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Should Worship Be Fun?

September 1, 2010 By 14 Comments

Should Worship Be Fun?

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Reposted with permission from WorshipMatters.com

More than once I’ve heard Christians claim that worship should be fun, or act like they had a responsibility to prove that Christians knew how to “party” in church. I’ve always been uncomfortable with that connection, so I started thinking about the place of “fun” in worship, if one even exists. I’d like to address this question

by answering it as I posed it, and then considering two other ways it might be phrased.

Should worship be fun? If we take the exhaustive testimony of Scripture, the answer would have to be a resounding NO.

“Fun” doesn’t seem to characterize many of the scenes where people encounter God in the Bible. We’re told to worship God with reverence and awe, for he is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29). To have “fun” should never be our primary motive as we gather. Our goal is to remember God’s greatness, present our petitions before him, and thank him for his abundant mercies in Jesus Christ. Celebration should certainly be included in that, but there are also times when worshipping God can produce awe, tears of repentance, or a profound silence.

But let me rephrase the question. Can worship be fun? It depends on how we define “fun.” I know some of you are incredulous I’m even entertaining this thought. And it’s possible I’ll get some comments to that effect. But believe me, I’m not trying to be flippant. In fact, I’m currently at John Piper’s pastors conference and heard a message last night by R.C. Sproul on the holiness of God from Isaiah 6. It was powerful, convicting, and sobering. We worship a holy God.

If “fun” is defined as a lighthearted activity with no purpose or meaning, strictly meant to amuse, then the answer to “can worship be fun?” must surely be no. When we worship God together, we are not looking to be merely entertained or momentarily distracted from the cares of this world. Diversion is not the same as worship. Our joy and gladness are always grounded in and informed by God’s character, nature, and acts.

However, when I looked up “fun” on my desktop dictionary, the first meaning was “enjoyable.” If we’re asking, “Can worshiping God be enjoyable?” then surely the answer must be yes. Isaiah 6 isn’t the only chapter in Scripture that describes how we are to relate to God. There have been countless times that I’ve been leading worship or singing as part of the congregation and thought, “I love doing this!” Joy floods my soul, and I could legitimately say I’m having “fun!”

It maybe similar to what the Israelites experienced in 2 Chronicles 30. They so enjoyed celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days that Hezekiah and the people spontaneously decided to keep the feast for another seven days (2 Chron. 30:22-23)! That must have been some celebration! On another occasion, Ezra and the priests told the people not to mourn or weep because that day was “holy to the Lord” and that the joy of the Lord was their strength (Neh. 8:9-10). Holiness and joy aren’t necessarily exclusive.

When my children were growing up, I wanted them to look forward to singing worship songs, and not see a relationship with God as something that was only serious, sober, and solemn. After all, singing to God is meant to be pleasant (Ps. 135:3; Ps. 147:1). David danced before the Lord with all his might as he brought the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:12-15). The Psalmist was glad when they said to him, “Let us go up to the house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1). So yes, when defined as enjoyment and not seen as the only aspect of worship, worshiping God can be very “fun.” People shouldn’t find our meetings dull or dour. Smiles and even laughter should abound as we consider how kind, merciful, and gracious God has been to us (Ps. 126:2)!

But let me rephrase the question one more time, to broaden the application. “Should our fun be worship?” Well now the answer must surely be “yes.” We’re told in 1 Cor. 10:31 that whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we’re to do it all for the glory of God. Rather than focusing on making our corporate worship fun, maybe we should spend more time making sure our “fun” is worship.

Here are some questions that can lead us in that direction.

Do I choose a fun activity because there’s nothing else to do, or because I believe it will in some way cause me to grow in my love for God?
When I play games, participate in sports, or pursue a hobby, does my attitude demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit?
When I go out with a group of friends, am I seeking just to have fun, or to glorify God through encouraging them, challenging sin, and serving them?
Do the activities I consider “fun” increase my affections for God or dilute them?
Do I view my free time as belonging to me or to God?

The fun this world offers is unsatisfying, deceptive, and temporary. Let’s not idolize or fall for it. As Christians, we can enjoy fun activities without believing they’re the root of our joy. The fun, joy, pleasure, and celebration we experience when we worship God is greater than the world will ever know, because the root is knowing we are completely forgiven through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our joy is in God himself. We’d be fools to look for it anywhere else.

