Worship Wars: The Kings Lead the Battle to Spirit and Truth

By David Waddell

How do you worship? Where do you worship? Do you believe worship should be traditional, solemn, and reverential, or should worship be contemporary, lyrical, and lively? These questions about the proper venue, style, or manner in which we worship seem to never go away in Christianity. But is there a right answer?

In Worship Wars, author David Waddell explores this question by going beyond style and taking a more personal view of worship. With both humorous and earnest reflections on his own flaws, faux pas, and failures in worship, Waddell looks to the Bible and to the kings of Israel and Judah, where he reveals an order of worship using the stories of the kings as examples to teach better worship practices.

No one is perfect in their worship habits and patterns, but the Bible offers a way for worshippers to have the freedom to worship in spirit and in truth, regardless of the style. Whether our individual acts of worship are traditional, contemporary, or a combination of each, we can all discover a lifestyle of worship in spirit and in truth that will please God and bring us all closer to Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973623168

David Waddell

David Waddell is a veteran of ministry leadership and currently teaches at the University of Mississippi. He is the published author of three books, Characters of the Bible: Finding My Stories in Their Stories, Holiday Biblical Characters: Finding My Stories in the Stories of Christmas and Easter, and Worship Wars: The Kings Lead the Battle to Spirit and Truth. David is a sought-after speaker and entertainer with his ability to laugh at himself. David enjoys time spent with friends and family, including his twelve grandchildren.

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Worship Wars

The Kings Lead the Battle to Spirit and Truth

David Waddell

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Copyright © 2018 David Waddell.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-2317-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2318-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-2316-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018903245

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/19/2018

Order of Service (Contents)

Gathering Together

Chapter 1: The War Begins: Introducing the Kings of Israel and Judah

Prelude

Chapter 2: Joram: Plan, Prepare, and Then Pray?

Call to Worship

Chapter 3: Rehoboam vs. Jeroboam: The Classic Original Showdown

Chapter 4: Jeroboam: Convenience Centers

Chapter 5: Saul: Left if Not Right

Chapter 6: Solomon: Throne Threats

Chapter 7: Cyrus: From the Unlikeliest Sources

Opening Hymn or Chorus

Chapter 8: Jehoshaphat: Music Sets the Tone

Chapter 9: Rehoboam: It’s Sort of the Same Thing

Invocation Prayer

Chapter 10: Ahab: Unlimited God

Welcome of Guests

Chapter 11: Ahaziah of Israel: Definition of Insanity

Chapter 12: Jeroboam: Great Start

Chapter 13: Ahab: Dressing the Part

Announcements

Chapter 14: Saul: Looking Back, Looking Elsewhere

Chapter 15: David: The Numbers Game

Chapter 16: Ahaz: Copy Cats

Hymns or Choruses

Chapter 17: Abijah: Family Ties

Chapter 18: Azariah or Uzziah: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

Chapter 19: Jehoash: Expectation Sets the Limitation or Three Strikes, and You’re Out

