I’ve heard it said that, “You can tell the health of a community by the quality of it’s libraries, museums and parks.” I’d like to take this thought one step further and say, “You can tell the health of a church by the way it’s people praise and worship.”

It’s amazing how so many people get worked up into a passionate frenzy when the discussion of music in church takes place. From arguments of hymns to contemporary to what exactly is contemporary? It’s too fast, too slow, loud, not loud enough or the color of the font on the screen should be yellow not white! It’s enough to drive a person crazy. Because in the end, it’s just another song to sing. And that my friends, is where the problem lies.

“Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Luke 10:27 paraphrased

When a congregation has no revelation of exactly who Jesus Christ is, then how can they be expected to passionately praise Him? No matter what size the church when it’s people ardently pursue God in song and worship it’s usually a good sign that many of them have a relationship with Christ and want even more.

Dead worship often means something vital is missing. Unfortunately many people think this can be fixed with a different song, style, leader etc. That’s like telling the man who never hugs his kids that he can fix it by taking a vacation with them. A person can say they love someone, but if they don’t show it then you have a hard time convincing others. The biggest mistake Israel made all throughout the scripture was missing that God is a relational God. He pursues us, desires us, longs for us and is a jealous God who wants the same in return.

To love God is to know God, and to know God is to love God. When we understand that praising His name is a scriptural and meaningful way of loving Him then suddenly we unlock doors of relationship and people begin to EXPERIENCE the fullness of knowing and loving the Creator.

If people have no revelation of who Christ is, and how God views them then every attempt to accomplish the commission to preach the hope and salvation found in Jesus Christ will fall short. So next time you’re at church, whether you’re a pastor, worship leader, a member or visitor ask yourself, “Is this just another song to sing?”