Estimated reading time: 4 minute(s)
We were part of a program this morning that was fairly unique. Jen and I were set up with microphones and folding card table chairs at the very back of a stage, hidden by a thick black curtain. We had no visual cues as to when to begin our musical portion of the program. Only a voice through the house sound system told us when to begin. It was really quite interesting. 🙂
It worked out fairly well, actually. The theme of the program was “worship”, and specifically how it is not just the music we sing together on Sunday mornings. It was good, visually creative, and definitely an interesting experience.
Afterwards, in a casual conversation with a few people around that same stage, one person asked me if I “was able to worship” in that setting. The question was sincere. I think she meant, was I able to have a personal, emotional connection with God. That is one of the goals of such a program – to evoke some feeling of having “worshipped”. In that sense, it was a valid question. But, it felt like the question missed the whole point of the program that they had just put together. 🙂 We were just saying not 15 minutes prior that worship is not a feeling during a song service, but a life lived in response to God’s awesomeness.
So, my response was, “Uh… yes?” 🙂 I meant, “Yes, I guess so, since all of life is worship – like we just said – so.. then by default, so was that moment in that place.” All were a bit confused, and something else distracted us from that conversation, so we just moved on.
But I didn’t. I kept thinking about the question. How it seemed like it revealed that nothing that was just said during the service even registered at all.
Later on tonight, we were singing for VBS. Our musical portion was at the end of the night’s program. As we were being introduced, the speaker (the same one who put the service together for the morning) said something like, “So, let’s use this worship time to really focus on God.” Some other things were mentioned that revealed that we still really think that the act of singing together to God is in some way a higher form of “worship”.
I was slightly amused, but also so puzzled. How do we get to the point of elevating some activities in our lives to being more spiritual, or more “worship”? There must be something to it. There are accounts in Matthew where Jesus was “worshipped”. After he walked on the water out to the boat his friends were in, it says they worshipped him. So there must be some meaning to that verb. But overall, it seems that what we see in Scripture is a more general sense of a life given to God is “worship” to him. It’s not about an emotional connection via a song lyric. (It can be, but it’s certainly not limited to that.)
I really have no conclusion from all of this, it’s just been mildly fascinating to jump back into this setting. We have been removed from it for quite some time, so to see up close again the culture that has become somewhat distant to us has been … interesting. I will likely have more interesting observations as the week progresses.
Please do not be offended by any of my observations. You’re welcome to comment here. I do not mean any disrespect to any one individual, nor do I harbor any feelings of ill will or arrogant superiority. I am befuddled by what we have decided makes up a “relationship with God”, and perhaps even more so since I have not been around the church culture for a while. I am definitely open to suggestion and anyone’s thoughts, so, if you feel the inkling, please comment and enlighten me. Or, if you concur, please verbalize that as well. (Or, type-a-lize it… as it were.)
I love to challenge ideas that no one else challenges. I think it helps me figure out the core of things… and what we have added on just because that’s the way we’ve always done it. 🙂 I like to get to the core.
I am after all an Apple guy… 🙂
Sometimes it creeps me out how often you write a post about something I’ve been thinking about. Honestly: I was about to write an article about the place of music in the world of the Christian … and about how it’s not synonymous with “worship,” but rather, is a form of it. I may still write it, but just so you know, it’s a tad creepy when this keeps happening. Stop it. 😉
I think I too used to be “creeped out” when I would see how different people in different places were thinking through the same things I was, and even at the same time. (Actually, I usually thought it was pretty cool…) 🙂 But I think that has kinda stopped because I began to realize that of course people would be thinking similar things, since I believe God is orchestrating it. It has seemed to us for years that God is moving people in very similar ways out of religion and “structure” into daily relationship with himself.
Since He is the one who builds his church, and is the head of it, it’s logical to assume that his church would be led in similar ways no matter where they are on the globe.
Pretty amazing!
Two months ago, i did a weekend of music in Ohio. One of the events was a worship service for the conference of pastors. It was a very confusing event because of the word ‘worship’. I was asked to put together a worship service in the style of the church i work for here in rochester. Thus, i planned everything out, from decor to visuals, to music, to speaking… everything. And when i arrived, they asked for my song order. For them, a ‘worship service’ is 5 songs. For me, a ‘worship service’ is everything one experiences from the moment they enter a sanctuary space to the moment they leave. And for some, this is the some total of “worship”. It’s crazy when trying to communicate and understand people using a word that has so many connotations (2 n’s?) Either way, thanks for continuing to deconstruct “worship”. and Chris (first comment)… it’s creepy in the coolest, most encouraging kind of way, ain’t it?