Not about the music...

Comment by David Duchene on April 15, 2009 at 9:20pm

True! ..and it's by no means "just" the congregations..it's also the worship team "leader" and members that jockey for pre-eminence and control of the "worship" time...
We (the worship team and "leader(s)") should face the same way as the congregation at the front or at the back for even just a little while so as to not make it like a concert where the saints become as fans of the players who are raised up upon a dais..it's a physical manifestation of a spiritual reality that the congregation is obliged to face the musicians when they worship...if the worship team is "leading" then why aren't they facing the same way as the congregation?...that way we'd all be going the same way...a shepherd doesn't face in the opposite direction that he's leading a flock. Maybe if the flock turned around and faced the back of the Church a few worship "leaders" would get the picture. There is a HUGE presumption that is built into the western Church's method of "worship".

Comment by Stephen Hawkridge on April 16, 2009 at 7:09am

Definitely! Just thinking of how to implement this practically. If we look at the positioning classical church choirs they are always to the side. Somehow the 'band' has become the focus of the congregation during worship, even though we try not to be, it is difficult while in the center of a raised platform. I seriously want to try this, even if just temporarily, moving the band off the platform to the side. The practicalities might seem daunting, but God is greater. Lets give ALL the glory to Him alone!

Comment by Lenny Smith on April 22, 2009 at 8:23pm

Stephen: I am delighted to find your thoughts here. I believe we really do need a radical revolution in worship, not just a fix. We have put God on the throne, sitting and watching us do our worship thing...our singing, our dancing, our praying, our lifting-up holy hands, etc. We are the do-ers and God is supposedly watching and taking pleasure in our adoration and praise. This puts God is the audience (an audience of one or three) and we are on the stage, worshiping Him. We have become the doers and God is watching us do the doing. The problem is that this is exactly the opposite of the truth. GOD is the doer. "My father works and I work," is what Jesus said. God is doing constantly on the earth. This stuff does not run itself! He brings the 4 seasons, He does the whole sun, moon, and stars thing. Then there are the nations, which He basically controls. He takes care of the animal world and the sea world. Then there are the storms and the thunder and lightning and clouds. And, then there is the REST of the universe! God is working 24/7, yes, even on Sundays. The leaders who have told us that worship is an action meant well and were trying to get us away from just sitting there. But they were wrong, worship is not an action, it is a re-action. God is on the stage and we are the audience. When we get a glimpse of just a little of the wonderful things He is doing and His loveliness, we rise to our feet and applaud, NOT thinking about ourselves and our applause, but only enraptured with the Actor and His creation. We are "beside ourselves" with gratitude and wonder at His creativity, HIs ideas, His wisdom, His brilliance, His humor, His provision, His protection. The seeing part must precede the applause. If the "seeing" the Creator through His creation happens, our applause (worship) will be natural and spontaneous. It will no longer be contrived, awkward, ingenuine or religion. Honest applause is not religion, it is just the human response to seeing the 5th dimension that Jesus talked about, the kingdom here and now, all around us, just beyond what we see.
I believe Jesus wanted and still wants us to worship the Father, the Creator. To see the Father or the Creator, we need to look at creation. But we need to look past just the things we see to the Father behind the things we see, supporting, directing, protecting, perfecting, maturing creation. The Christians that think the earth is headed for total destruction are wrong. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. It is His footstool. We are earthlings and once we get back to loving the earth and loving the world, we will be able to glimpse the Father within everything and everyone.
I could go on for hours about this. The church needs a revolution! Wouldn't it be something radical if we actually believed what Jesus said! That the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth. I believe He is doing just that.

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