The Spiritual Power of our Worship

A picture of the Beverley Hills and Incarnation joint choir, preparing to sing of God's "marvelous" deeds.

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him (Psalm 91:1)

As the Worship Pastor for Incarnation, part of my job is to ensure that the songs we sing help us encounter Jesus through the flow of the liturgy. In some ways, this aspect of my job is easy. The liturgy does a lot of the heavy lifting, and we can worship Jesus without ever singing a single song. (Practicing intentional silence, as we do during Lent, can be a deep and meaningful act of worship.)

But at the same time, I believe that creativity is a gift which draws us towards the truth, goodness, and beauty of God and God’s creation. We use music and art and other expressions of beauty to draw our attention to the story of God and our redemption. Using creativity in our worship is a powerful way to stir our hearts toward the salvation story of the gospel.

However, there is subtle danger that comes with the power of creativity. One of the constant temptations I have as a Worship Pastor is to believe that the spiritual power of our worship comes through our various forms of creativity rather than the gospel story. I am tempted to choose songs, compose arrangements, or introduce novel concepts to our worship rather than rely on the power of the gospel. But as the Psalmist reminds us, our worship should be a response to the “marvelous” acts of God’s salvation accomplished for us.

Our singing carries spiritual power only to the extent that it points to the gospel story. If the songs we sing do not draw our attention to the “old, old story of Jesus and his love” then our singing is ultimately worthless. It doesn’t matter if the song is a Gregorian chant, an 18^th century hymn, or an arena rock worship anthem. No worship style or amount of creativity can ever replace the power that comes when we focus our hearts on the acts of salvation accomplished in the gospel story.

So, after some brief conversations with our Rector and a few our music leaders, the music team at Incarnation will slowly be introducing “Acapella Sundays” where our worship music will just be congregational singing. No instruments. No creative harmonica, fiddle, or trombone arrangements. Just human voices lifted in song to our God. We hope that by introducing “Acapella Sundays,” our attention will be drawn evermore to the Triune God whose “right hand and holy arm” have brought us our salvation. Plus, on a practical note, this will give our music leaders a lighter lift especially as we adjust to the loss of the amazing Joel Chan and Anna Young who will be the lead parish musicians at Holy Comforter.

It is a deep joy and privilege to be the Worship Pastor for Incarnation. We have such talented singers and musicians that make my job easy and help cultivate the unique music culture we have as a congregation. But more importantly than our music culture, I am grateful for the ways that our church seeks to worship “in Spirit and in truth.” My prayer is that we would continue to grow in the spiritual power that comes from focusing on the gospel story, the story of "Jesus and his love."

Your fellow worshipper,

Russell Vick

P.S. If you want to join the music team or have any questions/ideas about our music and worship, please reach out! I’d love to grab coffee and hear what you have to say!