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Teaching on Praise, or UnTeaching on Religion?
Posted on May 13th, 2009 in Faith, Worship Leadership by Fred McKinnon
To teach or unteach …
That’s what I’m wondering today. I was speaking a while back with some folks about the desperate need we have to educate and teach our congregations on authentic worship. For example, the seven words for “praise”, what they look like, and how we express them. The specifics on physical demonstrations and expressions of worship, such as kneeling, raising hands, bowing, and corporate singing.
Then, I couldn’t help but think … if God created us to do these things, shouldn’t they be natural? If, as the Chris Tomlin song declares “you and I were made to worship …”, is true – shouldn’t it be something we just “do”?
If so, maybe we need to spend more time “un-teaching” the religious junk we’ve learned in years of church. But then again, seekers who were never exposed to “religion” and “church” don’t necessarily come in and freely express themselves in praise and worship to God. Or do they?
So do we teach or unteach? How would you do it?
I’d love this to be a big conversation – so bring it, OK?
(I’ve also created a thread for this on TheWorshipCommunity.Com, so checkout the conversation there as well)
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19 Responses to “Teaching on Praise, or UnTeaching on Religion?”
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Well, imo… I feel that we are created to do a lot of things that we don’t automatically know how to do. I am created to feed myself food, but it takes a learning process and time to grow coordination before I can successfully do so. I am also created to be in relationship, but over the course of living in a fallen world, I have learned many destructive ways of doing relationships that I have to UNlearn.
I am not sure if this is clear or not, but I guess what I am thinking is that so many people come into church with their own ideas of what it is or what worship looks like. Many time those ideas are not biblical, thus they need to be unlearned…the only way to unlearn something is to Learn the truth. The way to learn the truth is to be taught.
there you go…my two cents!!
I think you nailed it, Heather … the only way to unlearn wrong is to learn truth.
I think that, honestly, some people just really don’t know how to worship. Sure, it is an easy underhand pitch to say, “you should know how to do it, so just do it.”
[I'm not hearing you say that, Fred. I have heard that, though.]
Teaching about how to worship gives others the freedom to do exactly what you are teaching- this includes the “seven words for praise” kind of teaching. In many churches where I have spent time in worship, people are afraid to lift their hands, sing out, get on their kness, etc. because the aren’t sure it is “appropriate” (whatever that means). I don’t know that the average Believer understands what worship is all about (beyond the 25-cent answers we are given in a 30-minute sermon- no offense intended). I must admit, I need to work on this very thing.
I agree that praise will flow out- I think we have a natural inclination to praise/worship something or someone. But I think that those we lead in worship need to understand what sorts of “freedoms” they have in worship as well as the “whys” and “hows” of what is really going on- practical theology.
And I think that’s all I have to say about that.
Great thought-provoking post! Thank you!
Something Ronnie Culpepper said long ago has always stuck with me. He was explaining the Trinity and how one person(being) could be three individuals. He referenced his own father saying that everyone who has a relationship with him calls him by a different name and knows him in a different way – he is all these people, and yet the same person. I think how we worship is based on our individual relationship with God and our truth is as individual as that relationship.
RENEE
Way cool, thanks for jumping in. I’m a little scared by that last sentence, though … I think TRUTH has to be solid, regardless of our personal experience – the reference of truth has to be constant … it can’t be subjective to where we are, or what’s truth to you isn’t truth to me, etc. My personal belief is that God’s Word (the Bible) is our reference for TRUTH … we don’t always attain it, or live up to it … heck, we don’t even always understand it … but that’s the ultimate truth. What say you?
I never grew up in church or with religion. But yes, when I was a new seeker worship was uncomfortable to me. I don’t think I learned it though. For me worship…It has been an expression of what is going on inside my heart towards God. And praise comes from coming out of some dark places and into the light.
I believe you are right Tracie. What is in the heart is usually what comes out. The thing we have to remember, though, is that many children were raised up in churches where what was in their hearts were not “allowed” to come out.
For example: a little boy is sitting in the ******** church and they began singing a song that was a little up-tempo. The boy wants to clap, and does – only to get pinched or fussed at because “you just don’t clap in church”.
Or the guy who is in a rock band and lost – then gets saved and wants to rock for God, only to be told that kind of music doesn’t belong “in church”.
It’s sad, but I believe too many of us have been “conditioned” to believe more of what is right and wrong according to religion, tradition and the doctrine of man.
P.s. I think don’t teach. Bring or usher to the heart of God.
I think both are true. We should be able to abandon ourselves in worship without being taught how to. But we’re in a fallen world, and there IS a bunch of religious junk in the way.
I don’t, however, believe we should try and “UN-TEACH” anything at all. In the banking industry, when tellers are taught how to recognize a fake bill, they are NEVER shown one. Maybe on the last day or so, but the actual “teaching process” is to make them so familiar with the real bills that they will know a fake when they see it.
