I have to confess that I am a fan of change . . . until it actually happens. Then I really like the way it used to be and want to go back.

I’m still getting used to the new rhythm of having Kairos once a month. Or more accurately, the Nights of Worship Formerly Known as Kairos. Hopefully, someone will come up with something more catchy or at least shorter.

But something magical always happens when people gather together in worship. It’s something where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We could each all individually worship in separate places, but it would be nowhere near as powerful as all those voices raised as one.

I was reminded again tonight that worship is about more than singing. It’s about a surrender that leads to transformation. It’s about not conforming or allowing the world around you to shape you into its image, but allowing God to transform you and shape you into His image.

Real worship isn’t pretty. It’s messy and broken, because we who offer up our worship to God are messy and broken. Sometimes, authentic worship looks and sounds like a broken hallelujah. Sometimes, there are no words but only tears.

Richard Foster once said, “If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not been worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change.”

I can’t worship God in spirit and truth and remain the same. If I have the greatest emotional catharsis and the most moving experience, but am no different when I leave, then it has not been worship. If I can continue in my own sinful lifestyle and not feel the need to repent over my sin afterward, then it has not been worship.

True revival isn’t about miracles and being emotionally overwhelmed. It’s about repentance that leads to renewal that becomes revival. And it starts not with singing but with surrender.