Tue, Dec 31st - 5:43PM
Worship: In Search of the Real Thing
The question arises these days, just what exactly, is Christian worship? Who is this worship supposed to be for? What is it supposed to be like? During the 1990's it seemingly was whatever worked. Many were seeking a refreshing, rejuvenating encounter with the Living God, Jehovah. The results were less than stellar. There were some small stylistic changes, but by and large, the sermon remained the main event and maybe attendees encountered the Living God with a minuscule corner of their brain.
Coming out of the 1990's we saw that the vast majority of evangelicalism does not experience a supernatural encounter with God. Rather, this segment has fallen victim to market-driven activities, shaped by the desires of the progressive church-going consumer. Instead of providing God-driven activities, pastors and congregations have been engaging in worldly business marketing ventures to lure customers into their buildings. Yes, there was initial success as massive numbers of people streamed into these evangelical churches across America. They came in genuine search of a connection with God, but then began to steadily drift away as they realized that they were not going to have any sort of encounter with God in those churches. Yes, it helped create the mega-churches that we still can see dotting the landscape. But attendance numbers remain static, not growing as they once were. People figure out what is missing there and they go looking elsewhere. The emphasis became numbers of people attending services, not upon what were they hearing and learning while there. More attendees meant more in offerings. It became a glaring error in why we come to worship God. Do we go to worship services in order to entertained? Or do we go in order to have a personal encounter with the Living God? Do we go in order to demonstrate corporately how much we love God through singing, praying, speaking, and sharing? These are important questions that need answers today, some 20+ years after the experiment of the 1990's.
George Barna states, "We are more impressed by a church of 4,000 people who have no clue about God's character and His expectations, than by a church of 100, or less, people who are deeply committed to serving humankind in quiet but significant ways. What I see the Scriptures saying is that a successful church is where people's lives are being transformed and becoming more Christ-like. Quality must always precede quantity." Even today, we are still driven by the compulsion for the "quick fix." But Barna tells us that the number one piece of information that interests an unchurched person when they are looking for a church is not worship service that is offered. Instead it is a church's specific beliefs and doctrines. They have strong desire for information about the Bible and its meanings. Those churches that have chosen to not preach from out of the Bible have missed the target with all of these people then. People hunger for knowledge about God and His Word. Any church today that refuses to supply this information to meet their need will slowly die out.
This does not mean that churches are to stuff doctrine down peoples' throats at every opportunity. No, it does mean that during worship services there must be a portion of that time where the people are given access to God's Word. Better yet, a time must be provided where people will have the opportunity to meet Christ. Barna states that a critical element for any church is the clear communication of its core beliefs. Without these tied to the worship service, how can strangers possibly come to understand why worship is occurring?
Despite all of the changes churches have made during the past twenty years, a study showed that boomers do not consider the church more "relevant" as a result of all the worship changes that were made. Most boomers remain lost to the churches, continuing their search for a meaningful, spiritual life. What are we doing to meet their need? Just showing up and going through the motions on Sundays can smack of hypocrisy to a generation that has felt estranged from social institutions and insists upon authenticity and credibility as prerequisites for commitment. How can we claim to offer something that is radically different from society when we surrender to changing worship styles as each new trend rolls on out off of the conveyor belts of the "experts?" Doing church in this manner simply marks us being fake, hollow, devoid of any spiritual depth or truth.
So, where is God in all of this? People want to receive something of value when they participate in a worship service, something that they are not receiving from their daily lives out in the world. People make time for what is important, they are value-oriented. What draws people into churches, and keeps them there, is worship that is not only culturally relevant, but is real. It is where we allow the supernatural God of the Bible to show up and to interact with people sitting in the pews or chairs. It is when we choose to "get out of God's way."
So whenever personal interaction with God is absent, church loses much of its appeal to people. William Hendricks says, "It's a serious matter, because the question, Where Is God? the doctrine of God's imminence, lies at the heart of why people come to church. People expect to find God at church, as they well should. One study revealed that one out of every six born-again Christians said they have never experienced God's presence, either inside or outside of the worship service. That is a sobering statistic! These things indicate that churches are out of touch with the general population's spiritual needs, and are out of touch with God.
There is a glaring ignorance among the churched regarding what Christian worship actually is. If there is a glaring deficiency among the churched, how can we teach the unchurched? It becomes impossible. A Barna study revealed that of attendees, only 36% gave a reasonable assessment of what worship means. 25% gave answers that were too generic to evaluate; and 39% offered explanations that were clearly in error. Thus, a majority of churched people appear unclear in their minds of what exactly they are accomplishing each week at church. Ambiguity exists, and this calls into question the validity or value of having met people's expectations of what is a worship experience.
The next question to rise to the surface is "Where is the Evangelism?" The mega-churches aren't growing, they are experiencing the phenomenon known as "church hopping." Want another chilling statistic from the end of the 1990's? George Barna says that there were some 325,000 Protestant churches, 1,200 Christian radio stations, 300 Christian TV stations, and 300 Christian colleges. At that time they all were spending together in excess of $250 Billion in domestic ministry and have seen no increase in the proportion of born-again adult Christians in this country. Why aren't we concerned about this? Where is the accountability for this bleak picture? Are we to simply continue to plod along this failing path, playing the same game?
Why hasn't the American church grown? Perhaps it is because only about three out of ten born-again Christians give any verbal witness of faith in a given month. We remain silent. It is not surprising then to learn that the average evangelical church in America introduces only 1.7 people to Christ per year for every 100 who attend services. My church has only 20 attendees each week, how long will it take us to even introduce one person to Christ if we take this approach?
Maybe one factor is also that we exhibit "separatistic attitudes". Ninety-one percent of "seekers" say that we are not sensitive to their needs. According to Barna 37% of the unchurched claim that the church is not tolerant. This is not limited to being intolerant of wayward ideas but of the people as well. The unchurched also claim that Christians attend more often, and they are more judgmental. This is distressing to learn, especially when we recall that Christ came to tear down the barriers that kept people from approaching Him. Christians too often do not want to sit next to people who are unlike themselves. They show preference to certain people over others. This also is something that Christ preached against quite strongly. Why is it that they do not know this? Their church leaders have not bothered to teach Christ's commandments to their congregation. The Great Commission is unknown to them, foreign. They become content to keep their church size just as it is, thank you very much! But this attitude flies in the face of what we have all been commanded to go out and do.
I will leave you with this thought from Jack Hayford: "Who do you want to come to your church, and who does God want there?" That is all for the start of this new Biblical study on worship. I hope that whoever stops and reads this will find some things to ponder and perhaps take back to their congregation and talk with them about it. Grace and peace be yours in Christ Jesus!
~Eric
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Name: E J Rajaniemi
