I’ve been thinking today about worship for a couple of reasons. One spur came from responses to a Facebook post where I shared a call for people to volunteer for the production team at my church (the people who do lights, sound, video, the words on the screen, etc.). One reaction questioned the validity of production being juxtaposed with worship, but another suggested that doing the production work was itself a form of worship. Since I serve on the production team at present, that got me thinking about my worship and what my service means in terms of worship.

The second spark of thinking about worship came from my reading in Psalm 86 this morning. In the NIV I was reading, verse 11 reads, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” In ESV, the same verse is “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”

So what do I think about worship? Like most people, I suspect, my immediate image of worship is singing my heart out to or for God. That is certainly the way I want to worship, since losing myself in a worship song, singing with abandon, is one of my absolute favorite things to do in this world. I think that’s why standing in front of the congregation and singing on a worship team is my favorite way to serve at a church. I get to do one of my absolute favorite things and call it service. However, when I think about offering a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15), I have to admit that there is not much sacrifice involved there for me. Maybe the time to prepare and learn a harmony part, maybe getting up a little early on Sunday and giving up more of my weekend than I would otherwise, but nothing in the moment.

Then I wonder, do I always really worship when I’m singing worship songs. And the answers is clearly a no. I probably am focused on God more often than not, but I certainly wander from the point at times. I start noticing that the words on the screen are coming too slow. I wonder what the person in front of me thinks of my singing. I start focusing on trying to pick up a particular harmony part in a less familiar song. If on stage playing keyboard or singing, I may get distracted by a wrong note and start to be self-conscious. All of these things divide my heart and keep me from fearing God, which is what worship is really supposed to be all about.

What about the suggestion that service on the production team really is a form of worship? I personally do CG, which means I run the videos, show any pictures, and control the words on the screens. This means that during the songs I am most definitely not losing myself in the music or singing with abandon. My job is to hit that spacebar at  the right time, precluding any loss of self, and the person I share a little room with would have just cause for anger if I sang with any volume. Thus it isn’t worship in the same sense.

But worship is about acknowledging God, fearing God, and serving God. Any sacrifice made for God is worship. That’s why giving is a part of worship. So perhaps sitting in the little back room making sure that people see what they are supposed to see is greater worship than any of my music making because it serves God, facilitating others’ worship and knowledge (during the sermons), and it involves a greater sacrifice than my singing ever does. I probably even have a less divided heart, because the decision to be there and do my best at the task is made long before.

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1b 

How do you worship? What is your sacrifice? What divides your heart that God needs to unite so that you can fear him?

Photo by Bill Hamway on Unsplash