Worship. How would you define it?

Hearing that word almost creates confusion. It has become so many things. Songs, services, singing and industry. Records, sold-out shows, iTunes charts and royalty checks. Jobs, productions and emotional feelings.

But what is it ... really? More than anything, we need to get this right. Worship is foundation—it's the rock that everything is built upon.

As leaders, we can never tire of hearing this. We can never graduate from the heart of worship. There are no bigger and better things.

Christ is all—His worth, magnified in our hearts and in the hearts of the people we lead. Seeing Him clearer, knowing Him more deeply.

Let's ask some pointed questions:

When was the last time you were really desperate for God? Where you felt like you really needed Him?

Do you remember a time when your desire to know Jesus was stronger than your desire for anything else?

Have you ever felt the fire that Paul felt?

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil. 3:8).

Is Christ so valuable to you that everything else seems like rubbish?

The Dangers of Professionalism

I don't have a problem with being a professional. Professionalism is a powerful standard to strive for. But our hunger for Jesus shouldn't be professional, tamed or civilized. It needs to run wild. It needs to burn. It needs to spread.

Oftentimes, the more professional we get, the less desperate we become. We start to adopt the world's values and crave its attention. Rather than living our lives to magnify the greatness of Jesus, we subtly crave a slice of that pie.

Our hearts crave the glory that belongs to the one name.

But here's the goal: We want to be professional in our craft yet like a child in worship.

But a blog post like this can be mistaken for sensationalism or emotional rubbish.

The wild, abandoned, free worship I'm talking about isn't just relegated to stages, songs, services, and church buildings. It's a way of seeing the world—seeing your life through the lens of worship.

Defining Passionate Worship

This Scripture is one of the most powerful worship verses in the Bible and it's not referring to music or passionate singing:

"Do not be lazy in diligence, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord, rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality" (Romans 12:11-13).

Worship. How would you define it? According to this verse?

• Consistent zeal
• Spiritual fervor
• Joy
• Hope
• Patience in affliction
• Faithfulness in prayer
• Giving to the needy
• Being hospitable

By all means, light up your local church stage with your zeal, passion and fire for God. But balance that passion with this: your private passion must back it up.

How you maintain zeal in a complacent society is a reflection of your worship.

Serving God is a reflection of your worship.

Giving is a reflection of your worship.

Being hospitable is a reflection of your worship.

How passionately you sing at a worship concert doesn't mean much if you aren't stoking the flames of worship on Monday morning.

Believe me, I'm all for passionate, loud singing at a concert. But let that passion find expression where you live every day.

Let's labor for a more robust worship—worship that spreads into every fiber of our being, every moment of our day, and every appointment on our calendar.

Questions: What do you do to maintain your zeal as a worshiper? How do you keep your heart on fire? Are we missing the point with our passionate worship? Please leave a comment below.

David Santistevan is the worship pastor at Allison Park Church in Pittsburgh. For the original article, visit davidsantistevan.com.

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