I just started reading For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship by Daniel I. Block. The first three paragraphs of the Preface were like a large church bell going off. I was saying “Amen” by the end of the page. What did he say? Read on.

“A number of years ago I preached in a large church with three Sunday morning services. I shall never forget when, at a transitional moment in the service, the ‘pastor of music and worship’ declared to the congregation, ‘Now, before we continue our worship, let me read a passage from Colossians 3’—as if reading and hearing the Scriptures are not exercises in worship.

This restricted notion of worship is common in our day and is reflected in the ubiquitous labeling of CDs as ‘praise and worship’ music, the specification in church bulletins of the singing period as ‘worship time,’ and the identification of musicians on the pastoral staff as ‘worship ministers’ or ‘ministers of worship arts.’ In fact, the worship industry tends to equate worship not only with music but with a particular type of music: contemporary praise.

These practices raise all sorts of questions, not only about the significance of other aspects of the Sunday service (prayer, preaching, testimonials, etc.) but also about religious rituals in the Bible and the Scriptures’ relative minor emphasis on music in worship. Not only is music rarely associated with worship in the New Testament but the Pentateuch is altogether silent on music associated with tabernacle worship. All of this highlights our skewed preoccupation with music in the current conflicts over worship.” (xi)

For the Glory of God