I was intrigued to ponder a quote I read today – a view on what worship ministry should be like.
An intrinsic part of worship is simply expression of our love TO God. This is intrinsically vertical. In fact, it’s my view that while the afore mentioned aspect is essential, vertical worship is it’s highest goal. That we would all express our love for God not to each other, but to Him!
Back to the metaphor in question…. It is in this sense that I see the painting (or music, or dance, or poem, etc.) as being THE work. Not because it’s of highest value, but it is the expression of our heart. It is the gift (or even question, or prayer) we present to God. We sketch it, paint it, and frame it. As He has used art through time – including the Bible itself – God will reveal Himself to others through it. We don’t even need to try to get out of the way. Make it loud! Make it bright! Make it ornate! “Praise him with sounds from horns. Praise him with harps and lyres!” When God is present, man is easily overshadowed and “He inhabits the praises of His people.”
God be praised!
“Our varied skills should function like the frame around a classic painting. If the frame is too bold or extravagant, we’ll hardly notice the picture it displays. On the other hand, if the frame is cheap, shabby, or marred, we’ll wonder why such a masterpiece is surrounded by junk. The right frame compliments the picture in all the right ways, directing our eyes to the brilliance of the artist, not to the frame.”First, this is a beautiful statement and is a great word picture of an important aspect of Christian expression. There’s a lot of truth in this. But I think this is only reflects one aspect. That is, the part of worship expression that is intended to create ways of revealing God. This reflects aspects of evangelism or edification. Good stuff, for sure. But this is intrinsically horizontal – directed toward each other. There is another aspect too that I don’t think this quote fully encompasses.
An intrinsic part of worship is simply expression of our love TO God. This is intrinsically vertical. In fact, it’s my view that while the afore mentioned aspect is essential, vertical worship is it’s highest goal. That we would all express our love for God not to each other, but to Him!
Back to the metaphor in question…. It is in this sense that I see the painting (or music, or dance, or poem, etc.) as being THE work. Not because it’s of highest value, but it is the expression of our heart. It is the gift (or even question, or prayer) we present to God. We sketch it, paint it, and frame it. As He has used art through time – including the Bible itself – God will reveal Himself to others through it. We don’t even need to try to get out of the way. Make it loud! Make it bright! Make it ornate! “Praise him with sounds from horns. Praise him with harps and lyres!” When God is present, man is easily overshadowed and “He inhabits the praises of His people.”
God be praised!
