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Archive for the ‘Worship, Praise and Music’ Category

More Advice for Worship Leaders

Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , on November 5, 2025| 1 Comment »

Play songs that the congregation knows. As worship leader you are there to lead them. You are there to get help them engage praise and worship. I can not stress this enough. You are not there to perform a song because you think it is cool. There are high energy songs that are heavily produced that the congregation is just not able to sing. Make sure to sing songs that are singable by the congregation. You are to lead the congregation.

Make sure the lyrics of the songs that you are playing are doctrinally sound, lyrics focusing more on God and His greatness, and less on lyrics that focus on “me”. Also, there are many songs that are overly emotional, and that emotion can be confused for the Spirit. You need to be careful. We are told in Acts that God will send “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord”.  Acts 3:20.

Make sure the key you are playing in is suitable for the congregation. I personally try not to have key changes, but I know that is not always possible. I may have a set of songs in the key of G so that the transition between the songs flow better, allowing for more spontaneity during times of “free praise and worship”. Again, the congregation is part of the reason that I do that. You must remember that there are a lot of people who have no musical talent or even have an ear for music. There are many who can’t sing very well at all.  Avoiding key changes makes it easier for the congregation. I may start the service with a couple of faster songs in the same key and then switch to a longer set of songs in the same key. For me, I try to make it flow better between songs.

If there is a “free time of worship and praise”, I do not play a chord progression. If I am playing a set of songs in E, I will just simply play full measures of E to Esus, back to E to Esus, etc. Stay in that simple mode. If you play a progression of chords, again you will lose the congregation. Doing a simple E to Esus repeatedly will keep it simple for the congregation. Again, you are there for the congregation to help make it easy for them to engage in “worship and Praise”.       

Modern churches have created a huge problem; they have brought in musicians just because they can sing and play an instrument and they just end up performing. Many churches are satisfied because they have a really good worship team, even though they are devoid of the spirit. I have seen it repeatedly, congregations just standing not engaged because they don’t know the songs or the songs are hard to sing.

Again, this is all about the congregation. What can I do to help encourage the congregation to be engaged in praise and worship. I hope a few of these tips will help.

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The Shade of a Huge Rock

Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , on October 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Isaiah 32:1-2 “Behold, a king will reign righteously, and princes will rule justly. And each will be like a refuge from the wind, and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry country, like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land”.

Isaiah 25:4 “For Thou hast been a defense for the helpless, defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat”.

Many years ago, while I was in a very severe testing in my life, a dear friend/mentor told me that one day I would be “like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land”. He told me to meditate on those verses in Isaiah. Now years later, as I look at these verses, I see that the testing of the Lord is what forms us. We become conformed to His image and learn obedience through testing and suffering. Even Jesus “learned obedience through the things that He suffered (Heb 5:8)”.

Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple”.

Oh, to be such a disciple! To have learned of the Lord how to be like Jesus, “to sustain the weary with one word”! To be a refuge and shelter from the storms of this life! To have rivers of water “flowing from our innermost being” (John 7:38). To be like a “shade of a huge rock in a dry and parched land”!

We can be these things to those around us. In our churches, in our lives outside the church and in our families. We have something in us that the world does not have. We have the Spirit, and it can flow out of us to show mercy to all around us. Lord help us to be more like You!

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Bringing the Lame and Blind

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , , on June 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By David Ravenhill

If you were to ask an average believer how many of them stole something this past week. I’m sure the vast majority of them would look at you dumbfounded at the very suggestion. We are all well aware that stealing is forbidden by God and made it to His top ten list of commandments. ‘Thou shalt not steal’ ranks just below ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’.

Now if stealing is wrong, and it clearly is, then stealing from God Himself would be the ultimate theft. Right!? According to the Prophet Malachi, God accused His people of robbing Him. The robbery was in their tithes and offering which they either withheld completely or replaced with inferior offerings.

Just in case you’re not familiar with the passage I’m referring to, here it is:

‘But when you present the blind for sacrifice is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would He receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive you kindly?” Malachi 1:8,9

God was clearly upset with His people and the way they were treating Him. God goes on to say.

