My wife recently shared with me a video she found on social media. It was a pastor talking about counterfeit currency. He said that when government experts are learning to distinguish between the authentic bills and counterfeit bills, they study the real bills hot off the presses. These experts make sure they know how the paper feels, how much a bill weighs, how it reflects light and the subtle shades of ink printed on each side. This way, they know when they are NOT holding the real deal. When a counterfeit bill comes across their path, they may not know why it is wrong, but they can tell you it’s counterfeit every time.

The same is true for us with theology. I don’t have to understand why some theologies are false, I just have to know the Truth-the Word of God. I must be grounded in it. When developing a theology of Worship, it is imperative that the Worship Leader dig into Scripture to form their own personal theology of worship.

Let’s start out with some definitions. First, Merriam-Webster defines theology as “the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially: the study of God and of God’s relation to the world.”[1] It also defines worship as, “To honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power” or “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion.”[2] Therefore, to develop a theology of worship would mean that we understand the study of our faith, practice and experience as to why we regard our Almighty God with great respect, honor, and devotion. In summary, it is why and how we choose to relate to the Almighty God.  

For the follower of Jesus, sound theology of worship begins with biblical knowledge. Matt Boswell writes, “For the worship leader, our beliefs and convictions about God are what serve as the foundation for worship. A love for the Word of God is a primary requirement. Without a vivid belief in the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Word of God, our services (and our lives) will never find the rhythm of worship. The rhythm of worship is revelation and response.”[3] Theology matters for the sole purpose of propelling our doxology, and the remainder of our lives, to the Father. But how does our theology propel our doxology? As worship leaders, our responsibility is to have a deep theological basis for why we do what we do, why we serve who we serve. Our theology can come from many sources, but it should be completely grounded in the Word of God. First and foremost, the Bible should be the only vessel that we filter all of our theology through. Matt Boswell explains that there are three ways in which our theology propels our doxology.

First, our theology propels us to ascribe all of the greatness to God. Psalm 96:7-8 says, “Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name.”[4] When we gather each Sunday, we must remember that our sole purpose is to glorify God. As worship leaders, we must make this truth a priority in the songs we choose and how we display them to our congregations. We must take full advantage of the platform God has given us and ascribe glory unto his name. We must live a life worthy of our calling.

Second, our theology propels us to bring worshipful offerings to God. The second part of Psalm 96:8 says, “…bring an offering, and come into his courts!”[5] Paul Baloche has a song that proclaims this truth:

I bring an offering of worship to my King

No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing

Jesus, may you receive the honor that You’re due

O Lord, I bring and offering to You

As worship leaders, we must echo what Baloche is saying here. The reason we gather is to bring offerings of worship to our King. We must shy away from feeling satisfied with simply being accepted because of our offerings. God is worthy of so much more.

Third, our theology propels us to tremble. Psalm 96:9 says, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!”[6] This is where we fall short as the body of Christ. Boswell explains, “One of the greatest weaknesses of the evangelical church is our disinclination to tremble. We do well in asserting the transcendence and sovereignty of God, but we must allow these truths to move us to an awe-filled doxology.”[7] We have lost our fear before the Awesome Lord of Hosts. Worship should never be taken lightly or flippantly. We should aspire to come with our best, for fear of arriving at the feet of our Lord with anything less.

Back to our definition above, as we study how we relate to the Lord, this relationship goes both ways, from man to God and God to man. David Peterson writes, “A theology of worship must consider key themes such as revelation, redemption, God’s covenant with Israel and the call for his people to live as a distinct and separate nation.”[8] We worship because He has already done mighty and wonderful things for us. We praise through the triumphs and lament through the tragedies because He has always been faithful. When developing our theology of worship, we must never forget that worship is our response to the faithfulness of God.

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Sources

[1] “Theology.” Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed December 21, 2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theology.

[2] “Worship.” Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed December 21, 2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worship.

[3] Matt Boswell, ed., Doxology and Theology (Nashville: B & H Publishing, 2013), 12.

[4] Psalm 96:7-8 (ESV)

[5] Psalm 96:8 (ESV)

[6] Psalm 96:9 (ESV)

[7] Matt Boswell, ed., Doxology and Theology (Nashville: B & H Publishing, 2013), 16-17.

[8] David Peterson, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 23.