Shaun Groves
A few days ago I met a music minister at a church who has a rare set of priorities. While some guys in his profession get ticked when they can’t “move the church along” as fast as they’d like (in the musical direction the music guy wants them to go), this guy sacrifices his direction for true worship.
I’ve said this a million times and I swear I’ll write more in-depth about it someday here but…
The word worship in our English bibles doesn’t always mean the same thing. Just as the word “love” isn’t always erotic, or always friendly, or always divine, the word “worship” is also translated from numerous Greek or Hebrew words with many different meanings. Those words never mean music. Never. Not once. The word “worship” never once means music. Music can be worship but worship is not music.
“I know,” some will say, “worship is a lifestyle.” Well, despite what the t-shirts and conferences and Christian artists say these days, nope. It’s not. That’s too broad. It’s a specific kind of
action and attitude, a specific kind of response to God.
One Greek word translated into our English word “worship” in the bible is “proskuneo”. It’s two words put together: pros (toward) and kunuo (dog). Here’s the picture: We’re dogs and God is the master reaching out toward us and we roll over and do what He wants, live if He wants, die is He wants, receive if He wants,give away if He wants, get scratched if He wants, sit in silence staring at Him with our head cocked if He wants. He’s God. We’re man. We’re not as important to Him as He is to Him. Our agenda, our taste, our direction is not as important as His agenda, His taste, His direction.
This music minster I met this past weekend worships God. He’s a guitar player – a good one – who likes to lead others in singing while playing his guitar. But he’s in a denomination and a church that doesn’t believe that’s best right now. Shoot, some of them think it’s downright wrong. And though they’re not “moving along” in the direction he’d like he still serves them because He knows that’s what God wants: servants. And he does it with a great attitude because that’s God’s taste: a cheerful giver. And He doesn’t get angry that they see instruments differently than he does because it’s not an issue that’s more important to God than unity. It’s not a Jesus issue. It’s not a hill He would die on so this guy doesn’t.
He’s a guitar player singing without instruments every Sunday because He loves the church and people and God more than his preferred style – and that’s all it is: a style. It’s not worship. Instruments are not essential to worship. Nor is music. He knows it. His worship is obedience. That’s required.
And I was so impressed with him that I just had to brag on him publicly a little. He’s rare.
Shawn Bashor says:
I am currently reading Mark Labberton’s “The Dangerous Act Of Worship,” it confronts this very topic head on and I would recommend it to anyone.
Todd says:
Shaun, thanks for posting that. It’s amazing how upset we can get over style and it’s helpful to be reminded of the substance of what a church is supposed to be doing.
Though I’ll still advocate for certain style adaptations in my congregation and denomination.
ben says:
thank you for sharing. i needed to hear this today.
Hale-Yeah! says:
nice. you got some good stuff there.
thecachinnator says:
Actually, Shaun, proskuneo is the two Greek words “towards” and “kiss.” (Dog is kane.) So the image of worship from the Greek word is one of directed adoration. The kiss is obviously not to be taken in a romantic sense but rather one of reverence, greeting, and affection.
Still, you’re quite right about worship not being music. I still get hacked off whenever a church decides to change their music minister’s title to worship minister and all he/she continues to do is lead music. Worship is much much more than music. (Unless you’re an American protestant apparently.)
Shaun Groves says:
It’s kiss which is an “apparent derivative of”…dog .
The full word picture, according to numerous sources I’ve read is that of a dog licking his master’s hand when it’s outstretched. It’s an acknowledgement of my place relative to God. It’s why subjects kiss the ring of a ruler etc.
We’re in agreement here I think, Cach. Thanks for the excuse to Greek out some more. We’re nerds. You know that right?
Kevin says:
Thanks for your post Shaun. In my own life I’ve been asking what worship is.
I think most of us who are a part of the congregation being led in worship, think it is music. It’s refreshing to hear someone like yourself make the statement that worship is not music.
I do have a question for you. Do we, the congregation, put to much on the worship leader? If the session doesn’t go well, does worship still take place? (That was two questions.)
euphrony says:
I’ve heard the same word picture given for proskuneo – the view of a person face down on the ground at the master’s feet. Didn’t know the dog connection.
Cach, I know what you mean about Amerincan protestant equating music with worship. I was on a team that helped hire our current worship minister, and talk was given to the fact that worship is more than just music. Somehow, the hiring still was carried out based mostly on music and how he could draw people into God’s presence through leading the singing.
Thomas says:
I know this is a little off track, but in away this related back to the subject being discussed in the word blog about the book Static. The lingo we use in the church seems to have different or wrong meanings between us in the church. If we use the wrong lingo between ourselves in the church, how can someone not in the church understand what we are talking about.
Thomas
thecachinnator says:
Nerds? Us? Shut yo’ mouth.
Actually, I didn’t explain that well enough and hope I didn’t come across as snarky. (I think everyone knows that when I mean to be snarky… you’ll know it.) Proskuneo doesn’t mean to give a kiss on the cheek or anything; it means to kiss the hand towards. It’s something quite lost on modern Westerners, but you’re right Shaun that the word picture is a bowing and submissive one. In an extra-biblical context, the word was used to describe the obeisance paid by Easterners to their potentates or kings. That picture is actually forehead to the ground, with the head “kissing” the ground… much like a dog actually.
Oh, fine. Nerds it is.
Cali Amy says:
actually, I think I’ve seen that on a Christian t-shirt as well…
something like bending forward and kissing? Anyone else see that or know what I’m talking about?
truevyne says:
The best definition I’ve ever heard of worship totally relates to dogs and kisses…
Father Al Durrance, a conservative episcopal priest says, “Worship is radical obedience to the word of God.”
Here’s where the dog part comes in- obedience and listening attentively for the Master’s Word in order to act and do His Will. The kiss part seems to me to be reflected in the joy a dog or blessed servant find in serving the Master.
Travis Cottrell says:
Yes. Love it.
Steve says:
This guy sounds like a walking example of Romans 12:1. Wow. Pretty humbling and inspiring. I was going to say that this is pretty rare, but then again, most true servants don’t blow their own horn, so we don’t hear about them much. At any rate, it does sound like this MofM is so content with where God has him in his “calling” that personal preferences just don’t matter much at the moment. (Which, um, I do think is pretty rare for many MofMs and worship leaders.)
Good thoughts by all on the frustration of the Church’s entrenched idea that music = worship. I think a lot of worship leaders do try to drive the opposite point home by modeling worship with non-music examples, but severe time limitations and attempting to change a mindset that has been in place for hundreds of years is obviously no easy task.
But it does beg the question, “so if the music is the worship, what are you doing during the rest of the meeting?”