April 18, 2010
Psalm 84
Sermon Series: Five Practices Of A Fruitful Congregation: Passionate Worship
Rev. Allen V. Harris
 

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For some people, it is their children or grandchildren, and for others it is their work or profession. For many it’s following a particular singer or band and for others it’s the latest release of season one on DVD of their favorite television show. For quite a few it’s getting to the gym to work out, and other’s see it as getting to the store for the latest close-out sale. For some it is simply waking up alive each day, and for others it is the attempt to make the world a little better place.

What is it that gets you passionate? What stirs your blood, gets you sweaty, catches your eye? What is it that thrills you enough to move, to act, to speak, to be present when you otherwise wouldn’t have to be?

For some being passionate is something as exciting as the Cavaliers being in the NBA Playoffs, and yet for others it is as uphill a climb as being in the Dawg Pound rooting for the Browns again, and again, and again! And, of course, being passionate always means being an Indians fan!

But what does it mean to apply the adjective “passionate” to the noun “worship?” Can we possibly be as excited by, focused on, energized to participate in worship as we are by that incredible piece of music we listen to time and time again or the thrill of watching your grandson cross the finish line at the Special Olympics? I hope by the end of our time together today I will have convinced you that there is nothing better to be passionate about than the worship the church offers to God.

Last week in this sermon series we looked at Radical Hospitality. This week we are exploring Passionate Worship. There is a natural flow from one to the other, as welcoming all God’s children at the table is the first step to engaging them in the most important and central act we Christians do: Worship God.

Robert Schnase, in the book I am using as the basis for this sermon series, The Five Practices Of Fruitful Congregations (1), envisions what a Fruitful Congregation looks like when it comes to its worship life: “Vibrant, fruitful, growing churches offer Passionate Worship that connects people to God and to one another. People gather consciously as the Body of Christ with eagerness and expectancy; encounter Christ through singing, prayer, Scripture, preaching and Holy Communion; and respond by allowing God’s Spirit to shape their lives. Lives shaped by God’s Spirit become the nucleus for congregations with extraordinary warmth, graciousness, and belonging. People are searching for worship that is authentic, alive, creative, and comprehensible, where they experience the life-changing presence of God in the presence of others.” (Schnase, p. 33)

~ I would reference back to last summer’s sermon series on “The Essence Of Worship,” which came out of my experiences on my sabbatical. My sermons, the text and audio of which are available on the church’s website, were from June 7 through July 27, and dealt with many different aspects of Passionate Worship, although I did not use that phrase. If you would like the printed texts from those sermons, just write me a note and I would be glad to copy and give them to you.
“To worship speaks of devotion to God, the practices that support, honor, and love God. Passionate describes an intense desire, an ardent spirit, strong feelings, and the sense of heightened importance. Passionate speaks of an emotional connection that goes beyond intellectual consent. It connotes eagerness, anticipation, expectancy, deep commitment, and belief.” (p. 37) Do those words fit with your understanding of “worship?” They should! They can!

In order for worship to be passionate, however, we must have the proper perspective on it. For you see, “We don’t attend worship to squeeze God into our lives; we seek to meld our lives into God’s” (33-34). Rather than an afterthought or added burden, worship is central to who God is and how God works. “God uses worship to transform lives, heal wounded souls, renew hope, shape decisions, provoke change, inspire compassion, and bind people to one another.” (34)

~ Both of these concepts, worship as a burden to us or a means of transformation by God, remind us of what theologian Soren Kierkegaard put so eloquently, that too many of us come to worship seeking to be entertained when, in fact, the worshippers – YOU – are the ones performing offering praise and prayer to God for God’s Holy Delight. The pastor, musicians, elders, deacons, and other worship leaders are merely the prompters. When we critique worship, we forget that it is each of our “performances” that is in question!

