I had the opportunity these last two weeks to worship in 4 different churches. The preaching was good, the music good to very good, some people were friendly and some just happy to see their friends. (Which meant visitors had to fend for themselves). There were a few particularly innovative or different elements like a call to worship and prayer given in Hebrew, that were very moving.
But, when it came to worship, what caught my attention were the distractions. Now, it was four different services so don’t get the idea that these were all in one. In fact, generally, they were all good services. But over two weeks there were quite a few distractions.
1. a microphone or monitor left on from singing that produced an echo.
2. instruments that did not blend at all well
3. a song leader whose mic was too loud and overwhelmed the others
4. drums (only once) that were over powering the other musicians
5. a really long announcement for a new ministry
6. a missionary report – good in itself but as a visitor knowing nothing about them, there were no visuals and very little to help understand their ministry.
7. someone unprepared to do their part
8. someone introduced who was not in the room
9. the wrong scripture read at the wrong time and then read again at the right time
10. a very late start
11. wrong powerpoints
12. announcements in general – although only one of the churches actually did announcements
13. lack of purpose – it often seems that worship isn’t going anywhere, it is just a collection of random songs. Probably not random to the committee that selected them but somewhere the connections often get lost to the uninformed congregant.
14. A camp like greeting of good morning how you all doing, or worse, waiting for a response. Again only once.
Each week I look forward to worship and get my hopes up that the service will lead truly into the presence of God. That His Word will speak loud and clear. More often than not (not in at least two of the churches these last two weeks) I am disappointed and wonder why anyone seeking would come back.
Those of us who are regulars take our forms for granted. We know it is important to announce the coming breakfast or special meeting – really important if we are in charge. When you come to worship though, some of those same forms can just be distractions, leading away from the reason we say we are gathering - to worship and to hear from God.
So why mention distractions? Well, sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking worship is only singing, or its only the sermon. It is all of that and more but it canbe derailed by all of the distractions.
About Me
- Pastor Bob
- I am the senior pastor of Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Sinking Spring, PA.
Number
Journey to the Promised Land
2 comments:
Reading your comments makes me appreciate what a great job our leadership at CBFC does at minimizing the distractions. Here's another thought--and feel free to rebuke me for using this Scripture reference somewhat out of context: if it's the heart of a man that God looks at, rather than how good looking the man is on the outside, how important is being "error-free" to a worship service verses being truly worshipful? Isn't worship just as much the responsibility of the believers in the congregation to bring the worship orientation--and with it, hearts of grace, seeking God--as it is that of the worship leaders to facilitate worship? Aren't there always distractions? Won't there always be someone who thought you ought to have worn a tie when you didn't and someone else who thought you were way overdressed?
Actually, I was thinking of going with flowered shirts instead of a tie (but that might be a distraction).
You are correct in your observations. But, from the perspective of someone charged to guide and direct worship, I have observed that the heart is easily distracted and easily lead if we are not careful in wrong directions. In the very best service that has been put together with much prayer and the leading of the Spirit, there will still be some who are distracted. Some are distracted by style - organ vs drums perhaps. Even that though could simply be a heart issue or it could be that we just like what we like.
When it comes to distractions I was probably speaking more to myself to pay more attention so that we give the hearts of the worshipers every opportunity to stay focused on the Lord.
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