Related posts:

  1. On Outward Expressions of Worship
  2. Experiments in Worship Music: Simplify
  3. Leading Worship: What’s Your Preference?

Filed Under: Recent Articles, Worship Leadership, Worship Theology Tagged With: , ,
  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

    I think worship … especially “praise” can be tons of fun. Especially in the context of fun=enjoyable. It’s not a “one case fits all” situation, to me.

  • Steve

    “To have “fun” should never be our primary motive as we gather.” – whether or not it is our primary motive is not part of the question being asked. “Celebration should certainly be included in that, but there are also times when worshipping God can produce awe, tears of repentance, or a profound silence.” – Exactly true. I think that in many instances, faster, more upbeat songs can and should be fun and celebrative, but as we draw into a deeper place with the Spirit, we should become more in awe of the One whom we are worshipping. The fact that this question is even being asked makes me wonder if the asker, and others, are still of the staunch and stale attitude of old, where we sung hymns with barely any expression or fervor, present in so many churches only a couple/few decades ago.

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  • Glen Chapman

    Worship is our response to God. So there will be times when worship is a response of joy (that’s life!) and times when worship is a response of tears and agony (that’s life, too). However, there is a sorrow that leads to repentance and the result of that repentance will bring joy to our lives as we experience the forgiveness of God. Here’s to joyful worship!

  • Tom Kline

    I wished, before I read the article, that one of the poll choices were, “enjoyable.”
    I applaud the author for being scriptural, rather than pragmatic. We can come up with many things about how we think worship should be, but if they are out of synch with scripture, then we need to lay them to rest.
    Kudos for a fine article.

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  • hitchface

    Awesome response from Steve.

    Fun isn’t maybe the word I’d use when trying to be Scripturally correct, but it does fit. Dancing is fun. Laughing is fun. Singing is fun. Playing an instrument is fun. Creating works of art…fun. Doing all of those things while worshiping God? Fun+Sacred. We live in a time where the un and ex-churched need to ENGAGE with the Gospel. We (I speak for my generation, I guess) need to actually ‘let it out’ in worship. That doesn’t mean full-blown rock songs all the time, but it does mean deep, meaningful and POWERFUL encounters with God. We just can’t receive that in a congregation that stops singing when the projected lyrics disappear. Fun isn’t really the issue. Authenticity is.

  • http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

    Steve – love that response!

  • Sean

    If we look at the ordinances that the Jews participated in, we see all manner of festivals and celebration of God’s activity toward them as it is remembered. Definitely fun times. Indeed, when we look at the commands to rejoice, and the great truths of Scripture that we are responding to, we should have no excuse but to celebrate and, in effect, party as a response to the sacrifices of Jesus for our benefit.

    However, our response to sin, the state of the fallen world and people who surround us, and the seriousness with which God views those things which are contrary to his character, our appropriate response should be both sober and fearful. We rejoice in the fact that we can call God “Abba, Father,” yet we appropriately shut our mouths and revere His holiness when we consider our sinful state.

    I would say that our response to the deep and exciting truths of Scripture should always be both fun and celebratory, but that our response to sin and the world in light of the truths of Scripture should reflect humility, sobriety, and the utmost respect. If we are not the ones who have a reason to celebrate, then who is? Too, if we are not the people to bow in humble understanding of the holiness of God, then who is? We must respond appropriately to all of the truths of Scripture.

  • http://www.hiscfd.com Sjoukje

    It’s about God. It’s all about Him and only about Him. So us having fun is definitaly not a requirement for our music, dance or daily acts to be worship.
    Yet like a good earthly father, our Father enjoys seeing His children having fun. I am not a father (not even a man ;-)), but how tragic would it be if your children would tell you how great you are simply because it is their duty, or even worse, out of fear. How tragic would it be if they felt a dutiful sadness and seriousness when they give you a gift. In my opinion worship will still be worship if we don’t have fun. And God will still appreciate our efforts and words.
    But in essence I believe worship is an interaction between God and man, based on relationship. What would relationship be like if we took the fun out of it?
    (not forgetting that relationship also means to share each others burdens and bad times, which is not much fun.)

    Does it have to be fun to be worship? No, absolutely not.
    I worship meant for us to have a good time or for us to show the world how great christianity is? No, absolutely not.
    Worship is not about us.
    But let’s not NOT have fun because of it.

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