A Word About Worship
"Come, let us worship and bow down;" - Psalms 95:6
Worship is the number one ministry priority in our church. We hope and pray that the weekend worship will be the most exciting and meaningful event of each person's week, a place for Christians to get their spiritual batteries charged, and a place for seekers to find God.
Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher in the 19th century, once clarified the most common misconception about worship using the analogy of a drama. "When we come to worship God, we generally feel as though the preacher and other ministers are the performers and God is the subject of the performance and we as the congregation are merely the audience...but this is a terrible misunderstanding of worship."
Kierkegard is describing a consumer-oriented approach, focused more on what we receive than what we give. Kierkegard goes on to say, "Authentic Christian worship is just the opposite. We, the congregation, are the performers. The preachers and other ministers are the directors of the performance and God is the audience."
Next time you worship, try this perspective. It just might make it a more meaningful experience.
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4 Comments
This devotion makes eminent sense to me. - Frits
Kierkegaard. -2 for spelling. +50 for quoting him. - Erik
It does sometimes bother me that we as Christians tend to go to church mostly for what we get out of it. I know because I used to do that in the past myself. I've found the best way to get out of that mindset is to get in a ministry and see how much we can give back. - Becky
Again, another devotion that makes me pause and think! Thank you for this refreshing perspective. I think some of the churches today are performing more to please the unbelievers and seekers than they are to please God. I am glad I have found a church where the pastor preaches from the Bible and does not dilute the message to please people rather than God. My part in worship is to be attentive to the message so I can hopefully apply it to my life. Also, if I try to sing with gusto with the congregation I think that makes God happy with my worship. I had never really thought about my overall role in the performance of worship in church. - Janice