Worship

Over the years I have had instilled in me the "importance" of not referring to music as worship. The reasons for this are pretty straight forward: our lives are to be a living sacrifice, and that is our spiritual act of worship. So, the reasoning goes, to say that we go to church for worship should be just as nonsensical as saying that we go to church to breathe (courtesy of Phil).

So I've found it quite challenging to be in a church where we talk about music as worship. Every time I hear the term "worship leader" I cringe. But I'm feeling a little guilty for that, because, when it's all said and done, we're kicking up a fuss about a little bit of church jargon. And from what I can see, the people I'm interacting with who refer to music as worship are just as much trying to live out the worship mandate.

So what am I suggesting? I'd be loathe to suggest that we shouldn't point our the oddity of referring to music as worship. But at the same time, it would be the opposite of worship if bringing it up were to spread discord. A slow evolution in our word usage might be the best approach. It's interesting that this issue of worship is generally agreed upon by people on both sides of the fence, so there is a fair possibility of change. But if there is no change, it is such a minor issue. My cringe response is far too over-the-top considering the importance of the issue.

An interesting side-note... at dad's school, there is a group that organises lunch-time worship, as well as running worship in chapel. Anyway, I had the opportunity to meet attend one of their events at one point. The students had two options: to either attend this worship event or to be out playing soccer, organised by another teacher. Interestingly, there were several girls there who did not want to play soccer, but who weren't Christian, but they were quite happy to come and be part of the worship service, as it was the lesser of two evils. Yet, the worship leader was earnest in praying for the kids out playing soccer that one day they too would join them in the worship group. Being out playing soccer is just as much a part of life as singing praises to God. And if our whole lives are worship, then it can be just as much an act of worship as anything else.