“…you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord. But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I AM A GREAT KING…Malachi 1:13,14

The point I’m trying to make here, is that in the New Testament, our sacrifices are no longer in the form of four-footed animals but through our praise and worship. Here is how the writer of Hebrews refers to it.

“Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips that give thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

Nothing perturbs me more than going to church and having to listen to God’s people barely uttering a word of praise. The vast majority of people are not even singing and those that are can barely be heard. Almost every Sunday I go home with a pit in my stomach telling myself. ‘We robbed God again’, We robbed God again’. If that’s how I feel, then I wonder how God feels?

God had to remind His people that He is a GREAT KING. He’s trying to tell them to honor Him as such and not treat Him as though He’s not that important. If you turn from Malachi to Matthew just a few pages on but 400 years later, we have the account of the three Magi announcing to King Herod that they were on their way to worship the King of the Jews. Where they bringing the blind and the lame? No, they brought Him gold, frankincense and myrrh; a sacrifice and offering worthy of the KING.

Keep in mind that under the Old Testament economy the priest was responsible for examining every sacrifice prior to it being offered. If the sacrifice was blemished in any way it was to be rejected; only the very best sacrifice was acceptable. No wonder we read the Psalmist saying,

‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.’ Psalm 19:14

Today, we no longer bring our sacrifices to an earthly priest but directly to the Lord Himself who is our great High Priest. He is the one who decides to accept or reject our sacrifice of praise. Unless we are doing our very best to offer Him as perfect a sacrifice as possible, then we are no different from God’s people in Malachi’s time, who substituted the lame and blind instead of offering the best of their flock.

We read in Proverbs

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27

If we apply this verse to God Himself, then surely, He deserves the praise and honor that is due Him. God is worthy of so much more than just singing a few self-centered songs we refer to as worship. Worship should focus solely on God’s greatness, majesty, holiness, righteousness, and power. I love the lyrics of that song that says ‘Let’s forget about ourselves and concentrate on Him and worship Him’. I’m convinced if we truly did just, that we would experience so much more of His presence in our services.

Throughout God’s word we are exhorted to ‘Make a joyful NOISE to the Lord.’ Or ‘SHOUT joyfully to God, all the earth.’ Or ‘O clap your hands, all peoples; SHOUT to God with the voice of joy.’ Nothing should excite us more than being in His presence and then in turn to let Him know how much we love Him.

One last thought. Imagine being asked to take charge of preparing a large family Thanksgiving meal. Family members will be driving in from various places, some even flying in from overseas for the occasion. Chances are we wouldn’t find you shopping for a turkey the same day of the meal, or trying to decide at the last minute whether or not to serve cake and ice-cream or apple pie for dessert. No doubt you would have been planning for weeks or at least days before.

Worship should be considered as the greatest of all Thanksgivings. The ‘first fruits’ of any service, is the time we set apart, to give thanks to God for all His benefits. It is the responsibility of the worship leader to take the necessary time to pray and prepare for this very special occasion. Every detail should be thought out in advance and not simply thrown together at the last minute. Each song should be skillfully knit together to produce a seamless tapestry of worship fit for the King of kings. The task of the worship leader is to cast up a highway of song that leads the congregation into the very presence of God. Songs should be considered as steps with each song lifting us higher and higher until we find ourselves in awe of His glorious majesty.

The role of the worship leader, is in many ways, as important or even more important than the one delivering the message. The worship time is God’s time, and should be treated as such, while the remaining time is for our benefit and spiritual growth.

A word of wisdom here to those leading worship – let the songs do the work. In other words refrain from talking except for your initial welcome. Now a word to those in leadership. Don’t hijack the worship by veering off into some type of ministry time, that can come later in the service. Prophetic words or words of knowledge won’t perish if not used immediately. There is a time and place for everything so let’s not short change God by interrupting the service and thereby robbing God of all the honor He deserves.

If I’ve ruffled a few feathers please forgive me. I’m simply trying to right a wrong that has invaded the church for far too long. Let’s WORSHIP HIM!

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Worship Accepted or Rejected?

Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , on January 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

By David Ravenhill

A.W. Tozer referred to worship as the missing jewel in the evangelical crown. I couldn’t agree more. My father often referred to Prayer as being preoccupied with our needs, Praise as being preoccupied with our blessings, and Worship as being preoccupied with God Himself. My father wasn’t discounting prayer or praise as everything has its time and place. Worship, however, is the first and foremost commandment of all, regardless of our personal state or struggles.

