I’ve been around churches and church leaders for years. One statement often coming from those involved in the worship ministry of the church is this, “We need to teach our people to worship.” In my case, I have often encountered that as a disappointed response to how that particular church is expressing their worship. Things like hands raised, shouts, etc. are expressions of worship. That differentiation is significant. Teaching people to worship surely has its place. However, the most powerful worship moments in the Bible are authentic responses to what the Lord has done! When Moses comes to the elders and tells them the Lord has seen their misery and has sent him to deliver them they bow down on their knees to worship. Moses didn’t tell them how to do that. It was their heart response moving their body into a posture of grateful submission.
Maybe rather than “teaching our people to worship,” what we need to do is lead them to experience God’s goodness. Maybe we should think more about how to open their eyes to see His greatness in their lives. Perhaps if we could lead people to discover the move of God in their lives in significant ways, our worship moments would be filled with gratefulness, passion, praise and anticipation.
Teach them to worship for sure. But leading them into God’s presence is the quickest way to developing a worshiping church.