How is your worship behind closed doors?

Do you know the importance of a personal worship time?

I believe your ministry will rise and fall on it.

My hunch is that we just don’t carve the time for it because, in our fast paced culture, our minds are trained to constantly process information. From checking facebook, to updating Twitter, to checking the news, to listening to a few podcasts, we feel the need to stay occupied and connected.

But God calls us to rest. He calls us to worship. Has personal worship become a lost discipline? Has it been replaced with an onslaught of media?

Perhaps it has. But I would love to offer some suggestions for taking it back. If you want your heart to be spiritually alive, you need to worship God…on your own.

But what does one do if there’s no worship leader, no congregation, and no light show?

Glad you asked.

1. Carve out a few minutes – while I love the idea of ‘worshiping on your way to work’ or ‘sing while you do the dishes’, I think it’s important to have times dedicated to being with Jesus. Try once a week for now and gradually build up to more.
2. Get alone – I’m always distracted if someone is in the room. Even if they’re being quiet, it’s difficult for me to really ‘let go’ because I’m always thinking about that person.
3. Move around – this has been incredibly helpful to me. I typically like to worship in the early mornings. If I don’t pace, I’m tempted to fall asleep. Put on some good worship music, or my preference, great ambient/instrumental music and begin to worship.
4. Read Scripture out loud – this is what really gets me going. If I’m being honest, sometimes I just don’t know what to say or pray so I’ll open the Psalms, read a verse, and then close my eyes and worship God based on that particular verse. It’s amazing to worship God with the Bible. It can give voice to a distracted heart like mine.

This will not always ‘feel’ emotionally charged like a Chris Tomlin concert in the XCel Energy Center. But it is always time well spent because the more you do this the more inclined you are to praise God when difficulties arise. You’re re-capturing the lost discipline of personal worship.

Would you add anything? What do you do in your personal worship times? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Ever been there? You’re in a worship service. The worship leader is going at it, musicians are rocking out, and yet there seems to be zero connection between what is happening on stage and what is happening in the crowd. What is the problem?

Let me just say that this is normal, to a certain extent (sometimes the worship leader is just plain insensitive). However, in a healthy congregation there will always be a mix of the pros, the amateurs, and the newbies. Here’s what I mean:

• THE PRO – the pro’s are the worship leader’s best friend. You could start singing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” with flute, mandolin, and saxophone and their hands are raised high (almost looks like their stretching), they’re swaying to the beat, clapping, and singing at the top of their lungs. Anytime the worship leader says something they offer the ‘spiritual grunt’ or a hearty ‘Amen’. Beautiful.
• THE AMATEUR – amateur worshipers love Jesus but are still getting used to the corporate sing-a-long. When they raise their hands it’s more of a “cup-my-hands-but-leave-them-at-my-side” sort of thing. They’ll also put in the occasional clap but it probably won’t last for more than 20 seconds.
• THE NEWBIE – if you’re a pro, put on the ‘newbie’ shoes for a second. These are typically people who have not come to faith in Christ yet. Imagine stepping into a room with people you don’t know, with songs you don’t know, and being asked to participate. Kinda weird. These people either stand still or sit or have many sudden urges to use the restroom throughout the worship service.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the humor. But in all honesty, a great church will have a mix of these people because a great church is reaching the lost and is filled with people at a different point on the same journey. So if you have a lot of amateurs and newbies, pray that they grow into a pro and lead by example.

Remember the day? The day you went to see James Cameron’s blockbuster hit, Avatar? Since you had heard so many good things about it, you were prepared to ‘go the distance’ with this one. Armed with a $15 popcorn & drink, you were prepared for an amazing three hours of pure escapism from the ordinary. And amazing it was, right?

Why is it that we humans LOVE movies, amusement parks, sports events, and a gazillion other entertainments? Why is it that our culture is consumed by the pursuit of them? Why are we enamored with entertainment?

I believe it’s because we were created to worship. We were made to be fascinated, awed, lost in wonder, starstruck – by the greatness of God. The time and money America spends on entertainment is a reflection of this deep need. We long to escape the ‘ordinary’ and engage with the ‘extra-ordinary’.

How would our congregational worship times change if we approached God in this way? Much the same way that we approach seeing Avatar in 3D IMAX with buttery popcorn and a ‘way-too-big-for-any-human-bucket-‘o-drink’?

What would it look like if our anticipation for gathering in God’s house, together with God’s people, to encounter the glory of God was that much stronger?

What do you say?

Whenever I run into you at the grocery store, I don’t burst into song.

Whenever I come to your house, I don’t cross the threshold singing “You Are Great”.

It’s not that I don’t like you; actually, you’re pretty swell. But why is it that when it comes to God, we sing?

Why does Scripture even place such a huge emphasis on “singing unto the Lord?”

Why don’t we just recite the facts and get it done?

Bob Kauflin has some helpful thoughts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJ348bebnY

I also love how John Piper says it:

“God is so great that thinking will not suffice, there must be deep feeling; and talking will not suffice, there must be singing.”

The Gospel is not merely meant to be thought about. Or analyzed. Or debated. It should cause you to worship.

When we begin to understand the glories of God, we respond with love and adoration.

We can’t just know the facts about God. We need to worship.

Question: What are your thoughts? Why does God want us to sing? You can leave a comment by clicking here.