There is a biblical or scriptural reason why we begin our services with singing. Colossians exhorts us that in all things Christ is to have preeminence or first place. Having said that, we need to take very seriously how we fulfill or carry out that admonition.

I believe the book of Malachi provides us with great clarity as to how God sees or interprets our worship. After all, He alone has the right to reject or accept what we offer Him.

Let me address for a moment this truth that God would reject our sacrifice of praise or worship. King David, the great psalmist, made it very clear that not everything he offered to God was acceptable. Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight.” The prophet Isaiah wrote, “I am sick of your sacrifices. Don’t bring me any more of them…” (Isaiah 1:11). Jesus told the religious people of His day, “You honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me.” We see in the Old Testament that one of the roles of the priest was that of inspecting every sacrifice to make sure it was acceptable. Anything found to be torn, sick, or blemished in any way was immediately rejected.

Let me take you back to Malachi for a moment. In the first chapter, God, in His role as the Great High Priest, is examining the sacrifices His people are offering Him. Let’s listen in:

“A son honors his father and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?” says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name.”

God makes it clear throughout the remaining chapter that it was not the quantity but the quality of the sacrifices they were offering Him. They were bringing the blind, lame, and sick, thinking God wouldn’t notice, but He did and still does. God finally cries out, “Oh, that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar!” He continues, “…you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering. Should I receive that from your hand?” says the Lord.

Today, the Lord would be seen pleading with those controlling the sound system to cut the mikes, dismiss the singers and musicians, asking them to search their hearts as well as the words they are singing. If most of the worship set is about God’s love for me rather than my love for God, then I become the object of worship. Now, obviously, there is a place to thank God for His incredible love, grace, mercy, etc. However, we need to make the transition from praise to worship if we are to truly ‘worship Him in spirit and in truth.’

I personally believe the role of a worship leader is to ‘cast up a highway’ that enables the people to come into the very presence of God. I believe there should be as much time given to preparing the worship set as the pastor spends preparing his message for the people. After all, worship is what we offer the Lord, while the message should create a greater hunger for the Lord. If we spend less time in preparation to worship than we do to receive, then we are no longer giving Him preeminence!

Allow me to drill down a little further on our approach to God. God told His people Israel that whenever they built an altar upon which they would offer Him sacrifices, they had to build it of uncut stones. (Exodus 20:24-26) He made it clear that if they embellished the stones in any way with their own tools, they would immediately profane the altar and render it useless. Now, while we no longer build altars, the principle nevertheless remains. In other words, if I play or sing in such a way as to draw attention to myself, then I’m the one seeking the attention that should be directed to the Lord alone. If we have singers or musicians who love the limelight, then our sacrifice becomes unacceptable to Him. As the psalmist wrote, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to your name give glory.” (Psalm 115:1)

One further word regarding the ‘worship set’. I would encourage those who feel called to lead to take whatever time necessary to prayerfully and carefully select songs/hymns that build upon each other. Just as the rungs of a ladder lift the person higher with each step, so likewise should the songs. To me, this principle separates a song leader from a true worship leader. Just choosing five or six unrelated songs that you enjoy is not the same as carefully choosing songs that relate to each other. For instance, choosing songs all having to do with the name of Jesus or the blood, etc., are far more effective than just unrelated songs that tend to zig-zag all over the place and tend to lead to nowhere. Forgive me if that seems cynical, but after sixty years of ministry in numerous countries, I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve really felt led to linger in the presence of the Lord; or in the words of the song “I stand, I stand in awe of Thee…Holy God to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you.”

If I’ve trodden on some toes, please forgive me. My goal is to prepare God’s people for the day when we will all unite together with the redeemed from all the ages and sing as one:

‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise.’ (Revelation 5:12)

PS. I’m aware that worship involves far more than just music, etc. Webster’s dictionary of 1823 describes worship as: “to honor with extravagant love and extreme submission.” Webster no doubt had in mind Abraham offering his beloved son Isaac as an act of worship. Notice also that Abraham first built an altar. We are not told that he embellished it in any way!

https://davidravenhill.wordpress.com/

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The Noise of Our Songs

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , , , on January 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I would like to express some thoughts on modern praise and worship. These are thoughts that have developed over 54 years of being a Christian musician and songwriter, and being a praise and worship leader during that time.