Worship isn’t about us, really, it’s about God. It’s really doing what Jesus told us to do when he summed up all the law in one simple yet profound phrase. “In worship, people practice the highest command Jesus has taught us: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). Worship bends hearts toward God as it stretches hands out toward others.” (p. 35)

It’s not that worship doesn’t have an effect on us. It does. It’s just the perspective and approach we must have as we come to, enter into, engage in worship. In fact, worship can – dare I say should – transform all that we are. “Worship is the most likely setting for people to experience the renewed relationship with God that Christians call ‘justification,’ in which a person realizes that she or he is pardoned, forgiven, loved, and accepted by God…” This can and does happen elsewhere beside worship and besides the church, but “Worship is the church’s optimum environment for conversion (the return to relationship with God) whether quick, dramatic, and memorable or marked by gradual shaping and nuanced change over time. God expects lives to change in worship: attendees become disciples of Christ, and a crowd becomes the Body of Christ.” (p. 35) “When churches practice Passionate Worship, the gathering forms a congregation that is a community and not a crowd of people experience the same thing, like strangers at a movie.” (p. 51)

~ This “becoming disciples of Christ” sounds a lot like our Mission Statement for Franklin Circle Christian Church: “Our mission is to empower disciples to serve and glorify God.” That happens in worship! We come to worship not to be entertained, but to serve and praise God, and yet we leave changed, transformed, shaped into disciples of Jesus.

Schnase says, “Through engaging the intellect, worshipers learn something about the content of the faith… Worship changes minds. Through engaging the heart, [worship] reaches the interior life of worshipers… Worship changes behavior.” (p. 36) And I would add, if done right, through engaging the body, worshipers experience the incarnation of God. Worship changes our position in the world.

This congregation has been offering worship services for over 168 years, and there is no doubt that many – hopefully most – of those worship services were passionate. But let’s be honest, sometimes something that thrills and speaks to one person will leave another person blasé. The question isn’t really about a particular item in the worship “line-up” or a certain style of music or preaching or worship leadership. Those are all critical questions, and our congregation has been intentionally dialoguing about and trying out ways to lead the most number of folks within and yet-to-be within our congregation in Passionate Worship. But the practical questions must flow from the a priori, deeper, foundational questions of why we worship.

For a church to focus only on the “how” questions without talking about the “why” questions is to put worship in danger of being a battle of likes and dislikes and personality clashes. The false dichotomies of the so-called “worship wars” is killing the church and destroying good-hearted attempts at nurturing Passionate Worship. There is no “right way” and no “wrong way,” when it comes to worship styles:

“Passionate Worship is not restricted to any particular style; it can be highly formal, with robes, acolytes, stained glass, organ music, orchestral accompaniment, and hardwood pews with hymnals on the rack in front. Or Passionate Worship can take place in an auditorium, gym, or storefront, with casually dressed leaders, images on screens, folding chairs, and the supporting beat of a praise team. Authentic, engaging, life-changing worship derives from the experience of God’s presence, the desire of worshipers for God’s word, and the changed heart people deliberately seek when they encounter Christ in the presence of other Christians. Worship leaves people challenged, sustained, and led by the Spirit of God, and it changes how they view themselves and their neighbors. An hour of Passionate Worship changes all the other hours of the week.” (p. 39)

→ And as with all kinds of communal movements, the power and responsibility lies in the hands and hearts of those who are already here, those who have committed to the church, those who know its processes and have been given its powers. “Alleviating this… kind of conflict requires an unusual spiritual maturity among the long-term members [and worship staff]. They must show a willingness to support forms of ministry that they do not personally appreciate [but which will help engage new and as-yet unmet seekers in this life-transforming work.)” (adapted from p. 45)

→ As I have been saying in Board Meetings and preaching in worship for years, ultimately our goal and our vision must always be to welcome, encourage, inspire, and empower those who are not yet with us, those who have never really known the amazing experience of the Psalmist when he sings “My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God” or when she proclaims “A day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.” It isn’t that those of us who are here are less important than those who are not-yet-here, it is simply that we have the inheritance assured. As “older brothers” in this story of faith, we have been assured by our “generous father” that we get it, we know the family business, we are loved beyond question. However, the “prodigal son” has fresh wounds and new questions about his place in the family, and we must extend ourselves in new ways to make sure he – they – know and feel and experience the love of God and the grace of compassionate community. We have to give up some of our power and comfort – the “fatted calf” so to speak, so that the lost may know God’s love in new ways.

Schnase writes, “Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations succeed because spiritually mature and passionate leaders visibly support and encourage worship and music in diverse forms and expressions. They keep the end in mind, helping people find a way to God by making God’s gracious message available in worship.” (pp. 46-47) “Churches that exhibit passion for worship prepare their services not only with long-term, spiritually mature members in mind but also with attentiveness to visitors, young people, and those with little worship experience in mind.” (p. 52)

[NOTE: The following section was not preached, but, I think, is an important part of the sermon. The preached portion begins again at the *** mark. AVH.]

