Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Hate Your Show

Robert and I were talking at dinner tonight and he told me about another mutual pastor friend of ours. This guy had recently been in California and had attended some mega-church in L.A. As the band led the first five or so worship songs they were projected on screens. This guy started to notice that something was off. The lead vocalist turned his head away from the microphone and the intensity of his voice remained the same. There was a strong bass rhythm, but the bass player wasn't moving his hand.

...And the mouth movement didn't match the singing.

The worship band was lip-syncing! (Our pastor friend did say that the closing songs were live). I won't speculate as to why they didn't sing live, but I will say that this scripture immediately came to mind

Isaiah 1
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.

Jon Foreman sings about it here:

Ouch! I may not be lip-syncing, but how often are my lips singing along, but my mind is running through my list of things to do, planning my grocery list, or worse.

Oh, Lord...
Psalm 19: 14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
    be pleasing in your sight,
    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Amen