The theme of this three part series is that reverence for God and the things that represent His person and presence are dead or near death in many American churches and the lives of Christians who profess to be a part of the body of Christ. The church is called to recognize and take actions to remedy this loss of reverence.
In Part I, it was noted that there has been a general demise of respect for authority and hierarchy in culture which has greatly contributed to the decline in reverence for God. Also, there is a loss of the fear of God among His people which is revealed in two ways. First, there is a loss of reverence for His majesty, holiness, anger against sin, and judgment. The church’s and the individual Christian’s relationship and interaction with God have become so casual and sporadic that it is undeniably apparent that much of the church has lost its first love. In Parts II and III, the Church’s declining reverence for the “things” that represent His person and presence will be examined—the sanctuary, worship, and music.
Have reverence for my sanctuary
Most sanctuaries in evangelical churches are now designed to give the consumer-oriented Christians and seekers the ultimate experience in doing church. And what attracts them is entertainment which is now disguised as worship. As a result, seeker-sensitive churches are building world-centered sanctuaries and entertainment complexes designed for and directed at the consumer-seeker instead of being places for Christ-centered worship that is directed toward God.
In the age of doing church instead of being the church, sanctuaries have become state-of-the-art, high-tech enterprises with walls entirely covered with multi-colored lights that are programmed to change to fit the mood dictated by the printed order of service. Strobe lights are coordinated to the music and smoke machines do their work to mimic the atmosphere found at rock concerts. Sound systems have decibel-generating capabilities that can crack paint but which can only convey unintelligible words during the worship service. Sanctuaries now contain the preferred theater-style seating in which one may enjoy one’s favorite drink and popcorn that are available just outside in the lobby. All that is missing are the cup holders, and those will soon be ordered.
But those concerned with the direction and future of the church must ask themselves several questions as to how their plans fit in with God’s view of what His sanctuary ought to be. Where does reverence and awe of God’s sanctuary fit into all of this? What particular facets of this type of atmosphere and activity in the sanctuary help in training our children and grandchildren to reverence God and His sanctuary? How do these distractions encourage and foster a hunger for and seeking of revival so desperately needed in the church and nation today? Is the sanctuary designed to be bait for the seeker and entertainment for the church member, or is it aa house to welcome and honor the presence of God?
The prophesies of Hosea written 2,700 years ago present a chilling portrait of the modern American church. Hosea’s prophecy was God’s last effort to call Israel and Judah to repentance for their rebellion and desire to follow false gods. In Chapter 8 we see the consequences of their rebellion.
Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law…For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal. [Hosea 8:1, 7. KJV]
In verse 14, we see God’s verdict and pronouncement of the judgement to come.
For Israel has forgotten his maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah has multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. [Hosea 8:14. KJV]
Over three decades ago the late David Wilkerson published a small book that compared the condition of Israel and Judah in Hosea’s time to the condition of Christianity in the modern American church. Wilkerson wrote that history is repeating itself once again because many in the American church who claimed to know God “were actually being chased by the enemy into projects that were an abomination to God.” At the same time they were neglecting His true temple, the one not made by human hands.[1] In other words, these projects were not just a lack of reverence but a crass irreverence and contempt for the things of God.
Reverence is the heart of worship
Many Pharisees of Christ’s time acted as if they were very concerned about violating God’s law but in many ways broke that law to achieve their own ideas, traditions, and conveniences. Jesus rebuked them for their hearts were far from God.
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you; These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. [Matthew 15:7-9. NIV]
Likewise, many in the modern church have also “nullified the word of God” because of tradition, popular ideas, cultural norms, or their own interests. This is the same trap into which the Pharisees fell.[2]
Today’s monolithic seeker-sensitive Church Growth movement is leading uncountable thousands of churches into incorporating man’s ideas of marketing God to the target consumer audience—the unchurched seeker. The Church Growth gurus insist that seekers must be given what they want. As previously stated, worship is now entertainment, and much of the entertainment is world-centered so as to appeal to the seeker-consumer. However, Rick Warren and the other Church Growth advocates have committed a critical error that undermines the entire concept of the Church Growth movement. They have wrongly redirected the purpose of preaching and weekly church gatherings from being primarily focused on Christ and the body of Christ to weekly seeker-sensitive services aimed at the unchurched. Similarly, they have redirected the worship service toward the unchurched seeker instead of being Christ-centered worship directed toward God.[3]
Chapter 13 of Warren’s The Purpose Driven Church is titled “Worship Can Be a Witness.” He states that “Everything we do in our weekend services is based on twelve deeply held convictions.” These convictions all center on the various elements of worship such as “style” of worship, witnessing, seeker expectations, and seeker understanding.[4] What Warren does not talk about is what the Bible says about worship belonging to God.
