Why Worship? A View from the Pew
Back in October of 2012, I read an interesting editorial in the newspaper by Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist. It was horrible really, a commentary on the heinous crimes against a 14-year-old Islamic girl who was viciously attacked by the Taliban because she spoke out about the value of educating young women. You can go here to read a CNN report on her. : http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/10/world/asia/pakistan-teen-activist-attack/index.html.
Mr. Pitts went on to contemplate the issue from a broader perspective, eventually stating,
"There are two reasons this story crossed the ocean. The first is that it is appalling. Human garbage does not get much ranker than a man who boards a school bus to kill a child. The second is that it is recognizable, that we see in their mad religious and ideological fundamentalism ghostly shadows of our own...Fundamentalism is fundamentalism wherever it breeds, always the same dark stain of unbending literalism, always the same shrill claim that it guards the one true path to enlightenment, always the same crazed insistence that the one unforgivable crime against faith, the one inexcusable heresy of ideology, is to ask questions.
But where there are no questions, there can be no true answers. And where there is not freedom, there cannot be real faith. How real can faith be if it is not a thing freely held, if it is something required, coerced, enforced?"
And what does any of this have to do with worship, you might say? Well.... everything. His words really stirred me. I was awakened and inspired by this young woman who was willing to stand for truth and justice. Certainly, she knew that by doing so, she was putting her very life in danger. (Here's a URL for the full article: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-14/news/ct-oped-1015-pitts-20121013_1_school-bus-fundamentalism-islamic-law)
What a privilege we have, here in America.... to worship (or not worship) in whatever way we choose (outside of any practices that would harm others, of course).
I am a Christian and served many years as a contemporary worship leader. Believe me when I say that I know what it is like to have my heart full of love for God, exploding with wonder - my spirit stirred to such a depth that cannot be explained to a person who has not experienced the same... and to be blindsided with perplexity when I have opened my eyes during corporate worship in song, to look out over a congregation and see about half of the people standing there detached, yawning, scratching their noses - shifting from one foot to another and making no apparent effort to join in with what to me seems like the most amazing (and fulfilling) opportunity given to humans while still on earth. We get to join in with Heaven when we worship God on earth. We can transcend every decaying thing that holds us here and enter into the infinite, boundless wonders of God.
There have been times when this has caused such astonishment and frustration as to make me want to say, "What is wrong with you people? Don't you get it? You're in the presence of the divine and this is what you offer Him? Don't you know who He is? Can't you sense his presence among us? Don't you remember what life was like before you let God in?" And sometimes, I have said those things.
In college, I traveled with a 40 voice choir from Emmanuel College. Before that, I traveled with a group from Falcon Children's Home on about 20 Sundays each year. It is amazing the spectrum of church experiences that a person can be exposed to when given an opportunity like that. One night, towards the end of an almost two-week tour with the EC Singers, I stood at the back of a church during their preliminary worship service just prior to our choir being introduced. I had already been in two services that morning where we had ministered at a large, charismatic, interracial, non-denominational church. It had been very high energy and our ministry there was well received. The services there were charged with corporate, demonstrative praise and it had been exciting and fulfilling to be around so many people who were so vibrant and motivated to worship God. Many of the churches we had visited on that tour had large buildings, more than adequate staff, and full worship teams. We had been singing the newest, "coolest" praise and worship all week. But, that Sunday night, I was in a dimly lit, center-block chapel near the beach and among a group of only about 60 people (besides our choir and band). The carpet and pews seemed dirty and dated and the people were all white. Most of them were 40 years of age and older. Everything seemed oppressively old-fashioned to my 20-something eyes.
As the pianist began to play, someone put a transparency slide on an over-head and projected it askew on one of the dirty walls. I inwardly groaned and my eyes involuntarily rolled. We were going to be singing songs that were at least 20 years old and not even to a more modern beat or interesting arrangement. I found myself just standing there, feeling as if the life had been sucked out of me. I was irritated with these people - irritated in general. Why couldn't they move with the times? Didn't they know the Bible said to sing a NEW song unto the Lord? Didn't they know it said that they should praise the Lord with the drums and with the clashing cymbals, with the harp the lyre and the trumpet? Didn't they know that the bible said that they should even dance before the Lord? I was annoyed to feel forced to participate in what seemed to be such drudgery.
THEN, I looked around me, expecting to find my friends in a similar state of mind. And, honestly, I did. I could tell that most of them were really having a hard time "feeling it." But, there were a handful of people that did not seem to notice the stark difference between what we were being exposed to that night and what we had experienced the rest of the week. One young man, in particular, was singing and worshiping with just as much fervor as he had in the big, modern church we had worshipped in that morning. Then, my eyes fell on someone that I considered to be one of the hippest, most spiritually admirable and musically gifted young men I had ever met. I realized that he was doing the same.
My heart was convicted. I turned back to look at the words that were projected on the screen and I felt a stirring in my spirit. I realized that I had just as much to praise God for in that dingy little chapel as I did in any large, modern auditorium. I realized that I was among God's people that night just as I had been among them that morning and that God had not changed. Though the style of the music was different and the demographics of the people were different from one church to the other, the message was the same, and my opportunity to honor God was the same. Out of gratitude for the way that God had changed my life, I had made a commitment to love Him and to worship Him all of my days - not just when I liked the music and or type of worship service or my surroundings - and not just to sing about Him, but to sing to Him.