Let me put some of this theoretical into plain everyday language as if we were all on the Worship Planning Team. Practically speaking:

1. Passionate Worship Is Intentional
“When worship becomes a high priority, Passionate Worship is evident, and it shows in everything worship leaders do. They regularly evaluate and rethink the patterns of worship with an eye toward creative engagement and the spiritual progress of the congregation.” (p. 41) ~ Rather than focusing on who “likes” or “dislikes” what part of the service, worship leaders look to what has theological integrity, what moves the most worshipers the most deeply, what builds up the Body of Christ.

2. Passionate Worship Offers God Our Best
“All churches offer worship services. Passionate Worship means a church cares enough about the service to offer its best, its utmost, its highest.” (p. 47) ~ Passionate Worship doesn’t allow just anything to be set before the worshipers, but only that which is the best the congregation can offer. Now, this doesn’t mean that everything must be “professional” or “perfect.” In fact, some elements of worship offered might be quite simple, plain, even uneven, but if offered by that individual as their best, and the worship leaders have worked hard to give that person or element the very best resources they have to offer, then it is given to God’s glory. It’s not about being “the best” in terms of the world around us, but “the best” in worship is about empowering the individuals and groups leading worship to offer their best.

3. Passionate Worship Is Part Of ALL We Do
“Passionate spiritual communities not only worship and pray at Sunday services, they also make worship an essential element of [everything they do.]… Spiritual communities pray without ceasing.” (p. 49) ~ If we only think that worship happens at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, then we are missing out on the vast majority of worshipping opportunities the church has to offer. We must see every single gathering, whether a team meeting, a work day, or a visit to the church office, as a chance to worship God. This alone can transform a church.

4. Passionate Worship Requires Us To Be Prepared
“In churches marked by Passionate Worship, people don’t merely show up and sit passively in their pews; they are actively engaged, genuinely connected, personally addressed, and deeply challenged.” (p. 50) ~Worship leadership isn’t merely in the hands of those who sit up front or walk down the aisle, it is the responsibility of every single person who shows up! Have you come today prepared to worship, or are you too tired, too distracted, too busy, too anxious? Don’t stay away because of such human limitations, simply recommit yourself to preparing yourself better next time: get enough sleep, eat a good breakfast, arrive on time, don’t book something right after worship, prepare yourself throughout the week to be at worship on Sunday.  Nothing reinforces the practice of prayer and learning from Scripture better than a vibrant personal devotional life.” ( P. 55) And I don’t get off the hook. ”Pastors who lead Passionate Worship actively nurture their own spiritual lives.” (p. 51)

5. Passionate Worship Supports All The Church’s Work
“Passionate Worship supports and nourishes all other ministries, missions, and outreach of the congregation, giving life, vision, direction, and encouragement to the whole Body of Christ.” (p.53)   And vice versa: “Just imagine if each committee and work team and staff member focused on enhancing worship. Perhaps no one thing would improve by 100 percent. But maybe a hundred things would improve by 1 percent, and the passionate love of God evidenced in these changes would renew congregational life.” (p. 55)

***
So let me conclude with another exquisite summary from Robert Schnase, which reminds us that all of us come to this sacred time and place in much the same way:
“Every congregation, large and small, is a tapestry of hope and hurt, a collage of experience and anticipation, a patchwork quilt of gifts, needs, fears, and aspirations. People come to connect to God and one another as well as to feel restored, reminded, remembered, and refreshed. They wonder what God has to do with all that’s going on inside of them and in the world around them. They want to know that having a relationship with Christ changes their life. In their searching, God finds them, heals them, sustains them, and forms them anew. “

“The motivation for enhancing the quality of worship is not only about deepening our own faith but also about allowing God to use us and our congregations to offer hope and life and love to others. God works through us to change the world. Worship is God’s gift and task, a sacred trust that requires our utmost and highest.” (p. 56)

What are you passionate about? I hope – amongst the sports teams, the family members, the cultural opportunities – is worship. I pray this church will continue to offer, and improve in its offering of, Passionate Worship to all who come to us seeking God!

May it be so. Amen.

(1) Robert Schnase, The Five Practices Of Fruitful Congregations, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007).

 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2010 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096