Fake Worship is a Problem Everywhere

The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:19-26)

One of the enduring legacies of “market-church” Christianity is “entertainment worship.” Gen Z and many millennials are turning away from popular churches because they feel the worship is fake. Often it is. Overly rehearsed performances—to the point of rehearsing what is intended to look like spontaneity—produce a worship similar to the multitudes of fake foods that occupy our grocery stores. In many cases these young people are abandoning the contemporary evangelical service for the mystical liturgy of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Leaving one false form for another is not the solution, and all churches need to take a long hard look at what they do and why. This should include fundamentalist churches that pride themselves in traditional worship. “Fake” can be another expression for empty worship—going through the motions without real mental or spiritual engagement in what is happening.

One worship tradition over another is not the test of genuine worship. Both can be fake. Enthusiasm is not a measure either. People can sing the right kind of music enthusiastically and still be nowhere near true worship. Consider some biblical essentials for true worship.

God is the object, the focal point, of worship.

God is seeking worshipers who worship the Father.

The people on stage must not be the focal point, like an attractional entertainment model. The congregation is also not the focal point of true worship. As I stand or sit in the pew, the worship is not about me. It is not about making me happy, making me emotional, or even making me feel good in some way.

God is not the audience of our worship. We commonly say that, but for that to be true, He would be focusing on us as we perform before Him. God is the object of our worship. He, in all His glory, majesty, power, and in the sum total of all His divine identity is the focus. The mind of the true worshiper is engaged with God and nothing else.

This means that worship is also not the object of our worship. It is hard to try to make our worship better and not make worship itself the focus of our worship. As long as we are trying to produce some specific type of experience we are focusing on the wrong thing.

Truth is the foundation of worship.

Worship in spirit and in truth.

Specifically, the theological truths regarding God Himself provide the foundation of worship. This is why much shallow, man-centered, market-driven music, is not only unsatisfactory for worship, but works against the mental focus that true worship requires. Worship music does not need to be complex, but it needs to be theologically sound and
God-focused. It need not be in direct address to God Himself, but it should focus on His attributes and works.

The mind is engaged.

You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship.

One of the tasks of a worship leadership is to focus the minds of the worshipers on God Himself. It is easy for worshipers, who have been in the church going habit for decades, to put their minds in neutral while going through the Sunday morning rituals. The mouth moves, the words come out, but the mind is miles away. The way we have attempted to address this problem in our local congregation is to focus on a specific characteristic of God every Sunday. If we don’t aim at anything specifically, it is hard to think about God specifically. But if we focus on a particular aspect of who He is and what that means to us, we are better able to meditate upon Him.

Emotions are incidental.

Worship in spirit.

I am not saying that worship is not emotional, or there is something wrong with emotion in worship. I am saying that a particular emotional response from the worshipers is not what we are shooting for. Emotion should genuinely and freely flow from the truth that takes hold of us as we worship.

Different truths produce different emotional responses. Isaiah was overcome with the holiness of God when He said, “Woe is me!” Mary exulted in the grace of God when she exclaimed “My soul magnifies the Lord.” True worship can produce emotions from exultation to lamentation depending on the aspect of God’s nature that occupies our attention.

The music must match the message.

Worship in spirit and in truth.

I am speaking of the music itself matching the text of the songs and hymns used in worship. Music is the emotional setting in which spiritual truths are framed. The music tells me how I should feel about the words I am singing or hearing. Music communicates mood, emotions, and attitude. That is the definition of music. Much of our modern music sets divine truths to music that is sensual, trite, or even angry in its tone. The “I like it” standard is not enough. I have to ask myself why I like it. Is it the carnal part of my nature that likes this music, or is it the part of my nature drawn to Philippians 4:8 thinking?

However, this is not a new problem. Even some of our older hymns use tunes that now sound like they would better be used background music on a carousel or at a roller rink than in church on Sunday morning. They are distracting at best.

Music should also be singable. It should not be so complex that it turns attention more to the skills of the musician than the God being worshipped. It takes skillful musicians to take the focus off of themselves as they direct people toward God.

True worship flows from truly submitted worshipers.

See Isaiah 1:11-15.

Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.

This is not an afterthought. To God it is a very serious thing, and to us it should be as well. God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead, as well as believers in Corinth for unsubmitted or fake worship (Acts 5:1-5, 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). Both the Old Testament and New Testament words most commonly translated worship mean to bow down, kneel down, or prostrate oneself. A true worshiper is a submitted worshiper. Self-willed, rebellious, living- in-disobedience worshipers are not welcome before God without first repenting. This especially applies to the mature believers who should know better. God says He hates worship from unbroken worshipers. Unbroken worship can come in any setting, style or tradition. It can look genuine while being totally faked.

We will not have true worship without true revival. Maybe this is the issue we should address first.

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Listen to the audio version of this article here: Fake Worship is a Problem Everywhere