Worship: product or encounter?

New research indicates that many people aren’t as interested in a style of worship as they are with an encounter with The Holy. “It’s not about me,” they say. Worship is about encounter with God. Our Worship Team affirmed this value at their first meeting of 2007.

Yet consumerism penetrates everything we say about worship, “I liked (or I didn’t like) the [music, sermon, etc.].” Or, “people want [this or that style of worship, music or preaching].” Or, “we want to make the service [more interesting, more fun, more stimulating, more worshipful].” Our thinking about worship (and about life?) is so “consumeristic,” especially if we’re Baby Boomers (the “me” generation).

When is the last time you or someone you know said, “I encountered God today in worship?”

On the other hand, we who plan and lead worship are responsible for the setting in which worship occurs. That setting must be excellent, diverse (at least at Westbury UMC), heart-felt and honest, so we still have work to do. If the setting is well constructed, those whose hearts are right may encounter God, by the grace of God.

I’ll never forget Audrey II, the man-eating flower in “Little Shop of Horrors.” “Feed me!” he begged, whined and finally roared, as he got bigger and bigger. Always wanting more, Audrey II is the perfect example of the consumer mentality. That paradigm pervades all our thinking, especially when we’re not thinking!

Those who are looking to be “fed” in worship may be satisfied with the product they consume — or not — but it is unlikely that they will be satisfied for long, or that they will have actually encountered The Holy in worship.

Worship or Performance?

I’ve recently been reading a thread about whether church musicians are performers or not.

Some say shame on you if you “perform” in church; others say performing is what we do. This includes preachers and other worship leaders.

But with me there is never a simple — or a single — answer to a question. My favorite answer is, “it depends.”

I have worshiped in symphony concerts. I have also witnessed performances in worship services that were not worship!

After reading about 20 posts on the subject I finally put in my 2 cents worth, then thought about it some more. Here’s my latest thinking:

Excellence and Passion

Excellence and passion are two sides of the same coin for worship performers. They must be in balance with each other. Each is an antidote to the excesses of the other.

When we sing or play (or preach or read or pray) in worship, it is a performance. We practice (or we should!); we work hard on the craft of what we are doing. God deserves our best. To be leaders we must study, and talent has to come in there somewhere. When the Israelites chose their worship team, the found the best to be the leader:

Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, was to direct the music, for he understood it. 1Chr. 15:22

But excellence and talent alone do not make for a legitimate worship performance. Your heart must be right with God. This means that your performance is not about you.

• Your heart, mind and soul must be into the words or the music — or both.
  
• Your pastor’s heart must reach out to the congregation.
  
• Your worshiper’s heart must feel the vibration of God’s presence in the space around you and in you and in others.
• God is the audience for your performance.
  

But a part of you must still be a performer. If you become too emotional, you will not be able to finish the music, the prayer, the sermon. You must be self-aware: “can I reach that high note this morning or should I sing a different one?”

Performers are multi-taskers. They transcend themselves as they perform, getting inside their music, reaching out to God and worshipers, while at the same time analyzing themselves and how they are doing.

Would that I could do this all the time. My ego gets in the way — I like being in the spotlight!

An active devotional life is an anecdote to this flaw. And humility and submission.

I pray this prayer often (I think it’s in public domain; if not, someone will let me know and I’ll take it down.):

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low by thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. Amen.
…a Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition

Getting Real in Worship

WINNIPEG, Man. - What does it mean to worship as a community, not just as a collection of individuals? How can worship help people to truly find and meet God. How can it bring people together? How can Christians achieve some sense of understanding about the role of music in worship?

This quote comes from an article about three Mennonite faculty members work in the area of Mennonite worship. I shared the article with our worship team at our first meeting of 2007. Team members picked up on several key concepts about worship in the paper:

1. It’s not about me; it’s about God.
2. We’ve lost our sense of holy space. When everything is worship (our work, etc.), the danger is that nothing is holy.
3. Our worship is too individualistic. Not only is it about God; it’s also about God and us.
4. We have to keep the door to the new open while keeping alive the new.

To read the paper, click here.