Free Range.... Worshipers?

What do I mean by "Free Range Worshipers"?  I am talking about a style of worship.  One in which you pull out all the stops and really WORSHIP.  Worship that goes much deeper than the song that the band is playing and is a heart-felt cry to God.  It has been referred to as, "Selah", "Free worship"; or, as the Psalms put it, "sing a new song". 

Psalm 33:1-3, "Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.  Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy."

Here we see King David worshiping God.  If you want an awesome example of true worship to God, read through the Psalms.  David was going through more than his fair share of trials, but he was continually praising God and worshiping Him.  These songs were more than some wrote words that he sang on Sunday morning… these were songs written by a man that knew how to be vulnerable before God.  David's worship was personal, raw and candid.  He was not just going through the motions - he meant it.

Psalm 40:1-3, "I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, or of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.  He has put a new song in my mouth- praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord."
Again, we see David praising God for pulling him out of some really horrible circumstances.  And again, we see that phrase, "new song". 

Lamentations 3:22-23, "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."
If God's mercies are new every morning, shouldn't our worship be?  I have nothing against singing written songs in church, but I believe that it is just a fraction of our worship.  Imagine if you and a buddy got together once a week to chat.  Now, imagine that you had a written script that you used…and you didn't stray from that script and all you talked about was what was on that script.  Would you REALLY get to know that friend?  Maybe some, but I bet your relationship would be pretty shallow.  That is much like just singing the songs at church and never really pouring out our hearts to God. 

David understood that concept.  His "new" song was what was on his heart at the moment.  He sang about the deliverence of God, the mercy of God, the protection of God.  He spent time with God and got to know God because he laid his heart out in front of the throne of God in worship. I long to see us as the church catch on to this.  Many worship services are wrote and lifeless because either we are afraid to be vulnerable before God, or we just don't know how.

Being a worship leader, I have often thought about how to lead people into deeper worship to God.  This is something that cannot be forced or even really taught.  You can explain what it means to sing a new song to God.  But how do you lead a group of people into actually doing it?  I believe that first, you need to leave room in the plan for the Spirit of God to work on people.  Don't plan your worship service so tight that you don't leave room for God to move.  Then the most important thing… lead by example. If you are the worship leader, or even if you are part of the band or praise team, you cannot be afraid to break out into that "new" song and pour your heart out to God. The congregation will see that and will hopefully follow suite.  Remember, you cannot effectively lead where you, yourself, have never been.

We serve an awesome God who is worthy of ALL our praise.  I pray that we as a church find that NEW song that God has given us.

-LM