Amos 5:23-24 “Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”.

It is a scary verse to come across, especially in our modern day where there is so much emphasis on music as worship. To realize that we too can offer songs unto the Lord that He is not pleased with, that we too can come to a point where God hates our gatherings (festivals v21), is scary. The songs, though possibly beautiful in melody, can lack the sincerity and righteousness that God requires. We tend to prefer the songs that align with our taste in music, rather than aligning with what God requires, or with the word of God. This serves as a reminder that praise, and worship must be heart felt and must be aligned with God’s will.

There is too much emphasis on the outward expression, and not enough on inward communion with God. Augustine wrote, “How many are loud in voice, dumb in heart! How many lips are silent, but their love is loud! For the ears of God are to the heart of man. As the ears of the body are to the mouth of man, so the heart of man is to the ears of God. Many are heard with closed lips, and many who cry aloud are not heard.”

I think of missionaries that I know in China, they cannot sing in their meetings for fear of being found out and arrested. They worship God at a different level, their commitment seems so much deeper than mine, I have not been tested in that way. Their outward worship does not make them the people of God, their inward worship does, trusting in His grace.

May we guard our hearts, all of us, but especially those of us who are musicians in the church. It is possible to be so focused on the outward expression of music, that we forget to have a real and obedient relationship with the Lord. If we offer just music to the Lord, it is not enough! Our lives must reflect our real relationship with the Lord. Praise offered from an obedient and loving heart will please the Lord.

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A Lofty Title

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , on November 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I have been a musician since 1965 and I have been involved with writing Christian music since 1971. I am a product of the Jesus Revolution. If you saw the movie, it is a story about my wife and I, there are so many similarities. We were part of a group of newly saved young people, and we had a key role in starting a church in the early 1970’s in northern Illinois. I played at church, and I played in a Christian band that played in parks, campgrounds and coffeehouses all around the Midwest. In 1977, the band traveled to Denmark and Sweden for a 5-week outreach. Those were exciting times for us. It was all about outreach and preaching the Gospel.

It wasn’t until about 1981 that I had ever heard the term “worship leader”. Someone we were visiting told us we needed to come to church with them because they have a great worship leader. I had never heard of that before. In those days, we just had an overhead projector and a bunch of musicians sitting off to the side.

I have always thought that “worship leader” was such a lofty title. Can you be a worship leader and not be a worshiper of God? Yes you can! In many churches you can be hired to lead purely based on your talent. It used to be in church that you could be a minister of music, someone who led the congregation in praise unto God. But that is not such a lofty title.

Recently, there have been famous worship leaders who have come out and said they now doubt Christianity. Huh? How did they get a worship leader position? When churches hire musicians, is it based more on talent rather than their real walk with the Lord? I think so! We are now so far removed from what real worship is that if you ask someone, there are like deer in headlights.

The modern church has thrown praise and worship into the same bucket, we make no distinction between the two. We have minimized what true Biblical worship is, to our own hurt. I used to hear it all the time, people go to specific churches because they like the worship there. I then ask them; you mean you like the music??  Invariably, that is really what they mean, and it is OK to prefer what you like, but lets not call it worship, call it praise.

Being a true worshiper of God has nothing to do with what you like, or your taste in music. It has to do with what your walk with the Lord, your obedience, your sacrifice, taking up the cross daily, preferring one another in love and bowing before Him. When Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, when he was going on the hill to worship, the was no music. We are losing our understanding of what Biblical worship is! If that is lost, we are at peril.

If you love to praise the Lord, do it with gusto with your preference of music. Enjoy it! But let’s rethink worship and how much more serious it is. When it comes to worship, God sets the standard. When it comes to praise, we have liberty to have music we prefer.

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Why is No One Singing?

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , , , , , on October 16, 2024| 2 Comments »

I recently went to a church where very few people in the congregation were singing. In many of the churches that I am familiar with, that is the case. The musicians are basically playing songs that are somewhat unknown to the congregation, so they just all stand there and listen, like they would at a concert. Then there is some light applause after each song.

