In the June 2007 Church Production magazine there is an article about Cornerstone Christian Fellowship in Chandler, AZ. The church has constructed a new auditorium and the magazine was reporting about the multimedia equipment that was used to punctuate their worship with a “live band and expansive video presentation.” (p. 24).

The article brings out the philosophy behind the two 9×16 foot and one 19×36 foot video screens and the subsequent sound system to go with them. The worship director said that their goal was to try to “create somewhere people can come every week and enjoy their worship experience; it’s about speaking the language of the people and reaching them.” (p. 24). Their old system “detracted” from this experience, and they wanted to correct this with the new building (p. 26). Their new system was designed to create a “high-impact environment that immersed people, like the music was surrounding and embracing you, and pulling you into the worship experience.” (p. 26).

Let us unpack this. According to their own worship director, worship is about our own enjoyment, is an experience to be immersed in, and is something that we create.

I have a few questions: should the goal of worship be that people can enjoy it? Now, I am not saying to make worship miserable, but what does this have to do with worship in the first place? Is not worship the individual offering a sacrifice of praise to the Lord? Is not worship the individual giving worth to God? Is not worship to be done in spirit and in truth? How in the world does one generate a “worship experience”? Outside of translating the Bible into the common tongue, since when has external medium like music, videos, and sound systems become the “language of the people to reach them”? Hasn’t the language of the people always been the plain and simple teaching of Scripture?

We cannot generate worship; we cannot generate salvation. Any goal to try and generate these will be misplaced and result in methods that do not glorify the Lord.

We can, however, come with hearts prepared to give worth to the God of creation. We can come prepared to offer a sacrifice of praise to Him. We can come planning how to best do this by using prayer, the Word, and music that honors, exalts, and glorifies His name. We can worship in the beauty of His holiness and come into His courts with thanksgiving.

We can do this in a simple room with nothing more than our voices. The article noted that “society has learned to judge the quality of the message by the quality of the medium”. This may be true, but it is completely at odds with the Bible. While I certainly think that we ought to do things to the best of our ability, the gospel message is not dependent upon our external mediums. The gospel’s effect is just as great whether given on a street corner, in a bus, at the hospital, or from the pulpit of a church.

Once we have capitulated to worldly thinking—we can generate worship, worship is for our enjoyment, worship is used to reach the lost—then it is only a short step to all kinds of methods and means that run contrary to the Word of God and the holiness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

With their band, videos, sound system, and light effects, this church mimics the world’s concert venues, all under the name of ministry and evangelism. I wonder how pleased the Lord is with this kind of “worship”?

Let us be sure that as true worshippers of our God that we approach Him in holiness and truth, and with a sacrifice that wants the Lord to be pleased whether we enjoy it or not. God does not want dead and lifeless praise of His name, but neither does He want us to try to generate emotional experiences to make us feel “immersed in worship”. We will be blessed when we seek to bless Him, but we should not come seeking our own blessing. Do you go to church with the purpose of sacrificing for Him?