On May 27, 2009, the world’s largest worship venue opened in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. It has the ability to hold 110,000 people, 30,000 parking spaces, a state-of-the-art sound system, and a high-definition screen that measures 160 x 72 feet. It is the perfect location to gather, sing, shout, cry, clap, and cheer.
Native Arkansan Jerry Jones built AT&T Stadium for $1.33 billion, primarily for his Dallas Cowboys, yet all year long people flood into that stadium to cheer on their favorite band, monster trucks or other teams that play there. People show up to support someone or to celebrate something, much like we do when we worship together each Sunday.
Worship is my top priority for 2026 for three reasons.
1. Worship Is God’s Top Priority
You are familiar with the first and greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut 6:4; Matt 22:37; Mark 12:30). The second great commandment to love our neighbors is very important (and a prequel to the Great Commission), just not as important. Loving people is “second” in God’s priority for two reasons – He is more important than anyone else, and our ability to love others flows from our love from Him.
This is very important because when we get the two commands out of sequence, we are simply practicing humanism. Jesus didn’t tell us to “love our neighbors with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength” because there is only room for one on the throne of your life.
2. Worship Is a Pastor’s Top Priority
Almost twenty years ago, in a remote cabin in Jasper, Arkansas, the Lord seared the Great Commandment into my heart. I concluded that since worship is God’s highest priority, it should be mine as well. At that time my schedule did not reflect that priority, so I began to start every day with Jesus and His Word, reading at least one chapter of the Bible a day as I pray (and sometimes journal). To do that consistently, I had to change my workout habits and forfeit breakfast meetings.
What does your schedule say about who is first and greatest?
I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me (John 15:5 CSB).
3. Worship Is Your Church’s Top Priority
When Second Baptist, Conway built a new worship center 13 years ago, the most common question I was asked during construction was “how many seats will it have?” If someone asked Solomon that question about the Temple or Tabernacle, the answer would be “zero.” People didn’t come to the Temple to sit and watch, but to offer their love through singing, giving, learning, etc.
Biblical worship should not revolve around the needs of the worshiper; rather the object of their worship. God loves to be loved, which is why the first Great Commandment is all about loving Him.
Make sure your church is not robbing God of the love He both deserves and demands by marginalizing worship in your staff planning, calendaring, and budgeting. Allow worship to drive the other ministries of the church, like discipleship, ministry, and missions. This is not a popular opinion, but nothing will get your people in the Word or on the mission field better than worship. Besides, popularity is overrated and I don’twant to second guess Moses and Jesus. In my opinion, lead pastors are worship leaders and thus need to constantly sharpen their spiritual saws.
Worship – private or public – is simply expressing love to our Father. If pastors and church leaders don’t make worship their top priority each day and each Sunday, they are robbing God of the love He deserves and robbing ourselves of the opportunity to reciprocate love with the most important person in our lives, homes, and churches.