Have we have lost our way? The purpose of having a time of praise and worship is to allow the congregation to lift their voices in one accord unto the Lord, to exalt His name. We are to be “filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father”. It is a participatory event that is both God-ward, and meant to encourage your brothers and sisters in the Lord. In many churches that is not happening anymore. I remember hearing from a British pastor years ago, “the musicians have hijacked the worship”. Boy was he right!

Praise and worship leaders have lost their way. They have lost it by focusing on the music, on the groove they can create and the vibe. It is all about the latest popular praise songs on the internet and in many cases created for one reason, that reason is to create a hit song, just like the world. We have pushed the Spirit out out and replaced it with a hit. No wonder no one is singing, it is more like a concert than a praise and worship service.

Praise and worship leaders have to get back to singing songs that the congregation knows. They are to lead the congregation, not perform for the congregation. That might mean singing an old hymn or simpler songs. They have a responsibility to make sure the lyrics of the song are theologically correct. It is not just about being a musician. Too many times a church picks a musician just because he is talented. What about the spiritual maturity of that musician? Getting up and leading praise and worship on a Sunday morning can go to your head. It can be exciting to be on a stage, believe me, it can go to your head. The concern has to be, bringing the congregation to a time of praise. Making the congregation lift their voices to the Lord in one accord, God is worthy of that. That is what a leader should do! Play songs that the congregation knows, play songs that are theologically correct, playing songs that are easy sing and easy to follow. People in the congregation need that. The congregation is filled with people who can sing and with people who really can sing very well. Some are musical and some are not. Some can sing on key, others can not. As praise and worship leaders, we need to be sensitive to all of that. I ask you all, please take heed to this!!!

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Sermon on Worship

Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , on September 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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The True Power of Praise

Posted in Church in Crisis, Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , on August 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

by Art Katz

There is no deception more profound than that for which Charismatics and Pentecostals are most subject. We think, albeit unconsciously, that the euphoric thing we enjoy by our music and choruses is really the statement of our faith. We may enjoy it, and we hope that God is being blessed also, but we need to be ruthlessly honest and gird ourselves with truth; and we need first of all to be truthful about our own condition. The true statement of our faith and the condition of our lives are what we experience in fear or apprehension about death, and about insecurity, when we stand in a tremulous place where an authority is confronting us that expresses the rule of the principalities and powers. The issue is not whether our worship pleases us or facilitates the service, but whether it is in fact worship. True worship is the statement and expression of the redemptive work of God that has been experienced in our lives authentically and corporately.

Loudness is power, and it is manipulative when the sound amplifiers are turned up. It is predicated on the notion that the powers of the air will be defeated through militant or revved up Worship.’ The moment we begin to employ worship for purposes other than worship, then it no longer is worship. God knows when there is a worship that has no strings attached. True worship is simply the adoration and devotion that God deserves because He is God. But when we make of it a manipulation and a tool toward an end, even a religiously desired end, then it is no longer worship. We are on the enemy’s ground, and employing an expediency to obtain an end, and still calling it worship, and we are just as much deceived to think that a vigorous, banner-waving worship defeats the powers!

“Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you?” may well be asked of us. “Yes, we hear your praise, and we hear your choruses, but there is something about them that is hollow. It is merely singing, and it is not, therefore, something that we are required as the rulers of darkness to acknowledge!” This is what the forces of darkness utter when they encounter a church operating in less than the fullness of its inheritance in Christ. There is a praise and worship that is mere singing, but there is also a praise that wells up to Heaven, which is more than the product of charismatic manipulation. It is a praise that is a spontaneous breaking forth of a celebration of the God who has saved us, not only out of fear, insecurity and anxiety, but who has brought us to a transcendent place of apostolic faith. That kind of praise devastates the powers of darkness.

Our call as the church to resist the Devil is not dependent upon what we do, but what we are. It is something in the character of the church. Our victory will be related to the quality and continuous character of the fellowship itself. So long as there is any surrender or condescension to the wisdom of those powers, for example, fear, intimidation, threat, concern for one’s life and security, then the powers have a place of penetration. When they see a people who are resolute in their faith, and know that their security does not come from the world, or from their employer, or from the State, but from God, then the powers are without any weapon. There is nothing that can be attacked.

