Now, shout out to all of those that are old enough to be parents or even grandparents to those (us!) under the age of thirty- have you ever wondered why on earth we are so loud? I'm sure you've wondered why our generation thrives on concert-style worship (yes, with instruments!) or how on earth we have the boldness-even an urgency-to fly halfway across the world to serve in third-world countries when it means putting our own lives in danger for people we have never even met. You may label us as charismatic, risky, bold, zealous, or other words that center around one concept: chaos-or at least, that's what it may seem like, and how can worship-how can God-be at the center of this sort of behavior?
I've heard so many comments and questions such as these during this summer, and as I have tried to figure out which way is right and which one wrong, because (apparently) one of them has to be the right way-the only way-I have only reached one conclusion: nether way is wrong.
Before you call me a heretic for condoning symbolic tattoos of Christianity or click the 'x' for fear of being told that you need to be sitting in a pew at church every Sunday, hear me out. I believe there is a balance to find in understanding the ways different generations worship and experience God, because even if different people glorify God in different forms using different methods, they can all be viewed as unified based on the principles that are found at the core of each style.
First, we need to clarify one point, and that is the topic of humility. Who are we to ever judge the way that another person glorifies the Lord? First, the Holy Spirit cannot be limited. Second, people are not meant to judge. The Bible is clear on that topic, at least, that anyone who condemns another person in his (or her) heart is judging, and that act is one that no human being except Jesus Christ Himself has the authority to do. Now, there is a difference in discerning and judging. Discerning is deciding what is best from what is not, and we are told to use wisdom to do so, and only for the glory of God. We can discern what is sinful from what is not in our own lives and perhaps in others by the fruit they produce, for James tells us that our faith shows true by our fruit we produce in our lives, and we should use our discernment to grow one another in our knowledge and love of the Lord, so that we might become more and more like Jesus in our use of discernment. I think this is what is meant by, 'As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another' (Proverbs 27:17). Judging is to condemn another person based on their actions because the judger assumes the heart of the judged. To discern would be to prayerfully, patiently, and humbly discuss an issue with the other person with the honest will to help the other person and yourself to grow in godliness. To judge would be to decide the other person's intentions without biblically confronting him or her, to decide the eternal or present fate of another person, or to put one's own status above another person based on one's own assumptions. One act is in humility while the other of out prideful ambition or vain conceit. One out of love for God and the other out of exalt for self.
So, if you honestly think a brother or a sister in Christ is sinning, then ask God if you should talk to them about it. If you are pridefully thinking of yourself as better than the other person, then pray about your heart, because often the person deep in sin is the one looking in the mirror (a truth I must remind myself of daily).
Next, we must establish the topic of worship. You can read about my thoughts on it here. As a whole, I would define worship as a lifestyle of acting in faith. Now, worship is similar to a puzzle, made up of various pieces such as praise, prayer, speaking, deeds, and much more, but this post you are reading now is specifically honed in on praise. So, back to different praise styles.
If our faith is proved to be true based on our works, that means that our hearts are shown in our deeds. The fruit in our lives should be done out of a heart that loves God, not out of obligation or to check off a to-do list every week. So, if praise can only be determined by one's own heart, then how can I possibly look down on another person's style? I do not know anyone's heart but my own. Every word spoken and every work done is meant to be out of faith. So, when it comes to other people's worship styles-even if they are different from my own-I can only appreciate them, because if the Lord is moving their heart to praise Him in some way, it must be a beautiful scene. Isn't He so good to break our hearts for Him?
Now, we must incorporate discernment into the equation at some point, otherwise anything goes, right? In the book of second Timothy, Paul warns Timothy against false doctrine so that young Tim is able to stand firm in his faith, guard against those who wish him ill, and faithfully teach others to do the same. I believe the same concept applies in the area of praise and worship-really it applies to every aspect of the Christian faith, which I believe Paul infers. Regarding teaching, Paul warns against those who quarrel and embrace 'godless chatter', because they cause believers to stumble and spread their words rapidly. The pastors and speakers who truly want to serve God will do so because they want to grow your relationship with Jesus-not confuse it. They will address issues concerning true faith-not foolish and stupid arguments. Their words will match with scripture and the character of God, found in goodness, love, hope, and much else. Regarding praise, I turn to one principle: that it match the heart of God. I believe the Lord has zealous characteristics as well as peaceful. I believe He wants us to be disciplined but also spirit-led. Like most (all?) happenings in life, there is a balance to be found. When it comes to different styles, I've come up with a sort of mind-set goal for myself, and that is to love the call of different generations.
