Reclaiming the Essence of Worship

Worship is a touchy subject in many churches.  What makes it such a painful topic of conversation is "format" or "style of worship".  These disagreements have caused some serious rifts in congregations-worship wars!  I have some very strong opinions on worship and having planned worship, led worship and participated in worship I have just one thing to say.  Get over it!!!  Worship is not about "how" you do it, it is about why!

I like this take on worship in Psalm 100 in The Message paraphrase:

"On your feet now-applaud God!  Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence...Enter with the password: 'Thank you!' Make yourselves at home, talking praise.  Thank him.  Worship him."

Bottom line, it's not about us feeling good.  It is about us praising God and thanking God.  That is the whole point and all roads in regards to worship had better lead to God!  It's just that simple.

I, being a lover of all music, can worship God equally as well with a hymn as I can with a contemporary praise song!  Classical music?  Excellent.  Gregorian chant?  Inspiring.  Gospel music?  Fantastic!  I love it all and I can find a path to worship through any of these styles of music.  This is probably why I find worship wars so utterly ridiculous and pointless!  As far as I am concerned, the arguments miss the point!  A well planned worship service always leads the congregation on to the path of praise, thankfulness and worship in the presence of God!  Who are you focusing on?  What is your focus?  Are you really focusing on worshiping God?  Why did you pick this song or hymn?  Why do you have the service in this order?  If you are planning worship, then details matter!  Let me give you a couple of examples.

When I took over planning the contemporary service at our church there was one change that I insisted on which caught everyone by surprise.  It involved lighting the candles up front.  I wanted a child in our congregation to "bring the light in" and "carry the light out".  I didn't suggest this simply because I liked the idea!  I insisted on it because it was symbolic.  A child, bringing in the light of Christ, that light, prominently displayed up front and at the end of the service, a child carrying the light of Christ out in to the world.  Symbols matter!  They are important and I thought it was important to bring some of that symbolism back in to the service!  If the whole point of worship is about praising God and thanking God, a child is a good reminder about approaching the throne with child like faith!

Another complaint that I have heard is about saying the Lord's prayer.  Everybody does it by rote, it's just a part of the service, it means nothing, blah blah blah.  Well, maybe the reason it is rote is because someone hasn't done a thorough enough job of explaining the meaning behind it.  Or maybe it is because we as individuals haven't stopped long enough to think about what that prayer really says!

Let's stop and think about this for a minute and break it down.  "Our father"-yours, mine and everyone whether they acknowledge God or not.  "Who art in heaven"-the place that we are a part of yet is bigger than anything we can imagine.  "Hallowed be they name"-father totally rocks and we should honor him!  "Thy kingdom come"-I can't wait to see the big picture!  "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"-help me do and act the way that you would, father!  "Give us this day our daily bread"-provide for me what I need to do what you ask of me today.  "And forgive us our trespasses"-forgive my stumbles and ignorance.  "As we forgive those who trespass against us."-remind me that I need to forgive those who have hurt me.  "And lead us not in to temptation"-give me the wisdom to not do the wrong thing!  "But deliver us from evil"-let your holy spirit guide my every move.  "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever!" - your world is more real than this world and you are in control of all of it!   Thank goodness! "Amen"-so be it.

That was long but I think you get my point.  Everything that is a part of worship should have meaning.  The words, the symbols and the order matter.  And if you have to take a minute to explain it then do it-educate your congregation!  Think of worship planning like a river.  A river has rapids and quiet pools but a river always flows forward. The trees, the flowers and the rocks are there for a reason.  The point of worship is to praise God and to thank God and the river of worship should flow forward and bring us closer to that essence of worship.  And if you are a member of the congregation, remember that spirit of thanksgiving as you join with others to worship God with your presence and your praise!

So instead of wasting our time bickering over worship style why don't we instead focus on why we worship?  Let's focus instead on reclaiming the essence and true purpose of worship!  Regardless of what format or style that you use, make sure that what you do leads the congregation towards praising God and thanking God!  If all roads lead to God then you will have an inspiring worship service-regardless of style!  It's time that the people of God reclaim the essence of worship!  Amen and Amen!

I'm getting off my soapbox now...

Sometimes You Gotta Fix the Foundation

When we got to Vermont last Monday our first stop was mom and dad's house.  My brother, Randy (my son's namesake) was already there and had already started working on the old Blacksmith shop in the back yard.  We all knew back in November when dad got sick that the building needed some work to stabilize the structure.  The back wall was sinking and it needed to be jacked up and repaired.  Now you might say, "why bother, why not just tear it down?"  The building is part of the local history of the town, and it has stood for a long long time.  It has a story to tell about where we came from and how we got to the here and now.  So, in our minds, there was never a question about fixing it, simply put, it needed to be done!

On closer inspection, Randy discovered something that we were not expecting.  The front wall was actually in far worse shape then the back wall.  The bottom base boards were supporting nothing at all!  The wood was literally crumbling into sawdust!  The only thing holding the building up was the center support beam that dad had installed years ago.  That's why it had shifted, that's why the back wall was sinking.  So the jacks came out and the front wall weight was placed on them and then the cutting began to remove the dry rotted wood.  New lumber was cut up and new support beams were placed under the wall to give it a stable foundation.  The back wall foundation will be replaced later on once the building settles on to it's new foundation on the front wall.  It's a process that will take some time but in the end, the building will be just as sturdy as it used to be!

