Category Archives: Scripture commentary

The Word Reworded

Have you ever struggled to watch your language?

For some of us, that might mean trying to swear less, or trying to hold back the mean or sarcastic comments and instead choosing to be gracious (or at least silent).

In his book, Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, author Gregory Koukl lays out a few suggestions we should consider if we want to ensure conversations about spirituality and religion are as beneficial and meaningful as possible.

He calls one of these suggestions, “Watch Your Language.” He’s quick to point out this doesn’t mean “don’t swear at people” or “don’t use cutting insults and cruelty.” Hopefully anyone claiming to follow Christ is already paying attention to avoiding such behaviors!

His suggestion is that we should watch out for loading our conversations with “Christian-ese” terminology — words and phrases that sound like they belong in church, which our fellow believers might readily understand.

This book is an excellent primer for meaningful but cordial conversations about faith.

The Problem With Church Talk

The trouble is, people outside the church are unlikely to have the same understanding of what we’re talking about. They may not know what we mean by “sin” or “blessed” or “faith” or “being saved by grace.” They may take that a whole different way than we intend, or it might sound like meaningless church talk they don’t care to hear.

Similarly, if I lead off with “Well the Bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” there’s a good chance that someone outside the church has already tuned out.

“I don’t care what the Bible says,” they might respond. And they probably don’t care about whatever it means to have sinned, and they probably don’t believe they’ve fallen short, whatever that means, so even though this verse is meant to point out a spiritual problem or highlight a crucial need, the words may fall flat.

But you can say the same thing in words people understand. “Every one of us messes up, don’t we? None of us do all the good stuff we know we could do, and we all do stuff we later regret, right? If there’s a perfect standard, none of us meet it.”

Koukl suggests practicing this kind of re-phrasing or re-wording of what we’d like to say… not because Scripture isn’t good or right, but because we want to be effective communicators able to provide a meaningful answer about what we believe and why.

I think it’s similar to how we shouldn’t really try to challenge someone’s point of view unless we understand their views well enough to restate their case accurately. We can also practice understanding what Scripture is saying to us by considering what the often-too-familiar words really mean, then rewording the verse for our own personal reflection.

An Exercise in Rewording

I’ve shared before how I practice the Topical Memory System from the Navigators. I’m trying to review a block of Scripture each day both as a personal discipline and a way to keep the verses fresh in mind.

When I heard this part of Koukl’s book, I thought it a wonderful opportunity to give the technique a shot.

Below are my paraphrased verses from Block E – Grow In Christlikeness, with the original verses in italics.

Love: Jesus of Nazareth told his followers that he gave them a new rule to follow, which was to love one another. But more than that, to love each other like He loved them. That’s how the rest of the world should be able to identify a follower of Jesus.

One of his closest followers passed on that wisdom, saying we shouldn’t love by talking the talk but walking the walk.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

1st John 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 

Humility:  Don’t do anything to put yourself on a pedestal or get over on others. Think less about you and more about others. They matter so much. Don’t just do what matters to you, but look out for others around you.

Young folks, listen to those who’ve been around longer, and everybody should treat each other as someone important, someone special. God opposes pride, but He shows favor to the humble. So you can stop worrying about lifting yourself up; you can even stoop down in life because God’s got you. He’ll lift you up at the proper time.

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 

1st Peter5:5-6 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time. 

Purity: Don’t let what you know is wrong or disgusting or even self-centered cross your thoughts, let alone your tongue or your deeds. That stuff shouldn’t have any place in your life or anyone else who calls themselves a believer.

Guys, I’m begging you to live counter to the way everyone around you lives. Don’t give in to whatever feels good or satisfies only for the immediate moment. These things are going to hurt you deep down, long term. They’re opposed to who you’re meant to be.

Ephesians 5:3 But immorality or impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 

1st Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. 

Honesty: Don’t steal, don’t do someone wrong, don’t lie to anyone.

Because of what God’s done in me, I do my best to make sure I’m not to blame for anything – so that nobody has any reason to call me out for anything I’ve done.

Leviticus 19:11 Do not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.

Acts 24:16 In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.

