Is this guy worshipping
As I work on my book (which btw now has a working title: Reigniting Renaissance), I’m trying to develop a “short definition” of what worship is… apart from how it is expressed…
I think that the distinction is important for several reasons:
1. The expression of worship varies between different traditions and denominations of Christ-followers… A Pentecostal expression, just for example, will be radically different from a Catholic expression… We might be able to find some “common ground” but I’m looking for something more foundational… I want to be able to use the term “worship” and have it mean something specific to my readers, rather than have it mean 10 different things to ten different people…
2. Not to keep beating this drum, but the expression of worship in most traditions is still largely dominated by music… If we say our church is “traditional” or “contemporary” or “blended,” we are talking about musical style more than anything else… If artists in any medium are going to “worship” through their dance, drama, painting or photography, then the meaning of worship has to be broader than this…
Now, a definition of worship has to be based on what the Bible says about worship… Which, for the record, is mostly anecdotal… Paul didn’t give us an easy theological foundation and Jesus just said that “true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4: 23-24)
There are a few definitions out there that I like:
According to Worship.com, “worship” is:
Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do, revealing that which you treasure and value most in life.
-Homepage, Worship.com
This is obviously a definition of “lifestyle worship” or the idea that an authentic, Jesus-following lifestyle is what Jesus was talking about in John 4.
In terms of a more specific “act” of worship, Vineyard worship leader, David Ruis, says that
…it’s just giving God all of your attention…
-David Ruis, Winds of Worship 3
I thought you guys might have something else good to add… or maybe a good way of combining the practice of lifestyle worship with the act of worshipping…
My response to who God is and what he has done, is doing and will do!
Very similar to Kevin’s
Worship – a lifestyle of praise for all that God has done and Who He is.
As Dr. John Hubley teaches, worship, as defined in scripture, is obeisance to the Father: a willful submission of our lives (Romans 21:1).