Offertory Prayer

Chapter 20: Amon: A Conduit Attitude Needed

Chapter 21: Jehoahaz: Troubling Times

Chapter 22: Jehu: A Pretense of Praise

Offering

Chapter 23: Joash: Raisin Bread

Chapter 24: Joash: Loss of Staff, Loss of Sanity

Chapter 25: David: Cost Effectiveness

Chapter 26: Amaziah: Hired Guns

Chapter 27: David: A Good King with No Comparison

Special Music

Chapter 28: Amaziah: A Special Victory Idolized

Chapter 29: Asa: Look How Good I Am

Message: We Three Kings Will Orient Y’all

Chapter 30: Jotham: Orderly Order

Chapter 31: Hezekiah: Proper Props Turned Pagan

Chapter 32: Hezekiah: Place It Here

Chapter 33: Hezekiah: Punxsutawney Phil, Peter Pan, and the Shadow Knows

Chapter 34: Hezekiah: Proceed, Purge, and Patch

Chapter 35: Hezekiah: Purification Accomplished

Chapter 36: Hezekiah: Preparations Made

Chapter 37: Hezekiah: Procedure Followed

Chapter 38: Hezekiah: Pass the Plate

Chapter 39: Hezekiah: Praise Began

Chapter 40: Hezekiah: Priests Assisted

Chapter 41: Hezekiah: Proclamation Promotes Peer-Peril Poking

Chapter 42: Hezekiah: Pardon Granted

Chapter 43: Hezekiah: Party Held

Chapter 44: Josiah: Remembering the Right Way of Worship

Chapter 45: Josiah: Repairing the Place of Worship

Chapter 46: Josiah: Renewing the Covenant

Chapter 47: Josiah: Removing the Hindrances

Chapter 48: Josiah: Respecting Worshippers of the Past

Chapter 49: Josiah: Returning to Requirements

Chapter 50: Josiah: Responding to the Correct Prompters

Chapter 51: Josiah: Restoring the Relationship with God

Chapter 52: Josiah: Realizing Worship Isn’t Quid Pro Quo

Chapter 53: Josiah: Ruing the Loss of a Worship Leader

Invitation to Decision

Chapter 54: Manasseh: Lecturing the Younger Me

Chapter 55: Manasseh: Emergency 911 Repentance

Chapter 56: Saul: Hiding from God

Benediction

Chapter 57: Solomon: Let the Baby Live

Postlude

Chapter 58: Jehoshaphat: Acknowledging Credit Where Credit Is Due

I

dedicate this book to the worship leaders who have led me through the years in traditional, contemporary, and blended worship styles. Each of you expressed a dedication to lead the people of our churches to a lifestyle of spirit and truth.

Gathering Together

This is that moment when people of the church start entering the worship center.

Chapter 1

The War Begins: Introducing the Kings of Israel and Judah

Years ago, worship leaders throughout our churches represented a new emphasis on worship. I worked in churches that were part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and this movement was evident there as well. Worship leaders added choruses into worship along with traditional hymns. The change led to some fantastic worship discussions, arguments, and all-out wars. People in the church labeled fellow members based on whether they were contemporary or traditional. Each group took sides and divided on how the church should follow the order of service, the appropriate dress, the type of musical instruments used, and whether the worship should be more meditation or celebration. The Hatfields and McCoys had nothing on some of the fighting and feuding that took place over different aspects of worship.

Some people made the judgment that worship wasn’t correct unless you agreed with them in their particular camp. Churches split over the issue, and many casualties occurred among ministerial staff when they couldn’t or wouldn’t line up with one side or the other. Families in the church ended up at odds with each other because of differing views. The us-versus-them gossip sessions were rampant, with each camp feeling as though they had a word from the Lord on their notions and opinions.

The church I attended at that time was trying to blend traditional and contemporary styles. One of the choruses we sang was Worthy of Worship by Terry York and Mark Blankenship. One day while walking down the hallway of my house, I heard my youngest son singing from the bathroom at the top of his lungs. Where the chorus read, You are worthy, Adam was singing, You are wormy!

As I reflected on his choice of lyrics, I realized that any attempts on our part to decide how to do worship and by which style must have confirmed the worminess of man even more.

A few years later, the lyrics to the song The Heart of Worship by Michael W. Smith and Matt Redman started my thought process about worship. In so many ways, I have tried to position worship into a one-hour event that happens each weekend. It has become a program to attend rather than an experience of praise. I have tried to fashion it into a particular feeling in my heart. Without that feeling, it’s as though worship hasn’t taken place. Worship for me has become more of a performance than a practice. I have tried to structure it so it can be a haven from the world. I have embraced it so it can be entertaining. I have worked it so it can be an escape from life rather than a way to deal with life.

But worship is so much more. The chorus of The Heart of Worship talks about coming back to Jesus and making Him the focal point of our worship. It is the reminder that worship isn’t about us that led to my interest in this topic.

Dictionary.com defines worship as reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred; formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage; and adoring reverence or regard.¹ This definition is an incredible guide for me in setting a correct attitude in life.

The best style of worship for me to adopt isn’t necessarily the contemporary or traditional style but is instead a worshipful lifestyle.

