Narcissistic Worship

One definition for narcissism is "A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation."  All of us are probably guilty of self-preoccupation to an extent.  When we aren't careful, we tend to evaluate things by what brings us pleasure or satisfaction and judge as wrong, that wish doesn't.  Having served as a Worship Pastor for many years prior to becoming a Senior Pastor, I've been caught in the middle of various "worship wars."  In 25 years of worship ministry I saw every criticism imaginable.  In one service there were responses that the music was too traditional and the music was too contemporary - in the same service.  Was one right and the other wrong?  Were both right?  What makes this attitude objectionable to me, other than the damage it does to a local church because people are judging their brothers and sisters in  Christ, is that it unveils a consumer mentality - even a narcissistic approach to worship.  If I approve of the music or the worship order, it must be spiritual.  If it is too loud, too soft, too fast, too slow, too whatever to my taste - it can't be worship.  Or even better - this is performance, not worship.  I always wince when I hear that because that statement reveals one is judging the heart attitude of the person on the platform.  I would suggest that heart attitudes should  be examined, but not of the one on the platform.

I don't believe music has any inherent spiritual value in and of itself.  The music we worship with isn't spiritual or theological.  It is cultural.  To impose a musical language which is a disconnect from our culture is to create a dichotomy between the secular and the sacred.  I see no such division.  God doesn't want to be Lord over our lives only on the Sunday portion, but on all our life.

I find it interesting that many of the hymns we have grown up with and which I love were written to secular tunes.  Ken Gabrielse, chairman of the church music department at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary says these hymns were written to honky tonk tunes of the 1700s.  Prior, congregational singing was restricted to the Psalms and many people greatly resented Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts for taking dance hall music into the church.  Think of the hymns "At the Cross" and "We're Marching to Zion."  These were both taken from dance hall songs.  As Gabrielse points out, by today's standards "these were yesterday's rock songs!" 

What I've observed is when one person complains about music others are equally blessed.  Is God blessed or offended if we use a loud organ or a loud electric guitar?  Neither. Because worship is not about us, our instruments or our preferences.  It is about God.   It's time for us to move beyond narcissism and concentrate on what we can GIVE GOD during our worship rather than what personally receive.
Soli Deo Gloria!