{"id":4051,"date":"2014-06-20T21:27:32","date_gmt":"2014-06-20T18:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=4051"},"modified":"2014-06-20T21:27:32","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T18:27:32","slug":"32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"#32 The Problem with Worship Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you noticed the emphasis many churches give to your experience in worship?<\/p>\n<p>I have and I think it&#8217;s dangerous!<\/p>\n<p>In this episode of <a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sukofamily.org\/uploaded_images\/IMG_1387-735329.JPG\">Now is the Time<\/a>\u00a0I talk about why turning worship into an experience is a bigger problem then you may have thought.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.blubrry.com\/?media_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2Fcontent.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2FNIST_E_32.mp3&amp;modern=1&amp;podcast_link=https%3A%2F%2Fsukofamily.org%2F32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences%2F#mode-Light&border-000000&progress-000000\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"165\" frameborder=\"0\" id=\"blubrryplayer-3\" class=\"blubrryplayer\" title=\"Blubrry Podcast Player\"><\/iframe><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/content.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/NIST_E_32.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?powerpress_pinw=4051-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/content.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/NIST_E_32.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"NIST_E_32.mp3\">Download<\/a> (Duration: 27:22 &#8212; 25.1MB) | <a href=\"#\" class=\"powerpress_link_e\" title=\"Embed\" onclick=\"return powerpress_show_embed('4051-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Embed<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_embed_box\" id=\"powerpress_embed_4051-podcast\" style=\"display: none;\"><input id=\"powerpress_embed_4051-podcast_t\" type=\"text\" value=\"&lt;iframe src=&quot;https:\/\/player.blubrry.com\/?media_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2Fcontent.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2FNIST_E_32.mp3&amp;modern=1&amp;podcast_link=https%3A%2F%2Fsukofamily.org%2F32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences%2F#mode-Light&amp;border-000000&amp;progress-000000&quot; scrolling=&quot;no&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;165&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;blubrryplayer-4&quot; class=&quot;blubrryplayer&quot; title=&quot;Blubrry Podcast Player&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;\" onclick=\"javascript: this.select();\" onfocus=\"javascript: this.select();\" style=\"width: 70%;\" readOnly><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/feeds.blubrry.com\/feeds\/nowisthetime.xml\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.blubrry.com\/feeds\/nowisthetime.xml\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4052\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences\/sony-dsc-224\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"640,359\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Picasa&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NEX-3&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1389579213&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;640&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.033333333333333&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;SONY DSC&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"SONY DSC\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4052\" src=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg\" alt=\"SONY DSC\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg 640w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077-600x336.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>The experience trend<\/h4>\n<p>The trend in churches across America in the last few years is to create worship experiences. Many churches will tell you on their website about the different worship experiences they offer for each service. Some churches like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hcctoday.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">this one<\/a>, go so far as to make their entire church about your experience! You can even find a worship leaders conference that is called <a href=\"http:\/\/experienceconference.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Experience Conference.<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Selfish worship<\/h4>\n<p>The problem with making worship about your experience is that it turns worship into a subjective, consumer oriented activity. Worship leaders become performers whose task is to create an emotionally pleasant experience for the audience. Church attenders become spectators who judge the quality of worship by the style of music, the design of the stage and their own emotional response.<\/p>\n<p>Logically, seeking a worship experience is in direct opposition to true worship. Why? Because an experience is something you receive but worship is something you must give! If you judge your worship but what you get out of it then you&#8217;re judging the wrong thing!<\/p>\n<p>In short focusing on the experience of worship creates what I call &#8220;selfish&#8221; worshipers!<\/p>\n<h4>True worship<\/h4>\n<p>In Biblical worship experience is neither the goal nor the reason nor the motivation of why we worship, who we worship or where we worship!<\/p>\n<p>Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23 that God is seeking people who worship him in spirit and truth. He didn&#8217;t say that God is seeking people who have a great experience when they worship God. The reality is that sometimes our worship experience may be less than entertaining. Just read about the prophet Isaiah&#8217;s experience in Isaiah 6:1-5, it was more terrifying than entertaining!<\/p>\n<h4>The real experience<\/h4>\n<p>Is there a worship experience? Yes! But it&#8217;s not the goal nor the standard by which we judge the quality of worship. The worship experience is a result of honoring God with our hearts and our lives. The worship experience is a daily experience of applying the truth of God&#8217;s Word to the regular stuff of life. Sometimes the worship experience will be painful and sometimes it will be pleasant but ultimately it is joy!<\/p>\n<h4>Make the change<\/h4>\n<p>Churches and worship leaders need to stop promising that they will give people amazing worship experiences and start calling the people in truth to give their all to God!<\/p>\n<p>Pastors and teachers in the church must stop trying to entertain their congregates and instead focus on making sure that their people understand the truth of God&#8217;s Word and that worship isn&#8217;t about getting but about giving!<\/p>\n<p>Church members need to stop searching for a better experience or a certain music style and start thinking about how they can give of their lives and hearts to God daily and not just on Sunday morning!<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"color: #666666;\">Links<\/h4>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\">You can easily download this podcast on your mobile device by subscribing on<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\"><a style=\"color: #285486;\" href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/now-is-the-time\/id658436314?mt=2&amp;uo=4&amp;at=10l9ET\" target=\"_blank\">iTunes<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\">or<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\"><a style=\"color: #285486;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/now-is-the-time\" target=\"_blank\">Stitcher<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\">If you enjoy the podcast please leave a rating and review, this helps get the podcast out in front of others!<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #666666;\">You can help refugees in Ukraine <a title=\"How to Help Refugees in Ukraine\" href=\"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/how-to-help-refugees-in-ukraine\/\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"color: #666666;\">Books<\/h4>\n<p>Checkout John MacArthur&#8217;s book <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B006WBKL3C\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B006WBKL3C&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=sukfam-20\" target=\"_blank\">Worship, the Ultimate Priority<\/a><\/p>\n<h4>Question: What other dangers do you see in the worship experience? How can churches avoid this danger?