The Worship Service vs. The Congregation as Object of Worship
As a pastor, one of my responsibilities in the church is to officiate the service of worship and make sure that it is an edifying experience for those in the congregation. Yet I find that there is an aspect that we have neglected, at least in the Protestant church, is the actual activity of worship.
In the more 'contemporary' worship services, praise music has taken root and, in some ways, offers a chance to worship God by providing repetitive lyrics and rhythms that allow the people singing to, in effect, lose themselves in the activity of the song and open themselves to God's presence. While I am not a fan of praise music, I do appreciate what it does - more or less.
What it does is provide focus (again, more or less) towards God. I fear that much of our worship does not provide focus. I have found that what we do is not to worship God so much as offer pieces of a service in honor of God. Worshiping and honoring are not the same thing. While honoring God is a right thing to do, worshiping God is the place of the service. It is there to provide an avenue in which people could come and gather to worship God.
The service of worship is supposed to provide that. I believe it can and sometimes does, but only when there is a deliberate effort on the part of those composing the service to make sure the focus is not on them. As a pastor, I have to make sure that the message I offer is elucidating, edifying, clear, and challenging for the individual. It is to be designed to enable the congregation to engage their ideas of faith with a perspective taken from a passage of scripture and ponder as to how that might shape their decision making in the world.
The anthem is to do what praise music does, though the congregation does not participate in the same manner. The congregation is, as the music is offered (and it is to be an offering), to be allowed transport into a heightened level of consciousness that offers a reflective and moving spiritual experience. Good music moves people - be that rock and roll, soul, jazz, or the hymns of the church. Done well, this music can truly stir the soul. It often doesn't because the choir doesn't consider what they are doing as worship or as an offering but as a performance. They are performing which usually means they are thinking about the congregation, not to God to whom they are singing.
Likewise when communion is celebrated, I find that many people want the pastor to face the congregation. Partly that is to feel as if the service is including the people. But I find that I do appreciate the Greek Orthodox approach which is to face away from the congregation and offer the service on behalf of the people. Of course Protestants don't like or want the idea of a middle-man pastor who officiates between them and God, but the approach of the Greek Orthodox is more of a recognition of the wholly and holy otherness of God which we approach with love, honor, but also with awe and wonder. I am not offering the service to the congregation, I am offering it with the congregation and it is a remembrance of God's activity. In that remembrance is an honoring of God as well as a recognition of the One we come to worship.
These may seem like little things, but they are important. I once heard a friend of mine make the statement as we passed a Catholic Church that the priest inside would "offer mass even if no one was there." I found that to be a profound statement.
In my own ministry, there was a service for Ash Wednesday that was attended by four people, myself included. It was my first appointment and I was a little concerned by the attendance. I asked the two in the congregation and the pianist (the third person) what they wanted to do. The answer from one of the men in the front row was this: "We came for the service. We're here. Go on with it." And that has been my take for my ministry. When I thought about the priest, I found a kindred spirit in that I would seek to offer the worship of God to anyone that attends, even if no one attends but me. Why? Because it isn't about me, it is about God.
Or, as the praise song says, "It's all about you, Jesus." While not a great hymn of the church, it does get to the heart of the matter.
In the more 'contemporary' worship services, praise music has taken root and, in some ways, offers a chance to worship God by providing repetitive lyrics and rhythms that allow the people singing to, in effect, lose themselves in the activity of the song and open themselves to God's presence. While I am not a fan of praise music, I do appreciate what it does - more or less.
What it does is provide focus (again, more or less) towards God. I fear that much of our worship does not provide focus. I have found that what we do is not to worship God so much as offer pieces of a service in honor of God. Worshiping and honoring are not the same thing. While honoring God is a right thing to do, worshiping God is the place of the service. It is there to provide an avenue in which people could come and gather to worship God.
The service of worship is supposed to provide that. I believe it can and sometimes does, but only when there is a deliberate effort on the part of those composing the service to make sure the focus is not on them. As a pastor, I have to make sure that the message I offer is elucidating, edifying, clear, and challenging for the individual. It is to be designed to enable the congregation to engage their ideas of faith with a perspective taken from a passage of scripture and ponder as to how that might shape their decision making in the world.
The anthem is to do what praise music does, though the congregation does not participate in the same manner. The congregation is, as the music is offered (and it is to be an offering), to be allowed transport into a heightened level of consciousness that offers a reflective and moving spiritual experience. Good music moves people - be that rock and roll, soul, jazz, or the hymns of the church. Done well, this music can truly stir the soul. It often doesn't because the choir doesn't consider what they are doing as worship or as an offering but as a performance. They are performing which usually means they are thinking about the congregation, not to God to whom they are singing.
Likewise when communion is celebrated, I find that many people want the pastor to face the congregation. Partly that is to feel as if the service is including the people. But I find that I do appreciate the Greek Orthodox approach which is to face away from the congregation and offer the service on behalf of the people. Of course Protestants don't like or want the idea of a middle-man pastor who officiates between them and God, but the approach of the Greek Orthodox is more of a recognition of the wholly and holy otherness of God which we approach with love, honor, but also with awe and wonder. I am not offering the service to the congregation, I am offering it with the congregation and it is a remembrance of God's activity. In that remembrance is an honoring of God as well as a recognition of the One we come to worship.
These may seem like little things, but they are important. I once heard a friend of mine make the statement as we passed a Catholic Church that the priest inside would "offer mass even if no one was there." I found that to be a profound statement.
In my own ministry, there was a service for Ash Wednesday that was attended by four people, myself included. It was my first appointment and I was a little concerned by the attendance. I asked the two in the congregation and the pianist (the third person) what they wanted to do. The answer from one of the men in the front row was this: "We came for the service. We're here. Go on with it." And that has been my take for my ministry. When I thought about the priest, I found a kindred spirit in that I would seek to offer the worship of God to anyone that attends, even if no one attends but me. Why? Because it isn't about me, it is about God.
Or, as the praise song says, "It's all about you, Jesus." While not a great hymn of the church, it does get to the heart of the matter.
Comments
Post a Comment