Well, another rambling on the topic of worship…
I am not a Charismatic in any way, shape or form. I was just not raised around that type of worship and I feel that I can worship my Lord quite freely without performing some type of overtly-external physical demonstration of what my heart realizes. I’m not saying that someone can’t worship that way, it’s just that I don’t have that screaming to get out of me.
When I was in college I visited a couple of far out Charismatic churches just so I could see what kind of things occur there. These churches are way beyond what we would call a normal Charismatic church. One in particular, the Capstone Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ, was pastored by a guy named Neil Frisbee. Let me tell you, the pastor’s name only demonstrated the ends to which this guy would go. He literally believed that when Christ returns, He will touch His foot down on the top of the Capstone Cathedral. Also, they had pictures of the Holy Spirit on the back walls of the church. They looked a lot like under and over-developed film to me. The point being, I’ve seen some extremes.
The point of this specific blog is not to criticize the Charismatic churches, but rather to point to a situation that has appeared in churches that I am familiar with – that I personally attend…
When we’re singing songs of worship to God, we will often stand as a way of showing honor and respect to God, or in response to a phrase within a specific song. Case in point: “We Stand, We Stand in Awe of You” seems like a pretty natural song for us to stand up and sing.
The counter point is the issue of this blog, though: when’s the last time we bowed or kneeled when we sang, “We Bow Down, and We Worship You Lord”? Why only the raising of hands? Why only the position of standing? When’s the last time we responded in worship like Isaiah did when he saw the Lord? I see him cowering in fear before that Lord, not raising hands. There seems to be an allowance for both, but the motivation needs to be based on a holistic view of God, not necessarily the way we choose to see God. If we can just look past our own feelings in worship, we may find that the object of our worship supersedes our feelings 100% of the time.
Who knows, maybe the next time I’m worshipping, I’ll be kneeling as I consider WHOM I’m worshipping…
Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Psalm 95:6-7
(had to include this link to a Tim Hawkins video that I love!
If you kneel, I\’ll kneel! I\’ve been dealing with this for the last coupld of weeks since we have been focused on the greatness of God. Maybe I\’m spiritually chicken!
Well, one thing is for sure, we can\’t dictate the posture – it has to come from the heart relationship with the Father. It would be similar to telling everyone to lift their hands when they sing or pray. I have always appreciated those who are expressive enough with a pure heart to not worry about what\’s going on around them.
I sat with my head bowed this past week through a couple of songs. Our pews certainly make it difficult to kneel!