I have been thinking a lot about church lately. I have been really bothered by all of the talk about whether or not a church is progressive or conservative, reverent or entertaining, exciting or boring, etc. To me, it is not about what songs you sing or how many prayers are led or if the sermon is long or short. I don't "go to church" to be entertained. I go to worship my God.
I feel like everyone today, no matter what side they are on, is worried about what the other side is doing and forgetting why we are there in the first place. Honestly, if you go to church on Sundays to get your ticket punched, then I'd rather you stay home. I know that may sound harsh, but I think that if everyone who came to church on Sundays was only there to worship God because He gave His Son for them, then the worship would be so much more meaningful.
There is this singing in Allensville, KY that I have gone to since I was a little girl. They sing "old" songs and there are a lot of older people there. It is in a very small, old country church. But I have never been anywhere that sounds like that singing does. Stephen and I were talking on the way home about why it sounds so much different, besides the wooden ceilings and other things in the building. We came to the conclusion that there is not one person there who doesn't want to be there to lift praises in song to God. No one is there because they feel like they have to be there. No one is there so people can see what they are wearing. No one is there to socialize, although it is always good to see those people you don't see anywhere else. Everyone is there with the sole purpose of singing their hearts out to God. That is the heart of worship-all about Him and none of it about me.
That is what I wish our church would focus on. Then it wouldn't matter what songs were sung, how many, if anyone clapped or raised their hands to God, none of that would matter because it wouldn't be about the people. Just about Him. I know this is a long post, but I wanted to share what has been on my heart. I would love to hear feed back.
1 comment:
Granddaughter, you and I belong to different generations but I sense that we have much in common with our feelings about worship. During the early years of my life the emphasis on worship was (1) the acceptable acts of worship done in the 'proper' order and (2) everything must be done according to a set or rules compiled by someone in a prior generation. This period has been described as legalistic. Any change from the past practices generated heated debate and finger pointing. Dissension over what is acceptable worship is nothing new and you should not be discouraged by it. Inquiry and discussion by reasonable minds will eventually lead to the truth.
I have lived long enough to have witnessed many changes in the way 'church' is done. Many of those changes were prompted by the changes of customs in our culture. A concern I have is the dwindling effect Christians have on our culture and the growing effect our mondern culture is having on Christians. The American youth of today are bombarded with visual and auditory stimuli from every direction. I had concluded that the results were short attention span, dulled senses and a loss of ability for reflective introspection. You blog shows me that you are capable of both reflective thinking and introspection. God bless you.
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