Modern Christianity: What is Worship?

As my first “Topic of the Week” post, I want to dive into the foundation of worship and worship arts ministry. For clarity sake – I hope to use this project to talk about Worship Arts MInistry which is a branch of the broader term worship. I want to begin this journey though by taking a step back to talk about what the broader term of worship even is. It can mean different things to different people and groups. 

Christianity in the Modern Church: What is Worship?

What is the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word “Worship”? If your thought is singing songs in church on Sunday morning, you aren’t alone and you aren’t entirely wrong either.

The word worship is not a Chrisian exclusive term. According to Merriam Webster, worship is a verb, and defined “To honor or show reverence for a divine being or supernatural'' and “To regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion” Worship is also a noun meaning “extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem”. The way I’m going to talk about it in this article will be treating it as a verb. To me, it seems like the appropriate and easier way to explain because we as Christians worship is an action, it is something we intentionally do. 

The modern church often uses the term worship for their Sunday service, you have a worship service, you have a time of worship. Generally now, that is used to describe congregational singing whether it be acapella, with a piano, or with a band. Over time the church began to name the activities involving music “worship”. Head over to your preferred source of music (Itunes, Spotify, etc) Christian music / church music is often called and labeled as worship music. 

On the surface there is nothing wrong with this. We should consider singing a form of worship, but we have to be careful that we don’t allow that to be the singular definition. I’ve had friends that became discouraged at church because they weren't musically talented, therefore they thought they were “bad at worshiping”. In that particular case and others that I’m sure are similar, by narrowing the definition of worship, we narrow how people can interact and have a relationship with Christ. This is where narrowing can be harmful, and work against the church. 

While this blog intends to be a resource for those actively participating in music ministry, I think it’s important to note that singing on Sunday morning is certainly a way to worship, it is not the only way to worship. Worship and music are not synonymous but music is one form of worship.

So, what is worship then? Worship is a natural part of humanity, we were created, are created to worship. Worship is simply how we honor God - our actions, our prayers, our songs, our devotions, our acts of kindness. When you show the love of God and acknowledge Him in what you do, that is worship. If the world only worshiped in one way, we would all be seriously missing the point.

Just pick up your Bible, look at the Old & New Testament. The pages are filled with examples of people honoring God. One thing I notice, aside from there being so many examples, is that while the intent stays the same no worship matches any other. We each have to decide for ourselves how we worship. There are many passages that describe what worship looks like, from Miriam to David, Solomon to Timothy. These examples should be where we create our foundation of worship. 

While there are certainly examples of singing as a type of worship, we find in the New Testament as the church began, after the time of Christ’s resurrection, worship shifted. Before Christ, worship was a hope and prayer for the Messiah, the Savior to come and redeem humanity. The church now can rejoice that salvation has come. Our worship changes because now the relationship is personal and individual, the veil is torn. What was once just for God’s chosen, the Hebrews, the Jews, is now for anyone, Jew or Gentile. As Gentiles, our worship is simply different.

Directed Up to God	Communal Within the Church	Expressed Towards the World
Personal Prayer	Being a Hospitality Volunteer	Global Missions
Dedication to Reading Scripture	Sunday School Teacher	Donating Time & Resources
Intentional Growth of Faith	Communal Singing & Prayer	Local Missions
Musical Praise	Bible Study Groups	Building Relationships
	Serving within the Church

Let’s break down worship into 3 distinct but broad categories: worship directly given to God; worship by interacting with one another within the church ; and reaching out to the world. These three categories are broad with many smaller branches. Some forms of worship are a mix of the three. This is in no way meant to put these into simple definable boxes, but explain that worship is something anyone can do. No two people will worship the same way. 

Worship is how you use your talents, time, and resources because Christ told us to do so. And you do it. Showing hospitality to people and spreading Jesus’ story of love and what He did for us on earth. Praying over leaders, praying for the lost, praying for one another. That is worship. Giving to those in need, serving those in need, and never expecting recognition, validation or gratitude for the efforts. 

All of that said — coming back around — Music is absolutely a form of worship. When scrolling through old and new music alike we see clear messages of worshiping Him for His acts of mercy and compassion. We sing about what Jesus did. We sing the lessons we learned from Jesus, and we share that knowledge congregationally and individually when we sing. Song is an art form that connects people of different countries, cultures, and ideas. There always seems to be a middle ground in music. It’s why music worship is so important. Musical worship is a valuable form of worship because it brings those three broad categories together. That was my inspiration to begin this project. Worship is such an incredible way to reach people while also building your own faith.

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What is worship to you? How do you worship? Tell me in the comments!

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