But WHY do we worship?

This is the third, and final, post about worship.  And our focus question is, why gather at all?  I suspect we have all heard someone say, "Oh, I can worship God in nature...or on the golf course." (although usually the way I heard God's name evoked in that particular setting does not seem very worshipful).  So why get together?  I recently heard Brian McLaren say that, "It is not as though God every seven days goes itching for an prelude."  Or a sermon either, I might add.  

I think part of the problem is that we think worship is only about at God.  But in some ways, worship is also about the participates.  Worship says a lot more about us and our understanding of who God is.  Consider the all-too-tired-now worship wars over "contemporary" music.  I put that in quotes because this debate has been going on so long, that some of the initial music is no longer contemporary at all!  Some find it easier to worship God with drums and guitars, others with organ and choirs, still others in silence and chants.  Too often, we approach this conversation as a zero sum game...one of the above options HAS to be right (or more right), so the others can only be wrong, right?  I actually think that approach is wrong.  Each of the proponents of the particular worship style, I think, has found something meaningful there.  People who like drums and guitars often say they feel this type of music reflects what they listen to in their car so it connects with their daily life.  Perhaps they feel more authentic singing along with such music in church.  Others believe passionately, that worship music should feel and sound differently, hence they gravitate more to organ and music that we are not surrounded by so frequently in our every day lives.  And still others say that what really speaks and sparks their souls is God's still singing voice, so we need extended quiet in worship.  And I am sure there are options D, E, etc... out there too.

So, the starting place is to accept that we like what we like.  And yet, if worship is about something other than just consuming a product, and I think many of us can agree that we want worship to be something other than a play we pay to see, one way we jar ourselves out of the consumerist culture is to make sure every worship service has elements we don't like.  You read that right.  If worship is not all about you, then at some point you need to say, "That particular moment does not get it for me, but I am glad that my friend here finds it meaningful."  And maybe even deeper, "The meaning of that prelude, is that it mattered so much to Sally."  Worship is a dance where we get to participate fully, and sometimes we sit watching as others dance.  There is a give and take.

Too often, I wonder if we have missed that.  We have made worship an "all or nothing" zero sum game.  Far too many meetings have been spent chasing this issue, when we could have said, "It does not get it for me, but I am glad, truly glad, it gets it for you."  And even more so, "Can you help me understand how this type of music, prayer, style of preaching and worship is meaningful for you?"  Then listen to the answers and thoughts the other gives...hopefully s/he will ask/listen the same of you.

One of the reason, I think we argue, is because we do want to be right and we want to feel our preferences affirmed.  Second reason is because worship is art.  Remember the last time you wandered around a museum?  Chances are good that you liked the Picasso, but not the van Gogh.  You cried in one wing and whizzed through another.  And did you go to the museum curator and demand they only have your preferences?  I hope not.  I hope you noticed that the museum was not only for you, it was for others.  And while you walked through one room quickly, you maybe saw someone else linger there for a long time.  So, here is my invitation to you; talk.  Talk and listen to others about worship more.  We cannot have this conversation enough with our friends inside...especially outside the church.  We need to move from arguing and trying to score points to coming to find the beauty in worship through a variety of styles.

If you can, ask why don't your neighbors...or children...or grand-children come to church?  What do they find meaningful and what kinds of music, prayers, sermons, and rituals would help each group feel alive?  Then how can you, yes you, work with the pastor and church to make that happen?  What is at stake is helping people connect on a deep level with the grace of God together, with each other and for the sake of each other!  I believe with my whole heart, the more we ask "Why", the more we sense a trace of God's grace.

God's blessings on your conversations with each other!

Peace ~