Catch Up Blog
February 7 2007 13 Commented
Today is catch up day for me in the office, so I figured I’d write a catch up blog to match.
- The leadership retreat went well. I had a good time, and we got some good work done.
- The Souper Boll party was great. We had a ton of people there, and I picked the winner weeks ago.
- Youngest son was sick on Monday.
- I got sick on Tuesday.
- Fixed the snow thrower today and used it to plow the sidewalks and parking lot of the church.
- Big, big change for TheoBloggers.com tomorrow. I hope I’m ready!
That’s about it. I will include this little quote from the latest issue of The Spiritual Sword. (I’ll never forget when Randy came in and caught me reading Spiritual Sword. He told me he’d lost all faith in me. I only do it to see how the other half lives.)
I’d like two responses to this quote. The first is your immediate reaction without thinking about it much. The second is where you settled after you got to chew on it.
When we try to attract people to Christ and the church by making worship a fun and exciting experience, we are changing and perverting the fundamental and biblical design of worship.
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Brad Palmore
If they had stopped after the first clause and said, “we are not helping them” etc. or similar words, I think there would be more agreement.
the second clause conjures up all kinds of debate and issues and problems.
some will miss what I think is a valid point in the first clause by getting distracted by the second
chewed upon reaction coming later
The problem, as I see it w/out chewing much on it because it’s too late to chew on anything, is how one defines “fun and exciting experience.” To some, anything evoking any emotion other than somber reflection is inappropriate for worship. David, on the other hand, danced with all within himself as an act of worship to God and God accepted it. I find it interesting that worship that entertains is wrong, but preaching that fails to “entertain” (appealing to our emotions) is downright boring.
How do you throw up in a blog comment?
I am not as picky as some, but I am not going to evaluate worship based upon how many toes were tapping, and how much bodily movement took place.
and emotions are a big part, but just becaue I felt good afterwards doesn’t mean I worshipped.
and I wouldn’t say that entertaining worship is wrong, but not all worship is entertaining
When Randy figgers out how to throw up in a blog comment, let me know…
Still gagging,
Les
Why should worship not be exciting? Just what is the Biblical model of worship? The thing is that quite frankly there are probably more definitions than we could chew on.
The thing that should be asked is if the worship is Christ centered or more centered on “entertainment”. If it is the later then the statement could be construed as true.
why is it when we define happiness, we make sure to give a Biblical understanding.
When we define love, we have to give a Biblical definition, at least of the type of love Jesus wants.
When we define peace, it is good to point out the difference between lack of strife and internal tranquility.
I just read a blog today that distinguishes Biblical hope from wishful thinking.
entertaining/interesting from a mature disciples perspective, or entertaining/perspective from an unchurched perspective?
eaglewood said it well, being Christ-centered is the important thing
for those who might assume I am a card-carrying legalist…I don’t necessarily think that loud, fun (worldly sense), entertaining worship is wrong, but it will be harder to convince me that it is better, more spiritual than older generations
You use a puking smiley.
I’m not sure I can back you up. I think worship is attractive and fun by its very nature. When we share that attraction with others, we’re only showing them what they’re missing. Unless, of course, your worship is neither attractive nor fun. In that case, I’d have to ask you to reevaluate what you’re doing.
Your statements are all true. I still feel like you’re chewing some, though…
i love michael w smith, third day, mercy me, casting crowns, etc.
but if I ever get to the point where my acapella sunday morning assembly makes it diffcult for me to have a worshipping experience because I need my emotions/heart rattled by some guitars and drums instead of by God’s Spirit and the words I am singing, I will burn all my CDs
some of this fun things can be a crutch
yeah,
spiritually exciting?
or physiologically exciting?
are we talking about how worship really is or how outsiders view it?
those two may be similar or may be totally different. which one directs our practice?