Presentational - Participational part 2

Thanks for sticking with me until I got this posting up.

Josh, I hear you man. I understand what you're saying about the cheerleader stuff. But here's another angle on that. Thinking that you have to be a cheerleader when you're leading worship is wrong. Thinking that you have to get the people all hyped up is not what worship is all about. There's nothing wrong with being energetic and celebrative in worship. In fact some churches could probably use a little more of both of those. Light a little fire underneath them I say. But to say that worship is happening just because those two emotions may be there isn't true either. Or that worship happened just because they were present is also wrong. The 'cheerleader' approach is definitely the wrong approach.

And I do like your, "Not being paid to be a Worship Leader doesn't stop me from being a Lead Worshiper." So true. You should look up Greg Allen's story. The really short version: While he was the worship leader at South East Christian Church he ran into some really bad vocal problems. He couldn't lead worship - He couldn't even talk for close to a year, yet he was still a Lead Worshipper. And I don't mean just getting paid as their worship leader, I mean he was still leading worship, as a Lead Worshipper even though he couldn't talk or sing.

Great question at the end of your comment. Yeah, what would happen if we practiced so much that we were able to give up the concentrating on playing all the right notes or singing all the right words and just solely focused on our personal participation as we lead worship?! We probably would have the best worship that we have ever had! Maybe even a II Chronicles 5: 11-15 experience would happen. I'm no theologian and I'm sure you won't read this in any commentaries, but here's my take on that passage, especially verse 15. God was so pleased that yes, He came down and filled the temple. But my take on this is that He was so pleased with the worship and all that the people did for and in the Temple that He actually worshipped with them. The Creator worshipping with the created. Now don't take this really far past just these few words, because how could God who is the only one deserving of our worship actually worship Himself?

I'm sure I'll get some feed back on that last thought. But that's my take on it. At least it's not a matter of salvation!


Ethan, Yes, I would certainly recommend Ken's book "Created To Worship" College Press, to anyone who is looking to help themselves improve of being a lead worshipper. It's a good book for anyone who is either a volunteer, part time or even full time worship leader. And I really like chapter 2. There are some valuable questions that need to be answered by the leaders of a church to help them move beyond where they are now and into a more focused idea of what worship should look like for them. And no I'm not getting kick-back for pushing the book. :)

My take on Anthropocentric in the context of worship would be anything that helps people grow closer to God. That could be worship that is directed towards God, and even more so, worship that helps them become a closer community or even help them understand that worship needs to happen outside of the building, in the community around them. I guess it would be anything that would help them be God to the people around them. So I guess that could be either presentational or participational.

My take on Theocentric in the context of worship would be anything that helps the worshipper direct his worship to God. Again that could be either presentational or participational. but with this one I would hesitate to say that presentational alone can get your there. If that's all that is there it probably has become entertainment and that probably won't bring people into the presence of God.

With that said, I know that there are some Arts out there, that as presentational events someone might feel that they are closer to God. We are coming into the season where the Messiah an oratorio by George Fredric Handel will be sung a lot. And the last piece of these Christmas concerts is usually the choral piece The Hallelujah Chorus. (Which by the way is really the end of the Easter section, not the Christmas section). I'm sure there will be people out there that after hearing it sung will have what they would call a God experience. However, I would ask them what have they gained, what have they learned, what have they discovered in this work, that has brought them closer to God? And not for just this experience, but also how will it help them continue to walk closer to the Lord. Obviously I can't speak for them, nor can I say that none of those things might not happen to them. But being in community, reading of Scripture, the prayers of the faithful, singing the hymns of the saints of the past and the new spiritual songs of the contemporary psalmist will have a better chance of doing that. And yes again these can be both presentational and participational.

I think I said this in my first post about this, but I do believe that a little of both is needed in our corporate worship experience. But we need to vigilant about making sure that God is worshipped, and that we as worshippers grow and experience God in a new way, both in corporate worship and in our private worship.
John