June 6, 2008
Dancers Delight
In my high school, we were not allowed to have any organized "dance" type event until my freshmen year. I was on the student council and I got to help plan the dance. I love planning big parties, so this was a great time for me. The dance itself was a little bit like the movie "Footloose" except that in that movie, the teens all of a sudden know all these complex break-dancing moves even though they've never danced before. At my school, we just flopped around with glee at the freedom we were given. (By the time I was graduating, I started to wonder if the ban on organized dances was not such a bad idea. Our "Christian" student body quickly learned how to bump and grind as if it was MTV Spring Break.)
Even though in our brokenness, we often abuse the freedom to dance, I believe that dancing is a good gift from the Lord that can even be used in worship. I have challenged the NCF Music Team to memorize some scripture every weekend and this weekend's verse gives a specific call to get on the floor and move your body.
Psalm 149:3-4 3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. 4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.
There are two classic narratives (that I can think of) that refer to dancing in the bible. One is the story of David dancing before the Lord, making himself undignified in fear of the awesome power of the Lord's holy presence. The other is Miriam taking up a tambourine and dancing after the Egyptian army was swallowed up by the Red Sea. In both stories, their dance was a response of reverence mixed with joy (see John Frame's "Worship in Spirit and in Truth" for a discussion of reverence and joy). This is a great way to tell what kind of dancing is appropriate in worship. Does it reflect reverence? Does it reflect joy?
Let me explain what I mean by dancing. Dancing is any thing you do to move your body in time with the music. Swaying is dancing. Clapping and tapping your feet are dancing. Moving your shoulders or your hips is dancing. Hand movements that demonstrate the meaning of the song like in "Ain't No Rock" are dancing. Dancing can be organized like a praise dancing or mime; it can also be spontaneous.
Psalm 149:4 gives us a reason to dance. First of all the Lord delights in you. I love that word, "delight". (Not just because it's the name of the early '90s classic dance group that gave the world, "Groove Is In The Heart.") Delight is a word that is very strong. I might appreciate time alone, but I delight in my wife. I might enjoy the company of friends, but I delight in my children. The Lord delights in His people, and that means that we can get undignified when we dance.
It also says that the Lord crowns the humble with salvation. He delights in us, but he also was to see us embrace the same humble heart that the Man of Sorrows had. As we worship with celebration and gladness, we do it with humble hearts before the Lord knowing that we have been blessed beyond what we could ever earn or deserve.
Sometimes, when I am leading worship at New City Fellowship, I can see somebody who looks like they would never move an inch in a million years start to twitch and then start to sway a little. Sometimes, they start to bob their head with the music (doing the "white man's overbite.") Sometimes that person completely forgets about the fact that they would never stand a chance on "So You Think You Can Dance?" Sometimes, they are filled with a kind of reverence and joy that envelops them in such a powerful way that their whole body starts to praise His name with dancing.
Groove is in the heart indeed.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 10:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 7, 2008
YXL East this Summer!
I will be the worship leader at YXL East this summer at Covenant College. I was a conferee at this when I was in high school (back then it was called PYA). It's nice to come full circle. I actually led worship for the west camp a few years ago, so it won't be my first time. Danny Mitchell will be the camp director, so I am psyched.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 12:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 26, 2008
Isaiah 29: What's the cure for phony worship?
Jesus quoted Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees in Matthew 15:8-9. He was rebuking them for missing the whole point of the law. As worship leaders (servants) called to prepare the music for the meeting together of God’s people, we are vulnerable to the temptation to honor God with our lips while our hearts remain far from him. It’s too easy to use our skill and experience to create a worshipy atmosphere and attitude while being completely void of a broken and contrite heart before the Lord. Read Isaiah 29 and meditate on what the prophet was trying to communicate with his warning to the city of David.
Isaiah 29:9-12
The Lord in His judgment blinds them and deafens them to the prophets.
Sometimes the word of God, the songs we sing, the preaching, the friendly encouragement of another follower of Christ will be meaningless and hollow. Our eyes will be shut to see God’s glory; our ears will be closed to listen to His voice. We usually get down on ourselves when we feel “dry” but maybe the Lord is taking us into that desert in order to bring back to the cross.
Isaiah 29:13
Their worship is a charade. It is a religious show. Their hearts are far from God.
This is the verse that Jesus quotes and it fits the Pharisees well. It also fits many of us well. This is an excellent verse for worship leaders to memorize.
