What do you think worship should be?
A lot of churches and religious organizations have been moving away from "traditional" worship for the last 20 or so years, but more so in the last 5-10 years. Everybody is fed up with boring old hymns and ineffective preaching and going through the same motions every single Sunday. Basically, they are looking for something......REAL!
Unfortunately, I believe we are still trying to reach this. Many places are doing the same exact routines as the traditional worship style churches......just with cooler music and flashier stage presence (and of course, ripped jeans and t-shirts). Now before we go any further, I wear ripped up jeans and t-shirts day in and day out, and I like cool music, and I DEFINITELY like a nice stage presence. The problem is, that has become the focus of "creating a new worship experience." I believe the initial intention was great.....create an environment that is appealing to the unchurched and a place where we don't judge you by what you wear or look like, but by who you are. WONDERFUL!!! Because the initial intent was "successful", everyone is doing it now.....almost as if to say, "Well this is how it is working everywhere else....we should do it this way so we can get more people to come to church."
So here is the question I have though......why is Sunday morning worship so different from Monday - Saturday worship? What are we doing on Sunday morning that is teaching those who come to go out and build the BIGGER church (followers of Christ) around the world? There are people all across the world who have yet to hear the name of Jesus and who have yet to realize that He is real and loves them.
We get so comfortable in having an awesome worship experience (which again is fabulous), but we forget that we are supposed to go and DO something with what we experience; share that experience of God with the world. Yes we love Him and we get what He has done for us, but what about those who don't get it? Why should they believe in Him?
The great commission verse sums it all up:
"Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:5). It doesn't say, "Create an amazing worship experience on Sunday mornings (or Saturday nights for you really edgy people) and generate a large congregation of people."
Every day of our lives ought to be a testimony of what God is doing and what He is about. Not just sitting in a comfy sanctuary and enjoying the worship experience, but taking the word into the world.
REAL worship is not trying to create an environment, but to die to ourselves and let God use us in places we never thought possible. It's ministering to those who we see are hurting and searching for something bigger than their problems in life. It's getting out of the churchy motions of committees/organizations/agendas and stepping out in faith into the dark parts of the world and "...shine your light and let the whole world see, we're singing for the glory of the risen King!"
So to wrap this all up, I believe we have confused the concept of worship with creating an atmosphere for everyone (which again is a great step in the whole process). The next step in worship is to equip our people to become fully devoted followers of Christ and to go into the world with the full armor of God trusting that He will be known through our efforts. If we can't do this, then are we truly seeking after Him?
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