Do you ever have one of those days when it seems you have more questions than answers?  I know the economy is a mess and it seems I'm surrounded by people that I love and care about that are dealing with some heart wrenching issues whether it's health, jobs, finances, loss, marriage.....the list goes on and on.  I desperately wish I had some answers to the "why's" of life, but I don't.  If I really sit and think about it I could have pages full of why questions for God.  I am a person who wants to understand things.  I feel that if I can get my questions answered then I might be able to handle the situation a little better.  I think we all know, however, there are certain questions that will never be answered this side of heaven.

I have a friend named Joy.  I was standing with her when she was speaking to a woman who had a lot of questions about a particular situation in her own life.  She didn't understand why things were happening the way they were.  Joy looked at her and said, "I know you have a lot of questions and there are a lot of things you don't know and don't understand about this situation, so let's focus on what we DO know."

Wow.  That really touched me and made me think.  Instead of focusing on what we don't know, let's focus on what we DO know.  What do we know about God and how He works in situations?  What do we know about God and the way He loves us as His children?  I know what Scripture tells me.  Isaiah 43: 1-3 says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

In the midst of all the questions let's not forget what we DO know.  God is with us.  He has called us by name and we are His. He knows us intimately.  He will be with us as we pass through the waters and walk through the fire of this life.  He will never abandon us!  Let's take comfort and have hope in that knowledge!  That is what we DO know!

I have had the honor of leading worship professionally for 15 years. That number amazes me. In many ways I can't believe that I'm old enough to have done anything for 15 years. But, that's the truth. Over those years God has taught me many things and I look forward to all that He has to teach me over the next 15 and beyond.

Something that amazes me is the variety of responses I see in worship services. As we have traveled from congregation to congregation over the last 7 years, we have seen a tremendous variety. We have seen people jump up and run around the sanctuary. We've seen people sit stone-faced in complete silence. We have also seen lots of congregations in the middle of these examples.

This past week, I was starting our service and after greeting our people, I asked this question, "Have you come ready to celebrate the Lord today?" Out of a few hundred people, maybe 10 gave any kind of response. Most just kept silent or busy, preoccupied with whatever had their attention at that moment. As I watched this happen, I began to laugh inside myself, so I followed with this question, "How many of you are ready for a big Colts win tonight?" Nearly every single person in our sanctuary began to clap and cheer.>

Interesting response, huh? This is in no way meant as an indictment on our congregation. You could substitute the name of a local sports team and ask that question in any city in America and probably get a similar response. What is it that makes us so inhibited in worship? Why do we see the opposite response from people who are bowing at the altar of sports?

Are there times when silence is appropriate in worship? Absolutely. There are those moments when we come to a place of worship and a realization of God's awesome power and our feeble words just can't do it justice. It is completely natural to sit in silence, basking in the presence of God during those times.

I think we are on thin theological ice when that is our only response.

Scripture is full of exhortations on worship. Take some time and read through Psalms and you will find all kinds of encouraging instruction on the subject of worship. Here are a few:

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:1-2, NIV)

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me…..Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. (Psalm 30:1-2, 4, NIV)

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1, NIV)

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. (Psalm 47:1, NIV)

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. (Psalm 30:11-12, NIV)

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. (Psalm, 149:3, NIV)

Those are just a few and I haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of what the Bible has to say about worship. Are there churches that take expression to an extreme? Absolutely. You can see some crazy stuff on the expressive side that isn’t in the Bible either. 

Here’s my issue. Many people look at the crazy stuff on the expressive side and end up labeling all expression as “not for them.” You might hear people say, “That’s just not my way.” I also hear this one quite a bit, “I worship quietly and to myself.”

Really? Quietly and to yourself? The God of the universe has saved your soul and you worship quietly and to yourself? Should there not be some sign of life when we worship? Some evidence of thanksgiving?

As you can tell by the length of this post, this is something I am very passionate about. I want to leave you with a quote from a friend of mine. He has dedicated his life to the subject of worship. The first time I heard him say this, I was floored:

There are times when silence is irreverent. (Randy Vader)

Stop. Read that again. Take a couple of moments to think about it. More importantly, think about that as you enter your church for worship this weekend.

We had a great weekend. Kim and I were on the road this past weekend, leading a worship retreat at Shepherd Nazarene in Columbus, OH. We really enjoy leading these retreats. It gives us a chance to spend more time with people from the church. This church brought their whole team together for the retreat: choir, praise teams, band & tech. It was awesome to have them all together.

The retreat started on Friday night and ran all day Saturday. Then, Sunday morning was the celebration of all that we had learned and experienced through the weekend. Having this extra time really allows us to dig into some deeper issues facing the church at worship. Kim did a

KT Teaching In Columbus, OH

great deal of teaching on worship theology, which really made a huge impact. She absolutely knocked it out. She taught a lot about what the Bible has to say about worship, expression in worship and what it means to be a worship leader. We also did a session together on the practical issues that face church worship teams today.

The Sunday worship celebration was awesome. The Shepherd choir & band really did a fantastic job. We were able to do some of our music as well as teach the congregation some new worship songs. It was a very powerful experience and we are grateful for the Lord’s guidance and provision. HE is doing great things at Shepherd. They are blessed with tremendous leadership from Senior Pastor Sam Barber, Worship Leader Amy Fisher and Choir Director Jeff Linker.

We also got to meet some real characters over the weekend. Every church has to have people who keep things fun and interesting. This church has some great ones.

In all, it was an awesome weekend. God moved in a tremendous way and we are blessed and grateful. Our prayer is that what HE began in the hearts of the people will make for lasting transformation in the lives of the worship team. We also made some great new friendships and we look forward to seeing all that God is going to do in the life of this great church!