Someone has said that to be authentic you have to strip it down to bare bones and take away all the fluff and the hype. Everything we do in worship should get down to one basic element - a gathered group of people desperate to experience God in His power, presence and glory! Do you come to worship desperate to experience God in all of His fullness? It all begins with how we approach it. Many want to say it is an issue of spontaneity versus formality or an issue of style of worship. But, authenticity in worship is more than those things.
You are always going to have people, according to their own personal taste, who think that the best worship is laid-back to the point of sloppy or scruffy. Others are at the opposite end of the spectrum who think polished and slick is the best. However, in our day and time many see the polished and slick as fake, but we can go too far thinking that scruffy is authentic - as opposed to fake.
We would think that somewhere in the middle of all of that, we are just simply well enough prepared that the worship settles in with a simplicity, with that basic element of seeking to experience Him being the main thing.
Maybe the way to authentic worship is in thorough preparation by all who lead worship, including prayer as a vital part of preparation. Also, seeking ways in worship to explore and explain things in terms of everyday living. Creating ways to help people receive some formal language comfortably, and yet avoiding oversimplifying language for children or others, also helps toward authentic worship. As said earlier, we need to realize we can not equate one particular style of worship with authenticity. I said to someone just this morning that I am kind of a "bottom line guy," and the bottom line is for us to have authentic worship. We must gather as a people desperate to experience Him! mjm
