|
Intimacy
By Brian Doerksen
Intimacy - it's become a hot word in worship today
around the world; it's almost a fad among people making
worship recordings. But what is real intimacy that is
not just a trend?
At it's simplest, intimacy in worship means that we
express our devotion, usually through singing to God.
For some of us, singing intimate 'first person' songs
to God has become very common, but if we look back a
few years, we remember that it wasn't always so. For
most of my life, I remember singing songs in church
about God, or singing songs that were exhortations to
live better. But what I was hungry for, even as a boy,
was to communicate directly with my Maker. I wanted
to sing to God. I wanted to reveal my heart to God and
I wanted Him to reveal His heart to me. I can remember
many times when the song leader would start "preaching"
to me, trying to get me "into it." Inside
I cried out, "Where can I go and meet with God?"
In the summer of 85, I encountered corporate intimate
worship for the first time at a John Wimber conference
in Kansas City. The worship leader (Danny Daniels) simply
stood up to the microphone and began to sing songs that
helped me express my heart to God. It was so simple.
And it was exactly what I was looking for.
When John & Carol Wimber (founders of the Vineyard
movement of churches) and others began meeting in a
home in 1977 in California; they gathered because they
were hungry to meet with God. Carol shares a bit what
it was like and what they learned early on about intimacy:
I noticed times during the meeting, usually when
we sang - in which I experienced God deeply. We sang
many songs, but mostly songs about worship or testimonies
from one Christian to another. But occasionally we sang
personally and intimately to Jesus. . . . Those type
of songs stirred and fed the hunger for God within me.
People want to sing intimate songs to God because they
say what their hearts have been yearning to say, and
many of them have been longing for intimacy their whole
lives. This expression of intimacy is filled with an
expectation of God's presence; His heart revealed after
we have revealed our heart to Him. This is real intimacy,
a living relationship with God. What an incredible joy
when we discover that He is longing for these intimate
times as well. And so we sing!! God loves to draw near
to us as we draw near to Him.
Some people have asked me, "Do all intimate songs
need to be slow and gentle in their musical style?"
My answer is (with a chuckle), "NO!!" The
music I use is chosen to encourage intimate dialogue
and the opening of our hearts to God. I can think of
a number of songs that are upbeat and intimate. However,
I do point out that if you have a great difficulty with
intimate love songs to God, (and many of them are slow
in tempo), then you might have some difficulty hanging
around me because I love those type of songs and tend
to use them when I lead worship at my church or make
a recording.
If intimacy in the "narrow" sense means we
sing to God, then in the broad sense, intimacy means
we live our whole lives in the presence of God. If we
give ourselves away to other loves, to other gods, we
will lose intimacy with God, or we will try and manufacture
it in a way that is shallow and purely physical. This
is an empty encounter for both God and us. We cannot
spend our entire week in pursuit of the world, and then
wonder why our worship on Sunday feels flat. Real intimacy
cannot be created by simply singing the right songs.
Intimate worship really happens when the songs come
as an overflow of a heart full of love. Real intimacy
is like marriage, and it only works as we forsake all
others. Intimacy is reverent, not flippantly casual.
I believe that the more intimate something is, the more
reverent it actually becomes. A husband and wife approach
physical lovemaking on their wedding night with great
reverence. Intimacy in marriage is so powerful because
it is so reverent. Without reverence, intimacy in marriage
will most certainly die. Without reverence, we will
not experience real intimacy in worship.
The bible is full of accounts of intimate worship.
As David looked after the sheep he sang intimate worship
songs to the Lord. He continued to do the same when
he became the king of Israel. The woman in Luke 7 worshipped
intimately as she poured the perfume out on the feet
of Jesus. When we embrace intimacy - real intimacy -
in worship, we are fulfilling our destiny to be in a
surrendered relationship with God. And so we sing to
the Lord as Psalm 96:1 says Sing to the LORD a new
song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Intimate worship will always be our highest calling
and aim in this life, and then, when we pass on to the
other side, it's only going to get better.
Brian Doerksen
More Articles:
>> Holiness
>> Accessibility
>> Integrity
|
