I have spent time today listening to Matt Redman’s song “The Heart of Worship”. It describes what the folk at Soul Survivor Watford learnt from a season when old ways of worship were laid down for a time.
When the music fades, all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heartI’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heartI’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, JesusKing of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is yours
Every single breathI’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heartI’m coming back to the heart of worship
Songwriter: Matt Redman
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, lord, for the thing I’ve made it
And it’s all about you,
It’s all about you, Jesus
The Heart of Worship lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group
We are in a season when old ways of worship are having to be laid down. My time this morning has left me pondering this:
What beautiful ways of worshipping might emerge from these strange days?
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It’s not only the classic hymns like ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Abide with Me’ that have great stories behind the songs and songwriters. In the late 1990’s, Matt Redman’s home church in Watford was going through a spiritually tough time. The worship band’s musical creativity was on a high, making new and influential songs for the local church with an impact on church worship nationwide – even worldwide.
“Yet”, recalled Redman, talking to Crosswalk’s David Schrader, “there was a dynamic missing. So the pastor did a pretty brave thing.” The pastor was Mike Pilavachi, co-founder of the 30,000 attendance annual Soul Survivor and its 20s-30s sub-brand, Momentum. Pilivachi asked his congregation what they were bringing to God in worship, or if they were just there as consumers, soaking up the music. His point was that the band and church had lost their way in worship, and the only solution was to strip out every diversion and distraction; and that included the entire sound system and the worship band.
Initially, Matt remembers, ‘unplugging’ just led to an embarrassing silence. But eventually the congregation rediscovered their own voices, singing unaccompanied, offering up heartfelt prayers and encountering God in a fresh way. By the time they felt sufficiently ready to reintroduce the musicians and sound system, the church had found a new perspective on worship: that it’s all about Jesus, and that it demands a response from the heart.
Matt’s song ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred:
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus
Matt’s recollection of writing the song is him scribbling it quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey back to its core purpose. There were no grand intentions for it to become an international anthem. The words were simply his personal response to what he was learning about worship.
When Matt shared the song with Mike Pilavachi, the pastor suggested a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the wider Church of Christ could also relate to its sentiment. Heart of Worship became a new standard sung by churches of every denomination, choirs and with worship leader making their own interpretations. Looking back on how God has taken and used the song, Matt says: “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that.”