"Showtime!" "You're on stage." It's time to get the show going." In various places of worship, I'm sure phrases like this are often spoken. As the preacher or worship leader gets set to begin the time of worship, a few quips like this may be said. It's almost as though the curtain is about to be drawn on some kind of production. Lights, camera, action, and all that kind of stuff.
Think about that for a moment. Is worship some kind of show that the pastor or preacher leads? Is it some kind of performance in which the people who are gathered are supposed to be entertained? I've read several books that have studied why people attend or fail to attend worship, and one of the reasons often cited is that it feels too much like a sham. It's more about the production than about the sincerity. And as I've heard phrases like this spoken even to me, I have to wonder if that thought has slipped into our mindset concerning worship.
Recent decades have seen a shift in worship in this direction. And some of it is actually not a bad thing. As you get more and more people gathering in a single place for worship, some accompaniment certainly is needed. Microphones help enhance the voice of the preacher. A few lights may help draw people's attention to the Word which is being proclaimed. And I think it should be mentioned that worship should be done rightly and properly. Care should be taken to see that it flows naturally, and that often requires practice. It's easy to lose people's attention to worship when they don't know what's going on, or when things are done poorly.
However, worship is also not about being a show. We gather for worship as an act of our devotion, where we come together in a need to be together with the Body of Christ, and where we recognize that God is actively at work in us and among us. As His Word is proclaimed, God's Spirit plants, grows, and nurtures faith, and spurs us on in love for neighbor. God pours His forgiveness over us through Jesus and the cross and resurrection. God dwells among us for our good as we gather for worship.
So worship should be done well, and should reflect preparation for our time together. However, if we devolve into making it seem more like a production, done for the entertainment of those who gather, we've taken the precious pearl of worship and sterilized it. We make it a spectator sport rather than being part of a living, active body. And that's never what worship was intended to be. It's not a show to entertain, but a forum in which God's people receive and give. It's a place where God's people gather to be active members of the Body of Christ, not idle spectators to how good the band is, or to marvel at the abilities of the preacher. It's where God's people are actively involved together as God is actively at work within them. And that's such a blessing when God is the one at center "stage".
Think about that for a moment. Is worship some kind of show that the pastor or preacher leads? Is it some kind of performance in which the people who are gathered are supposed to be entertained? I've read several books that have studied why people attend or fail to attend worship, and one of the reasons often cited is that it feels too much like a sham. It's more about the production than about the sincerity. And as I've heard phrases like this spoken even to me, I have to wonder if that thought has slipped into our mindset concerning worship.
Recent decades have seen a shift in worship in this direction. And some of it is actually not a bad thing. As you get more and more people gathering in a single place for worship, some accompaniment certainly is needed. Microphones help enhance the voice of the preacher. A few lights may help draw people's attention to the Word which is being proclaimed. And I think it should be mentioned that worship should be done rightly and properly. Care should be taken to see that it flows naturally, and that often requires practice. It's easy to lose people's attention to worship when they don't know what's going on, or when things are done poorly.
However, worship is also not about being a show. We gather for worship as an act of our devotion, where we come together in a need to be together with the Body of Christ, and where we recognize that God is actively at work in us and among us. As His Word is proclaimed, God's Spirit plants, grows, and nurtures faith, and spurs us on in love for neighbor. God pours His forgiveness over us through Jesus and the cross and resurrection. God dwells among us for our good as we gather for worship.
So worship should be done well, and should reflect preparation for our time together. However, if we devolve into making it seem more like a production, done for the entertainment of those who gather, we've taken the precious pearl of worship and sterilized it. We make it a spectator sport rather than being part of a living, active body. And that's never what worship was intended to be. It's not a show to entertain, but a forum in which God's people receive and give. It's a place where God's people gather to be active members of the Body of Christ, not idle spectators to how good the band is, or to marvel at the abilities of the preacher. It's where God's people are actively involved together as God is actively at work within them. And that's such a blessing when God is the one at center "stage".
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