Did I feel that God required my worship? No. But, He inspired it.
The words, "Those who really worship me, will worship me in spirit and in truth" drifted through my mind and I understood that God was not interested in any token "worship" from me.
How could I stand at the back of that church and spiritually drag my feet during this humble time of worship while making plans to get up there and show off how fervently I could worship 15 minutes later? It made no sense. If I was not willing to worship with them wholeheartedly; as I stood in the back of their church during this portion of the service, I had no business to stand in front of them or in front of any other church to lead in worship 15 minutes later.
God began to discipline a, "Let me show you how it's done." attitude out of me that night. I was permanently humbled. God was teaching me that my heart had to be with the people, in the moment and with Him more. That was far more than having my mind dialed into my ideas of musical excellence, the energy in the room, any stylistic preference or even the theological perspective of the people. Bottom line: An opportunity of worship should not be passed by.
So, back to the newspaper column:
Somewhere along the way, I arrived to the conclusion that it is not my place or anyone else's place to insist on worship or any particular style of worship because it is clear that any type of mandated or coerced worship is no worship at all. However, my heart longs to see people enter into the joy and freedom that they can know when they choose to follow the words of the scripture by singing a new song before the Lord and worship Him in spirit and truth. I long to see parents and other adults demonstrate sincere, engaged worship in front of young people.
I also long and love to see the power of God manifested among us when people really worship because we know that the scriptures declare that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. People are set free when they begin to worship because God breaks into hearts and begins to repair broken lives, the very second we open wide the doors to our hearts and acknowledge His authority and open wide our mouths to speak of His goodness, His greatness, and his forgiving, redeeming power to cleanse and provide a fresh start for any person in a mere instant. I have seen this happen over and over again and I have experienced it for myself. So, I cannot be convinced otherwise. There is nothing like a room full of people that are together turning their hearts completely towards God.
Of course, I want that for everyone I know and especially for those I stand with on any given building on a Sunday morning. Why stand there gazing at an opportunity for your own liberty through a screen door when all you have to do is grab the handle (worship) and come in. So much freedom, hope, and restoration are right there waiting for you. I want to beg people. Please don't just stand on the porch. Come in!
BUT, when it's all said and done, that's a decision each person has to make for themselves. It is a crisis of faith each person must wrestle with on their own. I can suggest a posture of worship for you but if your heart is not in it, what's the use? Here's my suggestion. Question it. Wrestle with it. Why should you worship God? What is the point of singing a bunch of songs or even saying the words, "Thank you."? Have you ever even really considered the thought that there might be a God? What will you do with Jesus, personally? You must ask these questions to arrive at a place of faith. So, by all means, ask them. Whatever you do, don't fake faith.
For me, it is a decision already made. It was born of an experience that I cannot deny. I know a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory and the half has never yet been told. I know a grace that is all-encompassing, unrelenting and completely unmerited. Though my way is, at times, shadowed, I know I am loved and that whether in life or in death, sunshine or rain, confidence or doubt, I am held.
So, how can I keep from singing His praise?
*Note: This post has been adapted from my October 15, 2012 Facebook Notes Post.
Back in October of 2012, I read an interesting editorial in the newspaper by Leonard Pitts, a syndicated columnist. It was horrible really, a commentary on the heinous crimes against a 14-year-old Islamic girl who was viciously attacked by the Taliban because she spoke out about the value of educating young women. You can go here to read a CNN report on her. : http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/10/world/asia/pakistan-teen-activist-attack/index.html.
"There are two reasons this story crossed the ocean. The first is that it is appalling. Human garbage does not get much ranker than a man who boards a school bus to kill a child. The second is that it is recognizable, that we see in their mad religious and ideological fundamentalism ghostly shadows of our own...Fundamentalism is fundamentalism wherever it breeds, always the same dark stain of unbending literalism, always the same shrill claim that it guards the one true path to enlightenment, always the same crazed insistence that the one unforgivable crime against faith, the one inexcusable heresy of ideology, is to ask questions.
But where there are no questions, there can be no true answers. And where there is not freedom, there cannot be real faith. How real can faith be if it is not a thing freely held, if it is something required, coerced, enforced?"
My heart was convicted. I turned back to look at the words that were projected on the screen and I felt a stirring in my spirit. I realized that I had just as much to praise God for in that dingy little chapel as I did in any large, modern auditorium. I realized that I was among God's people that night just as I had been among them that morning and that God had not changed. Though the style of the music was different and the demographics of the people were different from one church to the other, the message was the same, and my opportunity to honor God was the same. Out of gratitude for the way that God had changed my life, I had made a commitment to love Him and to worship Him all of my days - not just when I liked the music and or type of worship service or my surroundings - and not just to sing about Him, but to sing to Him.
I also long and love to see the power of God manifested among us when people really worship because we know that the scriptures declare that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. People are set free when they begin to worship because God breaks into hearts and begins to repair broken lives, the very second we open wide the doors to our hearts and acknowledge His authority and open wide our mouths to speak of His goodness, His greatness, and his forgiving, redeeming power to cleanse and provide a fresh start for any person in a mere instant. I have seen this happen over and over again and I have experienced it for myself. So, I cannot be convinced otherwise. There is nothing like a room full of people that are together turning their hearts completely towards God.
