Spectator Jesus, Part 3
If consumerism and tradition/changeolatry (yeah, that's not actually a word- and I may not be Bill Shakespeare- but it's what we're going with!) wasn't enough hard analysis, today we hit on an even bigger issue leading to a loss of being the church in exchange for doing church.
Many churchgoers operate on a simple, consumerist principle: I come to church for me. At their church the message and music may be extraordinary (or not- and they'll complain about it without ever taking any steps to help), but it stops there because it's all about them staring at the back of someone else's head for an hour each Sunday! There's no life and nothing outside of that meeting, because no one connects beyond, "Hi my name's X," "Good morning!" or "The peace of Christ be with you," and a handshake or hug. Perhaps they pay lip service to "Life Groups," "Fellowship Hours," or "Sunday school classes" and talk about it every once and a while, but the importance is never placed there and emphasis may only be thought to be there. This phenomena dovetails with the end results of social networking- the more "connected" we are via social media, the less connected we are to actual people. The similar truth speaks into the church- the more we "connect" to a worship experience the less likely we are to connect to a church body. If worship is the only part of church that I experience, I've missed out on 80% of what a church ought to be. Read that again- because I mean it and it's unfortunately true for far too many people!
As I said before, the Church is meant to be a balance between the things Christ called us to do- worship in spirit and truth, create disciples who know and follow Jesus, live in community with each other, share the good news with everyone we possibly can, and live as Jesus everywhere we go bringing justice and mercy to the masses, not simply worship (from these elements I draw the 80% lack for a "staring at the back of heads" church). If we worship without the connectional relationships, worship without serving those in need, worship without the depth of discipleship, or worship without seeing the need for carrying the good news out of that context we've missed the point. Worship has morphed from something living and divinely meaningful in the early church to passionless pews of people who are little more than concertgoers. How did we get here and how can we affect change- moving from spectators staring at the backs of heads to engaged worshippers who are connected relationally to one another? As we look for an answer, let's look at how we got to this point.
Pre-Reformation the liturgy was sung/chanted by professional clergy (in Latin) and any music performed in the church was sung by professional choirs/musicians (also in Latin). This meant to have a singable theology meant knowing Latin and being an accomplished musician. The Reformation changed all that bringing the music of the church into the vernacular and utilizing simple melodies so everyone could sing the songs of the church and sing their theology through the week. As time progressed, hymns became more complex and the printing press allowed hymnals to be mass distributed giving even greater accessibility to the music of the church. Fast forward to the beginning of the modern worship scene began- technology now allowed the lyrics to be projected pulling congregations heads out of the hymnal and forward (which is a beautiful thing!). It also created new opportunities for songwriting and a greater level of involvement in producing the music of the church. But, it also led to a re-professionalization of church music, creating pews/chairs of spectators, not worshippers, who watch the professionals present their talents in God's service week in, week out. So many good intentions and great ideas (bringing visual art back into worship, working hard to do our absolute best in music, creating phenomenal experiences of worship, etc.) have created the exact opposite culture of what they intended- spectators instead of passionately engaged worshippers.
But, behind all of that is the idea that worship is primarily music. While important, music is an outpouring, and end, of our worship. What do I mean? Music serves great purpose and is mentioned extensively in Scripture- but there's a key verse to our understanding that we might choose to neglect:
Many churchgoers operate on a simple, consumerist principle: I come to church for me. At their church the message and music may be extraordinary (or not- and they'll complain about it without ever taking any steps to help), but it stops there because it's all about them staring at the back of someone else's head for an hour each Sunday! There's no life and nothing outside of that meeting, because no one connects beyond, "Hi my name's X," "Good morning!" or "The peace of Christ be with you," and a handshake or hug. Perhaps they pay lip service to "Life Groups," "Fellowship Hours," or "Sunday school classes" and talk about it every once and a while, but the importance is never placed there and emphasis may only be thought to be there. This phenomena dovetails with the end results of social networking- the more "connected" we are via social media, the less connected we are to actual people. The similar truth speaks into the church- the more we "connect" to a worship experience the less likely we are to connect to a church body. If worship is the only part of church that I experience, I've missed out on 80% of what a church ought to be. Read that again- because I mean it and it's unfortunately true for far too many people!
