Worship Refocused

Have you ever paused to notice the deafening silence in the New Testament regarding music as the defining expression of worship? In our modern churches, "worship", "praise" and "music" have become almost inseparable. Most people cannot conceive of worship or praise without music, because that is our experience.

Jesus says the Father himself is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth.
Because the Father is seeking these people, it is crucial that we understand what Jesus is saying, so that we can be the people the Father is looking for.

As someone who has spent decades leading worship in both small gatherings and vast auditoriums, I once believed my role was to "lead people into worship." But a closer examination of the Scriptures shook that assumption to its core. To my astonishment, the New Testament does not place music at the center of worship.
What I discovered challenged not only my ministry, but my very understanding of what it means to worship God. I had missed something vital. I had replaced true worship with something it was never meant to be.

So let me ask some hard questions:

• Can worship exist with without music?
• Have we allowed melody to eclipse obedience, or performance to replace adoration?
• What is worship, in the sense Jesus described when He declared that the Father is seeking true worshipers?
• What does it mean to be the worshiper who satisfies the Father's search?

Worship Re-Focused journeys through both Old and New Testament passages to explore these questions and uncovers some startling, even unsettling conclusions. Far from being silent, the New Testament is a comprehensive manual for worship-revealing what pleases God, and what He is truly seeking in His people.

I invite you to join me on this journey of rediscovery. You may find, as I did, that true worship is far deeper, richer, and more demanding than we have imagined-and far more life-changing than we have dared to hope.