The Heart Of Worship

When a family, such as mine, is experiencing a possible relocation, several tasks must be accomplished long before the final move. One priority of mine is trying to find a church that best fits the personalities of my family. Each member of my family has certain needs that require different ministries. Some things are more important to me than they are to Tammie and Nick and vice-versa. But it's not just a numbers game where we tally up the points from each church and the highest score wins. It's a God thing. We should be asking God to lead us to where He wants us to be. Just like in my job search, God has a church home set aside just for us. But as always, God has confused me on my level of thinking. For instance, just when I feel that God has led me to a place of employment, it seems as if He retrieves all of the cards to the deck and begins to reshuffle them. God is also shuffling the deck of cards to all of the churches I visit. I don't know if God is just testing me on different levels and seeing how I will react to different situations or settings, or what He's doing, but He sure keeps me guessing.
Before I share with you some of my visits to churches in Virginia, I just want to say that when I vent about something, I always try to look towards God for guidance, and even after the post is final from my initial opinions, God has, in many occasions, lead someone to leave a comment for me to possibly rethink my ideas and change some thoughts for the better.

Northeast Virginia:
With an area phone book and the internet, I targeted a number of churches that met an indefinite criteria for me and my family. Mostly the criteria was very selfish and directed towards my wants and needs. So many times I find my wants getting in the way of what God wants, and of course, God always corrects me on that. Everyone who even remotely knows me, knows that I have a great love for music. That if given a choice between a Traditional Church and a Contemporary Church, the traditional church wouldn't stand a chance. I most certainly do not forbid hymns, it's just not my favorite kind of music. Some people prefer Country music to Rock, or Classical Music to folk. Contemporary Christian songs are just my personal preference. So naturally, most of the targeted churches were Contemporary Christian churches.
It seemed though, that every church I attended with the contemporary music, the message was dull, boring and monotone. It seemed that the pastor was just reading word for word from his notes that he just wrote five minutes ago, unrehearsed and not from the heart. It was obvious that these churches were relying on the music to be their main source of worship. They were very proud of their talents. The music and songs were well polished and sounded great. The word of God seemed to be just a filler, or a half-to-do chore that they rushed through real quick so they could get back to their music. They seemed to worship the music more than they worshipped God. Yes, they sounded good. Very good musicians..... But I found myself sick at my stomach when I departed from these churches.
Finally I changed gears and decided to visit a Traditional Baptist church. Reluctantly I sat through the hymns, and then I heard the message. Everything was perfect. The message was from the heart and in tune with God's directions in the bible. The hymns and the message were a perfect fit. The pastor spoke the word with love and passion, keeping me alert and wanting more. I was eager to listen and learn. What it all boiled down to was that the music didn't matter to me at all, it was all a "Heart" issue.

Am I getting Old ? Did I just say, the music didn't matter ?
Jeff, quit applauding.
Right now Jeff Noble is saying, "Kevin was listening to me!"
For those of you who are calling the secret service to investigate who has stolen my identity, or, those of you who are having a heart attack from the words that you have just read, just try to hang on, the ride isn't over yet.

I left the church refreshed and feeling good. This traditional church just became the front-runner over all of the other churches in Virginia. I wanted to investigate this church even more though, so I called the church office the following week to learn more about their doctrine and just how they function and tick. I didn't get a chance to converse with the pastor, because he was out that day, but from the sermon I heard on Sunday, I just knew that his heart was on fire for Jesus. It wasn't until I was connected with the youth pastor when my euphoria took a disappointing nose dive.
After several questions and answers about the youth, one answer to a question brought out the rolaids once again. The question pertained to "Praise and Worship."
Here was how and what I asked.
"I noticed that in the regular service there were nothing but hymns. I was wondering if the services ever mix it up a little and play some Contemporary Praise and Worship songs ?"
He answered very quickly and sounded disgusted with a "NO, NOTHING BUT HYMNS."
Amazingly, I was Okay with that answer. Then I asked the rolaid question of what the youth usually listens to and sings during their meetings of "just youth". The answer was very disturbing. He said that he was the music leader and the youth pastor all in one, and that the youth sings the same songs that the church sings on Sunday mornings. He went on to tell me that he didn't want his youth listening or singing that kind of music that was "of the world".
What ?! Hello !!!! Hymns were written by man the same way praise and worship songs were written, some may have been written 100 or even 200 years ago, but still they were written by a living human. What makes them more pure than today's songs to Christ? An atheist could write the most beautiful classical piece of music ever written, so does the sound make it pure ? Is that classical piece, written by an atheist, more acceptable than Praise and Worship songs that were written and sung for the Lord ? Be careful on what you condemn and what you accept. King David was ridiculed for the way he was praising and rejoicing God while he was bringing the ark of God to the city of David. Again, I urge you, and whoever fits this description, be careful of what you define as "UNDIGNIFIED". (2 Samuel 6:12-23).
You are a teacher and a mentor, and as James would warn, "those who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 3:1).
If Praise and Worship songs are not your preference for whatever reason, then that's okay in my book. But don't label it, "of the world" that's just a selfish idea and a personal vendetta against something that you're passing down to several young individuals. If you don't want to be "of the world" then you might want to get rid of your cell phone, computer, nice car, telephone, and other worldly things and join the amish. I'm not saying that to be mean or disrespectful to the amish, I'm trying to make a point of how self centered that statement was. It's a very selfish attitude that you are passing down to a younger generation. A selfish concept that you want your whole youth to share with you. Who are you to label a song written to God as "Of the world" ? Just because drums and guitars have been added to the song doesn't make it "of the world". It's what is in the heart that makes it either "Worship To God" or "Of The World"
Basically, how we worship shouldn't offend anyone if we are making the subject of worship totally to God and Jesus. If it means getting UNDIGNIFIED, then so be it.
In conclusion, I want to make sure that my "HEART OF WORSHIP" is directed towards God and Jesus. Matt Redman describes it best when he sings,
"I'm coming back to the Heart of Worship, and it's all about YOU, it's all about YOU, JESUS"