In the previous post, worship was defined as our heartfelt response to God, for who He is and what He has done; it should invade every aspect of our daily lives, as we willingly place ourselves on the altar of our own praise. I also pointed out that Christians (myself certainly included) do not always succeed at fulfilling this, our created purpose.
Why?
The easy answer, of course, is our sin nature prevents us from doing so. This seems like a bit of a copout, though, and I believe that we can pinpoint a more exact reason for this deficiency. To put it in the simplest terms, our worship is lacking because our hearts are not stirred to the point of response, the point of worship. Partial blame can certainly be placed on worship leaders, but true worship begins in the heart of the individual that has been transformed through Christ. Each one of us, myself included, hold the majority of the blame for our own lack of worship. Granted, it’s impossible to maintain this high level of worship in our broken, imperfect human state... but, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
This is probably why music is so closely associated with worship, especially in today’s culture. Music has the incredible effect of stirring the heart into response, and music can speak to many people on many levels. Yet, many churches can find their weekly worship services turning stale with lifelessness... and it doesn’t matter if there is a band playing the latest song, a solo organist playing the most revered hymns, or the simple sound of gathered voices. Why is this? How can it be fixed?
Enter the synthesis of creativity and ritual.
What a great juxtaposition, full of tension (even potential opposition). Ritual, by its very nature, is repetitive to the point of un-change; creativity, by its nature, breathes new life and change. I believe this tension, while real, is deceiving. The apparent contradiction of creativity and ritual is no contradiction at all. Creativity breeds life (and, ultimately, excellence), the very things that should permeate our worship. If anything, our ritual should be the repeated action of continually finding a way to creatively respond to the greatness of God.
Worship leaders, especially, should be constantly aware of this dynamic. If their role is to lead others in worship of God (which, of course, it is), then they should be responsible for injecting life into the corporate ritual of the church. Again, this responsibility doesn't end with these leaders, but they should be the ones to set the example. This is why the convergence of creativity and ritual will be a constant focus on this blog; a change in our hearts will lead to a shift in the paradigm that today's church rests upon.
If this calling is brought to its natural conclusion, though, what would that look like? Should this even end with just music?