Worship

I was talking to several people this past week about how my thoughts about worship are constantly being challenged and stretched. It has been confirmed by my friends that I am a dork for reading the Christian Standard on a regular basis. I'm okay with that! This past week's issue had some articles on worship - one in particular was really good: Exploring Biblical Worship by Knofel Staton.

An excerpt:

"God does not want worship that includes him, but intentionally or unintentionally excludes a certain category of people. What is happening on the platform that includes or excludes people in the pews? Whom we exclude in the sanctuary, we will eventually ignore in the streets.

Each congregation is God’s personal vehicle for transporting his Trinitarian nature and interpersonal relationship within the Trinity to others. Every aspect of the early church’s worship in the New Testament enhanced unity amid diversity. Early Christians were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, which stresses unity amid diversity; to fellowship, which is sharing partnership with others in spite of diversity; to breaking of bread, a meal of unity; to prayer for one another; to generosity that crosses economical differences (Acts 2:42-45); and to baptism that incorporates diverse people into God’s new community. "

And then the standard question - HOW DO WE DO THAT?

Unity among diversity. What does it look like when a church is thinking about other peoples' needs before their own? How much unity is possible? This is much deeper than worship styles. Special events where churches and different groups come together are good - but what does it really look like to be unified for the sake of the Kingdom?