Have you ever noticed how we Christians often write out a script for so much of what we do? Most church services are completely planned out, many down to the minute. "This is the part of our service when we do this..." Worship time, greeting time, preaching time, prayer time, closing song.. etc. Sermons are almost always drafted in advance. The worship songs are picked out in advance. Heck, we even script out our salvation prayers! "Repeat after me..." Where in the Bible does it say you have to pray a prayer to be saved? It just says people "believed." I doubt Paul led them in a special salvation prayer. :)
Where did we get all of this? When did we change from a "spirit-led body" to a "scripted out program"? Why?
4 comments:
Consider this: If we script it, we don't HAVE to be led by God's Spirit. And although planning is a good thing, and it's encouraged in Scripture, I'm afraid that much of our planning may be a substitute for having to rely on God's leadership in the moment. It CAN be another way of being me-centered, and not having to rely on the Spirit of Christ.
On the other hand, many people find comfort in knowing that the worship service will go according to plan. They are unpleasantly surprised--at times even startled--by the unexpected and find it to be a distraction from worship. It puts God in a box when we say that worship can only be valid if it is done in a particular way. And as I see it, it is spiritually myopic to say that the Holy Spirit cannot possibly be leading someone who plans a worship service in advance.
I agree that it puts God in a box to say that worship can only be done a certain way. Worship isn't just an act of singing anyway.
I feel like planning out a service, while not wrong, can often(not always) leave little room for God. Maybe we need to get out of our comfort zones a little. The Spirit can absolutely lead someone who planned a service, but only if He is allowed. All parties involved need to be willing to let the Spirit move. But if we get comfortable with "the way things should go" then we tend to not be open or willing to change.
I guess I'm just thinking we shouldn't get stuck in a rut. Just because churches have been doing "church services" like this for hundreds of years doesn't make it God's best. I'm not saying its wrong the way we do things, but I would say its insufficient.
Less focus on DOING and more focus on BEING.
Just some thoughts...
While I agree to some extent that "because churches have been doing 'church services' like this for hundreds of years doesn't make it God's best", I also believe that God's best is not necessarily achieved by our doing something in a way that is "new and different-from-the-conventional-way-that-things-are-done." It seems to me that some things have been changed simply for the sake of change, rather than in a way in which the Holy Spirit can best move and impact people's lives.
I've worshipped both in the traditional, conventional way AND in the contemporary, new-and-different, seeker-friendly way, and from my perspective, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. And after having been away from the organized church for several years as part of my spiritual journey, I recently began accompanying for a small church that has a blended service. They are trying to help guide their members into a new way of doing things, while still retaining some of the things they've always done. They're doing this to assist the members in more easily accepting and adjusting to newer styles of worship. For that congregation, it is working. Congregations are like people: No two are exactly alike, and no two can be led in exactly the same way.
This is a somewhat controversial issue that has been going on for a couple of decades now and probably will continue for some time. In the meantime, our principle objective should be that we continue to pray for The Church to survive and thrive regardless of HOW we worship, inasmuch as there is a real danger that it might not, no matter WHAT we do.
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