Who do we really worship?

Recently, I've been thinking about the context of worship. In a previous blog, I talked about wants and needs related to worship. It's a topic that needs more discussion, so I thought I might relay that today.

When we come together as the body of Christ for worship, it's not a bad thing expecting to bring our needs to God. God expects to meet us in worship, and our encounters with God are meant to meet us at the point of our need and transform us into the people of God. Having our deepest needs met by God brings us into a deeper relationship with God and our neighbors. When we come to worship with our needs, we are actually focusing on God, because we expect to meet God there. That's a good thing!

Wants, however, are a different story. Many people come to worship expecting their wants to be met. Worship should cater to their desires - the music they like, having the pastors wear a robe/dress a certain way, a particular style of preaching, entertainment and/or engagement, etc. I often hear comments (crossing generational and ethnic boundaries) like "I didn't get anything out of the sermon," or "Why can't we have more lively music?" or "My children are bored," or "We want a choir." Comments like these are very inward focused, trying to meet the desires of the people. Do we have our wants and needs confused? When we make comments like that, are we truly focused on God?

I want to challenge people to think about who they really worship. God meeting our basic needs (love, healing, growth) allows us to focus not on ourselves, but on the God who meets us where we are and transforms us. Needs allow us to focus on and worship God. Wants, on the other hand, place the focus on ourselves, and we become the objects of worship. Wants make us closed off to an encounter with God, and we end up idolizing ourselves. Perhaps we would do well to remember the words of Micah, calling the people back to the basics of worship: "But what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God." Who do we really worship?

Worship Space: a new approach

One of the things that fascinates me the most about churches is worship space - the way things are set up and arranged, the choice of paint, plaster, bricks, pews, and everything else that's involved in creating a space to worship God.

Today, a church member sent me this site, which shows a different interpretation of space, and I thought I'd share it for everyone!

www.amyhughes.org/lego/church/

Check it out, and maybe it will help spark some discussion about worship space!