Therefore, I believe the right path is to teach what God says about worship and praise. Familiarize the people with the authentic. They will begin to see the “fake” for what it is, and see that we have been freed to worship in more than what religion has told us is “acceptable”.
That’s my perspective from a teacher’s heart.
Good stuff, bro. We get into interpretation, but I think what you are talking about (teaching and showing the real) actually helps “un-teach”. So, I wouldn’t say you “un-teach” intentionally; rather, teach, and let it “undo” what was wrong.
That’s what I meant. Sorry if it wasn’t communicated well.
The truth always has the capability to set one free – free from lies, bondage, tradition or whatever label one could put on it.
The main thing (in my humble opinion) is that we don’t concentrate on what’s wrong, but on what’s right. And let the chips fall where they will.
I was just talking to my eleven year old daughter about an “old wives tale” that my grandmother had taught me about the notch above your top lip. Grandma used to say that before you were born, an angel taught you everything you would ever need to know in life, and then right before your birth, he put his finger on your upper lip and said, “Shhh, forget”.
I think if we came preprogramed to do everything that God wanted us to do, there would be no need for faith, we would be much like the angels in heaven.
Just my thoughts,
Kip
My mind kind of wanders to this scripture passage when I think about “teaching”…
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (from Deut. 11)
I know this passage is specifically talking about the “commands” to Love God with everything we’ve got…but isn’t that what worship is?
We SHOULD be teaching our children (natural and spiritual children) what it looks like to worship. How do we do that?
We make it utmost in our lives (binding it to our arms and heads), we live it day in and day out (coming and going), we make it centerpiece in our homes (doorframes and gates)…
Worship is a lifestyle (cliche? yes. truth? definitely).
And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with teaching a lifestyle. But here’s the kicker. You DON’T really teach it by just doing a weekly sermon about it. It has to be talked about ALL THE TIME and then SEALED with a life lived right in the MIDDLE of worship.
So I say teach away.
Amen, Russ. Awesome!
I have to pipe in here – only because so recently many of us participated in the “Pure Praise” worship study/devotional by Dwayne Moore.
I think if we remember that worship isn’t just for Sunday morning – rather it is the way we live every second of every day, honoring God – then the truth is received through discipleship, fellowship, and teaching of the Word. I must agree with many who suggest that ‘worshipping in Spirit and in truth’ isn’t always taught – or not always taught effectively.
Russ makes the very good point about the responsibility of the church to equip the saints. I think that very responsibility has been overlooked in many churches today in place of the “Hey, it’s just me and Jesus, and how I worship is up to me” attitude.
Learning about God is a life-long process that never ends. I believe this includes learning about how to live a life of worship.
I had a discussion with my pastor about what is proper in church during the music portion of the worship service. His suggestion was that we should allow what is Biblical, but at the same time, he frowned on people dancing in the aisles – a Biblical expression of praise. I suggested that teaching about worshipping from the heart is necessary for people who might otherwise be ego-tripping (i.e., drawing attention to themselves instead of drawing attention to Jesus), which is not edifying. As Russ so beautifully put it in the last paragraph of his post, it’s not something that can be taught about (properly) in one sermon.
I realize this discussion is initially about corporate settings, however, I believe that our worship flows from where we have been the other 6 days of the week. Have we been focusing on who our Father is? Or on who we are? Are we spending time with the One we are worshipping? Are we praising him on Monday morning? Friday night? Yes we are created to worship our creator- Isaiah 43:21-, but does it come naturally or do we have to choose to do it? I believe it is a choice and we must “work” at it. So yes, we must teach and unteach. We can’t be comfortable with how it’s always been done if that isn’t how God wants it done. Get close to the Father’s heart and spend time in a relationship with him and the worship will flow from that.
You know. I think most people, religion or non-religion want a friend. Someone at the church who is the same Sunday as they are Wednesday. Non hypocritical worship. Mostly they want Jesus. And we can do our best to let the Jesus in us show. But when it comes down to it Jesus is the teacher. And we are just vessels.
New blog post: Teaching on Praise, or UnTeaching on Religion? http://bit.ly/h9E9C
I am huge fan of teaching worship. Yes, I agree that we are made to worship, but we sometimes don’t quite understand what that means. I love the way Heather put it that we are created to eat food, but have to be taught. Years ago, I used to only worhsip when I felt like it…basically worship based on my feelings. It wasn’t until I was taught that woship isn’t really even about me and my feelings that it is about giving glory to God and exalting him no matter what I felt that I understood how to worhsip. We as Christian are called to be Christ-like in our faith, but we have to go through discipleship, teachings, and maturity. Its a process of learning just like its a process of learning how to worhsip authentically. I believe that if people were taught how to worhsip in Spirit and Truth, we as Christians would be more equipped to walk out the abundant life Christ calls us to.