This article was first published in the first edition of the Become. Journal.

When I was about twelve years old, I was incredibly excited that I was old enough to go to the “cool” church worship service.  Let me give you some context. This was the mid to late 90s, and most of the churches in our area ran about 100 in service each Sunday.  They were your typical church for the era and area. When I moved to a new church in 1993, they had recently upgraded to the 1991 Baptist Hymnal, so they were pretty modern.  However, as I got older, I of course wanted to move on to bigger and better things.  What did that mean?  It meant praise music, choruses, projector screens, hand motions, guitars, and *gasp* drums.  A group in our area had special nights where the younger generation would come together and worship God in a way that was not happening in our churches on Sunday morning.  

It was like church camp every week.  You’d come in and start singing some upbeat songs, the lights would be dimmed.  The leader would continually remind everyone to stand up and join in.  As the sets progressed, the music would become softer and more somber.  The leader would ask you to close your eyes and kneel down, to come to the altar and pray.  Each evening ended in big feelings and sometimes tears.  God was moving, and we couldn’t wait until the next service. 

Let me make it clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of the two ways services were conducted when I was growing up.  The problem came afterward in what was considered a “good worship service” or not.  Many people who went to the more “modern” services went back to their own churches discontented.  Who wants some old, stodgy hymns and an organ?  People rarely cried after singing “It Is Well.” The song would be played at the end of the service, people would sing, there’d be a prayer and everyone would go on their way.  It was nothing like the end of the other services where the altar was filled with people praying.  How can the old way of worship be “good?”

As I got older and was able to continue going to both styles of services, I noticed a theme in my own life. I’d go to the contemporary service where I’d have all of the feelings as we sang, “Light the fire in my heart again.”  Then to the regular service of organs and hymns where we’d sing, “I stand amazed in the presence,” in a rather unamazed way.  I would languish through each service.  

It took a lot of searching and scripture for me to learn that worship is not a feeling.  When focused on the feelings during worship I’m more concerned about the spirit of the people versus the Spirit of who God is.  Worship, real worship is seeing who God is and responding correctly.  I can’t promise, but I suspect that Paul and Silas didn’t have the warm fuzzies when worshipping in prison. Jesus knew he was headed to his capture when he sang a hymn of worship. (Matthew 26:30)  The error is when we believe emotion is the hallmark of worship.  If we believe this, when there is no emotion, it’s easy to believe that either we are doing something wrong, or maybe there’s no one to worship.  

John 4:24 says that we must worship, “in spirit and in truth.” Truth stays the same no matter our feelings, and no matter our feelings, we must cling to truth. How do we worship in spirit and in truth?

1. Worshipping in spirit means that there are no particular directions for physical actions during worship.  You can be anywhere, the car, your living room, a hospital room, a prison, or a church.  You can worship while wiping snot, cleaning, fixing a meal, catching up on paperwork or paying bills. Worship is not about our locality or actions.  It’s about our spirit, our attitude.  
2. Worship in truth.  Know what is true through reading scripture. God is still good no matter the style of worship music we sing.  Praise him for his love, goodness, and all that is true about him.  Come to find out, some of those boppy songs we sang with the fog machines didn’t have a lot of truth in them, even if they made us have feelings.  The same is true today for a lot of Christian music.  What is what you’re singing really saying?  The old hymns may not be as fun to dance to, but they do have a lot of truth in their words.  (I cry most times when I sing “It is Well” because the truth of those words is so poignant to my soul.)       

I’m thankful that God started teaching me the difference between emotions and worship at a young age because as I got older, I found worship in my chaotic life to be even more complex. 

As followers of Christ, worship should happen with each breath.  Worship is not just singing or reading your Bible.  It’s acknowledging with joy and thankfulness that God is greater, no matter our surroundings.  He’s worthy no matter what. 

This is the reminder that I have to remember each day.  Worship at this point in my life does not look like I thought it would.  Many a church service is interrupted or missed due to chronic illness or accommodating our son with Autism.  During rougher times, hours and hours are spent in bed, unable to participate in daily life.  I am grateful for the times I get to meet with other believers to worship together, but laying in bed praying for those around me is just as much worship as a Sunday morning service.  A meeting in a coffee shop with a sweet lady headed overseas, encouraging each other and praying together can be worship as much as a gathering of 1,000 people.  Worship is what we do when we seek to glorify God in all things.  One of the most overlooked forms of worship is faithfulness for God’s glory in the mundane or the normal.  It’s getting up each morning, thankful for His new mercies each day, and doing life again.  That is worship when we do it for His glory. 

It is easy to get bogged down in the monotony of seemingly menial tasks.  On the other hand, we can get overwhelmed by the chaos of life.  Whatever the case, let us not forget to have an attitude of worship.  Remember who God is, then respond accordingly.  He is worthy of our faithfulness because He’s faithful to us. (Lamentations 3:23).  We were created by him and for him, so he deserves our praise (Revelations 4:11) no matter how we feel.