Worship as Formation: Lessons from Psalm 1

Summer 2012 sermon series at Cherry Creek Presbyterian ChurchI'm preparing to preach (for the second time in my life) on Psalm 1 this Sunday.  As I re-engage the exegesis, I am struck again by the message of this first hymn in God's inspired hymnal.  When we exegete Scripture, we dissect the language, we peer into the mind of the author, and we immerse ourselves into the worldview and situation of the original hearers.  But with the Psalms, some additional things are at play, one of those being the Psalm's placement within the Psalter itself.

Psalm 1 is a wisdom psalm (it sounds very much like a proverb), and, by virtue of its placement, it is the introduction to the entire book of Psalms.  As such, it makes a very interesting point that we often miss when reading it narrowly in English.  The key theme verse is:

His (or her) delight is in the law of the LORD,
And on His law he (or she) meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:2, NIV) 

Several commentators point out that here we have the whole book of Psalms being introduced as torah, which we translate (probably somewhat inadequately) as "law."  But torah in this context does not really mean so much God's moral law, or even the Pentateuch.  Torah means here, more generally, "instruction."  But even then, we might be tempted to think that this is saying that the Psalms exist to teach us something cognitive, to fill our brains with information about God.  Torah as "instruction" is more robust.  It is more like instruction that leads to growth.  Torah is formation.

Psalm 1, as an introduction to the Psalter, is making an important point about the nature of worship: Worship forms us.  It shapes us.  As we worship, God does soul-surgery, making us different than we were.  Our habits are retrained toward the things God desires.  God changes our "wanter," as I've heard others say.  We want different things than we used to.  We start thinking God's thoughts after Him.  We start living the "liturgical life," with all its up and down rhythms, the other six days of the week.

Certainly Psalm 1 exists to encourage us to meditate on Scripture as a primary means for growth and nourishment.  But there is another message contained here, simply because Psalm 1 is Psalm 1 and not Psalm 36 or 114.  Worship is formational.  Pastors and worship leaders should heed this well as we think about planning and leading worship services week in and week out.  The center of our disciple-making call is wrapped up in the content and shape of our worship.

Do Some of Our Historic Images of Jesus Hinder Our Ability to See God as Joyful?

If you don't think that art has the ability to shape the spirituality and worship of the Church, hopefully this little exercise will shift your perspective.  What's your reaction to the statement, "God is an intensely joyful God"?  Or, perhaps more starkly, "God is Joy."

My Pentecostal brothers and sisters have no problem with joy in worship.  Modern worship capitalizes on it.  But what about the more traditional-liturgical traditions?  Is there a sense of joy in our worship?  Many of my somber, cerebral, liturgy-loving friends would say, “Of course! It’s just internal, reverential joy.”  Okay, sure.  If I’m honest with myself, though (I won’t speak for others), when I’m experiencing the richest joy there is, I would have a terribly hard time containing it within a “reverential” shell.  It would probably burst forth.  I might smile.  Perhaps I’d even shout.  Perhaps I’d even dance.  Come to think of it, are reverence and joy at such odds that to express one would be diametrically opposed to expressing the other?

Even if my more high church brothers and sisters aren’t responding to these little jabs, perhaps we might see how our historic Christological art has affected our thinking and worship of God, and specifically the Second Person of the Trinity.

John Jefferson Davis, in his fabulous work, Worship and the Reality of God,¹ points out that evangelical worship could stand to rehearse more often one of God’s most inspiring attributes—joy. (By the way, since when have we seen "Joy" as one of the sections of communicable attributes of God in systematic theology texts?)  Davis briefly proofs his claim through showing the richness of joy in God and in early church worship (Acts 2:46-47; Lk 10:21; Jn 15:11; Jn 1:1-3; Prov 8:30-31; Zeph 3:17; Lk 15:5ff; Rev 19:6-7). He then reminds his readers of God’s joy through what may be a shocking statement: “heaven is a happy place; God the Father and God the Son have smiling faces.”²  And, in a footnote, Davis points out something quite profound about ecclesiastical art in both the Western and Eastern Christian traditions:

