Loading ...Seriousness, Culture, and Worship
It seems that seriousness is equal to reverence in some circles. Having a serious, reflective, quiet attitude in worship is a sign of true worshipping. It seems that this assumption is prevalent in most congregations. A silent, individualistic worship is the preferable style of some people. We almost assume that if someone is laughing, talking, or smiling that he or she is not taking worship seriously. But is seriousness truly the sign of true worship? There is certainly a need for conducting worship in a orderly style according to Paul. But orderliness is not always seriousness. One must wonder if David dancing before the Lord was done through the feelings of seriousness or joyousness. Those who were baptized in Acts are said to be rejoicing after the baptism. I wonderful if this was done in the assembly today, what would the rejoicing look like? I wonder if the newly saved individual started to yell “Praise God, Praise God” at the top of his lungs if he would be asked to stop or would the congregation join in? There is a line between chaos and worship. A line that must not be crossed, but probably the majority of congregations of the church border more on equating reverence with quiet, reflective, seriousness. There is nothing wrong with quiet, serious time with God, but on the other hand there must be liberty in realizing that some of this imposed seriousness could be more from the culture than from the Biblical text. It seems perhaps that our attention to having a reverent worship, also known as a serious worship, has maybe pushed aside the genuine sense of joy and rejoicing in the modern assembly. Recently, I was preaching at a congregation that said “amen”, that laughed, that looked at one another during the sermon, and seemed to be having a great time in worship. Dare I say that sometimes worship can be Fun. I hope so.
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About The Author
There is more genuine worship expressed at a sports game then in most churches. At those sport venues we pour out the true expressions of our heart by praising the team when they do well and expressing our disappointment when things are not going well. Such expressions include standing, cheering, clapping, jumping, awing, etc… This praise is the true expression of our heart and it is acceptable in such venues because no one has craftily and misguidingly created a few unwritten rules (misinterpretation of scripture) to tell people that such expressions cannot take place. I long for the day when Christians will feel free in worship to God to offer the expression that is truly on their heart. I long for the day when all of the man-made rules that have been imposed are thrown out the window. I long for the day when God will receive more genuine praise than the Chicago Cubs (or whatever your favorite sports team is).
Rex
As we were discussing 1 Timothy 1:4 Wednesday night, we talked about a number of things “which minister questions” rather than edifying ones faith in a Godly manner. Most of the things mentioned would be considered opinion(example-could we break up into small table groups and have dialogue with one another during a celebration of the Lords Supper). This would cause much trouble in many congregations. I’m afraid too many times we let opinion and tradition define our service and worship to God. But as you mentioned in an earlier blog(Mayberry) change can be tough. The “we’ve always done it this way” kicks in and then it becomes a struggle.
Check out Trey Morgan’s sons suggestion for improving his sermons>
http://www.treymorgan.net/2008/07/disco-preaching.html. Don’t think we’ll try this on at Waynesboro.
Do not worry, I cannot sing and have no beat. Rex, I also like to wave my hat around at the opposing teams fans. I might not try this at worship though, you know waving my bible around at the non-Christians.
Rex makes a great point. I have always thought that if we lived out our passion, openly for Christ as much as we do for our sports allegiances, the Kindgom of God on earth would have come a long time ago.
Your post reminds me of the story of David being criticised for dancing and signing with great joy and celebration.
are seriousness and expressiveness necessarily incompatible? i’m just thinking of scenes like in revelation where those in God’s presence seemed quite serious and solemn but were by no means lacking expressiveness.
when you go to a sporting event, it’s clear what the objective is: we want to beat the other team as badly as possible. that clarity allows people to know what to cheer for and/or against.
but we’re not as clear when we come to church gatherings. what exactly are we trying to accomplish here? what does “winning” look like? how do i know when it’s okay to cheer?
Great point Guy.
BTW, I was not trying to imply David had a deaf audience. I meant singing, not signing. Dyslexic typing.
I thought John Alan Turner raised an interesting point.
Matthew refers to the 1 Corinthians 14:40 passage that says, “But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.” A friend of mine brought up a great point on this verse. [How proper and orderly is it when we get our songs together five minutes before the service, and the man leading the prayer has had no time to reflect on what he is to say when he's randomly picked?] I think we use the above passage to keep things subdued. This is unfortunate. “We don’t need to get too excited and anything that looks fun must be wrong” seems to be the sentiment. I think our services should be reflective and with a large degree of meditation. I can’t do this if I’m doing the wave (to continue the sports reference). So, in our conquest to be spiritually serious, let us not forget to also add depth to our worship.
Dale, mentions doing the wave. I do think we need to consider our context. What might be appropriate in one worship setting (celebrating God’s work in foreign missions -jubalent praise, standing, verbal expressions of “Praise the Lord”) would not be appropriate in a worship context of lament (many funeral include such worship contexts).
Second, 1 Corinthians 11-14 reminds us that just because we can hypothetically do something in worship does not mean it is acceptable. We must ask what are our motives, what is our purpose, etc…? If our motive and purpose is self-centered, our action will always be wrong. We do want to avoid being offensive (and I realize that there are some Christians who will claim anything they do not like is “offensive”). But I honestly believe that if every Christian comes to worship God and not worry about how the person next to them expresses such worship, there would be very little trouble. In my experience, the problem starts when one person start worrying to much (and trying to control) how the other worships rather than just worshiping themselves.
Rex