Undignified

I have to be honest, I struggle with the term “Worship Leader.” Worship, while an action, is also a lifestyle. We were created by the Almighty for the sole purpose of worshipping Him. Worship is not something that someone else can lead or direct. It has to come from within. It has to be a personal desire and requires individual dedication.

We have many different vehicles to express our worship. Singing, prayer, giving of our tithes and offerings…these are all ways we can express our worship. These are the ways we magnify His holiness. These are the ways we offer up our praises to him.

So while I contemplate how best to identify exactly what it is that we do on most Sunday mornings from the platform, I am confident that the use of music is one of the purest expressions of our praise offerings to Him. Down through the ages, we have been blessed with amazing God-inspired songs, from the hymns of our fathers to the choruses of today. Music has always been a primary vehicle to magnify the Lord. The Bible says “God inhabits the praise of His people” (Psalms 22:3). When we praise the Lord, when we magnify His name, God inhabits us, individually and collectively. The praises we offer are powerful and deserving of our best effort.

In recent years, there has been one song, more than any other, that I feel provides us with a glimpse of how we should approach the business of praising God. The song is titled “Undignifed.” It has been recorded by a number of artists – David Crowder Band, Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin to name a few. This is a song that I would love to see us start to put into regular rotation here at Immanuel. Some of you know the song, though I suspect many of you may not. The lyrics are simple. They are straight from the Word of God. And they are, perhaps, some of the more challenging words put to music in recent history.

I will dance, I will sing. To be mad for my King.
Nothing, Lord, is hindering the passion in my soul.

And I’ll become even more undignified than this.
Though some may say it’s foolishness
I’ll become even more undignified than this.
Leave my pride by my side.

It’s all for You, my Lord!

It’s appropriate that this song focuses on the words of David, because I suspect this is the kind of song David would have written. David was a man who understood the role of praise in the lifestyle of worship. David let nothing stand between him and his pure, uninhibited and passionate praise of his King. He didn’t care who was watching, didn’t care what others thought. His only concern was that the praise he offered was pleasing to God.

And there’s the challenge we all face. Is our praise pleasing to God? Do we focus solely on offering ourselves to God, caring not what others think of how we accomplish that? Praise is not passive. It requires action. It requires us to separate ourselves from our surroundings and present ourselves at the foot of the throne. It requires us to leave our egos at the door. It requires us to discard our fears and our concerns of what others may think of us. It requires us to lavish our praise upon God Almighty as if we were the only ones doing so.

In some cases, it might even require physical action – clapping or applauding God, raising hands, shouting a joyful noise. Sometimes, it requires us to quiet ourselves before the Lord, to be still and listen. But even then, we are still required to give our entire being to the task of magnifying the Lord.

The argument can be made that praising God is not something to be done passively and meekly. If we truly believe that God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, how can we dare to praise His name with quiet, self-conscious whispers? Praise is a sacrifice of self in order to magnify the Holy One.

Can you imagine what it will be like when we get to heaven? I cannot wait to part of the gazillion voices offering my loudest praises for an audience of One!

This song definitely Makes The Playlist!