More Thoughts on Worship

Disclaimer: It is not my purpose to perpetuate “worship wars” among the people, thus churches, of the ABA or any other group whose purpose is to love God first and love others as we love ourselves, and further to take the message of the Gospel to our own Jerusalem, Judea and the uttermost parts of the earth. My purpose is simply to attempt to change the focus and the passion from the earthly to the divine. For worship to become more about the object of our worship than the means or the methods.

God is good, God has been very good to me. He has blessed me with the opportunity to work with many awesome pastors, musicians, choirs and associated brothers and sisters on a church staff for more than 25 years. Additionally, I have been greatly influenced by God-honoring parents, pastors, teachers, and brethren in the years before God turned my heart toward ministry.

Music has always been an important part of my life, God’s music has been the greater part of that; from the children’s songs we sang in the basement of First Baptist Church of Bryant in Sunday School assembly, to the songs we sang on Teen Choir trips bedecked in pastel colors and butterfly bowties, to the songs we sang on Sunday night after church in homes of various friends (where Bro. Doug Swearingen would bring the milk crate of Heavenly Highway Hymnals out of the truck of his car), to the grand old hymns of the church that we sang every Sunday, to the music of the contemporary artists that filled my car as I drove to and from work and school. (That friends may be the longest run-on sentence in history!) But the point is that my foundation in worship music is quite varied and as a instrument player in Jr. High and High School band and a choir member in High School and the various organized choral groups growing up in the Lord’s churches, I gained an appreciation for almost every form, genre, of music. In high school I went through a phase where all I wanted to listen to was progressive jazz. My mother called it “Jeff’s Nervous Music”, because that’s what she heard in it rather than the non-standard rhythms, time signatures, chord progressions and improvisations that I enjoyed.

God continues to bless me, in that, I am able to enjoy and thus worship through quite a variety of musical types. The grand old hymns of the church are still very precious to me, as are the heart-pounding syncopations of 4-part Southern Gospel. I love to hear a soloist sing a song that has moved their heart as well as an instrumentalist use their God-given talent to bring a melodic offering of praise (be it a piano, a saxophone, a tuba, or anything else [see Psalm 150]).

I’ve employed that long introduction to say that I am blessed to be able to employ many different musical “vehicles” in order to bring worship to our Lord and not have the style of the music be something I cannot enjoy.

Since the word “vehicle” has been used, please allow me to develop/explain that illustration for a moment. My wife and I have two vehicles at this point; one is a 2004 Ford Expedition with over 200,000 miles on it, the other is a 2006 Toyota Avalon with nearly 200,000 miles. Thankfully, both of these cars are paid for and comfortable. Only a few short years ago I looked forward to owning a new pickup truck and/or a new sporty sedan [read Camaro]. But at this stage of my life I am hoping both of these vehicles that we own will continue to keep running for another couple 100,000 miles! Yes, my focus has changed! It is more valuable for me to save the money from a car payment(s) than to ride in a new vehicle. The goal is more on the destination than the vehicle.

I believe the same should be true in regards to musical worship. Everyone has their preferences and that, in itself, is not a problem, we are individuals - different from any and everybody else, but I believe the problem begins when we believe that our preferences should be considered above those anyone else. As a matter of fact, I believe that our focus during any and all worship is the object of our worship, Almighty God. I believe that if we were more attentive to bringing our worship and praise to God than “the vehicle” used to get it there, then these “worship wars” would become mute.

As I view postings, hear conversations, and read articles regarding worship styles, I see and hear lots of comments like, “I love the old songs”, “I can’t worship to these new choruses”, “I think church ought to be like it was back in the (insert decade)!”, and those on the other side of the aisle, "We should just let the old music die out", "The old hymns just don't cut it any more", and many, many more. What I don’t see and hear are questions and ponderings on what God might prefer, or even whether or not He might or might not approve of the non-participation during musical worship settings because of the “vehicle” employed (or not employed!)

This is not to remove any responsibility from the worship leader. Songs much be carefully chosen that are scripturally sound, able to be sung by the congregation, familiar (or at least properly introduced and taught) and an atmosphere of participation presented.

I wonder if our excuses for non-participation in worship, or worse - the complaints against the type of music that is used to encourage corporate worship are acceptable in the sight of the One we are to worship? We must guard our hearts and our minds so that worship is more about pleasing God than pleasing men.

Jeff Hulsizer, a worshipper

Bring Worship

I saw a quote by Pastor Adrian Rogers this week. It was “We don’t come to church to worship. We bring our worship to church.”  This is a very deep and very thought-provoking quote. My personal line of thinking leads me to define or explain this quote as follows…

To say “we come to church to worship” isn’t intrinsically wrong, but it would seem to suppose that there was something planned to occur at the church to bring about worship. 

While a local assembly of saints’ main purpose is to worship God, the assembly itself cannot bring about worship. It is the responsibility of the individual members of the assembly. 

The song service that happens during the services of the church (assembly) is certainly a time for where worship is called; however, to make the music or the lyrics responsible for whether or not worship happens is to place the responsibility on said music and not on the individual “worshipper”. Music is simply a vehicle through which worship can be expressed. There is much confusion and misappropriation of responsibility placed on the genre or style of music exercised by a church. These arguments involve so much personal opinion and preference that the ability, or disability, to worship is made contingent upon the type of vehicle (music) used.

