SCRIPTURE RIP ALERT: "and when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that i'll be there." matthew 18:20, the message
about a month ago, i riffed on worship as seen through my own eyes just having witnessed the facebook thread that would never end dealing with the same subject matter. i won't rehash the entire conversation here, but just so you don't have to waste your time clicking on the above link, the short version goes like this. i wondered out loud to my facebook nation, "why didn't i miss worship?", even though i had been out and away from the sanctuary for a number of consecutive weeks. people answered the question for me. people told me they missed me. people got a little offended that i had let myself miss as many weeks as i had. people also got offended at the implication that there wasn't a whole lot there to miss. people defended worship. people defended their own methods of worship. and people finally let the conversation die without us ever coming up with an answer to the original question, "why don't i miss worship?"
not that i was really looking for an answer. i was just looking for a conversation.
the fact of the matter is i already knew the answer. i didn't miss worship because i didn't look forward to it in the first place. i haven't in a long while. that's not to say that i don't look forward to seeing the people of huffman or being in a place that calls to mind memories laid before me by the ghost of christmas past. that's not to say that i don't enjoy seeing my daughters sing in front of their church. that's not to say that i don't enjoy how much caroline looks forward to seeing ms. charlotte and ms. kay and ms. jane. i do enjoy all of those things. it's just that most of them, if not all, don't really have anything to do with how i worship.
saturday night at "christmas in limbo", i worshiped.
what's interesting about that particular evening and most every gathering of limbo is our "worship" order is always quite "traditional", at least for us. there was/is food. there was/is fellowship. on saturday night, there was also catchphrase.
that's it. that's the list.
no message. no offering (unless you count the food). no message boomed or spoken softly (or joked around/about then boomed and/or spoken softly) at the congregation from a pulpit that is designed with visibility/superiority/expertise (your choice) in mind.
"when
less than five points into our first of three (the third being a classic) games, someone uttered "fuck." in frustration, quickly alerting those new to the "fold" that this wasn't your grandfather's catchphrase. this was more than a game. it was going to be an experience. a journey. a path to enlightenment.
just like always.
the more thought i have given to the idea of corporate worship over the last several weeks, the more convinced i am of the one thing any corporate worship gathering should be. an experience. if the service, on the whole, does not leave you feeling like you've been witness to something that you couldn't have gotten anywhere else, what's the point?
how we read "experience" is every bit as personal and unique as how we might feel "experience". to each and every one of us, those that choose to collect in a house of faith, we will enter that house with certain expectations and we will leave that house with those expectations exceeded, met, or left wanting.
when i have entered humc's sanctuary for the last however many years, i haven't been left wanting. i expect exactly what tends to be produced. the normal order of worship. a different collection of hymns each week. a new-ish anthem. a message. a benediction. a communion once every four weeks. i don't expect to be wowed. i don't expect miracles. i expect a gathering that feels like we are going through the motions more often than not, and those expectations are not often disappointed. not that there is anything wrong with that. as was noted in the november 15th post, for some, there is something very right with that.
so, what was it about saturday's game of catchphrase that was different then?
well, it's hard to put an exact finger on it, but i'll try.
as proven by the early exclamation of "fuck.", their was an immediate air of honesty in the room. novel, right? by saying that one dirty word, it was announced to the circle of humans playing that you could feel free to be yourself. you didn't have to dress up. you didn't have to put away your blue language that you may or may not use in every other walk of life. you didn't have to pretend to be something you were not. you just had to...be. whatever that meant for each and every person in the room was as different as you and i, but it also defined a certain solidarity that couldn't have been identified through a praise chorus or a scripture reading.
there was something else going on outside of the genuine airing of grievances, though. it was more than that. it was also that those in the room had gathered not out of obligation but out of intentionality. anyone that has been to a live sporting event to root on the home team knows the feeling that i am talking about. chances are you will have never met that guy in front of you with the retro jersey on before the game, nor the woman behind you with her face painted, nor that dude beside you that is way too big to have only paid for one seat. if the home team does something extraordinary, though, you are bound, almost by an understood contract, to go apeshit with them by sharing in high-fives and bear hugs that last just a beat too long. the same could be said for the limbo gathering. even split into two different teams, our reason for gathering together that night was similar. there was something about that group or someone in that group that we wanted to be around. every one of us shared that same concern.
did we take time out from the game for a group prayer? a devotional? to whisper our innermost thoughts into a confessional camera in the butler's pantry? no, we didn't, but we are totally doing the confessional camera next year.
no, we didn't do any of that, but we showed up in one place together saturday night because almost 100 weeks ago, a small group was established with one of founding tenets being "church can't really suck this hard, right?" (in so many words)
now, do i believe that limbo is the most special-ist place on earth and we can't begin to hope to find that atmosphere in other places within a community of faith? no, of course not. as a matter of fact, a degree of it will also be present at the weeds gathering tomorrow night. common threads? honesty? a belief that a gathering of "church folk" doesn't have to be all "churched" up, and a want to be there. i don't think it's a coincidence that tomorrow, a meeting away from the church grounds, will likely be one of the highlights of the weeds' year.
so, what does saturday night and all of this mean to your current perspective on worship?
it's a good question. i think it means that all is not lost for the general idea of corporate worship. but i also think it means that it is beyond time to reexamine what worship really is, why we do it, and what we want to get out of it moving into the next generation of huffman united methodist church. it doesn't mean confrontation must happen. it only means honesty does.
in this story, tradition is not the bad guy. tradition has brought us here and asked us to evolve. if we do not, tradition will be our legacy and our future will be written by the next congregation that buys our campus.
that seems like a sad way to go out.
limbo is not the answer for everyone, i am sure of it, but i'd like to believe it and groups like it could provide a blueprint, or a talking point at the very least, for a new way of doing "church".
in the meantime, thank You for saturday night.
amen.
15 comments:
Sounds to me like you got a couple of good communion groups. Don't be afraid for Huffman, what will be will be. I sorta like the home church Limbo model that is developing. In the long run, these may be the future communities of belief. Many small moving parts, guided by the Holy Spirit, to complete the body's work.
I am sooo glad ya'll had a good time and good fellowship. But....where did the "worship" come in? what were you worshipping? I don't really want an answer to that.
i liked what you said about saturday night being a place you could just "be". there aren't many places where that is the case. and, unfortunately, worship isn't one of them for me.
you are right, traditions aren't the culprit. the catchphrase tradition is a prime example of a good one. all you have to do is utter that phrase to any of the 26 people who were there saturday or to the countless others who couldn't make it and an immediate sense of togetherness is felt. assessing what tradtions currently possess that quality in worship and then honestly addressing those that don't seem like a necessary use of our time.
I guess for me the problem with the current worship system is that it isn't natural. I'm sure this has already been brought up in one of your posts about this or that long-ass facebook thread, but I'm saying it anyway.
Saturday night and other times we get together always feel completely natural. That should be how worship feels.
Maybe the repetitiveness and how passive worship is makes it dull. I mean, when have you ever been more engaged than when you were doing something new or unusual and you saw a positive result from some action you took?
Oh and btw, I'm not suggesting some kind of idea to replace our current worship, just trying to identify what makes worship boring. No solutions here, unfortunately.
Sounds great one quesrion is with no offering and no corporate church if everyone stops going to corp church how are the bills paid. Is this reverse 99% 1% thing?
@Mark...thanks, buddy. i appreciate your comments, and i don't know that i disagree with you at all. in general, we are probably a long way away from a "movement", per se, but i would love to see the day when the current model of church as business is deconstructed and built back from the ground up.
@Dolores...of course you want an answer, you silly goose. unfortunately, you want that answer to be the one that you've already come up with in your own head. would it make you feel better if i just said, "Satan. We were worshipping the devil."? No, probably not. You've made comments in the past that imply your interpretation of worship is something for humans to throw at God, that you go to worship to give and not receive, and, again, that's one way of looking at it. It's just not the way I look at it. I see God as being in constant communication, relationship, and communion with us. And I believe that He/She/It was present Saturday night.
@katie...*nods head*
@jacob..."...natural. that should be how worship feels." i could not agree with you more! i actually think you presented many starting points to finding a solution.
@anonymous...you seem smart. you figure it out.
anonymous, speak your name and defend your incoherent mumblings!!
i am 100 percent sure you missed the point. to be fair, i think the answer to your point is that the church is not a business. if the point of church is to pay the bills, you are not a church.
i have had many times of worship that were far outside the traditional lines we draw. (many of them with Kevin. at dreamland.) if worship is in some way connecting with God, then it is far more free and wide open than a church service. also, most church services sorta suck.
@andy...mmmm, dreamland. also, *nods head*. also, it's probably past time for an XL reunion tour.
I say hell yes to an XL reunion tour. If for no other reason than to see if I still have the stones to do some of the ridiculous things we did.
Just another 2 cents from yet another "anonymous". Andy, Andy, Andy...Get off the funny cigs for a bit and you may understand Anon#1's "incoherent mumblings". Without that offering plate, the power, water, and oh yeah, sewer bills don't get paid. The conference doesn't get their due (ask Kev about that little technicality). Then we can't enjoy hearing the kids sing as Kev and many more of us so enjoy. Kev is smart...ask him about church business, the things that keep those Christian wheels turning, call them corporate or something else. Perhaps you (Andy) miss the point as well - it isn't just about you..or Kev..or Anon#1..or #2..or Deloris. We are all, or should be, the body of Christ, here to serve others.
anonymous #2, welcome to the discussion. i appreciate you implying that i smoke weed.
if you knew me, you would know that i was a paid staff member of three different churches over a span of about ten years. so i know the business side of church very well. and i have seen very bad things be swept under the rug so as not to upset those who contribute to the paying of bills. blatant and disgusting racism and bigotry tolerated so that it would not offend those who fill the offering plates. if i have to explain how that is against the spirit of Christ, then i'm not sure we can ever agree on anything.
also, i did not say that all worship services should be abolished and we should just wing it. the running of a church ministry takes money. but you absolutely can not base your decisions on the paying of bills. churches' number one reason for existence MUST be to be faithful to Christ and His mission. anything else and you are a country club with a Jesus mascot.
as far as worship goes, i think it is completely fair to examine if the forms of worship you are using are relevant to the culture and faithful to scripture. we should never think we have arrived in that respect.
and as far as how that works on an individual level, i can only speak from experience. personally, i have been to many worship services, and very few have moved me to a feeling of actual connectedness with my Creator. and shouldn't that be the point of worship? not to please enough people to make enough cash to pay for the light bill, but to lead those involved to a connection with God and other believers. and i have felt connected to God in many places. and when i feel connected to God, it makes me want to live out his mission better. to give more, and to love more. to try to be more like Christ himself.
so really, if we are going to call what we do church, we have to be about the business of following God, not running a business. if that means the lights aren't on, then so be it. i would rather be faithful to God than Alabama Power.
"relevant to the culture and faithful to scripture"... -alleged "funny cigs" smoker
hmmm...another interesting concept that we here at HACAMAJ raise time and time again that continues to be clouded with offended named and anonymous commenters that are more interested in throwing condescending barbs versus advancing the discussion.
as a methodist, i am very much a fan of the connectional giving aspect of our denomination. by no more than putting my envelope in that plate, i am sending my love of my Creator off to those that I'll likely never be able to touch personally.
on the other hand, that the lion's share of that giving often-time condones and supports programming and ministries (worship being a primary example) that i no longer view as being culturally relevant is a massive frustration.
hell, just the idea of "keeping the Christian wheels turning" makes me sick to my stomach. thrower of barbs number two isn't the first to use that phrase, that phrase that paints the picture of the Church as antiquated machine in need of constant maintenance and repair rather than an organic body that evolves as her Creator might intend.
andy doesn't miss the point. and playing the "body of christ" card doesn't mean that you get it either.
what if we pledged to each other that the next ten times we worried about "paying the bills", we would, instead, table that worry and just bring someone to church or present a new idea in a board meeting that would make church in general more relevant to ten more people. and then if we were tempted to be sidetracked by the offended notion of "hey now! i brought that one person to church that one time!!!", we would use that offended thought to motivate ourselves to think of even another productive idea.
what do you think, barb throwers? what would happen if we just had faith that the bills would take care of themselves for a little bit while we were creative for a while , maybe just a year? take a "if you build it, they will come" philosophy.
and, if not? fine. just know, though, that's not on andy or kevin or anyone else that is trying to advance the conversation.
that's on you, bro(s).
:must resist urge to enter conversation: Seriously, it's a good conversation to have. Here's the problem - you have one generation of people that's been told "worship" is doing the right things in the right order in the right way with the right attitude. If we accomplish that, then we have "worshiped." The emerging generation doesn't get that. Why? Well, as Jacob mentioned, largely because it doesn't feel natural and the younger generations are strongly rebelling against anything they perceive as not being organic and authentic. Limbo, or any of the house church movement, would be an example of the organic/authentic attempt. I think a large reason some folks view "traditional" (and by that I mean a large number of people gathering within a specific building at a set time) worship as inauthentic is that the church has done a very poor job of explaining why we do what we do. Why is the order of worship structured as is? Why do we stand when we sing? Why do we do this or that? What is that strange symbol? Your average person in the pew doesn't have a clue, which means in "worship" people are really just going through the motions doing what they've always done because it's the "right" thing. I don't think you have to throw the baby out with the bathwater in dealing with worship today, but we do need to have serious conversations and ask if the symbols and rituals we're using are meaningful. Our "style" of worship is not "holy." It was invented in Europe in the 16th century and hasn't evolved much sense. It's just what we know. Do we need to create new symbols and rituals? Do we need to just explain the ones we already have? Or do we need to return to even more ancient symbols and rituals like the house church movement of the 1st century church? Those are the questions we have to answer if "the church", in any form, is going to be relevant in our culture.
As for another issue - Andy, yes, we definitely still have the stones to do some of those ridiculous things we did in XL. Whether we have the bodies to withstand those things still, though, is a different matter. Viva XL!
@Chris...resistance is futile!
Viva XL!!!
Looking back, XL was like hanging brass bumper balls on our churches.
Viva XL!
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