The images of God in the church and in the Christian’s imagination can have powerful impacts for good or for ill in personal piety and worship.  The crucifix in Roman Catholic churches, portraying a dead and suffering Christ, and the icons of ‘Christ Pantocrator’ in Orthodox churches, portraying a powerful but very somber Jesus, do indeed portray profound biblical truths—but not the whole truth; the joyfulness of the inner life of the Trinity is missing in these images.³

Let it sink in.  When you scan in your mind the depictions of Jesus you’ve seen in paintings, sculptures, and film, what is the prevailing mood?  Now scan your theology (what you believe about God) and your resulting spirituality (the habits through which you personally relate to God).  What do you see?  Is God a highly joyful God in your mind?  Do you relate to God in public and private worship in ways that others would describe as a relationship "full of joy"?  Perhaps a discussion about how art over history has shaped this is a bit chicken-and-egg.  Did art shape our spirituality, or did the ways we thought of God seep into our art?  It's probably some of both, a symbiotic relationship.  But, nevertheless, here we are.

Perhaps I can’t appeal to your intellect.  Maybe you remain unconvinced that you need to see God as more joyful and that this could have a dramatic impact on your individual and corporate worship.  So I’ll try appealing to your hunger.  Don’t you want, deep down inside, to believe God is intensely joyful?  Don’t you yearn to know and love a God who is pulsating delight—delight in Himself, delight in His creation, and delight in you?  I sure do. 

Artists: it looks like we have some work to do.  We have an opportunity to fill a significant gap that could have a shaping impact on Christ's church going forward.  We need more songs, more paintings, more sculptures, more film, more drama, and more dance that give us a balancing picture of God’s eternal joy!

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¹John Jefferson Davis, Worship and the Reality of God: An Evangelical Theology of Real Presence (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010).
²Davis, Worship, 58.
³Davis, Worship, 58, n. 48.

Christmas Day 2011: Forcing the Issue of Ultimate Allegiance Between Sunday Worship and Family Traditions

Starting around six months ago, there began a flurry of exchanges among worship leader Facebook groups, email groups, and online forums.  “What is your church doing for Christmas Day this year?”  The subtext of the dialogue was largely, “Are you going to have a worship service or not?”  There was at least a small amount of panic about how this could all possibly work.  People aren’t used to going to church on Christmas Day.  But many are very used to their tried and true family traditions.  (“We always open presents on Christmas morning.”  “We always have Christmas brunch together witht the family.”)

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Not Just a Worship Warm-Up: Singing is Where Teaching, Formation, and Growth Happens

Colossians 3:16:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”

“Word of Christ,” in context, is the good news, the gospel, of His headship (2:10), of our union with Him (2:12; 3:1), of our being made alive in Him (2:13), and of His triumph over the powers and authorities (2:15).

Most often, we evangelicals tend to think that this word of Christ dwells in us by means of Bible study.  Certainly this is true.  Part of our “teaching and admonishing one another” is our reading the Scriptures together and allowing the Spirit to form us through the teaching that takes place there.  We evangelicals furthermore acknowledge that the word of Christ dwells in us by means of the preached word.  And certainly this is true, as well.

But that’s not what this passage is talking about.  Here, we have a radical statement that this “Word of Christ” dwells in us richly as we sing in worship.  The Gospel has a special “dwelling” among us as we sing.  Firstly, yes, this passage is referring to the act of corporate worship.  The verbs are all plural in Greek, and the “one another” is a dead giveaway that this is referring to gathered, corporate action.  Secondly, blown to smithereens is the notion that music in a worship service is merely a “warm up” for the sermon.  As far as the word-of-Christ-dwelling-richly barometer goes, they’re both on equal footing.  Thirdly, notice the interconnectivity of it all.  The connection between this “teaching and admonishing” and “singing” is even more stark in the original language of the text.  And here, I’ll note that the new NIV (2010) has actually brought this out with more precision:

(Old NIV): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

(2010 NIV) “Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

The latter reflects the literal flow of the Greek text.  The former breaks up the ideas a bit with “and as you sing,” but no such conjunction “and” exists in the Greek. It flows literally, “teaching and admonishing one another in/by/with* psalms, in/by/with hymns, in/by/with songs…”.  Kudos to the new NIV team!  So, ultimately, the language points us to the fact that the Gospel dwells in us uniquely in the act of singing together. 

