Worship

Posted on March 17th, 2007

Someone recently asked me to spend some time pondering what I want to see accomplished in the church: practical or not, whether or not the church is ready for it. It was a good challenge for me to set specific goals for my ministry here in NJ, based on what I understand worship to be, and based on how I think the church is supposed to set out to worship God as a congregation.

Someone once described worship to me in terms of the Old Testament tabernacle/temple structure and worship. While not stringent (Jesus accomplished the tearing of the veil to the Holy of Holies on the cross),  I think reflecting on congregational worship in those terms is helpful. I understand four movements (understand that I remember this as coming from somewhere, but I do not remember where – it may have been a class, a discussion with a friend, or a book I read, but it does not originate with me):

• Gathering
• Fellowship
• Encountering God
• Sending

All four of these steps serve vital functions in the role of the church. The church gathers together prior to the service. At our church, we worship first and have Sunday School after the service. Our gathering time begins around 9:00 when the first church member shows up and unlocks the doors and continues until around 10:05, about the time that we have our meet and greet where we shake hands and greet one another formally during the worship service. Gathering is the transitioning from the non-sacred to the sacred, from outside the temple walls to inside them, from all the hubbub of life to focus on God and his work. It happens as people get out of their cars, go through the doors, and enter into the sanctuary.

Following the gathering is fellowship. This continues concurrently with the gathering time. This is a time to recognize who all is in the service with you, to catch up and see what has been going on in the Kingdom of God through individuals throughout the week. It allows us all to gather on the same page and worship God as a unified body. This is not to say that everyone greets and converses with everyone else in the congregation. Even though ours is a relatively small, rural church, we still are not afforded that opportunity. Larger congregations than ours would have no means of accomplishing that. The first church I served had 20 people in attendance on an average Sunday, and it was difficult to really know what was going on with everyone. What Fellowshipping allows is for the body of Christ to reconnect together and know what is going on throughout the rest of the body.

The bulk of the actual worship service, of course, is focused on encountering God, being challenged and changed by Him. It is the songs, the drama, the sermon, the prayers, and all that goes on. The intent is to bring the people who have gathered together to a face-to-face spiritual encounter with their Creator and Savior.

Finally, there is the sending back out into the world. After the fellowshipping, reconnecting,  and training that have gone on, the church disperses to accomplish its purpose and task in the world: sharing God and his love with everyone we meet. This cannot happen within the walls of a church, at least not on a large scale. We have to go out and seek it and make it happen, rather than just expecting it to come to us.

I would hope that our worship activities – formal Sunday morning services and all of the other times that we gather to worship God – will accomplish these four things.

Tags: Ministries, Worship
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Transformation

Posted on September 15th, 2006

I recently preached a two-part mini sermon series on worship. As the new associate pastor with oversight over the worship of the church, I thought it was appropriate for me to take the pastor’s vacation time and elaborate on my view of worship. I called them “Worship, Side A” and “Worship, Side B.” Side A developed the why of worship – my text was Psalm 145, and I suggested that we worship because of what God does and, more fundamentally, who he is. Side B asked the question, “How?” My text was Romans 12. My definition of worship was something to the effect of consciously devoting every moment and every activity to the giving over to God the worth that he is do. Akin to Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God.

Along the line, this week I read a posting in the blog of someone I went to college with. The entry is here. Myles talked about meeting with someone who lives in an intentionally simplified community, and how he (Myles, not the intentional community guru) was surprised that he was not suddenly urged on to seek out this kind of community as he had in the past.

The rest of this post will probably make more sense if you have read Myles’ entry. So, if you haven’t read it yet, go ahead and go read it. I’ll still be here when you get back.

Anyway, his blog entry has me thinking more about worship and transformation and intentional living and simplification. I have Richard Foster’s book Freedom of Simplicity on my shelf. I’ve had it there since reading Celebration of Discipline in college. I’ve started it a couple of times. But I wonder if simplicity is the key to a good Christian life. Do we have to be simple to hear the most from God and to experience him most fully? I can’t help of thinking about how Job had his blessings doubled after such a close encounter with God – and I don’t think he suddenly ceased to be the most righteous man on the face of the earth in his day.

Anyway, I think each moment – no matter our circumstances or stage of hysteria – is waiting for its transformation. It is our choice what to make it. We can transform it for good or for evil – to worship God or ourselves (or another entity we deem to deify). Each moment begs to be one in which we worship God. And I think Paul is saying in Romans 12 that whatever our gift is – and is that gift a spiritual one or just the gift of the moment? – we should make the most of it. This moment, right now, is the supreme and only gift we have. What do we do with it?

Tags: Worship
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On worship

Posted on August 18th, 2006

I have been thinking about worship the last few weeks. Well, I imagine my new responsibilities will require that I think about worship next to constantly. Given that, I have spent more time focusing on it than I have in quite some time. I opened a Bible software program (to knock the dust off of it) and did a quick survey of uses of the word worship. That turned into a mini Greek word study (please don’t faint). Anyway, I noticed two words for worship: latreia and proskuneo. A quick survey seems to suggest that the former is more concerned about how we worship (methodology) and the latter is more concerned about why we worship (theology). I am curious what your thoughts are on why we worship and examples you have about how your experience of the church practices worship.

I look forward to your comments.

Tags: Worship
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