Is Cultural Relativism Infecting Your Church’s Worship?

Worship is first and foremost for God’s benefit, not ours. If a singular focus on the glory of God doesn’t characterize our practice of praise, then we have missed the whole point of worship. True worship is all about God and very little about us, although in giving him praise, we ourselves enter into the indescribable richness of the purpose for which we were created: to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Going Deep // Focus: 1 Chronicles 16:4

David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the Lord—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.

As David brings the Ark of the Covenant to the tent of meeting that he had erected for it in Jerusalem in 1 Chronicles 16, we glean much needed insight into the essential activities that are to make up the worship experience of God’s people. While the settings of worship change over time and culture, the purpose and content should never change. Worship leaders and worshipers would do well to absorb this chapter, given the cultural relativism that has infected much of the philosophy, planning and practice of corporate praise in the modern context.

You will recall the story: the ark had been captured by the Philistines under King Saul, but then returned to Israel not too long afterwards because it had created a health crisis among the people of that heathen nation. (1 Samuel 4-6) It was kept in the house of Abinadab for some time until the new king, David, decided to bring it to the central place of worship. But along the way, the transportation of this sacred furniture was mishandled, and the anger of the Lord broke out against the priest Uzzah, and he died on the spot. (2 Samuel 6) For that reason, the ark was left under the care of Obed-Edom for several months. While there, the Lord poured out blessings so profusely upon that household that David now realized it would be best to get the ark into the capital city—right away, but this time, the right way:

David was now afraid of the Lord, and he asked, “How can I ever bring the Ark of the Lord back into my care?” David decided not to move the Ark of the Lord into the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom of Gath. The Ark of the Lord remained there in Obed-edom’s house for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his entire household. Then King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s household and everything he has because of the Ark of God.” So David went there and brought the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David with a great celebration. (2 Samuel 6:9-12)

It was during this time of great celebration that David instituted much of the practices that have come to characterize the worship of God’s people, even to this day. And what did those practices entail? Of course, there was instrumental music and corporate singing along with choreographed movements and prescribed sacrifices, but it was really the content of those activities that came to characterize God-pleasing worship: the invocation of divine blessing, expressions of gratitude and outburst of praise. (1 Chronicles 16:4) The content of worship was a singular focus on the glory of God:

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. (1 Chronicles 16:29)

I have a nagging sense that in far too many modern worship settings, the focus has shifted from offering praise for the primary purpose of pleasing God. Rather than ensuring the invocation of God’s blessing upon the people, rather than leading the people into expressions of thanks to God, rather than giving the people a pathway to verbalize their praise to God, worship leaders give too much focus, in my humble opinion, on the mechanics of worship. They fuss over the staging—the sound, the lighting and the background media, along with the style—it’s contemporariness and popularity, to create just the right mood to please the people rather than please the Lord.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love modern worship music. I think a lot of planning ought to go into a worship experience. I think staging can set a great mood and create a great experience for worshippers. But at the end of the day, if the experience doesn’t lead the worshiper to receive God’s blessing and call her to offer heartfelt gratitude to God and inspire him to offer focused praise extolling the splendor of God, it has fallen short of God-glorifying worship. It has missed the boat, and in fact, if that becomes a pattern, it is in danger of becoming idolatrous worship: worship done to please the worshiper more than to pleases the Lord.

Worship is first and foremost for God’s benefit, not ours. If a singular focus on the glory of God doesn’t characterize our practice of praise, then we have missed the whole point of worship. True worship is all about God and very little about us, although in giving him praise, we ourselves enter into the indescribable richness of the purpose for which we were created: to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Now most of us are not worship leaders in the formal sense, but each of us has been called to lead ourselves into daily moments of worships wherein we invoke God’s blessings, offer thanks to God and express our praise to him. So even if formal worship in the contemporary church context drifts from God-focused worship, you don’t have to.

Just remember, you are a worship leader before the Audience of One.