It's about the HEART not the ART

Posted by Troy Friesen

Mar 7, 2008

Recently, in a sermon about worship, our pastor made the statement that, when it comes to worship that God desires and accepts, "it's about the heart, not the art". A simple yet profound statement and one that I think is worthy for a brief diversion from our discussion on physical expressiveness in worship. It's actually not a diversion, but more of an insertion into the series we've been discussing. In fact, the last post ended with the reminder from 1 Samuel 16:7 that God looks upon the heart, not the externals.
Closing our worship service that week we had a soloist sing Matt Redman's song "The Heart of Worship". Many of us are familiar with the song but probably not the background behind it. Here's the story behind the song taken from an interview with Matt on crosswalk.com.

The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.

“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away."

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘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

Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.

But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.

Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”

Verse 1:
When the music fades and all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart

Bridge:
I'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 heart

Chorus:
I'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, Jesus

Verse 2:
King of endless worth no one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor all I have is Yours
Every single breath