A recent study I conducted of the kings of Israel and Judah pointed out to me many correlations about this living worship in their lifestyle patterns and practices. God appointed the priests to be worship leaders, but He also intended His kings to live lifestyles that demonstrated a sense of worship.

I could label the lessons I learned while growing up about the kings after that old western movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. I discovered that some kings followed God, but a good number of others didn’t. Even among the evil kings, some were more corrupt to the point of making the ugly crowd. In most cases, the people of Israel and Judah mimicked their king in their behaviors out of a sense of loyalty and praise. They had the opportunity, as we still do today, to influence the culture with their worship of God. In that day, as it unfortunately happens today, the culture did more to shape their worship patterns and habits than vice versa.

In the same regard of worship, we regular people seem to love royal people. Throughout history, a love affair has been present between royalty and their subjects. The monarchy in Great Britain is an excellent example of this. People in our modern culture seem to go crazy over news that deals with royalty. A couple from the United Kingdom can get married and have children, and the story makes headline news. Princess Diana still brings an emotional tug at the hearts of many people. Trouble or conflict within a family of royals can also create quite the stir in the media.

Our culture has experienced a different kind of devotion through other kings. Elvis Presley, known as the king of rock ‘n’ roll; and Michael Jackson, the king of pop, have millions of fans who still worship and adore these two men. I was part of the vigil conducted for Elvis Presley at Graceland a couple of years ago and observed an unbelievable experience. People travel from all around the world to pay homage to this king. They cry at his tombstone as if he played a vital role in their lives. For some, this king did play that role. The vigil trip becomes a once-in-a-lifetime journey for these people. The experience of the vigil is a way for these visitors to honor one who meant so much to their lives through music.

The worship of royalty, whether a real king or a labeled one, isn’t a new phenomenon in our culture. The Israelites, during the days of rule by the judges, begged God repeatedly for a king to rule over them. We read about that story in 1 Samuel 8.

Samuel, the judge of Israel, was growing old and appointed his sons in as judges. They, however, didn’t walk in the ways of God, so the people started asking for a king. Samuel was against the idea, but God pointed out that He was the one the people had rejected, not Samuel. Samuel told the Israelites about what evil a king could end up doing, but the determination to be the same as everyone else overrode what God desired for His people. I always like to point out how ridiculous this thought process is until God reminds me that I possess that same ability at times. They wanted a king because everyone else, meaning all the other nations, had a king. I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve tried to rationalize my sin by claiming everyone else was doing it. My desire to blend in with the culture often gets in the way of my influencing the culture.

This book is a collection of stories that share what I have learned about living a life of worship in spirit and truth from those kings selected to serve God’s people. Whether the king was a royal pain or right as reign, there are lessons each teaches me about worshipping God. You may catch various worship themes or kingly stories that appear more than once. Similar behaviors from the kings and my life will demonstrate different points of truth. I hope to convey the message of worship being a lifestyle lived in spirit and truth. Finding and holding onto that spirit and truth can be a royal battle, but it’s one worth fighting. In fact, our lives depend on it.

Many of the stories refer to the weekly meeting called the worship service. Because of this, I organized the stories as an Order of Worship to complement the theme. Just as any component of a worship service can be removed and still be worshipful, you can read these stories without having to go from start to finish. If you feel liturgical, then read them in order. If not, pick and choose based on the component of worship or topic that interests you most. Each story stands on its own for your experience, enjoyment, and enlightenment.

I hope you enjoy your journey with me as the kings lead us in the battle for worshipping God in spirit and truth.

Prelude

This is an introductory statement or piece of music.

Chapter 2

Joram: Plan, Prepare, and Then Pray? (2 Kings 3)

It was the weekend of my fiftieth birthday. I had developed a strategy for travel I called spontaneous planning. The method I followed in spontaneous planning was to get in my car and drive to the first intersection. At that point, I decided whether to go straight, turn left, or proceed to the right. Upon arrival at the next intersection, I went through the decision-making principle all over again. At that point in my life, my spontaneous planning had taken me to Nashville, Birmingham, and Jackson, Mississippi.

