Remember the Firepit

This week, I stood in a room in Canada filled with people lost in worship. It was the live recording of a worship album—and I had the joy of helping write a few of the songs.

Even though it was my first time hearing some of them performed live, they swept me up. The production was excellent. The melodies stuck.

I found myself remembering how far worship has come.

I grew up in the era of Christian radio—Jars of Clay, Michael W. Smith, Stephen Curtis Chapman, DC Talk. Those were artists - not necessarily worship leaders. Back then, “worship” mostly meant what we did on Sunday mornings at church.

But that changed. Albums like Ron Kenoly’s Lift Him Up or Hillsong’s Shout to the Lord began to bridge the gap. Then Michael W. Smith dropped his first worship album - Above All, and suddenly, worship wasn’t just a church thing—it was a pop genre.

Sales soared. Churches upgraded soundboards. YouTube standards skyrocketed. A movement had begun.

And I’m thankful for it, I think…

But progress always brings a risk:

Worship isn’t for us. And yet how often do we reduce it to our preferences?

All fair critiques—but if that’s where our focus ends, we’ve missed the point.

God doesn’t grade our worship the way we do.
He isn’t moved by our chord progressions.
He’s moved by communion.

The irony?
When you actually know Him, when you’re walking in relationship, it makes you want to write better music. Excellence becomes a love language.

It’s not about what we sound like to people. It’s about who we sound like to Abba.
Are we singing from union or obligation?

What would Jesus’ worship sound like? What would he sing, how, what would He do differently? That should be our question and aim.

Sometimes the most powerful worship I’ve experienced hasn’t been in a packed auditorium—it’s been barefoot by a campfire, or in someone’s living room with just a guitar and a gathering of hearts fully open.

Our challenge today is this:
Can we bring that kind of intimacy into our large sanctuaries?

Because what God wants hasn’t changed.
He still desires worship born of relationship.
Worship where He’s not just the object of our lyrics, but the guest of honor in the room.

Let’s not fight the evolution of worship.

I know you know this… but sometimes, we need to remind ourselves of the truths we know so well.

Let’s never forget the firepit.