genuinely, incorporating the scriptural forms of praise as a willing sacrifice. Therefore, if lifting the hands is not "my way of praising God," then we need to make it our way of praising! We need to do it until it becomes a natural and genuine part of our expression to God." Exploring Worship, Bob Sorge

Is "lifting our hands" truely biblical? Yes it is. Nehemia 8:6, Psalms 28:2; 63:4; 134:2 141:2; 1 Timothy 2:8, to name a few.

I had a hard time with this when I first got saved. I did not want to raise my hands. It felt awkward. I felt self-conscience. But at the urging of leadership and after talking to some people I gradually started raising my hands. And as I did that it became easier and easier. Not only easier... but as I worshipped God how he wanted, it beame less and less about me and more and more about him. And he rewarded that. Until it just became a part of me. Before this occured I really had no idea what people were talking about. But because I did it, in spite of myself, I gradually began to feel his presence and started to understand worship.

There are many scriptures that discuss how we should praise... and I'm not going to go into all of them here. But here are a few:

• "proclaiming aloud your praise" - which we could take to mean that we are supposed to actually sign and times... not always be silent in our praise.
  
• "He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." - A cripple man prasied God when he was healed by "walking and jump and praising God"
  
• "You turned my wailing into dancing;you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy"

So... we are supposed to sing, raise our hands, dance, jump. These are all examples of how people praised God in the bible. And they aren't just there as stories, but as examples for us to follow. One of the Hebrew words for praise means to physically worship the Lord by lifting our hands and moving them.
So, these "styles" of worship are not just "a particular person's expression of worship", but are meant for all of us. The Lord delights in us worshipping him in this way.

What about self expression?
So... must EVERYONE worship that way, and must I ALWAYS worship that way? Yes, I think everyone should worship that way, but I don't think they have to always do it. I think Erika makes some great points about intimate times with God, times of quietly discussing things with God, and sometimes just deeply seeking him... and that at those times jumping around just isn't part of it. But you should never not do it because you don't "feel" like it. You don't praise God because you "feel" like it. You do it because he wants you to, and as a sacrifice to him. And as you do that, you'll find yourself changing.

Is it right for us to "judge" people's worship?
Well this is getting rather long... so I'll address this final question.

As a worship director, and as a member of a worship team, I do judge people's worship. Not in a "you are right or you are wrong" kind of way... but as a director in a "do I feel you truely have a heart of worship" and as a member of a worship team in a "do I think people are getting into it."

Is a physical display of worship a true indicator that someone is worshipping God? Not always. As Erika said, it can be faked. And just because someone isn't "jumping around" it doesn't mean they aren't worshipping. However, there are indications that someone isn't worshipping God:

• Talking to friends during worship - and you can tell if they are "having a time of ministry" or if they are just goofing off
  
• Staring out the window
  
• Poking friends, punching each other, goofing around
  
• Boredly staring at the floor

In other words... not being into it. A good thing about "jumping around", "raising your hands", "singing", etc. is that it keeps you from many of those things and helps keep your focus on God... if not at first, after a time. Anyway, it isn't so much that those things are a true indication of worship, but the lack of them is many times an indication of non-worship.

Also, I'll admit, it is an easy way of judging someone's committment level to worship. People have often said, "What right do you have to judge my style of worship?", "Who are you to judge me?". As the Worship Director I had every right... it was part of my job in evaluating whether I felt someone should be part of the worship team. But it isn't the only part. But if someone isn't into worship... it is pretty clear they shouldn't be on the worship team.

As I said, it is an easy way. But many other things go into it. As you get to know someone, you know their heart (to some degree) and you know when they are having a hard time, when they are having an intimate time with God, etc. And you do get to know different people's "styles". But so many people use "this is just my way of worship" to justify being bored, looking out the window, etc. And yeah, I can tell that they aren't "quitely reflecting upon the nature of God" - but are just bored.

Closing
Anyway... back to answering some of Erika's questions.

No, everyone shouldn't be clones and worship exactly the same way.

Yes, I believe that it is important for people to physically "manifest" their worship, and I think it is biblical.

Yes, God allows for individuality and for people to express their worship in different ways at different times.

Also, I personally feel that members of a worship team have a responsibility to lead people in worship, not just when they are "on stage", but any time they worship with the congregation. It may not be "fair", but thats just the way it is. With leadership comes responsibility. That doesn't mean that you have to be up front. I worship at the back frequently as well. But it does mean that during worship you ALWAYS should be worshipping... and sometimes that means jumping around, sometimes it means just sitting there talking to God, and sometimes it means laying on your face. In short, it means you should always be focused on God... even when you don't want to. That is part of worshipping God, pushing through regardless of how you feel.

Hope that wasn't too rambling... I may come back and clean it up later. Or maybe I'll read Erika's post again (its been a week or so) and address more of it specifically. BTW: I think Erika is a great worshipper. I think she has a great voice, leads by example and I know her heart. But these questions are asked by many people and I felt they were worth answering. Hopefully this didn't come across harsh or condeming in any way!

posted by James at 7:12 AM