Isaiah 29:14
So the Lord will mess up their perspective, He will screw up their misconceptions, He will blow their minds.
The Pharisees in the gospels are always getting thrown into a tizzy by Jesus’ words and actions. He really messes with their heads. Do you ever get completely confused by what God is doing around you? Do you ever get your brain messed up by the words or actions of Christ’s representatives with whom you come in contact?
Isaiah 29:15
Woe to people who come to church with their dirty little secrets hidden away who arrogantly think that God cannot see them.
We all have struggles with sin, and we often feel like sin is constantly beating us up. However, sometimes we get comfortable with our sin and we flirt with it, invite it, and eventually pursue it passionately. Watch out.
Isaiah 29:16
They act like they can tell God how it is, they can make God in their image, and they can twist the truth into justifying their evil deeds.
What happens when the clay tries to move the potter? It still gets smushed. Think of the Pharisees telling Jesus that his disciples didn’t wash their hands. Do we come to worship in the perspective of clay to be molded or as clay that wants to manipulate the potter?
Isaiah 29:17-21
The Lord brings His justice, righteousness, blessings, joy. He opens up the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. When he kick starts His glorious kingdom it will undo the judgment of 29:9-12.
Regardless of whether we want it or not, the Lord’s kingdom breaks loose and his glory opens up our eyes. Paul was on his way to kill some more heretics when Jesus blew his mind open and opened up his eyes. Praise God that there were a lot of ex-Pharisees in the early church. What a gracious, loving God to open our eyes even when we don’t expect it. He humbles us to open our eyes so that we can truly rejoice. It’s a promise.
Isaiah 29:22a
The Lord who redeemed Abraham- the one who called you, fixed you, blessed you freely by grace…
Says to the house of Jacob- the people who received the covenant despite their tricksy ways and conniving deceptions
Isaiah 29:22b-23
Your shame and fear will be healed when you
1) See, behold, get a grip on the Lord’s glory being revealed in the gospel of grace and then
2) Stand in awe of the God of Israel
No one likes the feeling of false worship. It makes you feel ashamed and fearful. I know when I am being a phony and it is scary. The cure for shame and fear is faith in the promises of God, the gospel.
Isaiah 29:24
All your jacked-up ideas of wisdom and coolness (vs 13, 15, 16) will be recalibrated and set right by processing again the gospel (God’s glory, man’s brokenness, God’s loving redemption as a gift.)
Conclusion:
Phony worship is a disease, but there is a cure:
• Start by opening up your eyes in order to own up to your sin and your clayish status. Are you dry? Ask the Lord to open your eyes.
• Remember the promises of God, The Potter, to redeem you and restore you in the gospel.
• Stand in awe of the God of Israel (if you really meditate on those first two statements then “standing in awe” comes very naturally.)
• As you are humbled, rejoice. As you are needy, rejoice. (vs.19)
Posted by Kirk Ward at 11:52 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 25, 2008
Compassionart
Pictured: Michael W. Smith, Paul Beloche, Martin Smith, and Israel Houghton
These guys along with a ton of other heavyweight songwriters are doing a project for Compassion International where they hung out for in Scotland writing songs and then recorded it in February at Abby Road Studios.
At the risk of sounding cynical, it's cool to be into poverty. It's cool to be into Jesus, and he was into poverty. Let justice roll down...
Posted by Kirk Ward at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2008
Paul Beloche responds to "Why won't my worship team practice?"
I dig Paul Beloche's training DVD's. This clip is from a website I just discovered that has tons of articles and clips and cool stuff. Watch this and then think about what is the motivation for excellence that Beloche is talking about? Is this gospel driven? Performance (guilt/fear/orphan) driven? Is Psalm 33 a legit scripture to cite as a justification for our music team to "take it up a notch"?
Posted by Kirk Ward at 11:35 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 23, 2008
Missional Worship
I had this talk from Doxologist streaming while I worked today. It got me thinking about how is our worship at New City Fellowship missional? How are we engaging with the culture around us instead of just being a Christian ghetto?
We might seem pretty out there to some people, but our worship is fundamentally made up of Christian traditional styles. Yes, traditional. Black tradition, African tradition, Praise and worship tradition, New City tradition, etc. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Christian traditions, but how are we as disciples of Christ making our worship understandable by non-churched people?
