We went to church this past week and it was a ROCKIN service. Brick wall behind the alter, band members in jeans and nice, modest tops, different levels on the stage for the guitar players, drummers and singers. It was rockin!
But I wasn't happy
Don't get me wrong. I love a rockin Christian song, I really do. I get totally swept up in the moment. Hundreds of people singing praises to OUR GOD! We sang the Revelation Song, which is one of my favorites. It moved me to tears. It was so amazing.
But, I wasn't happy.
Don't get me wrong. I love a rockin Christian song. I love to sing at the top of my lungs and be totally drowned out by the band - as I should be because I can't really sing :) I love it that only the Lord can hear my voice as I sing those glorious words just to Him...."Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, Holy Holy is He!" Moves me beyond understanding.
But I wasn't happy.
Why? I think it was because it was Sunday morning. Because it was church. For me that time is for a bit more reverence. I think Sunday morning should be a time of quiet reflection, a chance to begin your week with thinking, praying and honoring God without focusing on the hype of the world. I know churches are trying to be relevant, but I think that they can go over board at times.
The Bible and all it has to offer can speak for itself. Yes there are times you need to reach out to others where they are and I know that to be true as Jesus did it Himself. But, to change the make-up of the church by making it a rock concert is going too far for me. To me that isn't what church is about.
All I kept thinking was, "Are these people here for a good time (because it was a good time, the worship team/band was awesome), or were they here for God, to glorify Him? I am not sure. Also, I can see how a non-believer can get lost in the hype, all the praising and singing to the Lord without really knowing God and all He is.
Why not do this kind of worship on say, Wednesday night. Make it a singing worshipping time in the middle of the week. That would be great! Kind of a revival in the middle of the week slump that you sometimes feel as Sunday starts to fade in the distance.
Am I being too judgemental in these last two posts? Maybe. I can get that way at times and God has to knock me down a notch or two or three :) This is just my opinion. You may go to a great big rockin church and it is amazing. I am glad to hear that. I know that there are all types of ways to worship God. Just as long as that is what we are doing - worshipping and bringing glory to the ONE who is to be praised!
XO
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
At our church plant, the first study we did in the adult Sunday school class was about worship. Seems in Scripture, God is very particular about how He wants His people to approach Him in worship! Some things outsiders may consider weird came from that months-long study. For one thing, we cut "special music" from the AM worship service - because we felt like it focussed more on performance than on the God we were there to worship. We still have solos/"rockin" music on Sunday PM, but it is before the evening worship service begins. Also, we realized some of the popular "Christian" songs of today actually contain very bad, false theology. (Even some of the "classic" hymns, too!) One question we frequently ask as a body is, "Are we approaching God with the reverance and awe due to Him?" Also, do I leave a worship service thinking, "What an awesome God!" - or - do I leave thinking, "What awesome music/preaching/etc.!" Am I more likely to notice and remember the people and the accessories, or the God the people are meeting to worship? I think those are valid questions for believers. The church today seems more concerned w/ what we ourselves or our unbelieving visitors think about worship - too little concerned about what God thinks, as revealed in Scripture.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have to consider that sometimes I'm not too excited about God unless I have something to kind of work me into an emotional high. That, of course, is sin. The Glory and loveliness of God is not contingent upon my emotions, nor should I make an idol of my feelings or preferences. Timely post, Sue - it is always appropriate to examine our actions and motives, especially as regards our worship of the Sovereign God!