. . . make a joyful noise to the Lord . . .

I saw this meme this morning on one of my Christian pages and I immediately thought about all the times when people have criticized worship for one reason or another. I think modern Christian society has forgotten that we truly worship God when we enter into our houses of worship. It's not about perfect worship with fog, awesome lights, a flawless praise band, or amazing organist. Those things definitely create atmosphere and engage the senses in a variety of ways, but it's not what makes worship great.

I wanted to post this on my timeline, but I know that many would be offended by it, so I brought it to my blog so those interested could see my thoughts. Facebook tends to create such enmity over simple things.

One thing difficult to balance is how to speak hard truths in a grace-filled manner. I really enjoy Francis Chan's Bible studies and his preaching, but I wonder if he ever actually said this to someone. It's one thing to say it in a Bible study, where the observer can't talk back (I imagine heads nodding in agreement), but how would a person react if he said this, exactly as it's written, to someone's face? I wonder.

So often we hear how the church has harmed people, and to me, this meme harms - even though I agree with it. We want people to worship with us, but when we post stuff like this I think it alienates those in our church from wanting to participate. They leave and go to a different church. That's why I didn't readily share it on my Facebook timeline. I love my congregation, even when I hear criticism about worship or the way I minister. However, I think there is a better, more balanced way so we can help grow the kingdom more effectively.

One of those ways I've found most helpful comes from John Wesley, the founder of the Wesleyan denominations, like the United Methodist Church. Here is what it says in our hymnals from point seven:

VII. Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.*

When we come into our houses of worship, we are to sing to the Lord. True, the sound shouldn't overwhelm and cause our eardrums pain, but we should sing with all our hearts to God.
When people tell me they can't sing, I tell them, God loves your singing no matter what. When people tell me they don't like the songs, I ask them whether they think God does or not.
Yes some songs are hard to sing, we may not like the lyrics to some songs, but I believe if we try our best then it will be pleasing to God.

And yes, what about those songs that are not theologically in line with our doctrine? That's why I'm a Pastor, I help identify those songs that speak contrary to the message with we want to share.

*The United Methodist Hymnal: Book of United Methodist Worship (Nashville, Tenn.: United Methodist Pub. House, 1989), vii.