Are we engaging with 18-30 year old males who are mostly absent from the American church in general? Is our worship music feminized and touchy-feely? Do gang members, video gamers, indie kids, goths, gays, facebookers, bloggers hear our music, do they hear our worship and not get blinded by cultural and religious idols that we have given more real estate in our worship service than The Gospel?
Am I over analyzing? It can at least drive us to prayer. Can we just pray about being contextually relevant with grace without compromising the gospel? Lord, when will our church explode with a wave of people who never darkened the door of a church before who suddenly receive the gospel with power?
Posted by Kirk Ward at 4:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 12, 2008
More on American Idol's "Shout..."
Laini asked some good questions in the comments to my last post about my rather emotional response to American Idol's use of "Shout To The Lord." Do I have a double standard? Probably.
I read a great blog this morning that expressed in much better ways than I could why it is so disturbing to me. The blog is "here's the post about American Idol.
Here's the heart of the problem in Kauflin's words:
when a Christian song receives national attention or reaches number 1 on the charts, it’s no clear sign one way or the other that the Gospel is advancing or the church is having more of an influence on our culture. It can just as easily be a sign that the church is being swallowed up by the culture because it’s indistinct from the world.
Here's his response to the problem:
First, we need to do everything we can to sing and promote songs in the church that clearly, biblically, passionately, and faithfully proclaim the one and only Savior...Second, we we need to live in such a way that it’s clear being a Christian is more than giving money to worthy causes and being emotionally moved as we sing songs of every genre together. We want to do all we can to ensure that those who walk into our meetings see clearly that we’re not a local version of American Idol.
His first point refers to the generic meaning of the song. What would it have been like if they had sung "In Christ Alone" or "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" or even "You Are My King"? "Shout To The Lord" (and "Amazing Grace") are a little too vague to make a real statement about the gospel. They're not bad songs; they just can't be the only thing we sing.
The second point he makes hits a little closer to home. How much does our worship service look like American Idol? I don't mean smoke and lights and funky hair. I mean do our singers reflect the heart of worship (humility, fear of the Lord, reverent joy, broken and contrite heart, etc.)? I won't hide the fact that I am not a fan of American Idol (or most other reality shows) but I think that fans of the show would even agree that American Idol has as much to do with true worship as Babylon.
Kauflin also encourages everybody to pray that God will use this whole thing to bring people into the church, to open doors to the gospel, to bring true glory to the name of Jesus Christ, to bring more and more people to confess that Jesus (not just 'the Shepherd') is Lord. Ditto, Bob.
Read Bob's post, it's a lot better that mine.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 8:09 AM | TrackBack
April 11, 2008
This Song Is Offically Retired
I felt a little sick after watching this. Why in the world...who do they think...what is the...how in the name of all...I can't even...ugggg. Are there any "Idol" fans out there that can explain this to me?
Posted by Kirk Ward at 2:16 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
March 23, 2008
I topped off Easter morning with wacking myself in the head.
So we made it through Easter without being interrupted by a baby being born. I guess that's a good thing. We had a blast this morning celebrating the Resurrection.
Here's a funny story to go in the embarrassing worship leading moments file:
I had to hop down off the risers and over to my guitar for the final choir song, Death Is Ended. In a rush, I picked up my guitar off the stand quickly, but I was standing on the guitar's strap. The strap pulled the guitar's head toward me and I hit myself in the forehead right on one of the tunning keys. It was a similar sensation to being punched in the head by someone wearing a large pinky ring or something. A bunch of folks in the front row saw it and started saying stuff like, "shake it off!" I'm just glad that blood didn't start gushing down my face like bad prog rock theatrics. Here's a pic of the damage:
Posted by Kirk Ward at 2:12 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
March 22, 2008
How The Resurrection Affects Worship
This morning I was pondering this topic and I came up with three things that the resurrection has changed about worship. There is probably a lot more things that better bible scholars could share, but this is what come to me in the shower.
God's presence.
Before the resurrection, worship was done in God's unique presence which was tied to specific times and places. Mt. Sinai, the pillar of cloud and flame, the tabernacle, and finally the temple. In John, Jesus tells the woman at the well that a time is coming when you won't need to go to the temple to worship. Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus proclaims that he will destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Through the resurrection, the presence of God is now tied to the Holy Spirit that lives in the hearts of His redeemed people. We can be in the presence of God anytime, anywhere to worship.
The Sacrifice.
