WORSHIP
Over the next few Sundays I will be preaching texts revolving and centered on worship. It’s amazing how worship is such a catch word these days and simply using it can cause such a raucous. I would be curious to see the statistics on churches that split up during the 80’s and 90’s and the involvement that “worship debates” played in those circumstances. The current situation is much the same with an added player in the game. The postmodern culture brings its own paradigm, or at least it is in the process of developing its own, to the table, which creates an interesting perspective. Now longer is the debate between the traditionalists and contempories, but now three sides play into the equation, unless of course you live in the south where the Southern Gospelites have their say. Let’s just say, I am glad I am not a worship leader!
This situation calls us to one specific conclusion; we desperately need the Bible. The Bible teaches us that worship is not about having what we like. Our consumer minded culture has invaded the church and Christians have accepted the Burger King slogan as our mantra, “We’ll have it our way!” God is calling us to surrender our way to him. Worship is not an hour block of the week where we come and have our predispositions about God further enforced, our agendas met, and/or our emotions tweaked. A church is not a worship shop where people peruse for what they want. It is this mindset which has landed us in this predicament. Worship is a lifestyle of daily surrender to the King which displays itself in actions of service, love, and humility that point people to the Messiah of Israel. What we do on Sunday morning should not be an entertainment show similar to a Night at the Apollo filled with commodities for consumers to devour, but it is an overflow of abundant joy exerted by grateful people of all kinds, types, song genres, races, generations, for the King of Kings. A worship service should magnify the name of Christ by using the gifts God has given to the people. In many ways a worship service should be bipolar and schizophrenic. I pray that as I preach this message over the course of the next month we here at Thorington Road Baptist Church will catch the wave of worship. Worship is so much more than what I have written in this entry! Over the next few days I will continue this discussion. Worship is that important! God demands and desires it!
1 Comment
July 26, 2008 at 3:19 pm
I believe you’re exactly right. I’m glad there are pastors who are seeing the difficult issues worship leaders face. I also believe the greatest challenges regarding worship are on a personal and local church level. God grant us the wisdom and fortitude lead the church, and ourselves, into a proper understanding of worship.
Brad