Faith: Without trusting God, you can’t do what He wants – can’t even really have a relationship with Him. How are you going to connect with God unless you believe that He exists and that He answers those who go looking for Him?

As far as God’s promise was concerned, Abraham didn’t back down in doubt, but grew strong in his trust in God. He got – and showed others – a bigger picture of God in the process – being totally secure in the idea that if God said it, He is able and trustworthy to make it happen.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Romans 4:20-21 Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 

Good Works: Let’s not get drained in the process of doing good works, so that we don’t get tired or give up. As often as we get the chance, we should do good for everybody, and especially our fellow believers.

You should shine so bright in what you do and how you live that people would thank God for you being there and doing good.

Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, as often as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. 

Conclusion

I may have taken these farther afield from the original meaning than was necessary in a lot of cases. Some of the verses are pretty plain and straightforward in meaning – “don’t steal, don’t deal falsely, don’t lie to each other” for example.

I certainly don’t need to try writing a paraphrase of the whole Bible. (We have The Message by Eugene Peterson, which I like as a secondary or tertiary perspective on the better, more faithful, direct translations. That’s plenty enough.)

Romans 4:20-21 was full of terms I might not expect an outsider to understand with the same meaning I’d intend. Ephesians 5:3 is another one that might not resonate with a modern non-believing hearer in the way I’d want it to.

I don’t know that I would actually phrase things this way in conversation with someone. But it was a good exercise in thinking about the meaning of the verses, and how they could be rephrased without destroying their original message.

It might be something worth trying in your own devotional time – whether you’re hoping to have an answer for someone who would ask about your faith, or simply trying to ensure you have a clear understanding of what God is saying to you through Scripture.

What do you think? If you take a stab at this, share a version of a verse in the comments.

A Picture’s Worth

Years ago, when I was looking for ways to develop in my faith, a friend introduced me to the Topical Memory System or TMS, published by the Navigators.

It’s a thematic collection of Bible verses – five overall themes, each with six sub-topics, which each have two verses assigned to them. One block is about living the new life of a believer; another is about growing in Christlikeness; another is about sharing the gospel message with others.

The app isn’t super polished, but it still works great.

The TMS is a really useful system for getting some key scriptures into your head, so that you can call on them later, in conversation or for your own reflection and recollection. NavPress has some apps you can use on your phone or device, if the hard-copy paper cards aren’t what you want. They have eight common versions built into the apps and the printed card set – NIV, NASB, ESV, NKJV, KJV, NLT, MSG, and NRSV.

In other unpaid advertisement, a couple years ago, I picked up an Aura Frame for my office (and also one for my wife, and one for my mother back in the States, and then one for our daughter and her husband, and my brother got one too, and… yeah).

Aura makes digital picture frames where you can load a LOT of pictures into the service, and it will run through them at intervals you set so that you’re always getting fresh pictures. The app also lets you load pictures onto anyone else’s frame that you’re connected with, so when we’re calling home and talking about some exciting trip or funny picture, we can actually display it on my Mom’s frame instantly.

I’m sure there are plenty of frames and services that do similar things, but Aura’s the one I happened to get, and it’s been great for what I wanted it to do.

I love having an eclectic mix of pictures changing every 30 seconds.

The other day, I thought, “hey, why not put the TMS verses onto the Aura frame?”  And I assumed someone somewhere must have already made images for the verses.

After a little Google searching, I ended up looking at a Facebook page for Navigators Ghana, where they had a few of the verses in their photos. But they were using NIV (I prefer NASB), and they had other info I didn’t want or need.

So I made my own, and thought I’d share on the off chance someone else is out there Google-searching “Navigators TMS NASB” images.

This actually took more work than I expected, but I’m happy with the result.

If you happen to live near me and know me, feel free to pop-quiz me on these when you see me. I’m going to try to keep all five blocks fresh in my memory, and I can use the impromptu challenge!

Here are the links to each of the Powerpoint presentations and image files:

Block A – Live the New Life ppt and images

Block B – Proclaim Christ ppt and images

Block C – Rely on God’s Resources ppt and images

Block D – Be Christ’s Disciple ppt and images

Block E – Grow in Christlikeness ppt and images

TMS – Grow in Christlikeness

I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.

