I find it hard to worship when…

1. Everything is so loud that you can’t hear yourself or any of the congregation singing, even if they are. Makes it feel like a concert, not a congregational worship time. We really aren’t adding anything.

2. The music is all clappy-happy. We often seem to gloss over the fact that we are singing to the God of the universe.

3. Worship is done for its own sake. Many times, it feels like we take time to worship simply because that’s what we always do when we come together. After all, you can’t have church without singing. Or you can’t go to a conference without awesome worship.

4. The band rocks. When the music is so good, and there’s a rockin’ guitar solo, or the band just nails it, oftentimes I feel worship is cheapened.

5. I’m tired or having a bad day. It’s amazing how such “earthly” things can affect things we try to accomplish spiritually. Like when Jesus’ disciples couldn’t stay awake to pray in the garden. What better reason do we need to eat right, get good sleep, and build healthy relationships with one another? Otherwise, these things can often hinder our relationship with God.

6. Ritual is equated with worship. I think having a liturgy can be a good thing, but it’s not the same as worship. Just like singing songs isn’t the same thing as worship. When a congregation is just going through the motions, I find it hard to worship.

7. The congregation is coerced to worship in a certain way. Some would say that worship leaders shouldn’t encourage everyone to raise hands, etc, but I disagree with that statement. I think it’s the leader’s job to lead us, and encourage us to do things together. However, when the worship leader is trying to “make the Spirit move,” that ruins it. “A person who loves community will kill it. But the person who loves his brother or sister will build it wherever he goes.”

8. Form is elevated above substance. It shouldn’t matter what style of music we are using. We should be able to worship God with hymns or choruses.  When we make it about the style of music, it becomes about our preferences. I don’t see any of these 10 items I’m listing as personal preferences (I could be wrong), but rather as actual hindrances to true congregational worship.

9. Other people are checking out. I can worship by myself at home, but I come together to worship in order to worship together! If there is a lack of desire on the part of the congregation to worship, it makes it all the more difficult for me.

10. We breeze through worship. When we don’t give time to meditate/pray, I believe we miss the point of worship. Worship doesn’t need music, but it is marked by prayer. It is our moment to corporately connect with God as one entity (not simply a collection of individuals), and it takes time for this to happen. We must be willing to be patient and we must have a heart that longs to seek after God–not simply jumping from one song to another.

I’ll stop at 10.  🙂