Worship in Spirit and in Truth

In the book An Introduction to Worship At the Next Level, the authors assert that, “worship is primarily about providing context rather than content” (Riddell, Pierson, & Kirkpatrick, 2004). This assertion is reasonably true, but one can’t help but think that a happy medium may be where the true worship may easily take place. If the content is true and right, then the context for worship will be primed for truth and rightness. The content can be good, however, without true worship taking place if the context isn’t amenable to a comfortable worship experience. But how does a worship leader go about providing both a healthy context as well as good content for worship so that Christians can connect with God? The Biblical call to worship is clear throughout both the New and Old Testaments, but perhaps the clearest outline of how Christians under the New Covenant should worship is spelt out in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him” (v. 23, KJV). True worshippers will, then, require a context where they can truthfully bond with the spiritual world and thus have a successful worship experience. It is the clear job of the worship leader to prepare for and provide this sort of a context.