Before the resurrection, a sacrifice was required to atone for the sins of the worshiper before they could enter into worship. Through the resurrection, Jesus becomes the great high priest who offers His own blood to atone for our sins so that we can approach the throne of mercy with confidence. Jesus can fulfill this role because He lives. Read the book of Hebrews to get this concept fully fleshed out. (by the way, this is why we're singing my new arrangement for Watt's "Jesus My Great High Priest" tomorrow.)
The Song.
Jesus is our singing savior (see Reggie Kidd's book "With One Voice"). He lives to stand before the Father and in the midst of the assembly of worshipers to lead us in the song. Again, read Hebrews and Psalm 22.
Please share any more thoughts you have on how the resurrection affects worship.
(still no baby...)
Posted by Kirk Ward at 11:23 AM | TrackBack
March 21, 2008
Good Friday
I'm hanging out at home on Good Friday enjoying a day off. You might wonder why a church musician would be free on Good Friday and not running around like crazy trying to tie up last minute details. Well, I have been blessed with an extreme distaste for last minute detailery. As much as I'm able, I try to get things wrapped up and good to go in advance. Then I can just sit back and enjoy the ride. Did I mention that today is my wife's due date as well? Not only did I have to get things ready, but I had to get things ready to the point that my wonderful volunteer team could relax and enjoy the weekend even without their captain. Fortunately for me, the Holy Spirit is the true captain of worship through the atoning blood of Christ, so if the Holy Spirit shows up, then we're good to go for Easter.
Some highlights to look forward to this weekend:
Good Friday Service- the music is all focused on the cross, full of encouragement, drenched in grace and mercy. I'm especially looking forward to the excellent resetting of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross that Chris Tomlin did (The Wonderful Cross). Isaac Watts is my hero.
Rehearsals galore tomorrow. Music Team at 1:00 and choir at 5:00. Let the good times role!
Easter- There are a few moments that I look forward to every Easter Sunday. The extended "Death" toward the end of Death Is Ended. The trumpet trill on Christ The Lord Is Risen Today. The drum fill into to New Resurrection Life immortalized by Rick Dickerson. Not to mention greeting people with "He is risen", the resurrection of nature during springtime, the cute little kids in their new Easter outfits, etc. All of this just gives me a deep longing for the ultimate resurrection celebration at the end of time. Come Lord Jesus!
The possible highlight of the weekend is the birth of my son. He could decide to come any minute now, so everything we do this weekend will have a little bit of a sense of anticipation and excitement. Come little son!
Posted by Kirk Ward at 2:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 8, 2008
Consumer Church Video
Our church is going through the process of trying to decide what to do about Sunday School so they are doing a lot of surveys to find out what everybody wants. When I watched this video, I could instantly relate.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 9:21 AM | TrackBack
March 7, 2008
Great Worship Resources
I was sick last week. That is pretty typical for me after a big weekend like the Black History Program. So, I was basically in survival mode for a while. As a result I feel behind in blog stuff because I actually have a lot to write about. I'll give you a summary of what I might write about as I have time.
The Art Of Worship by Greg Sheer
This was a really excellent book. It's incredibly practical. It basically teaches everything you would have to do to set up and maintain a modern worship band ministry. I've read a couple of other books similar to this one, but I must say The Art of Worship is my new favorite. I would not recommend it as a devotional or theological text on worship; it's not written for those purposes.
www.planningcenteronline.com
This is a new website that my dad told me about that I am little obsessed with right now. Basically, it has taken all of my Excel, Access, and web resources and combined them into one easy and customizable service. I hope it will open up my schedule to do more flesh and blood ministry and less logistical busy-work.
South City Delegation
I'm currently in the process of working with our South City team to get them into a self-sustaining system. Delegation! Empowerment! Freedom!
By the way, my wife is 2.5 cm dilated. The baby is full-term, and we have about 2 weeks till the predicted due date.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 7:38 AM | TrackBack
February 18, 2008
Book Review: The Worshiping Artist
About a week ago I finished another book by Rory Noland that is a follow up to "The Heart Of The Artist" called, "The Worshiping Artist." My wife gave it to me for Christmas because it was on my list, (so she is exempt from any negative response I have to the book.)
