Inconsistancies

George (my husband) and I were talking again. Our conversation came back to worship... Understand that for years we were part of a congregation where, if you sang about it, you did it. If you didn't mean it, you didn't sing it. Guests had a little more freedom but regulars had a sense that when you came to worship you were coming into the presence of God. Yes, God is always with us but stay with me here.


[This entry isn't specifically targetting Artisan but it's an important part of the discussion.]


You know that worship is a verb, don't you? It's something we do - not a spectator sport. Maybe that's a bit harsh but it's important. Even stillness and silence involves actively choosing to quiet my inner self. Do we sing things that are true and things we want to be true in us or do we sing words with no intention of doing? It's enough to sing it, I don't have to actually do it. We don't bow down, we don't kneel, we don't lift our hands. Ok, it's in the scriptures but we don't do that in our church. I'm sure there's a wide range of thought about this.

Repetition...Do we kneel when we sing about kneeling before God? Do we dance, when we sing about dancing before God? Doing these things at home alone with God helps a little if you're self-conscious. That doesn't mean you have to dance at every service or even most, but dancing is a way to express joy, especially for little children. Do we sing about joy with a dour face? (I'm guilty!) Do we bow when we sing about bowing before God? We may not teach children to bow and kneel anymore but children still lift their hands up to us,as I believe God still looks for us to lift our hands to Him. Does an image of someone lifting hands cause us to do that or are we just watching TV? If songs and images are prayers are we saying things that we have no intention of doing? Children know.

Worshipping God in spirit and in truth pleases Him. It's the only way to worship Him. In congregations where adults are doing these things chldren see the discipline of dancing where it's appropriate and stopping. Lifting hands, kneeling or bowing when it's appropriate. God-honoring movement. Appropriate movement. Movement that maybe only be culturally correct in the presence of God. We can do it in the privacy of our closet time at home but I venture to say that these expressions are also appropriate in community worship.

Children and teens have a keen eye for inconsistancies. Children know. Inviting our children to worship with us requires that we fix the inconsistancies. It's scary to ask but Lord, help us to worship You in spirit and truth and to teach our children how to worship You.