To help my mind and heart understand the many ways in which people worship, I search for the godly aspects of different generations' praise styles. (That's not to say that everyone under the age of thirty is a bold, charismatic, evangelical believer or that everyone over the said age is a fundamental traditionalist, but holistically I find trends can be found among different generations). I like to think of my generation, the twenty-somethings and under, as the 'Freedom Generation', a term derived from a song by Matt Redman (recommended listening at the end of this post). Many of us find our heart stirred by chanting bold truths in upbeat songs that center around topics such as spiritual warfare, victory over sin, or the return of our One True King. We like to identify ourselves with tattoos that hold deep meaning, trends that create community among us (hello, Chacos!), and cultural styles that show our love for traveling because that inspires (and reminds?) us of the one sweet command that awakens our souls-the Great Commission. Most of us have been on at least two mission trips overseas and about half of us plan to live in another country to directly and intentionally spread the Gospel, but even more than that we embrace living with those who don't know Jesus (or even those who do), because let's be real-when it comes to the hope we have, we can't help but to shout it to the nations. We understand our brokenness and love it because it shows we need Jesus. We yearn for deep, raw, real experience-with nose rings to compliment. Our freedom in Christ represents the surrender our souls need, the passion our hearts want, and the Jesus we want to be like (because really, when you examine His life, He was quite the hippie, according to us).
I tend to think of the most recent generation before mine as the 'Faithful Generation', one that focuses on spiritual disciplined faith rather than bold 'go and tell it' faith. Praise seems to center around the structured practices of the Christian life, such as fasting, prayer, and communion-all of which are necessary for our souls. We are made to live these practices out. Expressions of love are commonly shown through poetic song rather than repetitive statements, often with words such as 'thee', 'thou', or 'fetter', and really I find hymns gloriously beautiful. A lot of times hymns consist of words that hold much more weight to them than the casual language of younger generations today. The beauty of this type of worship is in the peaceful Presence of God, which perfectly reflects scripture such as, 'Be still and know that I am God'. Through these types of praise there is an increase in one's knowledge of God's heart, while in the sort of the 'Freedom Generation' there is a growth in one's experience of God's heart.
Both aspects of these two generations are beautiful. Both are scriptural.
Is either one better than the other? Is either one more right? I don't believe so. Both can be misused or performed out of selfishness, but at the same time both can be out of humility and based upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
What if we, as a body of Christ, could arrive at a place of appreciating how God stirs peoples' hearts in different ways? What if, instead of labeling each other as boring, legalistic, over-zealous, or charismatic we saw each other as necessary individuals that make up the whole body? What if we asked God to humble our hearts to serve one another for Him? As C.S. Lewis wrote, 'Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less'. What if we reminded ourselves that worship isn't about us at all, but in fact it's about who we are worshipping? God has many characteristics, and we are designed to reflect every single one.
Instruments are not what make up the beauty of God. Neither can voices accomplish this. The practices of self-disciplines do not bring us to righteousness, and the specific act of going to a third-world country to serve does not make one more holy. Our works do not make us more like God, but rather our faith should manifest itself in our works, so that the deeper we know God, the more we love Him, and the more we love Him, the more our lives reflect the heart of Christ.
One generation seeks God in knowledge. The other seeks God through active love. Combined, both equal truth, and perhaps this can be a meaning of Philippians 1:9-11 (though based on context I think it means a multitude of other truths as well):
'And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.'
Knowledge + Love = Truth
Tonight it is on my heart to share the beauty that can be found among varying generations, and really these concepts can even be applied to understanding differing cultures, too. There is wisdom to be found in those who are older, and there is passion to be found in those who are younger. We should worship out of the love in our hearts for our God, but we cannot forget that the best way to love God is to love His people. Sometimes loving God can mean praising Him alongside another person who may praise Him in a different way than is the norm for you. Sometimes it may mean being sensitive to another's choices so as to not cause him or her to stumble. It always means taking steps of faith and acting in real, godly love, for we are made to love and to be loved. We all have different gifts and preferences, but we are all united in our love for Jesus Christ, and so long as we have Him in common-and we will forever have Him in common-we can (and should!) strive to worship Him together.
The calling to be a Christian has never been solely about the works. It's always been about the intent behind the deeds. God doesn't want anything from us. He only wants us-all of our hearts, bodies, minds, and souls. Nothing we do is going to reach His status, and in fact, I think He would rather have us present to Him a heart without words than many words with no heart. He wants love. He wants unity. He wants a Church of believers who strive to welcome His Presence each day.
