Comments on: Former CCM worship leader says get rid of worship leaders, bands

By: Anna Renee

Anna Renee — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:04:06 +0000

To respond to HiScriver, I dont think God minds if we arent able to carry a tune when we praise Him. When we focus on the skills of the “performer” then I believe we expect a performance rather than opening our own mouths to praise Him.
One day in our church, the electricity went out right as we were in service. Except for a skylight and stain glass windows, there was no light. NO microphones. The choir sang and we sang along with them, and I cant tell you the feeling of power of the Holy Spirit I felt, and my brother as well. No performance, just praising God, just the power of the Holy Spirit!
Most praise leaders dont know how to step out of the way and make room for the Holy Spirit!

By: lesha

lesha — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:07:36 +0000

This issue was on my mind, especially in light of the argument that if there would be little or no music/worship leaders if the gay christians left. And I was reminded of two things.

1. What we call worship now, was once known as ‘Song service’
Somewhere along the line, it got elevated to Praise & Worship Sessions with a Praise Team and a Worship Leader. Next thing you
know, we started talking about setting the mood for worship, and
instead of teaching folk to reverence God Almighty, we end up trying to woo God with beautiful music…that just makes us feel so good inside, and we start to tell the Lord some sweet words,
and we even cry, and we feel sooooooooooo good. And somehow, the fact we felt so close to God in that Praise & Worship session serves to remind us that even though we might not be living right, we still haven’t quite lost our walk with God, afterall we felt His presence. Sensation is no substitute for obedience to God’s word…but that is soooo boring, and it sells zero albums…..so the Praise & Worship segment of the Gospel Music Industry reigns!

2. There is worship and there is true worship. There are worshippers and true worshippers. Jesus Christ plainly stated that God MUST be worshipped in Spirit AND in truth by true worshippers. The devil too desires worship, and went as far as to tell Jesus Christ ” I will give you all the kingdoms of the world if you will bow down and worship me.” And in Revelation 13 vs. 15, all who will not worship the image of the beast will be killed.

So worship is the final frontier, but it’s the life we live in the eyes of God, not the songs we sing to the ears of God.
And as my baby sister said ‘Worship is not a team sport.”

By: Paul N

Paul N — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:29:09 +0000

Agree, Worship is an attitude of heart that can be expressed in many different ways which could be (raising hands, shaking heads, crying, saying “hallelujah, thank you Jesus, glory to God,” etc)

Expression of worship is evident all throughout scripture and lets and lets not think something is wrong with these, they are marvelous and acceptable to God as long as our hearts an in it.

By: psalm100

psalm100 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:51:10 +0000

Charzetta, I agree with your assessment. Alot of worship leaders have to “pump” up the crowd before the people will worship and praise God. This often leads to “flesh” being made to worship. Also people think they have to have music to worship God.

Worship and praise are something we can do in the privacy of our own homes.

By: charzetta3

charzetta3 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:17:02 +0000

Great question.
I agree and disagree. I say yes and no. I think so and I think not. I’d better explain:

Praise and worship, which are 2 different things, are both responses from knowing and experiencing God’s faithfulness in our lives. They are not initiators. This may get a couple of responses, but the saying “when praises go up, blessings come down” isn’t true. We praise because of what he has already done and because of who he is. The singing and dancing of Jehoshaphat and Judah didn’t bring about victory, they sang and danced because God told them they they wouldn’t even have to fight…that the battle is his.

Worship is something that only a child of God can do. Worship has nothing to do with physical activity: raising hands, shaking heads, crying, saying “hallelujah, thank you Jesus, glory to God,” etc….a lost heathen can do all of those things in a “church setting” and go straight to hell. There isn’t anything wrong with doing those things if it’s true worship. Worship comes from the heart by motivation of the Spirit of God who lives inside of us and inspires our behavior. We have the capacity to worship 24 hours a day, not just in what we call “worship service”. We worship in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24, Philippians 3:2-3). We worship when we go to work to provide for our families, we worship when we cook dinner for our families, we worship when we give someone something to eat, we worship when we preach and teach truth, we worship when we come together for fellowship.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with a praise/worship band or leaders or teams. I believe the singing of songs, prayer and etc is, again, a response of who God is. I think there is a problem when the leaders/bands/teams tell or command “let’s all worship/praise God and if you’re not up doing it, you’re not a worshiper.” That’s a forced reaction. If I “worship” because someone tells me to, then it’s not worship. If I “praise” God because someone tells me to, then it’s not praise. These things come from the heart, not from the prompting of another person. Don’t throw the bands/leaders/ teams away, but let’s keep them in proper perspective.

By: Jon Daniels

Jon Daniels — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:07:06 +0000

I can believe it. I think of when I visited two of the area’s megachurches and the worship team played secular music during their portion of the service. Even though the songs were relevant to the sermon, it was still unsettling to hear John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band during a church service.
The problem with worship leaders/bands/etc, is the same problem that is church-wide – we exalt gifts & talents over character and living holy. Just like a congregation will turn a blind eye to a pastor’s adultery because he can “preach the house down”, they’ll overlook that worship leader (or recording artist) that’s caught up in fornication or homosexuality or listening to secular music more than spending time with God.
If the worship leaders/bands would truly seek after God and “take off the world”, then it would work. But then, these pastors and ministers that allow this foolishness would have to do it first (where the head goes, the body follows).