Naomi's Notes - 05/27/07
Growing up in the revivalistic era of Billy Graham crusades, I generally thought that worship services consisted of peppy gospel songs, announcements, a prayer or two, an offering and special music followed by a rousing sermon, then "Just As I Am" or some other familiar invitation hymn. Of course, the preacher was expected to bring many souls to the Lord--or at least make folks feel guilty for not coming forward to shake his hand. And the music director always had extra stanzas of the invitation hymn ready in case there was an extended altar call. The sermon was the main event; everything else was mostly a warm-up or a follow-up.
Some might say, "Okay, so what's wrong with that?" The problem is that these were evangelistic services, not worship services. They focused more on people than on God. They were primarily designed to "bring people in" - whether "lost souls" or wayward Christians - and to help everyone feel good about themselves ("revived").
Now these are not bad things; in fact much of the above is good. It's just not the best. It's just not all there is to "worship." It's getting our priorities in the wrong order. Evangelism, while a very important aspect of church life, is not really worship at all; it is the result of authentic worship.
When we are caught up in who God is in all the fullness and depths of God's glory, we are transformed. The deeper our worship experience the greater our joy. We want to be closer to God. We want to follow Jesus. We want to live better lives and serve others.
It's true that worship can happen at any time in our lives, but when we are gathered for corporate worship it is incumbent upon leaders to plan enriched worship services that help worshippers connect with this very complex God. We must recognize that there are many doorways to God, not just through praise and preaching, but also through confession and reflection, through scripture and offering, through prayer and welcoming, ...the list goes on. Intentionally providing variety creates many opportunities for people to truly worship throughout the worship service, not just during the sermon.
(In my next column I'll explore how the above impacts the music that is chosen for worship services.)
See you in worship this Sunday -
Naomi