14 May
How Much Worship Is Enough?
Does worship start and stop depending on the circumstances of life? Is it put on hold while we go to work or school? Is it suspended when we take our family to a baseball game or meet friends at the golf course or go on vacation?
If those of us who facilitate gathered worship are not careful, our actions can imply that “time and place worship is the primary, if not only, venue for worship, while the remainder of our life falls into another category.”[1] In fact our focus, preparation, and implementation can even imply that the official time and place is a 30-minute segment (song set) during our weekend gathering and that the other 6 days and 23.5 hours of the week is something else.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). (OK, maybe golf wasn’t the best illustration)
My daughter was a very good student in high school but is an even better student in college. When asked why she determined to take her studies to a new level she responded with: “God has called me to ministry and to this university to prepare for that ministry, therefore, I believe that making good grades in what He has called me to do is an act of worship.” Don’t you love learning from your kids?
Harold Best wrote, “Because God is the Continuous Outpourer, we bear his image as continuous outpourers. Being made in the image of God means that we were created to act the way God acts, having been given a nature within which such behavior is natural.”[2] Best also writes that outpouring implies lavishness and generosity; it requires giving up and letting go; it is seamless; and it surpasses measuring out or filling quotas, even to the extent that it doesn’t matter if some spills over in gracious waste.[3]
If this is true then a Call to Worship at the beginning of a worship service is redundant. In fact, calling a congregation to worship might even be more appropriate at the end of the service just to remind them as they disperse that the entire life of a Christ follower is a call to worship…even on the golf course.
Posted by Mike Reber on 14.05.12 at 9:43 am
It is sad that what goes around seems to go around regardless of the last example. The most powerful thing about the gospel in the days of Christ on Earth and today is that liberation, that freedom from the concept that God dwells in any building. The church He built was in the hearts of followers, the church is the people not the building that they gather in. God is not hidden away, cloaked in the recesses of the temple, available only to special people at select times.
I sometimes wonder what Martin Luther might tack on to the door of the evangelical church today. Jesus always led us to consider the heart’s condition, indeed it is our heart He is after. However the corporate church seems to emphasize behavior in deed if not word. Harold Best here seems to be on to this.
Posted by Alden Schoeneberg (@alden_t910) on 14.05.12 at 9:43 am
As usual, you are right on the money here, David. I love that it would be appropriate to call our people to worship as they leave. I might add that this Sunday, as our topic will be “worship.”
For too long worship has been used as a synonym for singing within our churches or in some cases, just watching. “If I didn’t fall asleep, then I worshiped well.” With this substituted definition for worship – just singing – no wonder we see God-worshipers leave the building and quickly offer their worship to the next things on their schedule Monday – Saturday.
Thanks for calling worship pastors to be proactive in educating our congregations in Spirit and Truth God-worship.
Posted by Chris Gambill on 14.05.12 at 9:43 am
David,
Thanks for your exploration of this topic. I whole heartedly agree of the importance of teaching those in our churches that worship is more than music and extends far beyond the communal gathering to everyday life. Helping people to grasp this can revolutionize how they live life for the glory of God and in the Kingdom.
However, I think that the call to worship is still a vital and important element to include in our gatherings. I don’t think it precludes, if done well, the teaching of this truth. Done poorly, it can certainly reinforce the worship only happens at church on Sunday morning mentality. I’ve written a little about this on my blog here: http://jrnwshp.us/J46ALA
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Posted by David Manner on 14.05.12 at 9:43 am
Chris,
If every congregation approached the call to worship like you outlined it in your post it would never be treated as a trite add on. This statement from your post is right on target: “The call to worship does not find its value as a motivational element to get people awake and ready to sing. It is not really about us, or our readiness to worship, at all.” Thanks for helping us all understand its value. I love the tour guide illustration.