Love – Jn 13:34-35
Love – 1 Jn 3:18
Humility – Php 2:3-4
Humility – 1 Pet 5:5-6
Purity – Eph 5:3
Purity – 1 Pet 2:11
Honesty – Lev 19:11
Honesty – Acts 24:16
Faith – Heb 11:6
Faith – Rom 4:20-21
Good Works – Gal 6:9-10
Good Works – Mt 5:16

TMS – Be Christ’s Disciple

I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.

Put Christ First – Mt 6:33
Put Christ First – Lk 9:23
Separate from the World – 1 Jn 2:15-16
Separate from the World – Rom 12:2
Be Steadfast – 1 Cor 15:58
Be Steadfast – Heb 12:3
Serve Others – Mk 10:45
Serve Others – 2 Cor 4:5
Give Generously – Prv 3:9-10
Give Generously – 2 Cor 9:6-7
Develop World Vision – Acts 1:8
Develop World Vision – Mt 28:19-20

 

 

TMS – Rely on God’s Resources

I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.

His Spirit – 1 Cor 3:16
His Spirit – 1 Cor 2:12
His Strength – Isa 41:10
His Strength – Php 4:13
His Faithfulness – Lam 3:22-23
His Faithfulness – Num 23:19
His Peace – Isa 26:3
His Peace – 1 Pet 5:7
His Provision – Rom 8:32
His Provision – Php 4:19
His Help in Temptation – Heb 2:18
His Help in Temptation – Ps 119:9 & 11

TMS – Proclaim Christ

I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.

All Have Sinned – Rom 3:23
All Have Sinned – Isa 53:6
Sin’s Penalty – Rom 6:23
Sin’s Penalty – Heb 9:27
Christ Paid the Penalty – Rom 5:8
Christ Paid the Penalty – 1 Pet 3:18
Salvation Not by Works – Eph 2:8-9
Salvation Not by Works – Titus 3:5
Must Receive Christ – Jn 1:12
Must Receive Christ – Rev 3:20
Assurance of Salvation – 1 Jn 5:13
Assurance of Salvation – Jn 5:24

TMS – Live the New Life

I recently decided to create images for the Topical Memory System published by the Navigators, using NASB as the Bible version. I’m posting these here so that hopefully someone else who finds them useful might also benefit.

Christ the Center – 2 Cor 5:17
Christ the Center – Gal 2:20
Obedience to Christ – Rom 12:1
Obedience to Christ – Jn 14:21
God’s Word – 2 Tim 3:16
God’s Word – Josh 1:8
Prayer – Jn 15:7
Prayer – Php 4:6-7
Fellowship – 1 Jn 1:3
Fellowship – Heb 10:24-25
Witnessing – Mat 4:19
Witnessing – Rom 1:16

Jonversations

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:6 NIV

My oldest son Jonathan has discovered the power of a good, deep conversation, and with it, his hunger for that kind of connection with the people around him who are willing to go there.

Jonathan putting on his thinking glasses.

The other day, he hit me with a question: “One to ten how much of the natural responsibility you should bear, are you bearing? And one to ten how much of the external responsibility you’ve made a decision to bear, are you bearing?”

I started trying to answer, but also to explain why I struggled to come up with an answer that felt truthful and accurate. I always assume I’m doing terrible, or at best doing only some of what I could do. I always feel like there are responsibilities that I should get to but don’t, or could get to but choose not to, and so on.

He mentioned his growing realization that not everyone is eager to have deep conversations off the cuff and sent me the following:

I asked a coworker that and he was like “I don’t know man, you ask such thought provoking questions and it’s like I’m just about done at work and ready to go home.”

It’s hard to work through some of the challenging or meaningful questions, but it’s also a valuable process I can respect. I’m always excited to hear my children explain something in a way that shows how much they care about a subject. When that veers toward responsibility and self-discipline, and when it incorporates a practical “live it out” aspect of Christian faith, that’s a huge blessing.

So with that in mind, here’s something Jonathan sent me for what he’s been thinking through. I got his permission to share it.

Thoughts on grace and truth, and their relationship to responsibility. 

What is grace?

What is truth?

What is responsibility?

How do grace and truth relate?

How does grace relate to responsibility?

How does truth relate to responsibility?

Why live in grace?

Why live in truth?

Why bear responsibility?

 

What is grace?

Grace is receiving something positive that is not deserved.  

A person manifests grace to herself when she forgives a failure she’s had. A person manifests grace to others when, in a situation allowing harshness, he chooses to be gentle. A person manifests grace to others when she overlooks a wrongdoing or mistake out of love.

What is truth?

Truth is that which is in accordance with fact and reality.

A person manifests truth to himself when he does not deny his failures. A person manifests truth to others when she says her opinion, knowing they may disagree. A person manifests truth to others when he refuses to say something he knows to be inaccurate.

What is responsibility?

Responsibility is being accountable for or having an obligation to someone or something.

A person can have a responsibility to himself to take care of his physical needs. A person can have a responsibility to others that she has taken on. A person can be soundly blamed for neglecting a responsibility within his ability.

How do grace and truth relate?

The two are not similar, and are not opposite or opposed. They do not deal with the same realms in a sense.

Grace seems to be concerned with what a person deserves and the emotions they exhibit.

Truth seems to be concerned with what is, what isn’t, and the reality we inhabit.

And yet both are essential. This can be seen in the person and words of Christ. He was full of grace and truth. He who said “your sins are forgiven.” (walk in grace) also said “go and sin no more.” (walk in truth).

Grace without truth can allow one to be naive, not dealing with reality. With no truth and only grace, one has no backbone or accountability. It is easy to then embrace deception and fantasy.

Truth without grace can allow one to be cruel, not for any virtuous reason. With no grace and only truth, one has no heart or compassion. It is easy to then embrace condescension and spite.

Grace is the the flexibility and truth is the immovability.

To be gracious to someone is to show them kindness and support and forgiveness, to give no room for genuine accusations of being unbearably harsh.

To be truthful with someone is being honest when it’s hard or awkward, to give no room for one bend reality to suit their feelings or opinions.

How does grace relate to responsibility?

One cannot bear it all. He must let up sometimes. He must lay down his burden and rest without shame or judgment.

How does truth relate to responsibility?

One must must bear as much as she can. Her contribution is necessary, and without it she is leaving herself and others hanging.

Why live with grace?

I live with grace because I am not perfect. I am unable at present to experience faultlessness, and if I expect that I can, and so should, I will instead experience the disappointment and dissatisfaction of living without the truth that I need grace.

The absence of grace manifests condemnation and depression.

Why live with truth?

I live with truth because there is nothing apart from it. Apart from truth all is falsehood. If I attempt to live in falsehood, my feet fall into nothingness below me and my heart follows.

The absence of truth manifests disorientation and nihilism.

Why bear responsibility?

I bear responsibility because someone must. If I do not accept responsibility, I push it off to the next person, and maybe they will not accept it either. If I accept my own responsibility daily, I stand between my little slice of the world and the absolute hell that it can become when obligation is neglected. If I accept as many neglected responsibilities of others as I can tolerate, I stand between their slice of the world and hell.

The absence of attended responsibility manifests hell and acceptance of it on earth.

 

I loved his thoughts, because they ring true to me about the necessary balance and interplay between two seemingly opposing qualities or forces. So much of life seems that way, where we falter if we go to the extremes, but can walk carefully and purposefully when we keep ourselves centered between the potential conflicting emotions and motivations.

Finding the proper mix of grace and truth can be a struggle in our interactions with others (and maybe ourselves also). Not trying to do so leads to even worse outcomes.

So let me pull a Jon…

What do YOU think about all this? Is it on target, or off the mark in some way? Are there other aspects or characteristics of grace, truth, and responsibility to consider? How much of your natural and external responsibility are you bearing?

This Is Where – a Pentecost Post

Welcome to a blog post for Pentecost Sunday – the “birthday” of the Christian church, and the day in this tradition where we celebrate the outpouring of the Spirit on all believers, recounted in Acts 2.

We sang a song I wrote at our chapel today, which I thought went along with the theme of God’s power at work in us, and I wanted to share it here.

One of the joys and challenges of serving in a military chapel is that every couple years, the lead chaplain for any service is almost guaranteed to change.

Unlike a traditional church where a senior pastor stays around and sets the vision for as long as they choose (or as long as the board will have them), this frequent turnover means that military chapels can sometimes experience big shifts from one chaplain to the next.

It would be like changing CEOs or office leadership every two years, hoping that what was important last week under the old boss is still going to be important next week once the new boss communicates a game plan for the future.

While a lot of aspects of the service and ministry will likely remain the same, each individual is going to have their own areas for greater focus, their own aspects of spirituality which they feel have the most importance for effective ministry.

I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the Kadena Contemporary Worship Service for a few years as a contracted musician and now as the worship director, working under three chaplains so far to fulfill their vision for the praise music during the service.

What energizes or refreshes you?

Our previous chaplain was focused on John 15:5 as a key verse for the congregation. Jesus tells His disciples:

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NASB

Chaplain shared how he hates raisins. When you bite into a juicy grape, there’s a gush of liquid that’s satisfying and refreshing. There’s some flesh to that fruit. It’s energizing and fresh.

But when you get raisins, they’ve been left out to dry; all the life has been sucked out of them. You get this shriveled, nasty thing that makes you more thirsty when you eat it.

He equated that to the Christian life. If Jesus is the vine, we need to stay connected so that we keep receiving that life from Him. We want to be fruitful; we want to offer a love and a grace to the world that quenches spiritual thirst and satisfies hunger for God.

Elsewhere Jesus challenges religious leaders who are so focused on and proud of knowing the scriptures. Christ declares that those verses testify of Him. If they wanted real life based on what they learned from the holy scriptures they cherish, then they would come to Him to find it.

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them, you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. John 5:39-40 NASB

From that chaplain’s perspective, we needed as a church to be focused on God’s Word – on the Bible and understanding it, for sure, but even more importantly on understanding the message that God gave us in sending us His Son, Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh.

It wouldn’t be enough to become “Bible-thumpers” searching the Scriptures for ways to believe we are better than everyone around us, thinking we’ve got the secret or the best treasure and clutching it close to our chests.

We would need to put our beliefs to work, turn our professions of love into expressions of love, with actions and not just words. That’s what we see in Jesus, and if we were really going to abide in Him, that’s what should start happening in us.

Those verses meant a lot to me before he shared them with the church, but under his leadership, they bounced around my head for almost two years as he kept coming back to that vision, that focus:

“Abide in Christ. Let Christ abide in you. Minister to others and bring life. Be fruitful. Don’t be a raisin.”

I guess this used to be a meme? Thanks, imgflip!

How many people are really called to ministry?

Our new chaplain arrived almost the same time that our worship director was moving back to the States. I stepped into the worship director role and met with the new chaplain to find out what he wanted.

From the start, he has emphasized a desire to see the Spirit move freely in and through the congregation. Getting more people involved means less of a burdensome workload for each individual, but it also means that it’s not a one-man show up front.

His words and his passion reminded me of a term I learned about years ago in a church with a similar mindset: the priesthood of all believers.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, you’d often see the Spirit fall on one man or woman, who was called during their lifetime to do great and mighty deeds as God’s representative in a way. There was often a small number of prophets, if not one primary prophet for any given time in the life of the nation. Occasionally there were more – there is a school of prophets during the time of Elisha – but this seems like a rarity.

In our modern churches, it can often look the same. There is The Pastor, who everyone looks to for just about everything. If someone has to pray, ask The Pastor. If someone has a question about the Bible or Christian doctrine, ask The Pastor. If someone is struggling with anything, talk to The Pastor. If an elderly member of the congregation needs their lawn mowed, call The Pastor.