Just as profound is the fact that singing together is an instrument through which we teach and admonish one another.  This certainly means several things:

1) It raises the stakes for the theological content of our songs.  If one of the goals of our singing is to teach and admonish one another, we can’t do this if our content is simplistic, theologically shallow, or downright wrong.  If I want to encourage your physical health, I can’t hand you a milkshake.  If I want to encourage your spiritual health, I can’t do so without healthy theology.  But let it be known that this doesn’t mean that our songs need to be theologically dense.  They can be simple, just not simplistic. 

2) It raises the stakes for the need for our active participation in singing.  How well does teaching and admonishing work when it comes from a half-hearted source?  If I am attempting to encourage you with the Gospel, can I do so effectively through a yawn (I see a lot of yawns as we sing on Sunday morning!)?  If I am ministering the word of Christ to others, I should do so with the utmost zeal, with all that is within me.

3) It means that worship is an important context for true spiritual formation.  Born again evangelicals have inherited a strong “me and God” emphasis on spiritual formation.  But here we have a passage which emphasizes that the teaching and admonishment, which are necessary parts of my spiritual growth, happen in the context of worship, as we sing together.  The drum needs to be beat time and again: one of the best things you can do for your spiritual health and growth is to regularly worship with the gathered people of God.

Who knew that so much truth could be so densely packed in one Greek sentence?  Well, I guess God knew.

*For those who know Koine Greek, “psalms,” “hymns,” and “songs” are all dative constructions, and the context indicates that they’re being used instrumentally, as means through which teaching and admonishing happen.



Personal Piety is Not Enough; We Need Worship, Too

Luke Stamps has blessed us with a fabulous post on the Gospel Coalition site.  He observes the historical reasons why evangelicalism has placed a lot of emphasis on personal piety, perhaps to the neglect of corporate worship as a primary means through which God shapes and forms us into the image and likeness of Christ.  He contrasts this with (perhaps a caricature, I would admit, of) Roman Catholic spirituality, with its lack of emphasis on personal piety, so he’s not making light of the importance of our need for an individual, ongoing, and personal relationship with God.  But, in making his point about worship, He frequently interacts with the Westminster Shorter Catechism, including with this question and answer:

Question 89: How is the word made effectual to salvation?

Answer 89: The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

Stamps’ comment:

It is interesting that the catechism places special emphasis on the formal preaching of the Word, which can only take place when the church is gathered together. It is often said that the corporate worship of the church is diminished when the individuals that make up the church have not been worshiping God in their daily lives throughout the week. Anyone who has ever had the responsibility of leading a local church in public worship can testify to the truth of this claim. But it seems to me that the opposite is true as well: If the church is not engaged in biblically ordered worship through Word, sacrament, and prayer, then it will be very difficult for its members to be equipped for their daily tasks of loving God and loving neighbor.

Stamps goes on to point out that worship is “not incidental, but vital,” meaning that while attending and participating in worship certainly is optional for every one of us, it is not optional if you are desirous to grow in your faith.  God chooses to do too many special things that are unique to the worship context for it to be replaced with any other practice.

Please read this important article!

