Back to Church

It's been a few weeks since I have been to church. Travel, vacation, oversleeping when an overnight power outage un-set my alarm, and a few times of just being lazy. So it was with a lot of joy that I went to church this morning. It was communion- which is always special. There was nothing special- no big event to try to draw more people in. No promotional anything. Just worship and communion.

And I knew why I go to church on a Sunday like that. Other than Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday I don't think I like the BIG Sundays. All the hoopla and goings-on take away from the reason I am there. I go to be in touch with God along with my brothers and sisters. I have a hunch that what I am looking most for is that connection with those who are there just for the sake of being there.

Some of the music and the service was not something that would necessarily be attractive to non-Christians. It might sound dated. (Might? Some of the language is downright ancient!) The music can sound like something out of a previous century. (It is. Even most of the "contemporary" stuff is, too!) But I realized as I sat there that since I am not the pastor or music leader or anyone else of any authority in the congregation, I didn't really care that the music and style may not have been attractive.

It moved me, deeply. We did the St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer. As it rolled off my tongue and into my soul I felt the Spirit.

We prayed the Lord's Prayer. As the ancient and familiar words went forth I knew that God was present.

We took the bread and the cup and sang from the hymnal. I knew- i knew that I was with brothers and sisters in Christ.

Worship is not necessarily to be evangelism. I don't think that's what it's about. (I know- I have probably changed my tune on this many times over the past 30 years.) Not that evangelism- sharing the Good News and the Life of Jesus- doesn't happen in worship. It does in very profound ways. But it is also about a lot of other things- the feeding and sharing of the community, the opportunity for fellowship, the time and place to be challenged to continue to grow in faith, the call to go forth and live- yes, live- what we have just been through so that the world may be a better and more Spirit-filled place more often in ministry and mission.

I am fortunate in that I can go to just about any worship service and have an opportunity to be in touch with God. I have had it happen in Catholic, Episcopalian, Lutheran, small and large and mega-churches. I have even had it happen in Jewish synagogues. So if we hadn't had that particular mix of worship elements I would probably still have experienced what I experienced. It is a tricky mix to lead worship and do it in a way that en-thuses (from en-theos) the most people.

I am glad I was there this morning. It was good to be back.

Update: After I finished this post I was surfing over at Bene Diction and found a variation- or at least another facet of what I was trying to say. He first has some information from someone who had been to the Greenbelt Festival in Britain and the "cheerleader" effect of so many worship leaders.

I still love to be in God’s presence. I still love to worship. But I no longer need to be ushered to the throne of God like in the past. I no longer need a cheerleader pointing me to Jesus.

Then BD shares some of his place as well:

That does not negate the people that find worship in this style Tuscano relates at Greenbelt, I don’t mean to imply that. I have moved through the season of the cheerleader and into a place where the tradition of the saints that have gone before and left us their music and their traditions.

worship: reverent honor and homage paid to God: To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion.

Me and Jesus songs, lots of noise, shouting, jumping up and down, raising hands and
acting a certain way. Repetition has lost it’s appeal, I don’t need entertainment and I too, find it like sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.

Well said, my friend. Well said.