Like many, I am a Christian both in spite of the church and because of the church. So how can we show people Christ or disciple them when the church is keeping them away from Christ?
Reconciling worship can be characterized by what happens outside of worship as much as anything that happens within it. It is not about a sermon series or carefully crafting congregational prayers.
This is a DNA issue.
It is one thing for the church to be heartbroken over injustice; it is another for the church to practice justice—in the decisions of those with power and in the life of the congregation. It is about us, all of us, being the church, together.
1. Reconciling worship embraces and celebrates the diversity of God’s people. This means that the images used convey that everyone is represented and reflected before God in worship. This mean it is a way of seeking participation from members representing every walk of life, not merely making room for diverse expression and participation, but actively pursuing it.
2. Reconciling worship remembers the causes of the hurting and oppressed. If there is any sin of which the North American church needs to repent together, it is our apathy. Oftentimes, the hurt caused by the church is not a result of what the church does as much as what it does not do. Great pain is caused when the church is silent. When people are devastated and dumbfounded and at a loss for words, that is where the Church should be—offering comfort, lamenting injustice, remembering, and speaking hope.
3. Reconciling worship recognizes and addresses the need for community. Much of worship music implies a “me and Jesus” understanding of our relationship to God. But in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 we read that it is not my body that is a temple of the Holy Spirit but the body, us.Reconciling worship has both vertical and horizontal aspects because worship, at its heart, is about communing with God and one another.
4. Reconciling worship fosters space for lament and grief. It should speak to the hearts of the many who come to worship with emptiness stemming from loss. Reconciling worship creates space that leaves room for diverse expressions of lament.
5. Reconciling worship nurtures repentance. There is immense power in confession, particularly when we do it as a community.Worship can only offer us comfort when it speaks to our very real pain, often as the result of sin. It is in turning and returning to God that the broken, all of us, can meet the God of heaven and earth face to face.
6. Reconciling worship uses language with care. Our hearts are revealed in our language, both verbal and nonverbal. And all too frequently, so are our biases. Reconciling worship avoids “us” versus “them” language, like “believers” and “nonbelievers”. It recognizes the diversity of the people in the pews, and of the people that they love. It's all about not allowing our biases to speak when leading worship. It’s about asking ourselves: how do my biases come through here? If person X were in the crowd, how would she or he hear this?
7. Reconciling worship cultivates restoration and hope. Reconciling worship turns our lens from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to the Tree of Life. It is for both the wounded and the one who has done the wounding. Our hope in Christ is the source of our unity in our diversity. When the focus is on God, not on us, it is much easier to find hope. [It should focus on the kingdom coming and God's will being done now through restoration and renewal.]
As followers of Christ we are meant to be ambassadors of reconciliation. It is an overwhelming task that we have the privilege of participating in through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The full article is available here
It is one thing for the church to be heartbroken over injustice; it is another for the church to practice justice—in the decisions of those with power and in the life of the congregation. It is about us, all of us, being the church, together.
1. Reconciling worship embraces and celebrates the diversity of God’s people. This means that the images used convey that everyone is represented and reflected before God in worship. This mean it is a way of seeking participation from members representing every walk of life, not merely making room for diverse expression and participation, but actively pursuing it.
2. Reconciling worship remembers the causes of the hurting and oppressed. If there is any sin of which the North American church needs to repent together, it is our apathy. Oftentimes, the hurt caused by the church is not a result of what the church does as much as what it does not do. Great pain is caused when the church is silent. When people are devastated and dumbfounded and at a loss for words, that is where the Church should be—offering comfort, lamenting injustice, remembering, and speaking hope.
3. Reconciling worship recognizes and addresses the need for community. Much of worship music implies a “me and Jesus” understanding of our relationship to God. But in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 we read that it is not my body that is a temple of the Holy Spirit but the body, us.Reconciling worship has both vertical and horizontal aspects because worship, at its heart, is about communing with God and one another.
4. Reconciling worship fosters space for lament and grief. It should speak to the hearts of the many who come to worship with emptiness stemming from loss. Reconciling worship creates space that leaves room for diverse expressions of lament.
5. Reconciling worship nurtures repentance. There is immense power in confession, particularly when we do it as a community.Worship can only offer us comfort when it speaks to our very real pain, often as the result of sin. It is in turning and returning to God that the broken, all of us, can meet the God of heaven and earth face to face.
6. Reconciling worship uses language with care. Our hearts are revealed in our language, both verbal and nonverbal. And all too frequently, so are our biases. Reconciling worship avoids “us” versus “them” language, like “believers” and “nonbelievers”. It recognizes the diversity of the people in the pews, and of the people that they love. It's all about not allowing our biases to speak when leading worship. It’s about asking ourselves: how do my biases come through here? If person X were in the crowd, how would she or he hear this?
7. Reconciling worship cultivates restoration and hope. Reconciling worship turns our lens from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to the Tree of Life. It is for both the wounded and the one who has done the wounding. Our hope in Christ is the source of our unity in our diversity. When the focus is on God, not on us, it is much easier to find hope. [It should focus on the kingdom coming and God's will being done now through restoration and renewal.]
As followers of Christ we are meant to be ambassadors of reconciliation. It is an overwhelming task that we have the privilege of participating in through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The full article is available here