If you've read "The Heart Of The Artist" you can expect some of the same good things. Excellent opening illustrations for each chapter that are so real it makes you wonder if he's been tapping your phone. A lot of good practical advice to artists who are involved in the church. In this book, his goal is to give a kind of orientation to artists who are entering into a worship leadership role. As such it was kind of a review of a lot of stuff for me. I would recommend it for maybe a group of college music interns who are starting out in worship leading. It gives a good solid ground work for what it really means to worship God, but honestly, I skimmed about 2/3rds of the book because it was nothing extremely new to me.
The last 3rd was kind of cool because he fleshed out some examples from scripture (and church history) of worship leaders and made some cool biblical applications. He did a chapter each on the Levites, Asaph, and the iconographers. (I was a little wary of the icon stuff. I can't say I get it, but the main points were good.)
Over-all, I would not recommend it to anyone whose been leading worship for more than a few years and has already wrestled through a biblical understanding of worship. "The Heart Of the Artist" was a much better book that had a lot of original things to say about the particular struggles of being an artist.
I have at least 4 more books on worship and art that I am reading, so stay tuned...
Posted by Kirk Ward at 8:56 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 13, 2008
Leadership Training
Our staff here at the church has begun a phase of leadership training. All of us are leaders of our various ministries, but few of us have had any specific training in how to lead from our pastors. I am really excited about it because I feel pretty helpless and clueless most of the time. Some of you who know me might find that surprising because I come to practice and try to be very assertive with how things should happen. However most of the week, I feel like I'm drowning a lot of the time. I can't seem to figure out how to use my time well. I feel overwhelmed with details and busy work. I loose focus on the big picture and start to get perfectionist and picky about little things (I've spent hours working on one chart to get everything just right.) I can spend all week staring at the computer and never speak to one member of my team. I can get bogged down in emails that never seem to have any real point. I can waste my work time writing blog posts...
Anyway, I have a lot of questions but it feels good. Like I'm on the verge of something big.
Here's one thing that has kind of blown my mind. I realized yesterday that I have a real victim mentality when it comes to leadership. Like I am this martyr who is put into the position of having to take care of everyone and to be the person who attends to all the details. I told the staff yesterday that sometimes I feel like there's a giant funnel of stuff dangling over my shoulders and every little thing drops into the funnel and onto me to take care of it because I'm the one with the keys, the skills, the contacts, the authority, etc.
Then after I shared it, Barry told me that other way to look at it was that I am a bottleneck.
Because I am trying to sinfully control everything, I am not allowing the work and the details to flow smoothly, so it's just a huge bottle neck of progress. I definitely feel that way about my leadership in South City. Its seems like there is always a dump truck load of little things that have to be taken care of by me and yet I am failing to get any done efficiently or well.
Control verses Empowerment is root issue. How do I let go of the dictatorial drive to control everything and how do I get into the process of empowerment?
Posted by Kirk Ward at 3:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 31, 2008
Calvin College: Institutional Racism?
Here's a post I read this morning from Reconciliation Blog.
My dad just came back from Calvin College this weekend where he was attending the symposium on Worship. Calvin (and the CRC in general) strikes me as an institution that is into the idea of cultural diversity in the church (more than my own denomination's college perhaps). Some of their worship resources have that scholarly vibe of the patchwork quilt of diversity. So it seems odd to me that they would be so off the mark on this issue, and so apparently clueless about racial dynamics.
I will give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they probably see the issue as "one of our faculty members wants to worship at a BAPTIST (gasp!) church." But, of course, the reality is that this woman just wants to be in a church where she does not experience alienation on a weekly basis.
Lord, if only their were reformed churches in Grand Rapids that had anything to offer this African American woman. Lead us, Jesus!
-I'm interested to here Heidi's thoughts as an alumni of Calvin.
-I'm also interested to here my dad's take on the symposium.
-I'm surprised that Anthony over at the Institute hasn't written a post about it yet.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 7:39 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 30, 2008
New City Fellowship Music Team Ministry Report for 2007
New City Fellowship Choirs
2007 was the year that we saw the dream of a choir program realized. In the spring, the choirs were organized around the Black History Program and Resurrection Sunday. When the fall came around, there were enough singers to make the choir a more established team including a group of committed leaders.
Black History Program
In February, we had an amazing experience when we came together to worship Jesus through the voice and experience of African-Americans. This was a challenge to organize, but it was incredibly encouraging to all who came as well as a wonderful offering of worship.
