The Worship Tour

This is Part 4 of a series. If you want to catch up:
Part 1: Excuses and the way we've always done it
My personal Struggles with doing the same ol' thang.
Part 2: You've Got to Have a Plan
Laying out a Plan to view the Church in a different light.
Part 3: Turning over the Tables
A radical Christ that we often forget

Many refer to being a firefighter as being more than a job...many even say it's a lifestyle. Firefighters work together, bbq together, and spend much of their lives together. To most firefighters, the time spent on the job leads to a life-long relationship off the job. One interesting thing that I have noticed is that this theme carries throughout shift firefighters, on call firefighters, and volunteers. If a fireman simply attends a fire call then goes home without the connection to the men and women with whom he shares that experience, one can hardly call that a lifestyle. If, however, a firefighter knows the intimate details of his fellow responders' lives outside the fire station... then, it is a lifestyle.

What is worship like in our congregations? Is it a simple event, like the obligatory fire call, or is it a lifestyle, more similar to the bbqs and time outside of the fire station?

Before I attempt to answer that question, I would like to embark on an explanation of previous forms of worship. Some of those apply today... some, not so much. I'll call this our "Worship Tour."

Worship in the Old Testament
While I lack the space to fully detail what worship looked like in the Old Testament, I wanted to hit a few high points. Often, when someone worshiped in the Old Testament, it referred to prostrating oneself in honor of God. Worship was done in many other forms too. Sacrifices, First fruit giving, and songs of honor were all considered worship acts.

David's Worship
We have all read the Psalmist's amazing songs of worship to God. Many of these are attributed to David. In the context of his life, we see an interesting trend. David worshiped God in times of desperation. There are also vibrant songs of worship that may or may not have been written during the struggles of David's life. All in all, it is apparent that David worshiped God at the highest points and the lowest points of his life.

New Testament
Especially in Jerusalem, people in Jesus' time often attended worship at the temple. There are passing references that suggest reading scriptures and preaching/teaching were routine items on the agenda. Some references suggest that early Christians attended Jewish synagogues as well as meeting in homes for times of worship. Later in the new testament, it appears that Christians worshiped in song, teaching, service, etc. More references on the early church later...

Now
We have seen a whirlwind "Worship Tour" of some of the forms and types of worship that God's people have presented to Him in the past. Currently, there are those who live communally and call it worship. There are others who attend a Sunday gathering and call that "going to worship." There are even others who believe both work together in harmony. There is no doubt that God desires as much a diverse range of worship styles as the subjects he created to worship Him! I do, however, want to look not at the act of worship itself, but at how we view it.

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I firmly believe that we have mis-defined what worship IS, therefore argue about how worship is DONE. I often fill a section of my blog with multiple Scriptural references around a similar point, but today I think it is easy to point out our misunderstandings of worship with one verse: Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Just prior to the "Therefore" is the Doxology, which simply states our place in his order ("Who has been his counselor?") and then reminds us that "from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." In other words, if we ignore the man-defined chapters in this passage, we see that God is ought to be worshiped, therefore we worship him through our lives.

Whoa... if you are like me, your mind probably gets lost a little in some of the language of the scriptures. That is okay... we can take a point which seems complex and break it down. In fact, the passage above actually clarifies something we have been arguing about for centuries. Rather than argue about specific acts of a general group of actions that can all be described as worship, how about giving respect to the one who created  the diversity of the people from whom these worship acts pour out.

I am more and more convinced by the day that arguing about whether certain worship acts are more appropriate than others is just as ignorant as arguing whether a Schnauzer is more dog than a German Shepherd. 

Many use references from the Letters to describe very specific and contextual methods of worship then try to state that it must be copied verbatim even in our time. I don't say that in an attempt to denigrate the importance of the Scripture's references to early Church worship. No... rather the opposite. I see it as a great honor to have such a vast and encompassing description of the ups and downs of early Christians. That is one of the things that has great application for today's followers of Christ. 

So, is worship a simple event? Or is it a lifestyle?

How about... Both. There is an event which occurs every week across the world. Many call it worship. It is; however, if people mis-define it as being The Worship rather than a form of Worship, they are sadly missing some of the greatest worship experiences. Many events can be worship, though if an individual's--or a group's-- definition of worship is centered around an event of any sort, they are likely missing the boat. Worship is a lifestyle. Worship is serving others. Worship is singing. Worship is a Saturday afternoon bbq. Worship is the way you treat the clerk at Wal-Mart. Worship is life.