Some Thoughts on American Worship Services

I love the church.

I really do.

I still believe that the church is where the world should look to to solve all of it’s problems, and at the same token I believe that the church should own it and be the answer to those problems in a loving, forgiving and servant filled way.

In America, the church seems to exist in people’s minds in pretty small windows.

People, without saying it out loud, seem to think that God exists in about 4 places.

The church building and most meeting held in it.

Funerals.

Hospitals.

Sporting Events.

Those are about the only places God seems to really exists in people’s minds when it comes down to it, apart from from those we can pretty much do what we want and he will most likely pop in when we put our kids to bed or when I just got done sinning, but for the most part God works long hours elsewhere so we can just pick him up right where we left him later on in the week.

The most prevalent place that God seems to exists is the Worship Service.

When you enter a “church” you are now in “God’s House”. It is his. His name may not be on the mail box and he may not get sent the bills, but it is his house so you have to look and act like he is here (unlike the other 6 days and 22 hours of the week).

So if worship services are such a big deal in our church culture, the question must be brought up, why do we seem to try so little?

You have churches that have these things called ‘special music” where someone who seemingly has never sung a note in the context of a voice lesson or legitimate choral group, turning on a karaoke machine (it always turns to the wrong track by the sound guy, who most likely wasn’t told the track number to begin with, to which she tells him to find it while the crowds waits) and close her eyes and sing whatever this track guides her to sing. Then as she/he sings, it finishes, people clap, the preacher acts like it was pretty good, and we move along.

You have skits. Skits that have really never been rehearsed, aren’t even in the ballpark of well produced or well acted and then at the end of the two minutes everyone stops drinking and driving and gets saved. And then, people applaud for effort.

We have song leaders that pick from a random book on Saturday Night or early Sunday morning with litte thought as to how this might inspire the majesty that is Yahweh.

You have people cover secular tunes that they hear on the radio. It is played so chaotically that you don’t realize it is the new Maroon 5 song until the second verse and at the end everyone feels like we are cool now because we wear jeans and Ryan Seacrest would recognize our set list.

Every time I see this I try to be respectful.

I think to myself that the person doing this really loves Jesus. They are gifted in many ways, but no one has had the courage to tell them that they might not be the part of the BODY that sings, acts or plays instruments. I know that many are on a mission to relate to people and teach the gospel and they feel like if they love it, they should do it.

I once asked a Worship Director and asked him why he allowed that and what he said shook me, he said:

It’s good enough for church.

Good enough for church?

But is that the way?

While reading Exodus this week someone struck me. I got to the part where God instructs on how to build the Tabernacle. He is so specific. He tells them the exact dimensions, the exact tools to use, the exact materials to use. At one point in Exodus 25:5 God tells Moses to build part of it from the skins of Manatees.

Manatees?

So Moses must have been like “um, do you know how hard it is to catch a Manatee? I mean good harpoons won’t be invented for 4,000 years.”

But, he has to.

God also over and over tells him to hire embroiders to do the work on the linens and  tells him to use Gold, Bronze and Silver.

God asks him to use the best stuff there is and use the best people there is.

Why?

Because this place is where people would grow to believe God exists.

The whole world was his but this is where you could ceremonially experience him.

Some of it was made so precise and only a few people would ever see it, most of the time God and one guy, but that doesn’t matter to God. To God is he has a house, it is the nicest on the block because he deserves to be honored with the best.

If people come to ceremonially experience God, we pray over what we do, we make it intentional and we use the collective gifts that God gave our body is the right way.

That is why I love Josh Walker. He is Catalyst’s Creative Arts Director and one of my best friends in the whole world. Every time we discuss a worship service you can see him strategically think of whom to use, how to use them and what elements we can use to bring people closer to God and lift him up the way he deserves it.

Some think that churches like Catalyst and Chestnut Ridge in Morgantown work too hard on that hour, but we don’t, we do it because God sees what we do when we gather. He is breathtaking and beautiful and everything we do should reflect that, whether it is traditional, contemporary or not labeled, just reflective of who God is and who we are in relationship to him.

We love Jesus and we hope that what we do makes it obvious to the world.

Do you?

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