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| September -October 2008 | Volume 57, Issue 5 |
From the Pastor's Desk
Another Word About Worship
How can worship be more meaningful? I wrestle a great deal with that question and I try to figure out what is the magic formula that might embellish worship for those who venture to Olivet. Over the last summer I had two worship experiences that offered me new insights to worship and how we might get more out of it.
Last June I had the opportunity to worship at Princeton Theological Seminary while attending the Engle Institute for Preaching. Four times over the course of that week the other pastors in attendance and I gathered for an evening service of singing and preaching. I left those services really feeling as if I had worshipped. Both the preaching and the music (mainly traditional hymns with a smattering of other forms of music) were inspiring in a way I cannot really put into words.
Later on in the summer I attended a service that would be characterized as contemporary. I must confess that I left that service feeling a bit let down. The music was unfamiliar to me, so I really made no attempt to try to sing it. I felt alone in a room crowded with people, not picking up on their energy at all.
As I reflected on those two distinct worship experiences, I wondered what was different that inspired me in one and left me feeling a bit lost in the other. I don't think it was just the style or mode or worship. It occurs to me that two things were very different. The first was that I was genuinely engaged in the services at Princeton. I was active and felt part of the worship service. At the contemporary service I let my unfamiliarity with the style dictate how I worshipped. For the most part my singing was at best unenthusiastic and at worst nonexistent. Even without knowing the songs, I might have given it a shot and perhaps reacted with a more worshipful attitude rather that acting quite passive throughout the service. I went to church that Sunday, but I did not worship.
The second difference was in those around me. At the Princeton services I felt a part of the community even though for the most part I was a stranger to most of those gathered there. The people around me did not hold back and expressed their enthusiasm in worshiping. At the contemporary service I was not aware of anyone else in the congregation being really engaged except the leaders. I looked around and saw mouths moving, but there was not a lot of evidence of enthusiasm for worshipping God. I wonder what a difference it might have made if I had been able to sense a spirit of worship in those seated nearby and felt truly welcomed to be a part of that community for that hour.
Worship is something we need to do and not something we simply go to. The difference between the two services I attended was not the style - I have my preferences for a more traditional but that really shouldn't matter. The reason I found the first service so worshipful was because I was active in it, not passive. I worshipped the way we are all called to worship and the spirit of those around me helped me to foster and embellish that spirit.
As we enter another fall season of worship, I encourage you to take to heart the importance of being active in worship. For many of you this is not a new idea; that is the way you always worship. But for others of us, we need to put a bit more of ourselves in to the act of worship. Worship is a blessing that can truly aid us as we go about our lives, but it is something that requires effort and our effort will not only help us as individuals but might also inspire those seated around us to help them in welcoming the Holy Spirit to be a part of their worship experiences too.