Maybe there are some other Special People in the church… like The Worship Leader, or the Elder, or the Senior Deacon, or the Sunday School Superintendent. Hopefully, a lot of the hard work of a large ministry is divided among a number of willing servants so that no one is bearing the load alone.

The downside is that this can lead the members in the congregation to act like spectators, showing up to a performance expecting to be entertained in a strictly one-way communication or ministry (from the people at the front to everyone in the pews).

“The priesthood of all believers” is meant to flip that ratio.

Paul frequently tells all the saints about what has changed since they came to faith in Christ, and one of those significant changes is that God’s Spirit dwells in each of us. To one church, he asks the question pointedly:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:16 NASB

Every believer has the Spirit of God in them, with gifts and abilities that are meant to be shared in the church for the benefit of all present (see Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Ephesians 4:11-16). There’s no reason to have a one-man or few-person show up front. There are, or should be, a whole bunch of Spirit-empowered potential ministers of God’s goodness and grace filling the pews.

Have you ever seen a church full of temples?

The church is full of temples of God–you and me.

This is what Paul described as the mystery of the good news he was called to preach to the world. God wasn’t staying far off, some angry judge in the sky hammering a gavel calling us all guilty and pronouncing the sentence of death. Nor was He aloof and disinterested with our struggles and circumstances as if we were a forgotten cosmic ant colony.

Christ is in you, and working through you. God drew near in the person of Jesus, and nearer still in the indwelling presence of the Spirit.

… the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints … which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col 1:25-27 NASB

When we get our minds and hearts fixed on God… when we remind ourselves of His constant presence… when we consider all that He has called us to and the wonderful power at work in us because of His grace and mercy… when we get into that place–not just physically in a church building but spiritually in our passionate devotion toward Him…

That’s where we find our source of life–true, fruitful life that lasts. Remember: don’t be a raisin!

Here’s a video from our service a few months ago. (Today’s video had technical difficulties.) Jump to 11:45 to hear “This is Where (Source of Life)” played by the Kadena CWS band.

This is Where (Source of Life)

This is where my need meets Your sufficiency
This is where my past gives way to Your mercy
This is where I kneel in humility
You whisper, “Follow Me. Come follow Me.”
This is where my sin, You take and wash me clean
The mess that I’m in, You say You will redeem
I’ve been so blinded, but now I start to see
You come alive in me, the life inside of me

And it’s a mystery and a wonder
It’s my only hope
You’re living in me as I wander
All along life’s winding road
Yeah, You blessed me beyond measure
More than I could try to hold inside
You became my Source of life

This is where we see a little more of You
This is where belief turns into work to do
This is where meaning and purpose start anew
We’re called to follow You, to come and follow You
This is where vision becomes reality
This is where grace flows to the very least
Your Holy Spirit supplies the power we need
We come alive and see Your glory bursting free

And it’s a mystery and a wonder
It’s our only hope
You’re changing history as You sunder
Every chain upon our souls
Yeah You bless us beyond measure
More than we could try to hold inside
Jesus, You’re our Source of life

You are life
You’re the One in Whom I will abide
You’re the One of Whom the Scriptures testify
We will come and find that You satisfy our souls

What Worship is Not

How does something hardly mentioned in the accounts of the New Testament church become a driving force that dominates roughly half of the average church gathering, and determines, for many, whether or not a church feels good or right for them?

Let’s talk about “worship.”

Our chapel praise & worship team had an after-practice discussion on worship and scripture – the first of many, hopefully. We minister in a military chapel, so there is a lot of overturn and change of leadership. The worship leader and I have only been serving for a year now, and while Bible studies were on our “to do” list, unfortunately, life and distractions got in the way.

Our worship leader asked me if I’d be willing to share to get a conversation started. I was happy to do so, and thought, “Since this is our very first one as a team, what’s the most fundamental thing to me about worship and what we do?”

Despite my opening question, there are lots of scriptures that we use to define the importance of music ministry and praise — great stories from the Old Testament such as the musicians leading the army and the enemies destroying one another in confusion; teachings on the Tabernacle of David and how that might apply to us today; all the excellent verses in Psalms; New Testament moments like when Paul and Silas are praising in prison and an earthquake throws the cell doors wide; even instructions suggesting everyone should come to church with a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song so that the body might be edified.