<\/h4>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.blubrry.com\/?media_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2Fcontent.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2FNIST_E_32.mp3&amp;modern=1&amp;podcast_link=https%3A%2F%2Fsukofamily.org%2F32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences%2F#mode-Light&border-000000&progress-000000\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"100%\" height=\"165\" frameborder=\"0\" id=\"blubrryplayer-1\" class=\"blubrryplayer\" title=\"Blubrry Podcast Player\"><\/iframe><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/content.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/NIST_E_32.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?powerpress_pinw=4051-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/content.blubrry.com\/nowisthetime\/NIST_E_32.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"NIST_E_32.mp3\">Download<\/a> (Duration: 27:22 &#8212; 25.1MB) | <a href=\"#\" class=\"powerpress_link_e\" title=\"Embed\" onclick=\"return powerpress_show_embed('4051-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Embed<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_embed_box\" id=\"powerpress_embed_4051-podcast\" style=\"display: none;\"><input id=\"powerpress_embed_4051-podcast_t\" type=\"text\" value=\"&lt;iframe src=&quot;https:\/\/player.blubrry.com\/?media_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2Fcontent.blubrry.com%2Fnowisthetime%2FNIST_E_32.mp3&amp;modern=1&amp;podcast_link=https%3A%2F%2Fsukofamily.org%2F32-the-problem-with-worship-experiences%2F#mode-Light&amp;border-000000&amp;progress-000000&quot; scrolling=&quot;no&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot; height=&quot;165&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; id=&quot;blubrryplayer-2&quot; class=&quot;blubrryplayer&quot; title=&quot;Blubrry Podcast Player&quot;&gt;&lt;\/iframe&gt;\" onclick=\"javascript: this.select();\" onfocus=\"javascript: this.select();\" style=\"width: 70%;\" readOnly><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/subscribebyemail.com\/feeds.blubrry.com\/feeds\/nowisthetime.xml\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe by Email\" rel=\"nofollow\">Email<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.blubrry.com\/feeds\/nowisthetime.xml\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you noticed the emphasis many churches give to your experience in worship?<\/p>\n<p>I have and I think it&#8217;s dangerous!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,297],"tags":[221],"class_list":["post-4051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ministry","category-podcast","tag-worship"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/DSC07077.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3izZc-13l","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3353,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/the-problem-with-short-worship-services-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":0},"title":"The Problem with Short Worship Services in the Church","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One difference we notice after coming back to America is that Sunday morning worship is much shorter. In my experience most US churches keep their main worship service to somewhere between 60-90 minutes. In contrast most Ukrainian churches \u00a0I've been in will run around 120 minutes. Maybe Ukraine has influenced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/photo-45.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/photo-45.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/photo-45.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1473,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/carpathian-mountains-conference-and-elections-in-ukraine\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":1},"title":"Carpathian Mountains Conference","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"November 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I know that the US presidential election has overshadowed much of the news recently. \u00a0However I also know that many praying for us and elections in Ukraine over the past week. Thank you! Mainly the election was quiet except for the occasional violence when the police broke into the polling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00932.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00932.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/DSC00932.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5226,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/donetsk-war-on-protestant-churches\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":2},"title":"Donetsk&#8217; War on Protestant Churches","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Is there a targeted effort to take out Protestant Churches in the Eastern Ukraine war-zone? In this video reporter Simon Ostrovsky\u00a0recently traveled to Donetsk and visited several Protestant church buildings that are now under the control of Donetsk People's Republic soldiers. One pastor describes how armed men came to their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/new\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/propoganda.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4471,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/is-there-a-war-against-the-protestant-church-by-radical-orthodox\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":3},"title":"Is There a War Against the Protestant Church by Radical Orthodox?","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"October 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Back in June I wrote about how Peter Dudnik's church in Slavyansk was seized by separatists and then used as a military base and as a firing position on Ukrainian forces. Thankfully in August Ukrainian troops regained control of Slavyansk and Dudnik's church building was returned to the congregation. Recently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ukraine&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ukraine","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ukraine-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/orthodox-war.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/orthodox-war.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/orthodox-war.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/its-hard-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":4},"title":"It&#8217;s Hard Work!","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"March 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, visiting churches on prefield can be a bit tiring. When you are a bubling 15 month old who is glad to greet everyone with a friendly smile as long as you are in your parent's arms. A new nursery every week certainly makes you ready for a good long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Updates&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Updates","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/updates\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6862,"url":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/our-churchs-1st-missions-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":4051,"position":5},"title":"Our Church&#8217;s 1st Missions Conference","author":"Caleb Suko","date":"August 29, 2016","format":"video","excerpt":"I'll admit, planning our church's first missions conference made me both a bit anxious and excited. \u00a0 We weren't sure how people would respond and who would show up. Nevertheless we decided to push forward knowing that one of the best things we can do for our church and other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ministry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ministry","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/category\/ministry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/DSC03328.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/DSC03328.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sukofamily.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/DSC03328.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4051"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4055,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4051\/revisions\/4055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}