Something I’ve experienced, and can still be prone to experience, is that there can be a worship problem. (The beauty of blogging is that other people may or may not relate to what I’m saying, but that’s cool, I’m the one whose blogging, it’s my life, so there!)
I might have mentioned it before, but there’s no harm in me repeating this piece of wisdom that made a huge impact on me when doing radio back in me university days. There was a tendency for new and fresh radio wannabes to talk as though they were talking to lots of people.
Great radio, though, is personal. It is a relationship between the listener and the speaker. It highlights a great truth about effective communication. If you get the impression that I am talking to you whether because of the content or the method of carrying it across, you are more likely to engage with it. After all at any one time you are really taking on what one main source of communication is sending. Sure there might be other rivals for your attention – you might be distracted by other sources, but essentially you’re at your best when there is one source. And you’re at your best when it feels as though that source is just for you. It’s nice to get that feeling of a group sensation and experience, but it remains a singular deal.
Which brings me to the worship problem.
Worship works best when the focus of the worship remains a singular deal (it’s only one, not two, just ask Jesus), but notice how sometimes the set-up for that doesn’t always quite work. Sure at any one time you want to be able to focus on the one speaker at a time, but sometimes in the way we lay things out and format the ‘service’ it’s almost geared towards something/someone other than God. That’s why acclaim and attention can sometimes be focussed on the ‘worship leader’ or the ‘preacher’. No wonder there’s a celebrity of preachers and singers, because we set them up that way – literally set – them – up. As I understand worship, community, fellowship, etc. at this time, I’m fairly certain that was not the plan or the design.
So what can we do? Well be conscious of the fact in corporate worship that the plan is not to put ourselves on the pedestal and even if our physical structure leans to that way we can reinforce the sole focus through so many other creative means. And those creative means … well that would be me telling wouldn’t it and then where would your focus be??
(HT: The Naked Pastor)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
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