Comments on: Worship Leaders & Pastors - Do Men and Women Worship Differently?

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:54:46 +0000

This is something that I have always thought about. Between a woman and a man their minds are so different and when put in a leadership position I think that a worship service, or a church would be ran differently when led by a woman compared to a man. I think that the majority of churches today are more feminine than masculine. Not that there is anything wrong with this except a more feminine church is going to appeal more to woman than to men. This could present a problem if traditionally man is supposed to be the leader in the relationship. If woman are bringing their husbands to church, and the man does not really feel like he wants to get involved, than who will be carrying out the spiritual leadership of the family?

By: Bill Wright

Bill Wright — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 17:28:12 +0000

You’re right Bob, thank you for engaging with me about the way to pursue God.

I go to Psalm 119

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

.16, “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”

By: Bob Kauflin

Bob Kauflin — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 13:14:48 +0000

Bill,

Thanks for your encouraging comment. I did want to respond to your mention of Frank Laubach and other mystics. I haven’t found it helpful to read the “mystics” because so much of what they communicate, while often full of passion and a focus on Jesus, lacks a solid grounding in the Word of God. They certainly say helpful and true things at times, but there’s often an unclear line between principle and practice, between God’s unchanging Word and my changing experience. More importantly, many mystics give the impression of an “unmediated” presence of God. Experiencing God’s presence becomes mostly about what we do rather than what Jesus accomplished for us at the cross.

I try to read writers who mine the riches of Scripture, and then help me apply it to my daily life, in a way that motivates me to love both the Word of God and the God of the Word more.

Having said that, I pray as well that God would raise up many men in this generation who passionately love the Savior.

By: Bill Wright

Bill Wright — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 05:06:43 +0000

Surely men worship in a uniquely different fashion than women. Perhaps we are yet to see this aspect of masculinity flourish in our age. Who knows this will develop or what it will look like?

Communion with God effects a man. When Moses spoke with God at mount Sinai, “the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.”

Of what significance are our outward activities and achievements, however pious, if our souls are not married to Him? Do we esteem one day in his courts better than thousands elsewhere, do our souls pant for God as the deer for flowing streams?

In no way does worship contradict those masculine traits that Bob pointed out. Ultimately worship adjusts and prepares us to serve God with knees trembling and face made white with precious communion with him. Without my soul’s anchor I will quickly drown in my follies.

Frank Laubach -

“The fate of every man depends upon what he does with his love instinct. The repression of that instinct is impossible, for they who try to repress it in one direction find it breaking out in another….”

“The way to purify love and make it lift the soul constantly higher is to fall in love with Jesus, to lavish one’s affections upon him as Mary Magdalene lavished her affections upon him when she knelt weeping at his feet and pouring costly perfumes on him. There need be no restrain with Christ.”

St. Augustine was a man of similar mind. I am suspicious that these mystical types have something to tell us.

Anyway, worship seems such a precious medium provided by God for us to experience Christ, receive the influence of the Spirit (for surely worship is a means of grace), and express that love and adoration.

Something about that is part of a man’s masculine identity. How could it not be, when we see Jesus spending hours, days, and weeks in communion with the father? Oh may the Spirit of God descend upon us in measures not known to our continent since the second great awakening! May we rediscover a long atrophied aspect of manhood, and may the result lift the Savior high in the sight of the world!

Thanks Bob for Valley Of Vision. A friend bought a copy and I reimbursed him for it. I am enjoying it thoroughly for 2 days now.

By: David Reimer

David Reimer — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:17:10 +0000

I wonder if some of the current voices on this issue have read things like the letters of Samuel Rutherford (to pick but one prominent example) in the context of his biography, and pondered this issue in the light of his use of language.