I realize the term spontaneous planning is an oxymoron. Spontaneity is supposed to occur without making plans. However, the trips were a lot of fun. So whenever I had the time to take one, I would plan more spontaneity.

I was teaching two classes at summer school at the University of Mississippi, and they required me to set my departure time as three o’clock on Friday afternoon. I had to return by Sunday evening so I could resume classes the following Monday morning. Therefore, I packed my bags and took off from campus with my unplanned plans.

I ended up in Louisville, Kentucky, late Friday night and decided that would be the place to enjoy the weekend. I checked into a hotel and started looking for what I could do the following day. The beauty of this birthday was that it fell on the seventh day of the seventh month in the year 2007. Spelled out numerically, the date was 07-07-07.

On Saturday morning, I visited the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. The museum features all sorts of baseball bats from the past. It was a walk down memory lane for me with my love of baseball. From the museum, I went to a casino across the river since I had observed a billboard advertisement about a Triple 7 tournament. I have considered seven to be my lucky number through the years based on my 07-07-57 birthday. The number seven didn’t play out as well in the casino tournament. I don’t even call what I do gambling anymore. It’s more like charity. I now just give my gambling money to someone in need because in the end it will at least do them some benefit.

As I crossed the river and was back in Louisville, I took the Gene Snyder loop around town. I have fond memories of making up a story for my boys that Gene Snyder was the person who had invented hand dryers in bathrooms, when in truth he was a popular politician in the area. I still always enjoy that memory when I am in Louisville. I saw an exit for Churchill Downs and decided to try the Kentucky Derby Museum. I didn’t realize they were having horse races and enjoyed the last three of the day. I made a small wager on two races: one where horses had seven-to-one odds and another where a horse wore the number seven. I suppose the number seven stopped being lucky for me on the day I was born.

My last endeavor took me to the outdoor theater presentation of the life of the famed composer Stephen Foster. When this portion of the journey comes to mind, the song Camptown Races starts playing in my head. All this fun was without any planning. To this day, I still plan my spontaneous trips when I have time away from work responsibilities.

You may think my lack of planning would have never taken place in putting together events, activities, or worship experiences during my days in church work. Unfortunately, there were occasions when such a lack of planning occurred.

I always claimed my knowledge of how to be a recreation director caused more danger than good because I knew how to put activities together. I could formulate a sports league, recruit and train coaches, hire umpires, and allow children to have fun. I knew how to obtain an entertainer and line up caterers to have all sorts of hilarious fun at a banquet or social setting. The danger of my knowledge was that I often planned the events before asking God for direction or His blessing. Praying and seeking God became an afterthought to the actual work. It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway—this sort of spontaneous planning never really worked that well.

I remember this happening in some worship planning meetings as well. Participants from each aspect of worship leadership met to plan a worship experience for the church. I sat in on some of these meetings because my office had the responsibility of the drama ministry, which occasionally performed in the services. The team received the emphasis of the pastor’s message, and our task was to fill in the blanks—to point the entire service toward the one central truth the message would convey.

In one case, an hour passed before plans for the service looked good. It was after all the planning was complete that we finally had a prayer. I tend to do this practice in life as well. I make all sorts of plans and set up preparations to carry them out; then I ask for God’s blessings. I realize I have it all backward, yet I fall back into the same trap repeatedly.

I often approach worship this way. Sunday becomes routine, and I get up, clean up, and head out without a thought of preparing for the day’s worship with prayer. I do everything without ever seeking God for the day. I simply assume everything will fall into place.

Joram took over as king of Israel when his brother Ahaziah died from a fall through the latticework in his upper room (2 Kings 1:2). Since Ahaziah had no son, the throne went to the next son of Ahab. It was relatively rare at that time for a second-born son to get any benefits. As a second-born son, I usually declare that not much has changed over time. Joram did evil, but the writer of 2 Kings said his deeds weren’t as bad as those his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, had committed. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal his father had made, but he kept committing the sins of Jeroboam. Those golden calves continued to cause Israel trouble throughout their existence.