Perhaps the ultimate expression that worship is a tool for man’s gratification, entertainment, and happiness is found in the words of Victoria Osteen, wife of mega-church pastor Joel Osteen. In August 2014, Ms. Osteen, with her husband standing close behind and nodding his approval, admonished their congregation that the purpose and intent of obedience to God and worship was to make the people happy. In other words, God wants you to be happy; it’s all about you.
I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it—we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy. That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy…
So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy…When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?[5] [emphasis added]
Ms. Osteen’s pathetic beliefs about worship are the ultimate outworking of the gradual redefinition of worship and its redirection from Almighty God to man.
Very few have so precisely described the reasons for this redefinition and redirection of worship as has F. Dean Hackett. He states that this has occurred because there has been a decline in the proper identification of the nature and character of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Over several decades many Christians and non-Christians alike have come to perceive God and Jesus in human terms and the Holy Spirit more as a force than a person. These general perceptions are being mirrored in many areas of life—the media, sermons, writing, teaching, and worship songs.[6]
Hackett believes that the decline in the proper identification and understanding of the nature and character of the three persons of the Godhead has led to two serious mistakes in worship. The first mistake is removing the sacredness of the worship experience. When the words of a song used to worship the living God are so generic that the song is able to be used for other purposes in secular venues, something is missing. Hackett believes that what is missing in the song are those words that provoke holiness and fear of the Lord in the heart of the worshiper. Ture holiness and fear of the Lord result in adoration, worship, and a holy awe of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This occurs when worship and praise music correctly identifies and declares the nature and character of the persons of the Godhead.[7]
The second mistake being made in worship services is the humanization of the worship experience.
Worship songs are being written using terms of intimacy in public worship that are not seen in any of the holy Scriptures on the subject of public worship. That level of intimacy between God and the worshipper reflected in the writing of the Song of Solomon is reserved for the privacy of one’s own heart and life, not public worship.[8]
Without properly identifying Almighty God, the words of a song subtly change the emphasis of worship and the motivation of the worshipper. As a result there is greater emphasis on what the worshipper feels and experiences as opposed to adoration, exaltation, and worship of God. Effectively, worship has become humanized instead of being centered on the divine. The human–centeredness of worship songs is further encouraged by subtle changes in the worship center. Hackett identifies several innovations of recent years which are designed to enhance the worshipper’s feelings and experience: low house lights, spotlights on musicians and singers, and smoke and staging designed to bring focus to the stage experience.[9]
Worship of God is not optional for the Christian, and it is not about making us happy or entertained. God rejects worship that is offered with the wrong attitude or is corrupted by man-centered ideas and practices. Such worship is an offering of less than our first fruits. True worship is an expression of our love, adoration, respect, devotion, praise, and reverence.[10] To our great harm, very little of what is seen and experienced in many evangelical churches of today comes close to this description of true worship.
In Part III, we shall discuss in greater detail the role of music in worship and the lives of individual Christians.
Larry G. Johnson
Sources:
[1] David Wilkerson, Set the Trumpet to Ty Mouth – Hosea 8:1, (Lindale, Texas: World Challenge, Inc., 1985), pp. 118-119.
[2] Donald Stamps, Commentary – Matthew 15:7-9, The Full Life Study Bible – King James Version – New Testament, Gen. Ed. Donald C. Stamps, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1990), p. 1718.
[3] Larry G. Johnson, Evangelical Winter – Restoring New Testament Christianity, (Owasso, Oklahoma: Anvil House Publishers, 2016), p. 221.
[4] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), pp. 239, 240-249.
[5] Heather Clark, ‘Do Good for Your Own Self’: Osteen Says Obedience, Worship ‘Not for God’, Christian News Network, August 28, 2015. http://christiannews.net/2014/08/28/do-good-for-your-own-self-osteen-says-obedience-worship-not-for-god-video/ (accessed December 18, 2015).
[6] F. Dean Hackett, “Many Christians Make These 2 Serious Mistakes in Worship,” Charisma Magazine, May 9, 2017. http://www.charismamag.com/life/women/32626-many-christians-make-these-2-serious-mistakes-in-worship (accessed May 17, 2017).
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Johnson, Evangelical Winter – Restoring New Testament Christianity, p. 221.