As I said before, the Church is meant to be a balance between the things Christ called us to do- worship in spirit and truth, create disciples who know and follow Jesus, live in community with each other, share the good news with everyone we possibly can, and live as Jesus everywhere we go bringing justice and mercy to the masses, not simply worship (from these elements I draw the 80% lack for a "staring at the back of heads" church). If we worship without the connectional relationships, worship without serving those in need, worship without the depth of discipleship, or worship without seeing the need for carrying the good news out of that context we've missed the point. Worship has morphed from something living and divinely meaningful in the early church to passionless pews of people who are little more than concertgoers. How did we get here and how can we affect change- moving from spectators staring at the backs of heads to engaged worshippers who are connected relationally to one another? As we look for an answer, let's look at how we got to this point.
Pre-Reformation the liturgy was sung/chanted by professional clergy (in Latin) and any music performed in the church was sung by professional choirs/musicians (also in Latin). This meant to have a singable theology meant knowing Latin and being an accomplished musician. The Reformation changed all that bringing the music of the church into the vernacular and utilizing simple melodies so everyone could sing the songs of the church and sing their theology through the week. As time progressed, hymns became more complex and the printing press allowed hymnals to be mass distributed giving even greater accessibility to the music of the church. Fast forward to the beginning of the modern worship scene began- technology now allowed the lyrics to be projected pulling congregations heads out of the hymnal and forward (which is a beautiful thing!). It also created new opportunities for songwriting and a greater level of involvement in producing the music of the church. But, it also led to a re-professionalization of church music, creating pews/chairs of spectators, not worshippers, who watch the professionals present their talents in God's service week in, week out. So many good intentions and great ideas (bringing visual art back into worship, working hard to do our absolute best in music, creating phenomenal experiences of worship, etc.) have created the exact opposite culture of what they intended- spectators instead of passionately engaged worshippers.
But, behind all of that is the idea that worship is primarily music. While important, music is an outpouring, and end, of our worship. What do I mean? Music serves great purpose and is mentioned extensively in Scripture- but there's a key verse to our understanding that we might choose to neglect:
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12.1, NLT)Notice what Paul says is true worship: giving our lives to God as "living and holy sacrifices." That means worship isn't the songs we sing, the sermon that is preached, or even something that happens within a church building. Instead, worship is every breath we breathe and action we take reflecting the glory of God as we become less so He can become more. Your work, your words, your love for others, your songs, your recreational activities, your driving- absolutely anything you do- is, and should be, worship pointing the worth back to God for what He's done. That was John Calvin's point as he spoke of the honorability and sacredness of anyone's calling and work in the Institutes of Christian Religion and what Paul makes clear in Colossians 3 and 1 Corinthians 10. Let's look at 1 Corinthians for a second:
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10.31, NLT)Doing all we do for the glory of God sounds a lot like the word, "worship," since worship is giving worth/reverence/respect to something. Which brings us full circle. Worship isn't a spectator event- it's something that encompasses all of life- that requires active participation. A worship service is more than the music, more than the sermon- the capstone and explosion from my week of worshipping God in every aspect of life. It brings us together for a time to remember the God we've been serving who owes us nothing but gives us everything, to remember His great worth and to celebrate that. It's active, it's organic, it's more than a song. Maybe if we, as individuals, recover the truth of what worship is- the church can become more than bodies filling pews/chairs for an hour. Maybe when we recover true worship, we would change the way we do things in our corporate worship- seeing that our worship together comes from our souls and hearts overflowing with wonder at who God truly is and gratitude for what He has done for us- and making space for that in silence together, in song together, in prayer together, in conversation together, in listening to the Word of God together, in eating together, and in moving into the world again, together. The emphasis there is important- together. We are meant to be a body, not disparate pieces working alone- and gathering in corporate worship is meant to be part of what knits that body together, joining us up into Jesus Christ- the head of the body. May it be that way with us- allowing our worship to come from hearts and souls overflowing with amazement at the glory of God, thankfulness for what He has done for us, and joy at the family He brought us into- so that we move from spectators at an experience, to worshippers who are joined together cruciform into something so much more...
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