Developing Horizons Magazine (2).pdf Spring 2017 DHM A | Page 15

About the Author:
Chris Ridler is the
Worship Arts pastor
at Trinity Church in
Marble Hill, Georgia
Worship
Worship in the Next
Generation
ation in our churches. The worship
wars of the 1990’s and early 2000’s
feel bad, because I am too. I don’t
have been passed on to millennials
want to be, but I find myself looking whose parents and church leaders
at the computer / phone / gaming
have modeled a “what feels best to
system in my pocket more than
me” attitude when it comes to wor-
spending time thinking about the
ship. If it looks good to me, feels
Lord, reading His Word, or minister- good to me, sounds good to me, then
ing to His people. The fact is that ev- let’s do it in the church! When hav
eryone is an idol worshipper. What’s
disturbing is that we have brought
our idolatry into the sanctuary of
the Lord. We believe that a polished
sermon by a charismatic preacher
is what we need to be convicted by
the Holy Spirit. We fill our church-
es with stage lighting and modern
instruments because we want to
we stopped to ask ourselves, “What
“feel and see” the Holy Spirit in our
does the Bible say about how we
worship. Otherwise, we cry for rev- should Sabbath worship the Lord?”
erence, not a shouting preacher or a
If we haven’t done so, we are teaching
drum set. We describe this reverence our children to worship God by their
as the hymns and choruses “we used feelings and emotions, rather than by
to sing” as opposed to “all this loud
what the Bible says.
and repetitive stuff they sing today.”
One of my greatest joys in over 13
I have heard countless statements
years of ministry has been teaching
such as these in the years that I’ve
the next generation about worship.
been in ministry. We will idolize
Through private lessons and one-
a style of music because it sounds
on-one discipleship, I have had the
good, or a style of preaching because privilege of raising up many young
it feels good, or a lighting system
musicians, some of whom serve our
because it looks good. The focus of
church with their musical giftings,
our musical worship has sadly be-
and a few of whom are serving the
come what we sing, how we sing it,
Lord in various ways all over the
and what it looks like when we do.
world. When I teach music, however,
That, folks, is the worship of worship. we don’t just talk about bar chords
It is a pervasive form of idolatry and and vocal harmonies. We spend a lot
it’s consuming God’s people in the
of time talking about the theology of
church like a disease.
worship. We spend time discovering
What’s worse is that we are passing what the scriptures say about Sabbath
this ideology on to the next gener-
worship. What does Sabbath worship
Y ou are an idol worshipper. Don’t
look like in the Bible? It looks like
God’s people being broken over their
sin, and by faith looking to God to
regenerate their hearts (Psalm 51).
What does it sound like? It sounds
like the people of God singing praises
with joy in their hearts and thanks-
giving on their lips (Psalm 100).
What does it feel like? It feels like be-
ing in the presence of Almighty God
and, through His Holy Spirit and
the sacraments, He in the midst of
His people. Through the preaching
of His Word, He is convicting them
of sin, regenerating and reshaping
them into the image of His son, and
encouraging them to go and make
disciples in the week to come (Psalm
22:3; Matthew 18:20; John 4:23-24).
Take note of what we don’t talk
about. It has nothing to do with our
lighting system, our style of music,
or the style of preaching we like. If
our music is centered on Jesus Christ
and what He’s done for us, whether
it was written 500 years ago (cue “A
Mighty Fortress Is Our God”) or two
days ago, it is biblical worship. If our
preaching is Christ centered and calls
us to repent of our sins, to place our
faith in Christ, and to make disciples,
then it is biblical preaching. If the
lights in your church help you to see
where you’re going, and the sound
system helps you to hear, then you
are blessed by the Lord.
Let’s keep Christ at the center of
our worship, not our passions. If not
for the sake of our own hearts, then
for the sake of the next generation.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Spring 15