The preaching of the Word of God is also a perfect time to worship the One who originated the Word. But the responsibility of the messenger is to “speak the truth in love”, not to entertain or tickle the ears of the listener. Whether the message was “good” or “boring” should have little effect on the “worshipper” if their heart was already tuned to worship in preparation for the hearing of the Word. The qualifier for a “good” message is the truth of the message.

I believe the portion of the quote that says, “We bring our worship to church” should be the practice for every worshipper. Worship is not limited to the services of a local church. Worship can, and should, occur on days other than Sunday. We should allow ourselves to be so aware of the presence of a Holy God in our lives that His praise is ever on our lips. We should worship privately and personally at all times. The services of the church we attend are opportunities to gather with like-minded individuals for corporate worship within a group of people whose lives intersect ours.

We bring our tithes and offerings to church in order to give them, why should our worship be any different? Let us begin to be continual worshippers and then bring our worship as an offering (or sacrifice) of praise to the One who is worthy of all praise. I am convinced this practice would alleviate the petty arguments between individuals regarding worship styles and tools and center the attention on the Worshipped welcoming the use of any vehicle that can carry our worship to the Throne.

Let it begin in me,

Jeff Hulsizer, Worshipper

There are Still Good Samaritans in this World!

Sitting at the table with my laptop this morning, very stiff and sore, but very thankful for the kindnesses shown by a group of strangers yesterday.

I have loved motorcycles all my life. I rode as a kid and have wonderful memories of “riding the power lines” with my dad and a group of men from First Baptist Church in Bryant. After car driving became legal for me the bike was gone until my children were nearly raised and I bought a big Kawasaki. I commuted back and forth to work, I rode missions with the Arkansas Patriot Guard Riders, I took sightseeing trips with great friends Lynn and Brenda Raborn, Jeff and Kelley Foster, and others. I even took the trip of a lifetime with my best buddy Tim “Grumpy” Mistric. 4,800 miles in 18 days out Rt. 66 to California and back home across I-10 to a cousin’s fishing camp in Pierre Parte, Louisiana. About 3 years ago I had to lay the bike down to avoid a pickup truck that had made a unplanned stop on Camp Robinson Rd. in North Little Rock and I broke a few ribs. That changed me. I wouldn’t admit it for a while but I couldn’t come to grips with the fact that I had become a scared rider. My wife and I made the decision a year ago that it was time to sell the bike and move on. I drug my feet for a while but I finally got the bike cleaned up and ready to sell. The decision to ride it to Benton and park it on the church parking lot wearing a big “For Sale” sign seemed the right thing to do but yesterday all that came to a close.

On Monday, I rode from Jacksonville to Benton and back with no problems. I was very cautious and aware of my surroundings. Yesterday morning’s commute in was uneventful as well. But about 5:00 yesterday afternoon I threw my leg over the beast and had just begun home when I went down again. 

I had just ridden up Shenandoah Dr. and was about to turn right onto Congo Rd. when I just touched my front brake and before I knew it I was on the ground with a 650 lb. bike on top of me. There was no slow-motion, no moment to prepare for the inevitable meeting with the ground, I went down quick. In that split second I was glad there was no traffic around but within just a few seconds, it seemed, I was surrounded by concerned citizens who had stopped to help a stranger. I don’t know any of their names and didn’t recognize any of their faces but I remember them. There was a respiratory therapist that immediately grabbed my hand and started talking to me. “What was hurt?”, “Did you hit your head?” [and yes I was wearing my helmet!” ] “Can I take off your gloves?” She took my pulse and stayed with me through the whole ordeal. Two men pulled the bike off of me, someone called 911, a blanket went into the air to shield me from the sun. When the Benton policeman arrived he was very nice. He was concerned about me as well as handling the situation. He spoke to me very respectfully and kindly and took care of the business that demanded his attention. The ambulance soon arrived and they went to work to get me ready for the trip to Saline Memorial. The policeman asked me if I had anyone close who could take possession of the bike. When I told him I worked down the street at Sharon Baptist Church a man volunteered to ride the bike to the church if someone would bring him back to his car. I turned my keys over to a complete stranger with an honest face. There were people who retrieved my phone from my saddle bag so I could call my wife. Those who took my backpack/computer bag off the bike and sent it with me to the hospital. I told my wife I had taken a spill but was completing surrounded by human angels.

I got to the hospital and after a CAT scan was released with just some bruised ribs and a skinned knee and elbow and a prescription for a muscle relaxer because “you’re gonna be sore in the morning”.

The staff that helped me at the hospital was wonderful, every one! Two of my pastor brothers, Bro. Michael Reese and Bro. Sean Collins came to check on me and offered very welcomed prayers.

So, I’ve decided that the bike will stay at the church until it is sold. I don’t think I will be doing any riding anytime soon. But I will always be thankful for a group of strangers who came together to help a man lying on the ground with a motorcycle. I am encouraged by the love of God that can flow through His people if we allow it.

I’m gonna move pretty slow for a few days but I can still move. It hurts to breathe deeply but I can still breathe. God is good! Now you all be careful out there and look for ways to be a blessing to somebody!

Grateful,

Jeff Hulsizer