Over the past few years I've come to realize that worship is not something to just be done three times a week during the formal assembly times of the church. As this idea has developed, I got curious once and went looking through the New Testament for the purpose, the reason, for Christians to assemble.
Lo and behold, I discovered that the Christian assemblies are never referred to as "Worship", or "Service", or "Worship Services".
I further discovered that the only "black-and-white"-provided reasons for assembling are for building up and edifying and encouraging one another, and for the Lord's Supper.
This topic came up during class this morning at church. The preacher, and I daresay most of the class participants, haven't yet made this paradigm shift; they still believe that worship is a dedicated period of time that must follow the pattern laid out in the New Testament, and by applying the jigsaw-puzzle mentality to a host of scriptures, come up with the "Five Acts of Worship".
I used to believe this way; the shift to a different paradigm was a very subtle, gray shift, not a 180 or anything obvious like that. Accordingly, it's very hard to see how to explain the shift, and therefore to help others to see it. Yet the end results are so different.
This different paradigm manifests itself in so many different ways at church. I have wrestled for almost a year with becoming a part of the church I'm currently attending. On the one hand, I'm comfortable there, and really like the people, and feel like I'd have an influence there. On the other hand, the influence I'd have would likely either turn everyone against me, or would cause dissension in the church. I've prayed a lot about it, that God would guide me one way or the other, but it seems that it's just a decision I'll have to make on my own, with my own human wisdom and/or fallibility.
One thing about attending here is that I've been very regular. Elsewhere I'm not sure I'd be so regular. I'd have a hard time getting plugged in; or there'd be too many people and I'd get panicky; or there'd be too few people and I'd feel like the church is dead.
I think a HUGE difference that could be made in this church would be new song books. Huge. Absolutely gargantuan. This church is stuck in the 1950's, and I suspect a large part of that is the song book.
But I'm rambling. The basic point of this blog is that I don't really fit in at the church I'm attending, and I believe they are teaching as doctrine some commandments of men, but I don't know what to do about either issue.
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Addendum:
Today I came across this page which goes a long way toward explaining my thoughts concerning worship.
1 comment:
I think it makes God smile as he sees his children openly confess that He does not belong in a box. This applies to our lives, which is our personal worship, as well as church, which is our coorporate worship. It is amazing to see what God and the Holy spirit can do when we let them...when we don't rstrict them with our own personal, worldly, boxed-in views. I can speak from personal experience that being a member of a congregation that thinks God belongs in a box, especially during times of coorporate worship is so hard. It was very discouraging to me. There was a time in my life that I just quit going because I couldn't take it any more. The God I knew was so much more...so ALIVE AND WELL!
I would say continue on prayer about God's plan for you in this place. He very well may have plans for you to stretch the minds and hearts of those around you. Who knows, but God Himself. But in His time, He will reveal this to you.
I am so glad to that you know this Awesome God that I know and love, and that you are open to the Holy Spirit and it's leading, even when it doesn't fit in the so-called box.
And if you ever just need some encouragement and to see just how AWESOME God is, just look into the eyes of my precious miracle children! God is so good!
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