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I believe in this subject.  Here are some previous posts that have addressed it:

Worship's Unique Ability to Give People Spiritual Wisdom and Insight

Flippant Worship Attendance: Stats and Consequences

Why the Gospel Shines Brightest in Worship

Taking Children to Jesus in Worship

Worship as Fasting & Prayer: Not Popular, But Powerful

Some denominations have more “organizing documents” than others.  Presbyterians often get (many times lovingly) disparaged for being a little overkill in the organization-and-documentation department.  I guess, then, that my love of my denomination’s constitutional documents, like our Book of Order, makes me “one of those.”  Our Book of Order has a very helpful section on worship, and in Chapter 4 (“The Worship of God at Other Times”), it says this:

Days of Prayer and Fasting: The Lord Jesus Christ set the example for God’s people in a time of fasting. Throughout the New Testament there is frequent indication that Christians in the early Church practiced fasting. Therefore, the Church will do well in its spiritual life if it follows this example. The Church Session should be diligent and sensitive to those times when such a special day is called for and should be eager to order such an event. Christians individually and in particular families should observe special days when fasting is practiced.

…When the Church Session calls a day of prayer and fasting, the purpose of the occasion should be announced and adequate time given in order that members may prepare themselves. It is appropriate on such occasions for services of public worship to be conducted during the day set aside. All the members under the authority of a Church Session should make diligent effort to conscientiously participate in the day set aside.¹

In a class on Christian ethics, one of my most influential professors—Douglas Groothuis—urged us to re-engage the lost art of fasting.  He reminded us that our cultural setting is not conducive to denying ourselves, because it is a now-oriented, appetite-driven environment.  (By the way, this is why our brothers and sisters in Ghana engage this Christian practice with much more regularity and effectiveness.)

Fasting is one of those things that is not popular because it does not appear to be powerful.  It makes us weak and dependent—something that is not a part of the American psyche.  Fasting, furthermore, not only makes us physically uncomfortable (something that Americans aren’t used to), but spiritually uncomfortable.  Why?  Because it is often during a fast that one’s idols, so regularly and conscientiously fed, go hungry.  The idols, in turn, rise up in our hearts and cry out for feeding, attention, and worship.  When this happens, our spirits become restless.

But here’s why fasting IS powerful. 

1)     Christ’s example shows us that fasting fills us with power (when connected to Christ, the source of that power).  Luke 4 records Jesus’ forty-day fast: “He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry” (v 2).  Then, the devil appeared and tempted Him three times.  Jesus did not succumb, and the text implies that Jesus’ victory was not due to the mere fact that He was fully God, but that, in His humanity He relied on the Father for strength because His fasting had made Him utterly weak.  Christ, the man, had the power to withstand temptation because He fasted.

2)     One of the hallmarks of Christianity is that things that seem foolish to us end up being very, very wise.  1 Corinthians 1:27 says, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”  God’s wisdom confounds ours.  This should be very instructive when we’re tempted to think that fasting is a weak, empty enterprise.

3)     God chooses to unleash His power through weakness.  2 Corinthians 12:9 records God saying to Paul and to us, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  There is actually an obvious logic here.  If God is using His power through someone, it would be most apparent that it is God’s power when that someone is noticeably weak and powerless.  If God is using His power through a powerful figure, one could mistake that power as being from the person.  But if someone is obviously weak, then such power can only be attributed to the work of God.  It is backward thinking to us, but because fasting puts us in a position of physical and spiritual weakness, we become a more fitting conduit of the raw, unquestionable power of God.  Wow.

At the start of the year, our church session (our leadership team of elders) chose to heed the wise admonition of our Book of Order and call for a time of prayer and fasting.  This past Sunday, we had a special service of prayer and Communion, concluding with that call for people to fast.  We left the duration and type of fasting up to the discretion of the individual.

Here’s what I’m discovering this week.  By fasting and praying together as a church, we’ve extended our corporate worship out past Sunday.  We’ve all taken the practice home with us, but we are still engaging it as a community.  Here’s what I wait for in hopeful anticipation of the result of this period:

• ·   A more vibrant worship service this coming Sunday morning—people more fully engaged in mind, heart, and spirit.
• ·   A more evident hunger for the Word of God when it is preached.  (I’m preaching this Sunday, so my antennae will be up.)
• ·   Some “breakthrough” wisdom from godly elders and congregants about how our church can fulfill our vision and mission in the near and far future.
• ·   Some restored relationships within families and within our church family.
• ·   Physical, psychological, and spiritual healing of individuals in our congregation.

