Mystery and Worship
Does it feel like worship has been “franchised”?
Our conversations are so interesting. Sit sometime and listen to the little inuendos we use…
“Worship was good today!”
“Man that worship kicked.”
“I don’t worship that way”
Let’s all remember what Burger King says… “Have it your way!”
We have to have it our way don’t we?
I fully come alive when I realize something. But this is no secret that many want me to know. Not because it’s a bad secret, but because it is the best secret the world has ever seen. And when someone comes to this secret in faith, and grasps hold, and never lets it go, it changes everything. EVERYTHING.
“You will worship neither on this mountain or Jerusalem” - Jesus in John
Jesus of course is trying to explain to a theological confused and somewhat morally displaced woman who was convinced that worship was intended only for a few. Jesus stands with her…and passes on the secret.
“You will worship neither on this mountain or Jerusalem”
Worship remains not a location or organization centered activity. Nor does it have to be an activity. It is a reality. A place of Spirit, a heart, a life. And it doesn’t have to pay the bouncer at the door, because it’s been paid for. The secret sets me free. Free to worship. The gates are open. No more membership cards, no more bouncers, no more measuring sticks. Its free. And if you realize who it is who talks to you, you will surely understand this secret. That you are free. Jesus says so. Just believe.
Dom wrote:
I am very troubled by the present trend of divisive, exclusive, self-centered worship… I posted the following as a note on Facebook a few months back:
Came across a blog entry today from The Feminarian (she’s a self-described socially liberal theologically confused inclusive tolerant feminist Episcopalian who is studying at the largest Evangelical seminary in the U.S.). Check it out at http://feminary.blogspot.com. Here’s the bulk of her entry, my thoughts at the end:
“Last night I read Anselm’s Prologion. Now I can’t say I much agree with Anselm about anything, particularly his attempts to squeeze God into a Neo-Platonic Classical Theism model (it’s just so not the God of the Bible!). But I will say that it was incredibly beautiful to read. And it’s kind of amazing and sad to me that we’ve gone from this:
Now then, little man, for a short while fly from your business; hide yourself for a moment from your turbulent thoughts. Break off now your troublesome cares, and think less of your laborious occupations. Make a little time for God, and rest for a while in him. Enter into the chamber of your mind, shut out everything but God and whatever helps you to seek him, and, when you have shut the door, seek him. Speak now, O my whole heart, speak now to God: “I seek thy face; thy face, Lord, do I desire.”
And do thou, O Lord my God, teach my heart where and how to seek thee, where and how to find thee….I was made in order to see thee, and I have not yet done that for which I was made….
I pray, O God, that I may know thee, that I may love thee, so that I may rejoice in thee. And if I cannot do this to the full in this life, at least let me go forward from day to day until that joy comes to fullness. Let the knowledge of thee go forward in me here, and there let it be made full. Let love for thee increase, and there let it be full, so that here my joy may be great in hope, and there it may be full in reality….Meanwhile, let my mind meditate upon it, let my tongue speak of it. Let my heart love it, let my tongue discourse upon it. Let my soul hunger for it, let my flesh thirst for it, let my whole substance desire it, until I enter “into the joy” of my Lord, who is the triune and one God, blessed forever. Amen.
To this.
Gee, what a difference a thousand years makes.
Last night I read a Worship Leader magazine, after Proslogion. It’s just not fair to poor Chuck Fromm and his mag, to follow up such a class act. But less than the articles (which I ignored) I was pretty much intrigued and horrified by the advertising. There’s just an industry for everything these days. There’s a company that will do all your setup if you church in a temporary space. There’s software that lets you do virtual environments to get your space setup (John and I were joking that it was worship SIMS. You add another guitarist and…wow! 5 more people got saved!). There are all these things to buy to help you lead worship better: software, services, books, cds.
It’s the Worship Industry. And I thought I was offended by Industrial Food.
Well I guess all things must become factory-ized in our day. It’s just what we’re used to. If it’s not a commodity, we don’t know how to relate. But the Holy Spirit can’t be a commodity. You can’t buy her or sell her or find software that will guarantee she shows up. And you know what’s funny? I’ve felt the Spirit’s presence most strongly pretty much always in places where the technology is minimal. I know that lots of people will disagree and say their screens and synthesizers (or music from a cd playing on the car stereo) and powerpoint sermons offer them true worship. But when I’ve been to those churches, and tried to worship, I’ve been distracted, or felt like I’m being entertained or just watching TV, or felt marketed to, or if I’m really getting into the music, I realize I’m just enjoying it on the level of any other concert. Sure, God can speak through a concert. But shouldn’t church be more?”
My present function in the church is that of a ‘worship leader’. I have the duty and privilege of leading assembled representations of the Church in the worship of the all-powerful, all-loving, all-mysterious God. I can think of no greater calling than leading God’s people in worship, and it’s very humbling to be handed the task of doing so. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun and a great way to live out my childhood rockstar fantasies in a way that (hopefully) honors God.
My “day-job” right now is working as a barista at Starbucks, and I am consistently amazed at how many ways people find to fit their coffee (or whatever) to their specific preferences. Adjusting the flavoring (and its amount), the amount of espresso (or not), the heat, the consistency, foam, whipped cream, calories… the list goes on. I think that’s one of the coolest things about Starbucks. I can make somebody’s day by making something that is tailor-made to fit their exact preferences, cravings, routines, etc. People tell us exactly what we want and we, their humble servants make it for them quickly and with a smile.
I worry sometimes that we have come to take the Starbucks outlook on how we worship God. I find I want to worship God in a way that serves me and is according to my desires and preferences. And the Church has caught on that we want to worship God our way.
I’m glad that we’re out of the dark ages and seek to communicate in a relevant way. I’m especially glad that Christian music sucks FAR less now than it did a few decades ago. I am glad that at least, on some level, Christians have learned to speak the language of the rest of human kind.
But when we pick and choose our affiliation to a body of faith by our musical preference (a personal ad in this last Sunday’s paper read “Looking for a church that sings hymns, not rock’n'roll choruses”), when we break fellowship with others over our own desires, when we treat church as entertainment, when we use church to cultivate an emotional experience, what are we worshiping? When I as a worship leader cater to this so that people can have their desires met, am I not merely setting up another peddler’s table in the temple for Jesus to overturn? Can we make Church so much about us that it’s not about God? (Try reading Isaiah chapter 1 about this)
Posted on 21-May-07 at 9:55 pm | Permalink