Here comes the parallel to life, my little "ah ha" moment!  Sometimes the foundation which was sound in the first place, ends up crushing under the weight of the building put upon it and there comes a point when you have to rebuild in order to stabilize the entire building. 

Dad had told us, we had full warning.  I was reminded of this when I was reading about Jonah this morning.  Now Jonah is an interesting story.  He was, to put it mildly, a reluctant prophet.  Being asked to go to pagan Nineveh to warn them of their impending doom was not high on his priority list!  Let em burn!  Let em fall!  What's the harm?  So he took a boat heading in the opposite direction and well, you know the story, storm comes up, sailors have to throw him overboard in order to save their ship, he's swallowed by a whale and then a few days later he is spit up on the shore just outside of Nineveh!  It's not optional, he's going to deliver the message! 

To Jonah's shock and dismay, people actually listen!  They repent!  God changes his mind and doesn't destroy them!  How is that fair???  They had it coming!  Seriously, God, seriously???  Jonah, the reluctant prophet was rather a sore winner.  God's vision and victory was far different from Jonah's victory and vision.  Nineveh was able to start rebuilding the foundation before it was too late!  God works in wonderful and mysterious ways!

I can relate to Jonah and his reluctance.  I was very hesitant about starting this blog because quite frankly I knew there were times when I would have to say something that wasn't going to be popular!  I was going to have to say things that were hard and uncomfortable but needed to be said whether I liked it or not!  I'm not a minister or a minister in training or someone in leadership, I'm just plain ole me!  But I knew that it was important for someone like me to not only sound a warning but to make sure that a message of hope was being conveyed.  My confirmation that I am doing what God asks of me is confirmed when I read other blog posts and news reports and see that they are hitting on the same topics that I am, unbeknownst to me!  I post my blog then I go and read other bloggers and I go "oh my gosh, they're talking about the same exact thing!"  God is trying to get a message out and he will use whomever and whatever means necessary to get the point across!  That is awesome!  For my part, it's a big responsibility to make sure I get it right!

So what is the point being made today?  Our country had a good foundation.  The United Methodist Church had a good foundation.  Sometimes though the weight of the system presses down so hard that the foundation starts to crumble.  The goodness still exists, we just have to stabilize and reclaim the soundness! It's time to start rebuilding the foundation.

In regards to our country, the foundation that needs to be rebuilt rests on jobs.  If people are working they can pay their bills.  Working people pay taxes.  Working people save money and invest.  Working people buy things.  The little legislation that is coming out of Washington is crushing the foundation.  Add to that the bickering and inertia and the weight just keeps getting heavier.  We need to be praying for our leaders, more so now than ever!  They are an important part of stabilizing the country's foundation!  Pray for your local community leaders as well because they are invested in your community just as much as you are!  They don't want to see it die off, they want to live in a community that thrives!  We need to pray that they have the wisdom to act in the best interests of everyone, the inspiration to help create new and exciting ideas and the perseverance to stick it out and see it through!  I truly believe that change will come from the bottom up and my darling friends it starts with you and me and a willingness to help and to hold our leaders accountable!

As to the United Methodist Church, there is a real need to get back to basics.  People come to church looking for grace, guidance, hope, inspiration-they have questions and they are looking for answers.  We need to encourage people to read their Bible and teach them how to read it and why it matters!  We need to teach them how it can apply to their everyday lives beyond Sunday morning service!  We need to pray for them and with them and we need to teach them how to pray on their own, no matter the circumstance.  We need to teach them how to listen for that still small voice-the Holy Spirit who will guide and support them no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing.  We need to teach them how to praise God and count their blessings and to be thankful for each day, hour, minute and second.  We need to teach them why being a part of a community of believers matters in their lives and how sharing the sacraments is more than going through the motions, it's a spiritual bond to God, their family, their church family and their community.  We need to pray for our Spiritual leaders as well to guide us and hold them accountable to preach the gospel and teach others in our church how to lead, not just follow.  From personal experience, I would say that the greatest leaders are the most willing servants.  They inspire others because their actions truly line up with their words!  We need more servant leaders!

It's not too late!  We've been given a warning.  The foundation can be fixed.  We just have to decide if we are willing to do the work to fix it!  I believe that many people are willing, they just need the encouragement to follow through!  My darling friends, let's get to work on fixing the foundation today!

Blogger Hookey (Sort of)

Today is an absolutly fabulous, gorgeous day outside!  Sun is shining, humidity is low and there is a bit of a breeze.  It is the perfect day to get out into the great outdoors.  So I'm playing hookey from writing a long blog post so I can get out and enjoy this wonderful June day! 

But I feel like it's a day for Praise!  So with that in mind I asked myself what I would pick to sing for Praise music if I had to create a song service right here, right now.  Here's what I came up with!  My hope is that the You tube links will work and that you'll celebrate today with me!  Enjoy!

Darrell Evans' great song:  Fields of Grace
Israel Houghton and New Breed Rejoice!
Jennifer Knapp and Mac Powell Sing Alleluia
Jewel singing an old classic Simple Gifts (Tis a Gift to be Simple)
Adrienne Liesching and Geoff Moore In Christ Alone
Robin Mark When It's All Been Said and Done
Rush of Fools Wonder of the World
Last but not least Newsboys' I Am Free