Sundays are gigantically awesome, amazing, and mighty! They are especially that one day of seven where we band together to raise our voices in praise and delight of Him; our living Creator/Sustainer God. Robust. Heart-engaged. Beyond hesitancy, visible praise will be offered up.
Yet, this isn't the case for too much of, at least, the American version of church. In far too many hearts, intimidation reigns. We have developed an unintended promotion of lethargy toward giving our all because decent and in order was precisely what the fearful and the controlling needed to become their foundational stance. Decent and in order has always been the habit of God; but such a command was never given to the Pharisess that it would be their bully pulpit.
Go ahead. Point to the wild and crazy emotionalism that may be over the edge. Warn us. Give us what for when we raise our voices, lift our hands, applaud instead of just amen.
Two things are happening with this guarded position which is offered in the name of truth...but isn't truth:
1. We are killing the imaginations of our children. These little ones among us will not develop a taste for the outrageous possibilities of the heavenlies if what we do most is patrol the pews for acceptable humanistic behavior during church. Such behavior of which I speak is that inner law that the older ones possess as to what's allowed and what's not in a church building that was never (the building that is) authorized by scripture in the first place.
2. The second thing happening is that we have sent missionaries into the foreign territories for years; not with the news of Jesus, but with the proper ways to do church...our various brands of church.
What happens when these two things go on is that spirits are quenched. Inner drive to imagine and explore potential in the Spirit of God, by the Spirit of God, are buried so deeply within our people that it takes a heaven-quake to bring them back. The good news is that heaven-quakes are happening!
So I mean to cheer you on. Please....don't just attend worship today....but worship. Applaud Him. Brag about Him. Salute Him. Talk to Him. Wake up church! We have a God to honor...again!!!
GO. FOR. IT.
1 comment:
Terry, let me introduce myself. I'm Raphael Dirrim's father, know Dusty from Haiti times, somewhat conservative worshiping with a very conservative church. But, I'm not your enemy, not looking to accuse, criticize or anything else in that vein. I do want to grow and learn and be more Christlike. So here's my question/thought: I get that we are too stuffy. (Way too stuffy where I live. Clapping causes heart rates to instantly increase.) I do think we need to be able to express ourselves as we worship. But, as I stroll through the scriptures (O.T & N.T.) there's a LOT of bowing down and falling on the ground to worship. I'm not suggesting that is to be taken literally but the attitude of reverence does seem to pervade. We do live in a time (culture) where emotions rule. I think there's some good in that but it does seem a legitimate concern that we don't turn worship into an I-got-to-shout-and-sing-and-I-feel-good-so-it-was-good kind of thing and neglect the awesomeness of God. How do you think we keep balance? My genuine question. David - cswampdog@yahoo.com if u care to reply - which you don't have to. :-) Thanks.
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