ForgottenWoman

Oh, and My Deleted Comment

My heart sits in a little spot of shock this evening… As I’ve rested here at home, doing little things here and there today; I’ve scrolled a little bit and considered what others have shared on their social media. One of those posts got my attention and I commented – only to be surprised when not only was my comment not politely responded to, it was deleted all together. Well, here we go!

This was the post from a man that I’ve known for many years; a man that has the ear and respect of many believers within conservative Christian circles.

“How we worship God is not a “non-essential” completely up to our individual likings or preferences. Our worship does matter to God. This is arguably the main theme of Scripture. It is our duty to worship in a way that is acceptable (well-pleasing) to God – full of awe and fear befitting our God . . . fitting to match His majestic, transcendent, set apart character. It is all about His glory, not our likes, current culture or popular styles. In a continually shifting church approach to worship, His beauty and holiness has not changed.

Hebrews 12:28–29 ‘Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve (worship) God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.’”

This was a public facebook post that as you know is open for comments. I felt the need to comment and did so – and within an hour, I discovered that he had deleted my comment. I’m going to share it here; because I believe it is an important topic and one that I hope my readers will consider. It feels dishonest of him and even cowardly to remove what I felt were respectful and heartfelt thoughts for him to consider.

My comments (the best that I can remember them).

“When I consider the times that I am most consumed in worship of Almighty God, I am alone. In complete brokenness and humility, I am prostrate on the floor before Him with tears streaming down my face. My words are often unintelligible to the human ear and I’m very aware of my needs before Him. My heart remains there in simple awe of Who He is and in awe of the fact that He has allowed me to come before Him in worship.

In corporate worship, whether standing among the congregation or on the platform in a place of leading others in worship; I’m very aware that I’m not alone and my ability to worship fully is inhibited by the presence of others. – to be prostrate on the floor in those situations would be distracting, lead to being accused of emotionalism or even seeking attention. But when I am among other believers, I am able to worship, though a little less transparently before God, to the best of my abilities whether we are singing “Almighty, Unchangeable God” or the more contemporary, “In Christ Alone” with the same heart.

As a mother of several generations (lol) and now grandmother of another generation, I have learned that the style of music that they are surrounded by and enjoy isn’t what matters. I am thrilled that they love Jesus and choose to worship Him the way that they love, fitting their unique personalities and skills – and I love doing so right along with them. Often I have told them that their singing to Him puts a smile on His face. The Bible doesn’t use the phrase, “Smile on His face” but it does say that He delights in those that fear Him. Psalm 147:11 — “The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” The heart of the worshipper – isn’t this what God is hearing?

The truth is that in my human-ness I am incapable of the purity of worship that is as you said, “fitting to match His majestic, transcendent, set apart character.” In fact, none of us knows what that would actually look or sound like! (Though, just a few Sundays ago, as I heard a chorus of voices, various ages and various qualities singing together in our church service, I thought for a minute that this must be what the music in heaven will sound like: not perfectly orchestrated sounds, but human hearts with one purpose.)

So, I come to Him in human worship – making a joyful noise. None of my noise is actually fitting to match His majestic character. But my noise is what I have to offer, based on who I am. “A sinner, saved by grace and humbly worshiping Him with everything that I have in all of my limitations.”

No, God does not change. His holiness does not change. What has changed over the years and what differs in various cultures across the world are music styles and preferences. As a musician myself, I love most genres of music, most styles of music, most eras of music and I’m just grateful for the beauty of all of it (well, most of it). I began this article with what personal worship looks like in the quiet of my own bedroom and it doesn’t always involve music. We tend to equate worship with music in church settings, when in reality; the music is the outpouring or overflow of the worship of our hearts. Personally, sometimes that sounds like the old hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross,” and sometimes it sounds like the quiet whispers of “I Surrender All,” and sometimes it sounds like an anthem like “How Great Thou Art,” and then at times, it sounds like “All my Hope is In Jesus,” and I’m literally dancing through the kitchen belting it out! You hear my point.

Just this morning I read this bit of history. I find this little story a great reminder.

A denomination released a new hymnal and nearly tore itself apart over what it left out.

By 1906 Ira Sankey’s gospel songs had been the soundtrack of American evangelical life for over three decades. Songs like Blessed Assurance, The Ninety and Nine, and What a Friend We Have in Jesus had been sung at revivals, camp meetings, and Sunday services across the country. They lived in people’s bones.

The American Baptist Publication Society’s hymnal committee had other ideas. They were scholars, theologians, and trained musicians who looked at Sankey’s gospel repertoire and found it theologically thin, musically unsophisticated, and emotionally manipulative. They produced a new hymnal weighted toward classical hymnody and largely excluding the gospel song tradition.

The response from Baptist congregations across America was swift and furious. Pastors wrote public letters. Church meetings became heated. The press covered the dispute. Critics of the new hymnal accused the committee of substituting academic preference for genuine congregational worship — of choosing what looked good on paper over what actually moved people in pews.

The committee defended their choices on grounds of theological quality and musical integrity. Both sides had legitimate points. Both sides were also entirely certain they were right.

The practical outcome was that many Baptist churches simply ignored the new hymnal and continued singing what they had always sung. The institutional decision ran directly into the immovable reality that congregations sing what they love, not what committees decide they should love.

The battle revealed a fault line that runs through every worship tradition in every era — the permanent tension that continues to divert our attention from where we should be focused.”

The best that I can remember, those were my comments on the post.

What really is the main theme of the Bible? Not us – or how we do anything. The main theme is HIM.

I’m so thankful that Almighty God sees me when I’m prostrate on my bedroom floor worshiping Him from the depths of my being. I’m so thankful that in those moments, He hears me. I’m also thankful that when I’m standing among my loved ones and church family as we sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy” that He hears us. And when we are enjoying “All my hope is in Jesus!” with a little bit of fun rhythm putting smiles on our faces, He hears us. He sees and hears hearts that are rejoicing in Who our God is and expressing our love and joy in Him.

As always, thank you for your support of The Forgotten Woman Ministries.