Growth in South City
God answered many of my prayers when the South City service was blessed with two committed and visionary pastors and with being able to meet in a better facility. The musicians in South City are very thankful to be done with all of the frustrating circumstances surrounding our former location. We are also thankful for how the passionate and focused leadership of Kevin VandenBrink and Macklann Basse has given the entire worship service a boost.
London
I had the pleasure of taking a team of Music Team members to the London Evangelism and Prayer Conference in July. We were given the responsibility of leading the other conferees in worship sessions, and in addition to what we learned and experienced in evangelism, we all came back with a more confident approach to worship leading and greater appreciation for the fellowship of musicians who lead worship together.
Music Team Leadership
This year, I was finally able to get a better taste for team ministry by forming the Music Team Leadership. The Music Team is made up of over 50 volunteers including worship leaders, singers, instrumentalists, sound techs, and text operators. The Music Team Leadership is a small group of people from the Music Team who feel a more committed calling to serve the whole Music Team through leadership.
What to expect in 2008
• South City will develop a more localized music administration and worship planning.
• The choirs will continue to cast a vision for how they can be used for the Kingdom.
• More intentional and relational development of musically gifted leadership.
• Encouraging songwriters, artists, and musicians in our congregation to develop unique expressions of worship that reflect the kaleidoscope of sounds and images that represent New City Fellowship.
• Ward baby #2!
Posted by Kirk Ward at 9:19 AM | TrackBack
January 27, 2008
2 New Songs on One Sunday!
I went with a risky decision to introduce 2 new songs on one Sunday. Actually, one of the two is the Chris Tomlin version of "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" which is not really new. It just adds a new refrain that's really easy to pick up. Plus anyone under 40 in the church will probably know it already (at least the white folks).
The other new song is one I wrote back in 2003 that has been on the back burner until now. It is one from my post college period that was an extremely creative time for me because I was living on an extremely small income thanks to having connections in Chattanooga, and so most of my days were spent reading stimulating books, playing guitar, and writing songs. Having just completed my jazz studies, I wrote several songs that were more complex than the average worship tune including "Before I Knew", "Search Me", "Greater Is He Who Is In Us", and this morning's song "Rejoice In The Lord" which is based on Philippians 4:4,8,9. Here's the lyrics:
Whatever is true
Whatever is noble
Whatever is right
Whatever is pure
Whatever is lovely
Whatever is admirable
If anything is excellent
Or praiseworthy
Think about such things
Put 'em in to practice
And the God of peace
The God of peace
Will be with you.
Rejoice in the Lord always 4X
The groove is a kind of Steely Dan thing. If only St. Louis' own Michael McDonald could be here to sing back up!
Update: I just got back from church. The 2 songs went great! Sometimes I begrudge Tomlin for his success, but the refrain he wrote is really good. And my song went over pretty well despite not having Michael McDonald. That song might take a few more performances to really hit the congregation.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 7:15 AM | TrackBack
January 14, 2008
Fear and Reckless Abandon
This Sunday morning I woke up thinking about the fear of the Lord. Several of the classic worship related stories in the bible have a lot to do with fear and reckless abandon. Oddly, they seem to go hand in hand. I guess it's about who they are afraid of and how they express that in worship. Let me illustrate.
David's dance is one of the most often refer to texts about worship (2 Samuel 6). In the story, David, the king, is trying to get the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem, but in transit, a priest is struck dead by God's wrath for touching this sacred object. David as a result is filled with so much fear at the awesome holiness and power of Yahweh that he dances in his underwear. When his wife is embarrassed by his reckless abandonment, David says a great line, "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes." (Matt Redmen has a great song called "Undignified" based on David's response.)
I thought of a few other similar stories. Hannah who is mistaken for being drunk, Mary Magdalene who washed Jesus feet with perfume, and the Apostles at Pentecost are great examples of people doing bold and strange things out of a response to being struck with fear of the Lord.
Why is it that when folks talk about "reverence" before the Lord, they usually mean being quiet and controlled? It seems that a lot of times in scripture, when people get a glimpse of how holy and awesome the Lord is, they start to shout, dance, or weep. They seem to forget about being embarrassed and begin to act like fools. Their fear is placed where it should be, on the Lord, and not on the people who look on.
That's a nice thing to meditate on before a Sunday morning worship service. Way too much of the time I'm really more afraid of what people think of me, how I look, how the music sounds, etc. It was a great Sunday to dance around and act a fool before the Lord.
Posted by Kirk Ward at 2:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack