Thoughts on Worship Hits

By Bob Kauflin

If you're a worship leader or music minister there's a good chance you've heard another leader talking about the new song they just introduced. They describe it as the most "incredible, life-changing, awesome, heaven-releasing, God-calling-down, what-you-haven't-heard-it-yet" song they've ever done. You heart sinks as you realize that not only have you not heard the song, you didn't even know the CD was out. When you think of the 80 CD's on your desk you still haven't listened to, you really feel like a loser. "How can anyone in my church even worship?"

If you've ever had those thoughts, you're not alone. The problem lies mainly in our sinful hearts. We don't want to be out of the loop when it comes to what's happening in the worship world. We don't want to look like we have our heads stuck in the sand. After all, we only have to spend a few minutes on the web to know what's going on. It's not like you have to go to a record store...But somehow we fall behind in our new song awareness, and start to panic. That's our pride showing.

The worship song industry doesn't always help us. Recently I received this advertisement for a new CD in my in-box:

51 Must Have Modern Worship Hits

Few music collections capture the very best moments of an entire genre of music, but 51 Must Have Modern Worship Hits does just that. Packed with the best of the best songs that have shaped modern worship as we know it, this essential 3-CD set includes..."

I realize that this is simply a company trying to package and promote songs that God seems to have used in the church. I have no doubt there are some great songs being offered. But I think it reveals a flaw in the way many of us think about worship songs. I wanted to draw attention to how the way these songs are described might tempt us as we seek to serve our churches.

Must have... Are there really any worship songs that we "must have?" I don't think so. I can think of hundreds of songs that are God-glorifying, Christ-exalting, biblically rooted, singable, memorable, and useful for praising God. But none of them are indispensable or irreplaceable. Only the Song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3) fits into that category, and we won't hear that until we're around the throne. Hopefully, I can still praise God passionately, biblically, and effectively with the songs I already have.

Modern... I thank God for the fresh energy, perspectives, and expressions that new songs can breathe into congregational worship. But some of us can be gripped by fear that our song list or services might be outdated, out of touch, or irrelevant. That's certainly a valid consideration, but not if by "outdated" we mean anything older than 6 months. "Modern" may describe a musical style, but isn't a great way to describe worship itself. God has given us one way to worship him in the new covenant - through faith in the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. There's no requirement that our music be modern, ancient, traditional, contemporary, new, old, amplified or acoustic. And rather than simply satisfy the musical preferences of our church or non-Christians, shouldn't we teach them that God's glory can't be contained in one musical style, including what they happen to have on their iPod? We need to be freed from the mentality that "modern" means "better" or that "new" means "true." The unchanging Gospel frees us from a temporal arrogance that ignores how God has worked in the church throughout history. We lose something precious if we never sing the songs that have ministered to Christians for centuries.

Hits... What makes a worship song a "hit?" It could be any one of a number of factors. A catchy melody. A strong musical hook. A great performance. Association with a well-known artist, ministry, or church. Good promotion. It could be an advertiser trying to persuade us that we're missing out if we don't buy their CD. Or it could be a song that expresses God's truth in a way that has affected hundreds of thousands of people. A "hit" is simply a song that a lot of people like. But there's no guarantee it's liked for the right reasons. Given a choice, I'd rather lead a lesser known song that says exactly what I think will feed the church than a popular song that may produce a more worshipful "experience," but whose lyrics are less clear. Restricting our song list to "hits" means we're allowing an industry or an undefined majority to determine the song diet of our church. That isn't wise or necessary.

Of course, there are many "worship hits" characterized by biblical truth, sincere passion, and musical appeal. Songs come to mind like "How Deep the Father's Love," "In Christ Alone," and "Blessed Be Your Name." There are many more. And there are many Christ-exalting, God-glorifying songs yet to be written. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be writing songs, training songwriters, or helping to produce CD's for Sovereign Grace Ministries.

But it's humbling to remember that many of the best songs for congregational worship have already been written by folks like Isaac Watts, John Newton, Fanny Crosby, and Charles Wesley. Let's make sure that we're not so enamored with the present and future that we miss out on what God's given us in the past.

And next time you feel like you've missed out on teaching the latest worship hit---relax. If it's really that great, it will still be worth learning a few years from now.

Hymn of the Month: It Is Well With My Soul

Horatio Spafford was a successful businessman in Chicago in the late 1860s. He had heavily invested in real estate along the shores of Lake Michigan, which tragically was completely destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 1871. Though the fire had wiped out his holdings, and he had suffered much financial loss, he immediately worked to rebuild the city and assist the many that were left homeless, investing heavily from his own finances. In 1873 he arranged to take his family on a vacation in Europe, along with attending the evangelistic meetings of his close friends D.L. Moody and Ira Sankey. Shortly before the planned trip, an urgent business need delayed him, but he sent his wife Anna and four daughters; Maggie, Tanetta, Annie and Bessie, ahead on the S.S. Ville du Havre, planning to follow them shortly thereafter. The night of November 22, 1873, the Ville du Havre, collided with an English iron sailing vessel, the Lochearn. Within 12 short minutes the Ville du Havre was completely submerged. Of the 273 people on board, just 47 survived. Mrs. Spafford was found nearly unconscious, clinging to a piece of the wreckage, however all four of his daughters died in the tragic accident. When she reached Cardiff, Wales, she cabled home, "Saved alone, what shall I do?" Horatio immediately started to Europe to join his wife. En route, the captain pointed out the place where he believed the Ville du Havre had gone down. Returning to his cabin, he wrote, "It is well; the will of God be done." He later wrote the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul", based on these words. As we look at this powerful song, I would like to focus on the wonderful and triumphant words of the third verse, noting that Horatio didn’t spend long focusing on the sorrow and great distress of this tragic accident, but instead looked to his joy found in Jesus Christ:

My sin, oh the bliss, of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord Oh My Soul.

This is the entire reason that it is well with our souls. If we don’t have a right standing with God, If all of our sins aren’t forgiven, but only a part of them, then nothing else matters, and we simply don’t have the strength, or the hope to know that all things will work out for our good in the end. The scripture that Horatio had in mind when he wrote this verse was Colossians 2:13-14:

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

Our faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross should be enough for us to look at anything, whether it be trials, tribulations, financial hardships, death, persecution, whatever it may be, and we can truly say, “it is well with my soul.”

Click here to listen to the song.

Preaching and Worship

The correlation between worship and preaching should be obvious to Christians, however, it is something that has been lost in this day in age. Martin Luther said that the highest form of worship is the obedient listening and response to the preaching of God's word. Today, however, it seems as though they are viewed separately... As if the musical portion of a church service is the worship, and the preaching is, well, preaching... The truth is, preaching is worship, and listening intently to the sermon is worship, if you are listening with the intent to grow in your walk with Christ, and grow in your obedience toward Him. With these things in mind, I stumbled across an excellent article regarding one of the current trends in Christian churches today. I hope you are encouraged as you read:

Prosperity Preaching: Deceitful and Deadly

By: John Piper

When I read about prosperity-preaching churches, my response is: “If I were not on the inside of Christianity, I wouldn’t want in.” In other words, if this is the message of Jesus, no thank you.

Luring people to Christ to get rich is both deceitful and deadly. It’s deceitful because when Jesus himself called us, he said things like: “Any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). And it’s deadly because the desire to be rich plunges “people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9). So here is my plea to preachers of the gospel.

1. Don’t develop a philosophy of ministry that makes it harder for people to get into heaven.

Jesus said, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” His disciples were astonished, as many in the “prosperity” movement should be. So Jesus went on to raise their astonishment even higher by saying, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” They respond in disbelief: “Then who can be saved?” Jesus says, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God” (Mark 10:23-27).

My question for prosperity preachers is: Why would you want to develop a ministry focus that makes it harder for people to enter heaven?

2. Do not develop a philosophy of ministry that kindles suicidal desires in people.

Paul said, “There is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” But then he warned against the desire to be rich. And by implication, he warned against preachers who stir up the desire to be rich instead of helping people get rid of it. He warned, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).

So my question for prosperity preachers is: Why would you want to develop a ministry that encourages people to pierce themselves with many pangs and plunge themselves into ruin and destruction?

3. Do not develop a philosophy of ministry that encourages vulnerability to moth and rust.

Jesus warns against the effort to lay up treasures on earth. That is, he tells us to be givers, not keepers. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19).

Yes, we all keep something. But given the built-in tendency toward greed in all of us, why would we take the focus off Jesus and turn it upside down?

4. Don’t develop a philosophy of ministry that makes hard work a means of amassing wealth.

Paul said we should not steal. The alternative was hard work with our own hands. But the main purpose was not merely to hoard or even to have. The purpose was “to have to give.” “Let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have to give to him who is in need” (Ephesians 4:28). This is not a justification for being rich in order to give more. It is a call to make more and keep less so you can give more. There is no reason why a person who makes $200,000 should live any differently from the way a person who makes $80,000 lives. Find a wartime lifestyle; cap your expenditures; then give the rest away.

Why would you want to encourage people to think that they should possess wealth in order to be a lavish giver? Why not encourage them to keep their lives more simple and be an even more lavish giver? Would that not add to their generosity a strong testimony that Christ, and not possessions, is their treasure?

5. Don’t develop a philosophy of ministry that promotes less faith in the promises of God to be for us what money can’t be.

The reason the writer to the Hebrews tells us to be content with what we have is that the opposite implies less faith in the promises of God. He says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

If the Bible tells us that being content with what we have honors the promise of God never to forsake us, why would we want to teach people to want to be rich?

6. Don’t develop a philosophy of ministry that contributes to your people being choked to death.

Jesus warns that the word of God, which is meant to give us life, can be choked off from any effectiveness by riches. He says it is like a seed that grows up among thorns that choke it to death: “They are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the . . . riches . . . of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Luke 8:14).

Why would we want to encourage people to pursue the very thing that Jesus warns will choke us to death?

7. Don’t develop a philosophy of ministry that takes the seasoning out of the salt and puts the light under a basket.

What is it about Christians that makes them the salt of the earth and the light of the world? It is not wealth. The desire for wealth and the pursuit of wealth tastes and looks just like the world. It does not offer the world anything different from what it already believes in. The great tragedy of prosperity-preaching is that a person does not have to be spiritually awakened in order to embrace it; one needs only to be greedy. Getting rich in the name of Jesus is not the salt of the earth or the light of the world. In this, the world simply sees a reflection of itself. And if it works, they will buy it.

The context of Jesus’ saying shows us what the salt and light are. They are the joyful willingness to suffering for Christ. Here is what Jesus said, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth. . . . You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:11-14).

What will make the world taste (the salt) and see (the light) of Christ in us is not that we love wealth the same way they do. Rather, it will be the willingness and the ability of Christians to love others through suffering, all the while rejoicing because their reward is in heaven with Jesus. This is inexplicable on human terms. This is supernatural. But to attract people with promises of prosperity is simply natural. It is not the message of Jesus. It is not what he died to achieve.

© Desiring God

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.

Friendship with the World? Enmity with God

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Very often, churches in this day and age have difficulty lining up their practices, their teaching, and their worship with these verses. Certainly, these verses present a devastating blow to our natural desire for acceptance, comfort and a conflict free life. Too often we see churches look past verses like these, in an attempt to reach out to the lost. The movement is called the "Seeker Sensitive Movement", and while on the surface, the idea sounds great; this is a group trying to reach the lost, however when closely examined, what is being done, whether it is deliberate or not, is an undermining of scriptural authority. We are clearly warned of the importance of how we treat the scriptures. (cf. Matt 5:19)

In our short time together, we are going to look at a few passages that clearly teach the doctrine of separation, or the scriptural teaching, that a believer is clearly called for in both the Old and New Testaments to separate themselves from both sinfulness and worldliness.

First, lets look at our passages listed above:

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

This passage, in context with the book of 1 John, is a call to believers to come out from the bondage of worldliness and sin, and in reviewing the book of 1 John, you can see the intent of the book as summarized in 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life." The fact is, that all throughout this wonderful book, John lays out black and white for us the difference between light and darkness, sin and righteousness, believer and unbeliever, and in this passage, as difficult as it can be for us from time to time, God Himself is telling us that we cannot have such a hold on this world, that we lose our focus on Him. If anything on earth is getting between you and God, then whatever, or who ever it is, needs to go.

Now, to apply this scripture to worship, and what is taking place in many churches. Church, above all things is to be about God. It is a group of believers, who come together with the intent to worship God; singing His praises, listening obediently to the Word, and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we look at the church described in scripture, that is exactly what is taking place. However, many churches today are trying to mass evangelize the lost, and in the process, they aren't feeding the sheep the Word of God that they need to grow. The truth is, that in a church service, the Word of God is to be preached uncompromised, the people of God are to worship Him unhindered, and the unbeliever who comes into the true church of Jesus Christ will be won not by dimmed lights, skits, handouts or emotional altar calls, but instead by the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Evangelism is not the sole duty of the Pastor on Sunday, no, evangelism is the duty of the well fed believer, taking the Word back from church, and their own private studies to the rest of world around them.

I am in no way against, or trying to take away from bringing the lost into church, and witnessing the grace of God at work in their lives. I am in no way saying that people aren't saved frequently in church services. I am against however, the church service that is catered to the unbeliever, because it is not biblical. The church must let go of our desire to be well liked by the world, accepted and at peace with everyone around us. We must return to the principals of scripture that teach us, that following Christ means carrying a cross.

The next scripture takes this a step further, James shows us that our allegiance cannot lie both with God, and the world around us, but instead, when we hold the world and it's standards at an exalted place in our lives, we are literally making ourselves enemies of the most high God:

James 4:4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

I have been in church services, where secular music was played to a questionable dance routine. Where Christian lyrics were overlaid on top of a secular (and very anti-God) heavy metal song, and where the Word of God, the precious Word of God, which is to be our very bread of life, was merely an afterthought to the guitar solos and flashing lights. The problem therein lies in our confidence in God's Word. Is the Gospel all that truly needs to be presented for salvation, or do we have to win the world over by incorporating their practices? Is the Gospel no longer sufficient to win the lost? Do we need to spice it up a bit to make it more palatable to the average onlooker?

The answer to these questions should be obvious, an emphatic "No". Nowhere in scripture do we see anyone being saved apart from the truth of the Gospel, and the grace of God. Nothing we can add to the Gospel can make it more valuable, more reliable or more desirable, because the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18). When we go out of our way to make the world comfortable in church, we end up stripping God of His glory, because we are placing our concerns and the concerns of others, above His. God doesn't share His glory with anyone, and our church services should do one thing, glorify God.

The last scripture I would like to look at will speak for itself:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord. "and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty"

This scripture makes it very clear as well, that our purpose is not to conform to the world or anything of the world. If we would purify ourselves, and turn our worship of God into a holy and pure offering, not to meet our felt needs, but to exalt God through our savior Jesus Christ, maybe then the world would take notice, not because we are becoming more and more like them, but because we become more and more like Christ, who the world still can't help but take notice of.

In His Service,
-Brian