Spurgeon often mentioned Rutherford’s work. Here’s one quote: I will defy anyone to take Rutherford’s Letters, and sit down, and after he has read them, to help saying, “Rutherford seems to have been like an angel of God; I am only a man, I never can stand where Rutherford stood.” [source] And Rutherford, like many Puritans, could make free use of the Song of Songs to express their devotion. For example, in Letter 87 Rutherford writes: They are happy forevermore who are over head and ears in the love of Christ, and know no sickness but love-sickness for Christ, and feel no pain but the pain of an absent and hidden Well-beloved. And as the notes to editions of these letters make clear, this echoes SoS 5:8.

I am sure it is right to think that the more we biblically focus on our Lord and Saviour, the more all of life will grow into the shape the Creator intended it to have.

By: Patrick Donohue

Patrick Donohue — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 05:11:41 +0000

Bob,

Thank you for your response. I sent this question to you before attending the Desiring God national conference this weekend with my Dad. It was a blessing to be presented with a fully orbed portrayal of the biblical Christ, the power He has to save, sanctify and inspire us to glorify Him. I am in full agreement that the answer is not to fascilitate masculine worship, or feminine worship per se. It seems that the question really is what is the content that we’re singing. I have noticed that most worship is insufficiently biblical, and the form its currently taking is more feminine. One final comment, since some comments by Mark Driscoll were so very provocative (surprise, suprise). He contended that today’s youth see through this sham, and that they want to worship a meek Christ (power under control), and not the effeminate, passive, psudo-homosexual Jesus that liberal society prefers. This struck a huge chord with me personally. In response to the singing, which included wonderful propositional truth mixed with authentic expressions of emotion (they did more than one of the SG songs), I began to raise my hands, sway and clap–something that is very outside my comfort zone–even though these are things I would have considered more on the feminine side in the past (a perception problem which existed in my mind). It felt fully male expressing worship with my whole body when the focus was on the biblical Christ. Thanks again for your post.

Patrick

By: Bob Lyon

Bob Lyon — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 22:44:35 +0000

Excellent reminder, Bob, that it’s all about Jesus, not about us. Thank you for that encouragement. We do notice different “styles” of worship between our women and men worship leaders, and I do wrestle at times with being the bride of Christ, but as you note about Scripture, that is what we are called.

Could you help me understand this sentence (it seems to have a typo and I’m not coming up with the solution):

“Given the current climate in many churches, this would probably result in many churches becoming more “masculine” in their worship, but any church becoming more biblical.”

By: Jonathan Pan

Jonathan Pan — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 21:22:08 +0000

My name is Jonathan Pan. I am college student under the shepherding ministry of John Macarthur. When I return home for the summer, I attend a bilingual Chinese Church. Over the last five years, we have received a large influx of immigrants from China (as opposed to Taiwan, Singapore, or Hong Kong). One characteristic trait that many of these immigrants bring is the desire for community. Many of the wives attend our church while the men remain at home. Concequently, I always feel the pressure for feminization whenever I return home. Thank you for your biblical wisdom.

By: Dianemarie

Dianemarie — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 15:49:37 +0000

This is an interesting post because this idea has *never* crossed my mind. I’ve known men that don’t like worship in song at all, but I’ve honestly never known anyone who thinks that men and women should be catered too differently, for a lack of better words, in choosing music for worship.

Our worship team is made up of 6 men and 4 women. Two weeks a month the music is picked by a man, one week we have a hymn sing where members of the body choose songs during the worship service to sing, and the last week I choose the music.

When I started to read this, I was thinking that it shouldn’t matter whether we choose music with men or women in mind, but at the same time, I kind of got a knot in my stomach because I was thinking that perhaps I should have been taking this into account and no one ever enlightened me!

Praise God for your simple words of His truth:

“Paul writes that in Christ, “there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” ( Gal. 3:28

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

).”

(I would add to that, unless you are talking about leadership - then God’s word has made it clear that men are to be leaders and teacher of the body, not women — which is probably where this whole thing got started.)

So I agree with you whole-heartedly. The focus of choosing music should never be men vs women. The only focus should be to glorify God.