Chapter Two - The Real Battle Over Worship

Quoting from THE DANGEROUS ACT OF WORSHIP

For all our apparent passion about God, in the end much of our worship seems to be mostly about us.

What is ironic and especially pertinent is that many debates about worship are just indirect ways of talking about ourselves, not God. Our debates can readily devolve into little more than preference lists for how we like our worship served up each week. It's worship as consumption rather than offering; it's an expression of human taste--not a longing to reflect God's glory.

If we worship Jesus Christ, then we are to live like Jesus Christ: (Luke 9:23-24) Then (Jesus) said to them all, 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.'

The heart of the battle over worship is this: our worship practices are separated from our call to justice and, worse, foster the self-indulgent tendencies of our culture rather than nurturing the self-sacrificing life of the kingdom of God. We are asleep. Nothing is more important than for us to wake up and practice the dangerous act of worship, living God's call to justice.

Part of the malady of our culture and discipleship efforts is this tragic rationale: that in the face of global need, if we can't do everything, we can't do anything. We are paralyzed, inert.

Part of what stunned and excited me when I came to faith in Christ was the discovery that if Jesus Christ was Lord, it mattered for all people everywhere. That meant God's heart was both personal and global. The kingdom of God was no small, myopic project but rather the transformation of everyone and everything. 'For God so loved the world...'--that those who follow him are to do the same.

God's plan is that we, the church, are to be the primary evidence of God's presence. The core of a biblical theology of worship is the worthiness of God.

To be centered on God means first discovering that God is our center and then living lives focused on the things that matter to God. We reflect the worthiness of God by how we love and serve whomever and whatever God considers to be of worth.

Out of God's love for his people and their love for God will come an effluence of mercy and justice in the world: shalom. This common Hebrew word for greeting means "peace," but it also includes much more than the word typically calls to mind. Shalom includes our individual and collective well-being, our health, our safety and our completeness.

A broken relationship with God leads to broken relationships with one another. God's purpose is to restore and heal both.

His (Jesus) words and his actions drew the marginalized and the outcast. He loved the Father by loving those the Father loved. These cannot be separated. Jesus redefined the meaning of neighbor in the shocking story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

When we or anyone besides God assumes the central role, life whips us out of alignment -- lots of motion with destructive wear and significant damage.

Vigorous biblical practice of worship should stop, or at least redirect, our endless consumerism, as our free choice to spend less in order to give away more. Our worship should be recognizable by the lives it produces, one that plainly evidences the broad, sacrificial and persevering commitment of Jesus Christ. Our community reputation, as Scripture suggests, should be that the church comprises those who pursue justice for the poor and oppressed because that is what it means to be Christ's body in the world. We should not fool ourselves into thinking that it's enough to feel drawn to the heart of God without our lives showing the heart of God.

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Another summary of my "underlinings".

As for the rest of life, my foot is still in this big boot thing that is most annoying when I try to sleep. I was thinking today while doing the pre- and post-shower ritual about people who take care of others unable to take care of themselves. I cannot even begin to think about the hours that some parents dedicate to the care of their children who were either born with or afflicted with some type of physical challenge that requires constant attention. My little procedure, relatively speaking, was simple and my complete recovery is expected and it is still a disruption to our lives. Some people must have incredible strength.

Tomorrow it is back to Findlay with Dan and Carrie to sign the lease for her apartment and finalize the paperwork for her new place of employment. I am excited for her and know she will be awesome at the job awaiting her.

Hope everyone out there is doing well and keeping the hope alive -
JAH