Since the fall of 1981, I have been a church worship leader. As I began this journey, the definition of worship began to change. In my faith experience, worship was a noun. It was the place and time when we as the local Body of Christ gathered to sing, take up an offering and hear preaching. In those days, I sat next to my Mother who had an awesome and intimate relationship with the Lord. A we sang during the altar call, she would begin to cry as she sang. I wondered why she did not respond that way during the other singing in the service. I finally discovered that it was the intimacy of the moment that moved her emotions. I then began to question why intimacy with the Lord could only be experienced during the altar call.
As a college student, our wonderful Church Music Professor encouraged us to study the different ways we as the Body of Christ worshiped God. I soon discovered that those churches that were impacting their communities for Christ had a common denominator. Their services were filled with quality, passionate, intimate worship. Even though their styles differed, the worship expressed the same passion for intimacy with the Lord.
28 years later, my observations are the same. Style is just a choice. Contemporary, blended, traditional can all be dead as a doornail if we don't seek Him with all our heart in a desire to please Him, not to just imitate the latest musical fad. The Lord is seeking worshippers (not styles) with passion, whose heart is turned towards Him.
May His church be filled with such worshippers.
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