What to choose?

What came to mind wasn’t what I expected.

“What worship is not.”

I felt compelled to look at verses about worship… how the Bible defines it, and how we often use the term today. I’m convinced that the two are very different, or at least that we should be more careful about what we mean when we say “worship.”

There’s the oft-quoted reminder that worship comes from Old English weorthscipe, which is basically “worth-ship,” the quality of being valuable or precious. It’s an expression of how much someone or something is worth to us.  

In other words, true worship costs something.

When I look at scripture and consider the life we’re called to lead, how much of what God instructs us is singing and playing music? In epistle after epistle, Paul writes a letter to churches or leaders where he lays out some theology – some truth about what God has done and what that means – followed by practical instructions for living a life of worship. So little of those instructions are about the “worship” we cherish and esteem so highly.

Paul tells us that offering ourselves as living sacrifices is our “spiritual service of worship” (Rom 12:1). Jesus tells us that “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me” (John 14:21). John later reminds us that the expression of love for God is our obedience (1 John 5:3).

Singing is conspicuously absent.

Imagine if your spouse said, “Honey, I need your help. Can you please do the dishes so I can use them to cook?” Would you express love and the worth of your spouse by singing to them?

I would always do the dishes out of love for you…
I would even take the trash out to the dumpster, too…
I would pick up all the laundry ’round our home… 
This is my love for you, my love for you alone.

Or maybe just do the thing that’s been asked of you. 

If there was a pie chart for what we’re called to do to live the Christian life, singing and playing music is going to be a pretty small slice among the many more practical responsibilities of ministering to the needs of others. If we took all of the commands of Christ and Paul and others in the Bible and tried to map out what’s covered, our current idea of worship as deeply emotional singing to God isn’t going to be big on that list.

If you cooked a worship pie using the Bible’s recipe, it wouldn’t taste like music.

When handling God’s Word, there are two important terms for how we approach and interpret the text:

Exegesis is the process of getting the intended meaning from the text – reading comprehension, informed by context, scholarship, other scripture, lexical aids, and the like. “What does this mean? What did it mean to its audience?”

Eisegesis is reading intended meaning into the text – reading with a bias or preconceived notion. “I want a verse that backs up what I’m saying, something that confirms what I already think is true. Oh, here’s one.”

I found the verse that says what I wanted a verse to say!
… More or less.

Sometimes this leads to well-meaning people sharing as fact or Gospel truth what they’ve heard from well-intentioned teachers, who themselves passed on what they were told by other folks who saw something in a verse or heard something profound and adopted it as a certainty. Then no one fact-checks the familiar teaching, because why would you? 

I’m not chucking spears at any of my fellow believers. We all get things wrong sometimes, and I’ve come up with some amazingly bad interpretations of Scripture. I am trying to chuck spears at some of the phrases and beliefs we accept in the church that aren’t readily apparent in the Bible which defines our faith. 

If we’re not careful, every verse that says anything about someone singing or praising will become a new “teaching on worship,” a new “revelation about the power of praise.” Very quickly, we end up with books and videos full of exposition on verses taken out of context, all feeding our understanding of the importance of new, fresh, anointed, powerful, expressive praise and worship music, much of which pushes us toward purchasing that new song or this new album from an industry of which there seems to be no end in sight.

Cynical, I know. Sorry.

However, the plain reading of scripture to me doesn’t give singing and music the central role in the Body that we do in the church today.

I love doing it, I love being a part of it, I love leading it, I love being in the congregation during it, I love everything about it… but I have to be honest that I just don’t see it at the forefront of what God’s Word calls us to do and be in our churches and our daily lives.

There are more important matters.

For me, getting on stage and playing the piano or singing a song is either an emotional stimulant or an emotional release. I can pour out my frustrations in “worship” and I benefit greatly from it. It’s definitely not some grand sacrifice I’m making, some selfless act worthy of commendation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that God gives us a means of expressing our adoration and praise which is so fun and so powerfully moving. It’s just not the sacrificial, selfless lifestyle I see the Bible calling Christians to live out in the day-to-day.

I shared this with the team and my wife, and I got some very important feedback. For some people, getting on stage in front of people is really hard. Being in the spotlight when you want to shrink into the shadows is a challenge. Having to perform or speak through your fears is difficult. I respect that, and don’t want to make light of the effort those people make to serve God in music and song.

Similarly, some worship teams have far more obligation and responsibility. If you’re running the music ministry for a big church with multiple services and you’re wrangling all the moving parts and conflicting schedules, that’s work, no doubt about it. Giving that your best might be a selfless sacrifice, for sure. I don’t want to ignore that either.

My concern is more for this concept that worship – specifically singing and playing music – is the main thing, or one of the main things.

Who was a worship leader in the early church?

Ephesians 4:11 doesn’t read, “And He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and worship leaders…” yet that’s a prominent role in our churches, with a whole branch of biblical teaching developed around trying to glean every insight from scripture about the power of music and praise.

Are we receiving the intended meaning from the text, or are we reading meaning into passages, hoping to find what confirms our existing assumptions?

Why don’t we read about more worship leaders in the Bible? Should I have to go all the way back to Chenaniah of the Levites in 1 Chr 15 to find someone “in charge of the singing” in corporate worship?

Arguably, Satan is another “biblical worship leader” based on some interpretations of Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, but I’m not so sure scripture is clear on that. (Links to some interesting articles looking at what Scripture says, what it doesn’t, and what we might infer. Remember, exegesis is good; eisegesis is bad.)

What is the list of qualifications for a worship leader, if the office is so important? We have lists for overseers, deacons, pastors, teachers, and the like – practical instructions and standards for servant leaders who meet the practical needs of the Body.

Why doesn’t Paul give us a glimpse of what the worship leader’s role looks like? Did 100% of churches have that 100% correct, and so it wasn’t necessary in any of his letters? That would be a pretty amazing coincidence.

Again, I am not opposed to what we call worship music, and I’m sure I will continue using that term to describe it, whether out of habit, laziness, or convenience. I just got done playing some songs and singing with my wife, followed by looking into rapid paintings as expressions of worship as part of planning for an upcoming special Night of Worship gathering where all we plan to do is express our hearts to God, mostly through music and song. 

I also think there are fine “lead worshipers” in the Christian community who put some thoughtful and careful teaching out there for all the rest of us wanting to be the next Matt Redman or Kim Walker-Smith. (They’d probably respond with a teaching about “Don’t try to be us. God doesn’t need another Kim Walker-Smith. He wants you.”)

It’s just that I know my heart well enough to catch how easily I choose to “serve” in a way that I enjoy, to “minister” in a way that comes easy, to “worship” in a way that costs me nothing and actually only benefits me. 

So what IS worship?

For me, a convicting display of worship was when I chatted with my friend, a talented singer and passionate lover of Jesus who can easily hold their own belting out a beautiful melody in front of any crowd, who can expertly follow the leading of the Spirit to know what’s the right thing to say or sing at the right time, who has every reason to be up front in the spotlight leading the congregation in praise… 

And instead, they said, “There’s no one running the children’s ministry. This is a need in the Body. This is important. I don’t feel gifted in this, I don’t feel a desire to do this–but I do feel like I need to step up and serve to meet this need.”

That looks to me like biblical worship. That’s a sacrifice.

I get up to play and sing, and I feel like the rich people tossing wads of cash into the collection in front of Jesus, acting like their loose change is something special.

I’m not saying I won’t keep playing or singing songs. I just want to make sure that I’m being honest about what I’m doing, and what I’m not. 


What do you think?

Are we too focused on music when we talk about worship? Have we let new songs and emotional moments overtake practical obedience in what it means to do church and live the Christian life?

Or am I missing something crucial in the way I’m looking at this? Is there some key aspect or benefit of the songs we sing and the way we express our hearts to God which I have neglected? 

Let me know in a comment, or share your thoughts on the matter. I certainly don’t have a lock on spiritual wisdom, and I’d love to hear what God has shown you.