Holy cra..... church(?) it's been a while...
So who hasn't blogged in over a year? This guy. I'm not really sure what I could possibly blog about at this particular time. I could've given my synopsis of this year's Winterfest, but after the laugh-fest that Jared and I had during the Sunday talk. If Walling would just talk to the teens, sponsors, and ministers like they were actually adults instead of children, it would really go a lot better. Maybe someday he'll come to his senses and deliver a message that doesn't sound like he's talking to a group of kindergarteners. That's my critique of Winterfest '09.
And then my only other option for discussion is my current frustration/interest in church worship. But since Jake has already decided to talk about it, I guess there's really no need, right? Wrong. Because I really don't have anything else in my head that I have any interest in talking about.
So what has been rattling around in my little head recently has been a bit of frustration with the worship experience being presented at the church I normally attend... could be why I may have not been there the past few weeks. I just feel like when people are worshiping and giving honor to the God who made the entire universe... the God who repeatedly gave breaks to a race who made and broke promises (covenants) with Him over and over, and then freely gave of Himself by offering His Son.... perfect Son.... to be the curse/scapegoat/sacrifice for all the sins that humanity had piled upon itself.... people praising THIS God... should probably look as though they actually cared about all those things. I'm not saying that when people worship God, it should always be happy.... because sometimes it's a much more solemn time for self examination or simply feeling the Spirit move. But every time I look around a room full of people singing about the joy of the Lord being their strength and it looks like the part in Sister Act II when the choir starts singing "Oh Happy Day" with blank faces, I've got to ask myself, is this REALLY what worship is? I mean, when these people were writing these songs about joy, freedom, or one of my favorite old songs "It is Well With My Soul," I would think they were full of a sense of... oh I don't know... happiness, thankfulness, peace, joy... maybe even remorse, humility, or a realization of just how much we've been blessed with regardless of how much we don't deserve it (I'm sure there's a nice, big word for that). And I'm not saying that everyone has to be totally engrossed in every moment of every service or anything like that. Because Lord knows I have plenty of times when my mind drifts. But as of late, it's been difficult to drift IN to the service. And a certain level of it is a personal thing, I'm sure. However, as I glance around the auditorium and see the VAST majority of attendees staring blankly at the screen in the front and saying the words to the songs, I don't exactly get that sense that what we're saying is what we're doing/conveying/believing. I mean, to the objective viewer, are we REALLY looking like a people that are standing in awe of God, inviting Him to reign in us, and proclaiming how Holy the name of Jesus is? Not that it's a show for other people in the slightest, but if you went to a concert where most of the crowd just kinda sat, or sometimes stood (as those are the only two acceptable positions), and maybe mouthed the words to some of the songs, would your impression of that crowd be "Wow, those people really love this band!"? I'm highly doubting it. You'd probably be asking yourself "Why are these people even here?" right? Or maybe you'd wonder if those people even cared about the band at all. So does it seem like church should be a place where the people respond so much more expressively? Singing the songs that help them identify with the One the song is written about, and also the one who wrote it. Showing appreciation to the One who has given and shown (and continues to give and show) us more exciting things than any act that could ever perform on a stage. Shouldn't our actions be an outflowing of the things that we have in our hearts and souls? I mean, when I read how people worshiped during the time in which the Bible was written, I don't exactly see a lot of ho-hum people. I read about people falling down (prostrate) on the ground before the Lord, and others dancing with all their might (even undressing in David's case) in His presence. And then when I come into a place where I sometimes feel as though a comedy could be made about what it would look like for zombies to go to church, I'm just left thinking if THIS is what we're really at church to do. And more and more, I'm not so much convinced.
I have more to say on this matter, but it's 2:15 AM and I'm pretty darn tired. If there are any grammatical errors, or really anything that you read and are like "why on earth did he say that?", then you now know why. My brain may have pooped out. But I do want to point out that the purpose of my rant is not solely to make a massive complaint. There's a lot of things I have to say, but the hamster can only run on the wheel for so long before it needs a break. But I just want to say that I believe that worship can be done well, great environments created, sincere hearts calling out to God, and true connections made between worshipers and the Father. I just think that maybe we should consider going about it in another way than they did back in 1950.
