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Have you? It can be equal parts beautiful and, "Oh... no...."
This past Tuesday, our church hosted the Ohio Baptist Network meeting in our Victory classroom.
Pastor Jordan Kosinski (Grace Church) and the Whitmans led in a few songs of great praise. It was nothing flashy or fancy—just a guitar and three voices.
Yet, the passion and volume were electric.

Whenever I am in such environments, it makes me thrilled to imagine what the praise in eternity will be like! Saints from all throughout human history and cultures singing uninhibited to God... what a "day" that will be.

But what if every time God's people got together, they praised like that (imperfectly)? What about if, at every church service, it sounded as if we were singing like we do when we are in the shower, or alone in the car, or at a bad karaoke bar too late at night?
I would submit that it is not only possible, but that it should be normal!


READ Psalm 22:3

A few quick thoughts about what makes it possible or, conversely, improbable to praise God personally and collectively as a church:


Authentic, passionate praise begins before it starts.

If a hungry, thirsty soul receives grace, then passionate praise must be out of the overflow or abundance of a soul that has communed with God through His Word and prayer. It is unlikely that the Christian "too busy" to read/pray/commune will have the level of uninhibited praise they could by just showing up to the service. On the flip side, time with the Lord might as well be a shot of nitrous to your praise engine when you sing at church.

Authentic, passionate praise is more likely when we approach it with a biblical ideology.

When praise is spoken about or exemplified in the Bible, who is the audience? Hint: it is not the one doing the praising, nor is the goal achieving a certain emotional reaction. Christians sing for an audience of One... how liberating is that??? Insecurity or apathy do not have the right to rule our praise time; thankful, engaged minds get to craft our attitude. If you are concerned about how you sound, it is time to remember that God loves hearing you sing as He inhabits the praise of His people.


Authentic, passionate praise is not fully dependent on the song genre, instrumentation, pacing, talent level, or technology employed.

I get it... we all have our favorite songs/song types/song pace/musicians/singers, etc. While some of the above may dampen a time of praise, God's people have done a fine job for centuries praising Him without our current consumeristic ideology. Delight in knowing that you are singing songs of truth that honor God, bless another brother or sister, and can help you be lifted to the heavenly realm in your thoughts.


Authentic, passionate praise should have a regular place in our weekly schedule and habits.

Self-admittedly, I have a strong distaste for the average "Christian" radio station, as they typically lack doctrinal depth or a biblical outlook; it is often little more than modern psychology and humanistic self-help "isms" with some pop music and out-of-context Bible verses attached... rant over. That said, utilize streaming apps, YouTube, radio stations, or even your own memory to listen to, sing, hum, or whistle: in your car, in the shower, when needing to embarrass your children or teens, while mowing the yard, while exercising, etc. Praise has been a cornerstone of God's people in good times and bad, and when alone or together. How do you praise throughout your week?

Not gonna lie, I could have just canned the rest of the content at our meeting this past Tuesday to keep on singing (though our guests were presenting an incredibly valuable topic and opportunity).
If what I am describing does not sound like your typical approach to praising personally or at church, what can we work on this week?
Engaging God before church service? Letting go of fear or apathy at church service? Letting go of preferences that distract you during the praise service?


Let's give God something to "inhabit" this week and weekend!

Serving together,
Pastor Paul