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ooh, this is the first time i've ever used BlogThis from my Google toolbar. i hope it goes as well as i had ...um...hoped. whatever. anyways:

this is quoted from The Neuch's Blog:
Mediocrity (sp?) At Its Finest: "Anyway, FCC worship band is going very well. We successfully played a song using 3 different tempos at once ding the first service. I'd like to see some stupid modern rock band try that. Unfortunately we could only manage one tempo for the song during the second service, but oddly the crowd seemed to respond better. I realized today (not really, I've actually been thinking about it for awhile) that since I started playing guitar in church I stopped truly worshiping God with the music. I'm trying to lose my selfish attitude and realize that I if I'm not playing for God, then my playing is a detriment to both myself and the congregation. Lately I've felt less close to God, and I'm not sure whether my attitude towards worship is a cause or an effect of this. I will have to think of this more."

and this is from my comment that i posted:
"good idea, the Neuch. i mean the part about 'i'm trying to lose my selfish attitude..'

keep in mind that not just the part that you would be singing if you were not playing guitar is worship. hmm...perhaps i could have worded that better. i mean that not just the singing part is worship. of course playing guitar can be pleasing to God too, but that's not what i'm saying. the whole service is worship. one thing that helped me with this same problem is realizing .....you know what? i'm going to blog this....just read my blog."

and to continue that thought...
some of the things that helped me deal with this feeling of "being out of worship" while playing in the praise band are:
1) it is an act of personal worship: just by playing an instrument--using your talents and gifts--for God ...it's giving back to God what he gave you.
2) worship is so much more: just the singing part of the service isn't all that worship is. the "worship time" of a church service isn't the only part where there's worship. worship happens throughout the service. from the prayers to the Jonah reinactments to the scripture reading to the offering time, it's all worship. it was when i started realizing that the sermon (exposition of the word) was a huge part of worship that i began to get more and more out of sermons and started to feel like i had really worshiped after the service. and that's another thing. it's not just about the "worship service". after the worship service ends, you are still called to live a life of worship. (John 4 ...as in "worship the ather in spirit and truth... in verse 23.
3) it is aiding corporate worship: that in my playing drums, the Neuch playing guitar, and even Vinny swivellling his upper body ...ahem, i mean playing bass... we're helping others worship the Lord.

Psalm 33 instructs us to "Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre" and "harp of ten strings." Psalm 47 says, "clap you hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy." Psalm 81 tells us to "sing for joy...shout joyfully...raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet..." we're all making a joyful noise to the Lord which is in turn helping the congregation get into the music. i understand that making a joyful noise doesn't mean you have to be a talented musician, but it also doesn't mean that you have to be an untalented musician or that you shouldn't use your skills to perform for God. also, (let me jump back a bit) while i know that getting into the music is certainly a dangerous thing, i believe what Jordan told me--that God made music, and He made it emotional for a reason. it's not good to get into the music just to get into the music, but it certainly is good to get into the music to help you worship God better.

basically, the Neuch (and everybody, since i've made this more public now) it's all about the focus. if Christ is the focus and you're into the music, that's a good thing. i think in it's true definition, worship is a state of the heart and your actions must flow from out of the heart. it's not necessarily centered on the music itself, but on God because he's the only thing worthy of our focus. and you know what? it starts just like you said. it starts in losing a selfish attitude.