On Being a Good Church Member Part 2 Worship

Nothing will take the gas out of a worship service faster than an uninvolved congregation. Worship can be introspective to a point, but public worship needs to be unabashedly expressive.

Whenever the people of God gathered together for worship there was action. There were a variety of instruments: drums, cymbals, lyres, flutes, even an interesting instrument called a "sackbut."

The people stood, they bowed, they fell on their faces, they lifted their hands, laughed, shouted, sang, responded antiphonally. They had marches and processions. They danced. It was a raucously joyous time. The celebrations sometimes lasted for hours.

But it wasn't about being emotional. It was about being emotionally connected and involved. Emotional connection happens in all kinds of places. My daughters wedding, just a short year ago, was filled with joyous laughter, dancing, and different people got involved at different times to express thanksgiving, extend a blessing, or offer effusive congratulations. It was wonderful!

I love going to the ballpark. When the bases are loaded and your best hitter is up, the clapping and cheering don't need to be pumped up artificially. It's what being at the ballpark is all about. And when the hitter comes through, the place goes wild. It is spontaneous but also unavoidable.

As a pastor, I was responsible for gathering people every week to celebrate the goodness of God in Christ. Throughout the week I would think about what that Sunday or Midweek service was going to look like. I envisioned my congregation thinking about the devil's defeat, the Resurrection, the parading of the defeated enemy, and the celebration of God's power over the powers of darkness. I would prepare a message to get them to focus on the faithfulness of God and His promises. It was my goal to get them to think about what it would be like to be given a second chance called the New Life. Marriages could be salvaged, fractured families restored, broken bodies healed, depression lifted and God in Christ encountered. I would be pumped. My goal was to lead my team into victorios worship, be doused with Gatorade and carried off the preaching platform by the excited congregation. :)

It has always been easy for me to celebrate God's goodness. Some would be tempted think it was "theatrical" because I needed to "model" worship to the congregation. After all, how could somebody so consistently turn it on between 10:00 and noon every Sunday? But I can assure you that none of it was contrived. It was a matter of being prepared for the opportunity to celebrate. In fact the times when you would think it was the most difficult, because of the typical issues of life, became the easiest time to express my worship most fully. It was during those times that my worship was offered in simple and pure faith. After all, it's easy to worship God when things are going well. To be able to do it during difficult times is hard, but most refreshing.

Now I don't have to "inspire" the congregation. I'm on the other side of the pulpit. I can worship the Lord the way I wanted my congregation to the worship the Lord when I was the leader. Nothing has changed though. God is the audience of our worship and he always has been. I have a feeling that if one won't express herself in passionate praise to God, one will not do it for your pastor.

I wanted our people to express their worship to God. I'm sure my present pastor wants me to fully express worship to God. By pleasing God, we can make our pastors happy as well.