Notes for season 4,
episode 6 – Unselfish Worship
Worship
– what does it look like, how should we do it, and why does it have to
last so long?
In order to tackle these many questions Jonathan thought it
might be best to bring on someone who wrestled with such questions on a regular
basis. Jeff Olson is the Worship Arts Pastor at Christ Church in East Greenwich
and was happy to be a guest host.
First off, worship is the entire time that you are in the
building. It is not the 20 minutes of singing before the sermon or the extra
long, extra silent prayer where you can snooze for a little bit and have a
great dream about finding that perfect couch that is more comfortable than you
ever imagined would be possible only to wake up finding yourself fully reclined
on the pew. It is not that. Worship happens throughout the whole, entire
service (and beyond).
Tell a story. This might be the big take-away of the
conversation. Worship should be telling a story. These are stories with archetypes,
narratives that speak to despair and hope, anger and release, pain and healing,
doubt and faith, and much more. Some may say that you should always tell the
story of the cross. Perhaps that is true, but that story is embedded in the
other narratives that make up the daily struggles and hopes of life. Keep the
cross present and bring in all of the other nuances and aspects of life and
faith.
Try to engage people with the narrative. Invite people into
the story; help them find their own place where they find hope or where they
can share their sorrow.
Give room for God to work. Leave unscripted moments when God
can speak in the silence, in the quiet music, in the sharing, in the spaces
within the liturgy let God speak.
Finally, don’t be so darn selfish about worship. It is not
always about what you like, but where you can find God. The worship service is
not just about you but is about a community gathering together to find and
encounter God and that will vary for every person. What may not speak to you
may speak strongly to someone right next to you and part of being a community
is celebrating the different ways God reaches and speaks to us.
FYI - Jeff spoke a bit about Henri Nouwen’s book The Return of the Prodigal Son – it is a
good read.
Railige
Jeff started his angry time ranting against the culture of
personal preference. The entire culture! Now before you go off and accuse this
nice young man of being culturally insensitive, understand that he is taking
issue with people who feel that worship (and life overall) should be about “what
I want and when I want it.” It is all the fault of the iPod. Not really, but
the ability to pick and choose what kind of music you like lends to this
culture. It is the idea that worship should have the songs that I like, the
preaching style that I like and should be the length that suits me best. This
is the worship of personal preference. This is bad and should be eschewed
(didn’t get to say that word in the last two episodes). It is about more than
you so back off!
Jonathan is taking issue with a broad, lack of nuanced
approach to doubt. Specifically Jonathan is looking at the story of Ryan Bell,
a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who is giving up believing in God for one year.
His blog can be found at yearwithoutgod.com. Doubt and faith a deep are
profound parts of life, things that cannot be whittled down to a publicity
stunt or a five minute sound bite. It is not so much the approach that Jonathan
is having difficulty with, but the lack of nuance that is offered and the lack
of awareness of the places in the Christian tradition where doubt is lifted up
and embraced.
Opening
the Word
1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Stop being so mean to Paul! Don’t be so quick to dismiss him
because of some of the things he has written about women, there are many other
things with Paul to celebrate. Anyway, in this passage we have the opening of a
letter to a community where Paul is starting to lay out the bigger argument of
his text. Paul has a problem with people who create a hierarchy of spiritual
gifts. He does not get into that right away, but starts with encouragement to
the people in Corinth. They all have gifts and all those gifts are important
and necessary. They all have those gifts as a community. It is not a Lone
Ranger approach to Christianity, but one that celebrates the many gifts that
are found in the community.
Watcha’
Into?
Jonathan is enjoying the 1982 classic movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial – it is
wholesome goodness for the entire family.
Jeff is reading Stanley Crouch’s work Kansas City Lightening about the life and times of Charley Parker.
Listen to some good jazz (not that easy listening, light stuff, but good, solid
jazz) and enjoy this book.
As always, please
review us on ITunes – it helps with our ratings and standings and helps other
people hear about the show. Let us know what you think!
Next episode – film
and spirituality with Kathryn Palen
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