Absurd Story about Worship Part 2

Read this first: http://malibby.blogspot.com/2007/04/absurd-story-about-worship.html

I had promised a continuation of "Absurd Story about Worship" and have yet to follow through. Maybe because I never intended to continue it. Just to keep my word, though, I will continue it by drawing out some of the things I hoped to convey.

What I had hoped to convey through this was not a bash on music, hymns or choruses, but to point out the absurdity of our monochromatic corporate worship. I'd also hoped to invoke the feelings of oppression that someone who isn't particularly moved by, or gifted in, music might feel in a church dominated by music. I don't know if it did that, but I thought it was a pretty good attempt.

You would not believe the dirty looks and apprehension I get when I bring up the idea of having a corporate worship devoid of music. Often the reaction is probably stronger than if I had suggested we burn the Bible. Even though no one will admit it, music seems to really be considered the only way to worship corporately.

I guess I should expect this in a world full of people (including church leaders) who never leave home without their iPODs. The ability to have music is considered so much of a right in our society that people can't consider being without it, even on Sunday morning. (If you don't think we view music as a right, then consider how many people (including, maybe especially, Christians) willingly and knowingly steal thousands of dollars worth of music and have a completely clean conscience about it)

I've said it before, I love music. I don't know how many late nights I have spent just playing music, taking in every note and rhythm, doing nothing but listening for hours. But it is so sad to me how music seems to be the only honorable way to worship. That people who should be painting or writing poetry feel like they should learn guitar so that they can be a part of a worship team.

To me, when I get outside of my music-loving box and put aside my gifts in the area of music, the musical machine we in the church truly does look as absurd as the story I wrote. If we spent as much time and resources on any other art form there would be an uproar among the people in the church. If we did do as the story said and exalt sketching as the true way to worship corporately, it would truly be absurd--but not any more absurd than exalting music as true worship.

If we are to reach out and engage people who aren't musically oriented, we need to go out of our way to make space for other forms, gifts and ultimately people. We need to create gaping voids in the music. It is not enough to invite them (because they have been told they are second rate worshippers all their lives, whose gifts are only good enough for slide backgrounds and segue ways between songs--do you think they are going to rush to the front?). Besides, most of them have left the church anyway.

The story was to put a large group of people in another large group of people's shoes. This is about people being valued and being taught (and demonstrated tangibly) that their gift is no less worthy than someone else's in the church. Ultimately I'd like people to know that they don't need to force themselves to learn guitar in order to worship and help others worship and try to change the system where that is actually true…

Mike

"I Will" Worship…

I struggle with many things common to corporate worship gatherings today (as you will see by my other posts). One of them being "worship" songs that spend more time claiming and promising than they do worshipping. Here are a couple of song lines typical of this…

"I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my king, nothing, Lord, is hindering this passion in my soul. I will become even more undignified than this, some will say its foolishness, I will become even more undignified than this"

"Evermore my heart, my heart will say, Above all, I live for Your glory, Even if my world falls I will say, Above all, I live for Your glory"

This certainly is only a small sampling of the church music that just seems to not get it right. (I include hymns in this too for all you "hymns are better than choruses" people). It just seems that so much of our corporate worship is not God focused, it is, instead focused on us and on promises to do certain things for God. I ran across this passage the other day:

Ecclesiastes 5:1-6 (New English Translation)
Be careful what you do when you go to the temple of God; draw near to listen rather than to offer a sacrifice like fools, for they do not realize that they are doing wrong. Do not be rash with your mouth or hasty in your heart to bring up a matter before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth! Therefore, let your words be few. Just as dreams come when there are many cares, so the rash vow of a fool occurs when there are many words. When you make a vow to God, do not delay in paying it. For God takes no pleasure in fools: Pay what you vow! It is better for you not to vow than to vow and not pay it. Do not let your mouth cause you to sin, and do not tell the priest, “It was a mistake!” Why make God angry at you so that he would destroy the work of your hands?”

After having read that last week, I couldn't bring myself to sing along with many of the songs that we sung today in our corporate worship gathering. There simply are things that hinder my passion for Christ in my soul and I have no idea what I'm going to do or say when my world falls. I find it very unlikely that I will follow Christ will all of my heart every day of my life as other songs promise…

As a Christian, I know that whatever good I am able to do is solely based on the grace God gives me. These songs don't recognize that. They claim and rely on our own strength to do things for God. I believe that God views this as folly and would rather we not make these empty claims (according to Ecclesiasties).

Instead, how about we design our corporate worship around attributes of God and celebration of what God has done for us, instead of attributes of us and things we propose to do for God. I would hope, then, that this celebration would spur us on to actually living some of these ideals instead of saying a bunch of stuff we will never actually live out. I, certainly, don't want to stand in front of Christ on judgement day and beg "It was a mistake. I was just singing along!"

Mike

How Not to be Green

I found an interesting article about the Green Building Boom. http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=56&ItemID=13220

I am sort of a self proclaimed Eco-Nerd. I dream of a house with solar panels and even have spent an eveing looking up manual reel lawn mowers ( I someday hope to own a Brill Luxus 38) like most guys would do with cars or motorcyles.

But really most people are just silly, or at least prone to overcomplication, when it comes to seeking out the 'green life.'

I know some people who 'dream' of moving from their city home to the country so that they can grow their own food, build a super efficient house, and have lots of solar panels and windmills. The thing is, though, that the process of building that home and driving 20 miles to get to anything useful is going to far surpass the amount of energy they use living in their "inneficient' city home.

I know other people that rant and rave about how we need to change our lighbulbs to save the earth but buy overpackaged prepared food and fresh fruit in december (shipped across the country in big trucks.) I know people that will nearly kill you if you get plastic grocery bags or styrofoam cups instead of paper bags or cups (even though paper bags and cups require far more petroleum to grow, harvest and manufacture than is embodied in a plastic bag or a styrofoam cup).

I think we are prone to just jumping on the bandwagon, rather than really thinking how our decisions make a difference. I think this article is a good challenge to consider thinking backwards instead of forwards and also looking at the big picture, when trying to be eco friendly, instead of just feeding those who are capitalizing on our disires to be green.
Mike

Madison's Best Wayside.

To the left you will find a picture of the Wisconsin State Capitol rotunda, right in the middle of Madison. This is just a sampling of the beutiful and ornate architecture that makes up the grand marble halls of this buildng.

I like to go downtown, usually at least once a week. Most of the time this is to go to the farmers market, but often I just bike through on my way to somwhere else or just for fun.

I also visit the capitol a lot.

I wish I could say that I visit becuase of the grand architecture or the interest in state politics. Maybe the history of the building and our state. But I can't and be considered honest, anyway.

See, if I'm at the farmers market or biking through, I sometimes have to go to the bathroom (usually from consuming lots of water on the bike or having drunk lots of coffee before biking there and, since most shop and restraunt owners have signs saying "customer use only" on their bathrooms, the only place that I can go is in the capitol.

Anyway, all that to say thank you, fellow residents of Wisconsin for providing me with a very wonderful rest stop in the middle of Madison. I appreciate it very much. Perhaps a couple of porta-johns would be sufficient, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Mike...