Paul and Silas’ imprisonment in Acts 16 is a wonderful demonstration of the wisdom of God. At midnight they were praying and singing praises unto God. They believed that their suffering was the very consequence of their obedience, and that even though only one woman was affected by their ministry, they were in the place of obedience to the heavenly vision. It did not matter whether they would lose their lives or not, because that was not the issue. They had such a deep faith in the sovereignty of God, and the privilege of sharing in His sufferings, that they rejoiced, and it was expressed in praise.

When you can praise God in the midst of adversity and suffering, you have the most powerful release from the powers of darkness. They cannot stand it, or bear to hear it, and they flee, because it is the overwhelming evidence of the reality of the invisible God. It contradicts their wisdom which says that when you are suffering, you are to be mourning, pouting, feeling sorry for yourself, blaming God, and accusing this man or that. But when you can praise God in the midst of your sufferings, you have ruined them. You have taken their last weapon, and they have nothing they can use anymore to threaten or to intimidate. You have broken through onto a heavenly ground. They are absolutely helpless to adversely affect you, and so they are required to flee.

The one thing that the powers of darkness are required to acknowledge is authenticity—the thing that is real. I am an enemy, therefore, to what seems to be real in worship and praise that puts such emphasis on musical ability, on instruments, on loudspeakers, on electronic technology, on song and on worship leaders. One of my greatest battles as a prophetic person is with worship leaders. Oftentimes, it happens that I have a speaking engagement, and by the time the worship is over, I am completely depleted and drained. I get up and it is a pathetic beep next to what I knew the Lord was wanting. The worship, so-called, that should have enhanced the word, actually robbed and blunted it. There is so much emphasis on worship that almost makes the success of the church depend upon it. “Did you enjoy the worship?”— instead of it being the spontaneous expression of the redemptive work of God in the life of the believers, personally and corporately.

Jesus endured all of His suffering for the joy that was set before Him, in the anticipation of what would be the consequence of His suffering for eternity. This is the wisdom of God, because rejoicing in suffering is a contradiction. It is contrary to reason and everything we think natural to man. What is natural to man is survival, “Take care of number one.” But the wisdom that can rejoice in suffering is another wisdom, and it is that wisdom which defeats the powers. It is the greater wisdom, but it is not enough just to speak it. It has got to be made manifest, to be demonstrated, by a church whose inner life is itself her proclamation of God’s manifold wisdom. Whether she speaks it or not, the very inner life itself is that thing. It becomes that through trial, through testing, through the Lord allowing oppression, heaviness of spirit—all of the kinds of things against which we have to struggle and work out in our relationships. It is becoming one as He is one, in all of the differences, all of the personalities, all of the things that come up that take the guts-out of you, where you want to run and find the first Charismatic and Evangelical fellowship you can, just to be relieved from the tension of all of these demands. It is in those tensions, however, that God forms His character.

by Art Katz

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A.I. Worship Songs

Posted in Worship in Cirisis, Worship, Praise and Music, tagged , , on June 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Have you seen the latest? A.I. programs can now write Christian worship songs!

It seems odd to me that an A.I. program can write emotional worship songs and do so without having any emotions of its own. How is that even possible? It is possible because it can mimic a song previously written by a person that actually has emotions. So while many songs that are written by people can express the cry of that person’s soul, AI can only mimic that, it has no soul. I suppose there are people who would argue that.

Where would we be without the Book of Psalms? Where the heart’s cry of King David is expressed in so many beautiful ways. It is through pain and suffering that many of the beautiful Psalms are expressed. A.I. will never experience those pains and suffering. A.I. will never experience what we as humans face in our lifetimes, disappointments, betrayals, hunger, pain, love, friendship, etc.

There will be many in the music industry, both Christian and secular, who will laud the technology of A.I. in their songwriting. That makes sense if they are looking for successful songs that will hit the charts. After all, the industry works that way right now. Songwriters already do what A.I will do. They mimic successful songs in their writing. The goal for them is to write a song that they can make money on. A.I. will speed up the process and the songwriters will claim it as their own.

It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

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