And then my only other option for discussion is my current frustration/interest in church worship. But since Jake has already decided to talk about it, I guess there's really no need, right? Wrong. Because I really don't have anything else in my head that I have any interest in talking about.
So what has been rattling around in my little head recently has been a bit of frustration with the worship experience being presented at the church I normally attend... could be why I may have not been there the past few weeks. I just feel like when people are worshiping and giving honor to the God who made the entire universe... the God who repeatedly gave breaks to a race who made and broke promises (covenants) with Him over and over, and then freely gave of Himself by offering His Son.... perfect Son.... to be the curse/scapegoat/sacrifice for all the sins that humanity had piled upon itself.... people praising THIS God... should probably look as though they actually cared about all those things. I'm not saying that when people worship God, it should always be happy.... because sometimes it's a much more solemn time for self examination or simply feeling the Spirit move. But every time I look around a room full of people singing about the joy of the Lord being their strength and it looks like the part in Sister Act II when the choir starts singing "Oh Happy Day" with blank faces, I've got to ask myself, is this REALLY what worship is? I mean, when these people were writing these songs about joy, freedom, or one of my favorite old songs "It is Well With My Soul," I would think they were full of a sense of... oh I don't know... happiness, thankfulness, peace, joy... maybe even remorse, humility, or a realization of just how much we've been blessed with regardless of how much we don't deserve it (I'm sure there's a nice, big word for that). And I'm not saying that everyone has to be totally engrossed in every moment of every service or anything like that. Because Lord knows I have plenty of times when my mind drifts. But as of late, it's been difficult to drift IN to the service. And a certain level of it is a personal thing, I'm sure. However, as I glance around the auditorium and see the VAST majority of attendees staring blankly at the screen in the front and saying the words to the songs, I don't exactly get that sense that what we're saying is what we're doing/conveying/believing. I mean, to the objective viewer, are we REALLY looking like a people that are standing in awe of God, inviting Him to reign in us, and proclaiming how Holy the name of Jesus is? Not that it's a show for other people in the slightest, but if you went to a concert where most of the crowd just kinda sat, or sometimes stood (as those are the only two acceptable positions), and maybe mouthed the words to some of the songs, would your impression of that crowd be "Wow, those people really love this band!"? I'm highly doubting it. You'd probably be asking yourself "Why are these people even here?" right? Or maybe you'd wonder if those people even cared about the band at all. So does it seem like church should be a place where the people respond so much more expressively? Singing the songs that help them identify with the One the song is written about, and also the one who wrote it. Showing appreciation to the One who has given and shown (and continues to give and show) us more exciting things than any act that could ever perform on a stage. Shouldn't our actions be an outflowing of the things that we have in our hearts and souls? I mean, when I read how people worshiped during the time in which the Bible was written, I don't exactly see a lot of ho-hum people. I read about people falling down (prostrate) on the ground before the Lord, and others dancing with all their might (even undressing in David's case) in His presence. And then when I come into a place where I sometimes feel as though a comedy could be made about what it would look like for zombies to go to church, I'm just left thinking if THIS is what we're really at church to do. And more and more, I'm not so much convinced.
I have more to say on this matter, but it's 2:15 AM and I'm pretty darn tired. If there are any grammatical errors, or really anything that you read and are like "why on earth did he say that?", then you now know why. My brain may have pooped out. But I do want to point out that the purpose of my rant is not solely to make a massive complaint. There's a lot of things I have to say, but the hamster can only run on the wheel for so long before it needs a break. But I just want to say that I believe that worship can be done well, great environments created, sincere hearts calling out to God, and true connections made between worshipers and the Father. I just think that maybe we should consider going about it in another way than they did back in 1950.
posted by Jeff at
3/26/2009 12:07:00 AM
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