Who is worship for? The way some people talk about their worship experiences (“I didn’t get anything out of that,” or “The music rocked!”) you’d think that worship is primarily for us. Others insist—mainly in reaction to such human-centered perceptions of worship—that worship is exclusively for God. A prominent writer on worship was quoted as saying, “To worship God is to be so lost in loving God that we don’t expect anything in return.”

As worship leaders, we need to consider this important question so that we can lead others into mature and meaningful worship. So, who is worship for?

After fourteen years with InterVarsity, including my student and staff years, I entered the job market during a slump in the economy. A scary prospect, but I believed God had another calling for me: to be a writer of young adult literature.

Three months into my job search, I was offered a position as a recruiter for a national university, which had recently acquired a college offering the only master’s degree in writing for young adults in the country. As an employee, I could earn my master’s in the field I am most passionate about for ten percent of the usual cost. I felt like God had orchestrated the acquisition just for me, knowing what I desired. I could imagine God’s anticipating the unveiling of his plan, eager for the moment I would discover his design. Now, every day on my way to work, I thank God for my job, and for being a God who fulfills the desires of my heart.

Does God not want us to expect anything from him? If so, why would he promise us so much in his Word? Why would he have David declare, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4)?

Worship is taking delight in the Lord. Clearly, God doesn’t intend for us not to receive anything from him in the process. Worship is not one-way from either direction; it’s not just about what I give to God or what he gives to me. Worship is an interaction, an exchange. Worship is an expression of God’s love for us and of our love for him.

God gave me a great gift in the form of my job and the opportunity to pursue something I enjoy; I responded with a greater love for God, because I had “tasted and seen that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). This is an analogy for the two-way interaction that God intends for our corporate worship; and while what he gives may not come in the form of exactly what we want, it will always be exactly what we need, something that brings us ultimate joy.

A Manifesto on Worship

“In response to God’s love, grace and truth . . .” That’s the first line of InterVarsity’s purpose statement and a great summary of what worship is all about. Worship is our response to God’s love, grace and truth. The word ‘worship’ is not mentioned anywhere in I-V’s purpose statement, but worship is exactly what it describes. Consider how you might use the statement to teach your group about worship and to shape the worship times you lead.

InterVarsity exists to develop witnessing communities of people who are growing in love for God—a cornerstone of worshiping God. How do we grow in love for God? Recognizing how, where and when he is showing us his love, grace and truth is a great place to start, as I did when God provided me with my current job. This recognition not only inspires our love for God, it sustains it.

Far from suggesting that we shouldn’t come to worship with an expectation of getting anything from it, C.S. Lewis says, “It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence . . . for many people at many times the ‘fair beauty of the Lord’ is revealed chiefly or only while they worship Him together. Even in Judaism the essence of the sacrifice was not really that men gave bulls and goats to God, but that by their so doing God gave Himself to men” (from Reflections on the Psalms, “A Word About Praising,” p. 93).

The animal sacrifices required for Old Testament worship represented God’s eagerness to give himself to us. The most radical demonstration of this, of course, was Jesus’ willingness to give his life in return for ours. But Lewis’s point is that God’s intention is to give himself to us whenever we worship him; our role is to receive him gladly and return the love.

God’s love for us, and our love for him, form the synergistic heart of true worship. As a leader of your chapter’s worship, therefore, your first prerogative is to take in God’s love for you and show God your love in return. Pretty rough assignment, huh?

This summer, commit to growing in your love for God; then actively watch for God’s love for you. When we make a conscious effort to recognize God’s love, grace and truth, loving God in return comes much more easily and our worship and worship leading can only benefit.

—Sundee and her husband Matt Frazier led worship at Urbana 2000. They currently live in Los Angeles where Sundee works for an adult education university and is earning her MFA in writing for young adults.