Slaying The Beast

Below is my response to some friends of mine on a worship leader forum that were having a discussion on whether or not churches should offer different services with different musical styles.


Which style of worship does God prefer?

Classical, Chant, Hip Hop, Jazz, Loud, Soft, Complex, Simple, Organs, Guitars, Choirs, Soloists, Eastern, Western, Opera, Country...????


We have created a consumer Christianity monster with our segregated worship. We have made worship about our wants, desires, preferences and conceptions and not about gospel-centered, cross-focused, biblically based corporate gatherings. We have become hypocritical pharisees and tell people that worship is all about God from the pulpit, but then, with our actions, we communicate that worship is really all about them. In fact we believe it so much that we will create a service with ANY style they ask for if we have enough people that demand it. If we want to slay that beast and create a more biblical culture we have to stop defining what church we attend with adjectives like emergent, modern, contemporary and traditional. The gospel unifies the body of Christ - it does not divide.

Every church has a musical center that they orientate around, but the word that describes that center should not be the label we attach to promote our church gatherings. The only word I find in the Bible consistently attached to worship is GOD or a name referring to Him - not a style, method, demonstration, activity, or organization.

In fact - New Testament worship revolves around the reading of God's Word, prayer, exhortation, encouragement, sharing meals together, encouraging one another - the edification of the Body! And the only description of music we find useful to a corporate setting in the NT is when Paul exhorts us to "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16).

How can the Body be edified when it is separated and divided seeking to satisfy it's own personal desires rather than putting others interests ahead of their own?

I wonder what Paul would have to say to us if he were here in this discussion?

"Beloved - why are you so concerned with meaningless quarrels over musical styles. Is God not infinite? What musical style is there that can, by itself, capture the profound and complete mystery of the Divine? Brothers, do not be mislead into the deceptive thinking that some would have you believe about musical styles. For they say, "This style is better and reaches more people", and, "I prefer this style because it's what I'm used to." No, you gather in the name of the Lord at the foot of the cross celebrating the gospel in which we ALL find forgiveness and redemption. Set aside your petty differences and let the world see the power of the gospel as it unifies and cleanses His bride."

or maybe not...

Corruption and the Gospel

Have you ever gone to your computer to retrieve a file and received an error message that said something like - "the file you tried to open is corrupt and non-readable"? It basically means that this file is jacked up. I know that some of my more intellectual (see nerdy) friends would be able to tell me exactly what it means - but ultimately it means - it's jacked up!

This week I was reminded that it would be extremely appropriate if I should put that error message on a t-shirt and wear it around because I am one jacked up dude. I am corrupt! That felt really weird typing - but it's true - I am corrupt. You see in the beginning God made everything and declared it to be "very good" (Gen. 1:31), and then, through one man, sin entered the world - and with that sin came corruption. With that corruption came death and separation from a perfect Creator. If I want to co-habitate with that Creator I must not be corrupt. Herein lies the problem. How can I, a corrupt creation become "uncorrupt"? Anything that the corrupted creation tries to do to become uncorrupt will ultimately still be tainted by the corruption that is inherently there, thus remaining corrupt. The Creator deals with corruption much the same way we deal with corrupt files - deletion. While that is a crude term to use - it does carry the same connotation - we would call it death.

Corruption in our lives means we must die - and not just physically but spiritually as well. Our souls have been corrupted along with our bodies - that part of us that will live on long after this shell has been cast aside. It will live on eternally separated from the Creator for which it was created to have a relationship with. There is nothing that the corrupted creation can accomplish to remove its own corruption. The Creator set out a long litany of rules and rituals to follow so the corrupt creation could be restored, but sadly, our corruption keeps us from being able to follow all of those laws. The Creator demands that blood be shed for our corruption to be purified - but all of creation has been corrupted so even the blood of innocent animals still carries the curse of corruption. Thus, sacrifices need to be continually offered - for there is no perfect sacrifice to be made once, for all corruption.

This is where it gets crazy.


The Creator - ultimate perfection - offers himself as a perfect sacrifice for his corrupted creation. He sets aside his own glory and enters his creation and lives a corrupt free life. He sheds his corruption free blood, thus securing the payment He himself demanded of corruption. The corrupted creation may now be purified of its corruption by the perfect blood shed by the perfect Creator. This is the only way the creation can be corruption free and thus, restore the relationship the Creator intended to have with its creation from the very beginning.


Jesus' sacrifice on the cross purifies the corruption that the stain of sin has left on our lives and allows us to draw near to an awesome, holy, and perfect God. The blood that he shed on the cross purifies our corrupt conscience and allows us to serve the living God again (Heb. 9:14). It can do this because Jesus was the ONLY person to live a perfect life - his life was lived as a perfect expression of worship - the ultimate act of which was his sacrificial death for others. Just as one mans sin brought corruption into this world - so one mans righteous sacrifice brings purification from that corruption (Romans 5:18-19).

This is the good news of the gospel - My life, stained with corruption, can be restored. The relationship God intended from the very beginning to have with his creation is possible because of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

So now instead of wearing a t-shirt that says - "file corrupted" - I can wear one that says "file restored". That's why I worship. More directly - that's HOW I CAN WORSHIP!!!!