During Ahab’s reign, Mesha, the king of Moab, had been supplying him with a steady supply of sheep and wool. After Ahab died, Mesha decided he would rebel and stop paying the king of Israel. I suppose this is a case where Mesha was trying to pull the wool over Joram’s eyes. Joram decided it would be best to attack Moab and recruited Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom to assist him. Joram planned the attack in the wilderness of Edom without consulting God. They marched through the Desert of Edom, and after marching seven days, they realized they had no water for themselves or their animals.

Joram was certain God had led them there so Moab could take control of Israel. Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, inquired about whether there was a prophet of God to seek advice. An Israeli officer mentioned Elisha was there. The three kings went to see Elisha.

Elisha at first refused their request, telling Joram to seek the advice of the prophets of his mother and father. Elisha stated that it was out of his respect for Jehoshaphat that he inquired of the Lord as to what would happen. Elisha told the three kings to make the valley full of ditches and that, despite not seeing wind and rain, the valley would be full of water.

The next morning, not only was the valley full of water, but the way the sun reflected on the valley made the Moabites think it looked like blood. They assumed the three kings had battled among themselves and destroyed each other. The Moabites decided to go into the camps of the three nations to pick up the plunder. When this happened, the Israelites slaughtered the Moabites. God gave them the victory Elisha had prophesied.

Joram made a spontaneous plan to attack. When he hit the first intersection, he didn’t know which way to go. It was after he made his plans that he accepted God’s direction, which Jehoshaphat had sought. Joram teaches me a valuable lesson. Preparation for worship happens before I participate in worship. So during the morning and the drive to church, I should let my heart and head get ready for what the Lord has prepared for me in the worship experience of that day.

Do you have any spontaneous plans for worship?

Call to Worship

These are the opening sentences or prayers. They often include a congregational response.

Chapter 3

Rehoboam vs. Jeroboam: The Classic Original Showdown (1 Kings 14:30)

My dad was a big fan of western-themed television shows and movies. I grew up with John Wayne, Marshall Dillon, Clint Eastwood, and all sorts of cowboy heroes. It didn’t matter who the particular actor was or the hero he was portraying, because at some point I knew the good guy and the bad guy would be called to face each other in the end. In each movie, the portrayal was as if no one else had ever done this before. It was the classic original showdown.

In the movie The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the classic showdown at the end featured three shooters. As three men stood staring at each other with their hands poised to grab a gun and shoot, the music kicked in to build the emotion. The drama-building music played for several moments before any of the shooters took action.

We are thankfully beyond the days of the Old West and gunfights in the street, yet a battle continues to brew among those who follow Christ. Oddly enough, as in the western flick, this fight also involves drama-inducing music. I speak of the worship wars that take place in many churches. The battle between traditional and contemporary styles of worship creates our own version of the classic original showdown.

Some churches try to combine styles, known as a blended service. Some churches have tried hosting two services, with each featuring a different style. I visited one church that featured three services each Sunday morning: traditional, contemporary, and blended. I always reasoned that the church service scheduled at eleven o’clock in the morning was the one people supported the most. I had that idea because I grew up with the mind-set that Jesus held His services on Sunday mornings at eleven o’clock when He was on the earth.

Churches that try blended techniques or seek to change from one style to the other tend to create showdown gunfights among church members. These fights take place not on a dusty street but rather in church hallways and parking lots. Because the arguments usually revolve around musical style rather than preaching, we could say the battle creates The Gunfight at the O.K. Chorale. My tendency for puns plays out well with this topic. No doubt, there will be treble in the range if we pitch the argument and try to scale it a good bit. I believe, musically, it is appropriate here if you wish to start whistling the theme to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Over the span of eighteen years, I attended three consecutive churches in three different communities that tried to coexist with differing views of which worship style was most honoring to God. The first of those three churches tried a blended service with little success. We tended to tick off both groups of worshippers. I was on staff and heard the various hallway and parking lot complaints as to the effectiveness of worship leaders to lead in one format or the other. Discussions in hallways and parking lots never end well for the church. Worship style became the litmus test in determining how good a