Why do I wait in faith for this?  Because, by fasting, our church has chosen to open a box full of pulsating power (one that we haven’t opened in a while), and I can’t imagine that when that power is unleashed among us that it will do nothing.  I look forward to rejoicing when the stories come in.

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¹Evangelical Presbyterian Church, “Book of Worship,” in Book of Order (Livonia: Office of the General Assembly, 1987), §4-2



The Importance of Mentoring the Next Generation of Worship Leaders

In the last few years, God has brought on a strong urge think about mentoring those younger than myself.  In fact, I’ve got five working relationships with young men at various ages and stages of interest.  I’m teaching guitar lessons to a 10-year-old and an 12-year-old.  I’ve been incorporating another young man, about 14, into our worship band.  I just had lunch the other day with an 18-year-old, encouraging him to pursue the high calling of pastoring people through worship, and I’ve brought in another 18-year-old on board to expand the ministry of modern worship to our students and children.  I’ve begun a long-distance relationship with a 20-something on the west coast with semi-regular phone calls and prayer.  For each of them, there’s no magic formula.  There’s not even a game plan.  In fact, I’ve adopted a methodology I largely call “absorption mentoring.” 

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traffic tickets, leading worship, and hardened hearts

I had a most interesting experience yesterday driving to church at around 7:30am.  My commute is about 20 minutes, which is just enough time to center myself and prepare my heart and thoughts for stepping into shoes I'm not worthy to fill--being a pastor and worship leader.  3/4 into the drive, a cop pulls up behind me and signals me over.  As most people do as they're being pulled over when they don't immediately know why, I started to replay the last 5 minutes of driving, but for the life of me I could not figure out why I was being summoned to the roadside spectacle of flashing lights (come to find out later, some of our church family were driving by watching their pastor apprehended by the law).  Well, I had expired tags, which I will go to resolve, just after I write this post. Needless to say, I was upset.  I was pounding my fist on the steering wheel, upset at myself for having been negligent with expired tags, upset at God for sovereignly ordaining an encounter which so wonderfully UNprepared my heart for worship.  I parked the car at church, muttering at God.  I muttered at God from the car to the door.  I muttered at God from the door to my office.  I plastered on a smile and said "hey!" in a fake, enthusiastic voice to someone I saw in the hall, and then I went into my office to "prepare for worship."  I had set in my heart that my worship preparation this week would consist of telling God how upset I was and how I wouldn't really be engaged today, thank you very much.  I picked up the worship bulletin and was reminded that I needed to spend a few minutes rehearsing the chant that would open our service...it was a setting of Psalm 95.  The chant's refrain was as follows: Harden not your hearts, as your forbears did in the wilderness. After about the third time through that refrain, it was obvious that God was talking to me.  I'm sure you understand the message I was receiving.  That transition state between being angry with God and being humbled by God is an awkward one, but that's right where I was when I said out loud in the empty choir room, with a nervous and bitter laugh, "God, are You preaching at me?"  I didn't need an answer. Yesterday, I re-learned a lesson that I am perpetually teaching to my brothers and sisters week-in and week-out: God is worthy of praise, irrespective of our circumstances.  His infinite worth demands our best efforts, our most enthusiastic worship, our loftiest thoughts.  The simple lesson of "your feelings don't matter, Zac...I have a summons on your life to gather with my people and worship me" was spoken by God once again, loud and clear. There is a divine grace in being a pastor and a worship leader.  Others can choose to evade God on days like that, but for us, it's our job to be there.  I count that a huge privilege.  It's almost a spiritual discipline.  Running from God as a pastor or a worship leader really is futile, because you're going to have to reckon with Him at least once a week when you stand before His presence in the midst of His people.  I've learned this lesson before.  It was good to learn it again. Well, off to the DMV.

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