Something wonderful happened Friday night. People were gathered to worship and we had come to the conclusion and “good night” of it all, or so we thought. There was one last and unplanned song. And when it was over, there was a holy hush in the place. No one was rushing to the door even though it was getting late. The only other time I remember that happening was at a worship conference several years ago when at the conclusion and “good night,” the leader remembered that some worship dancers had been forgotten, and so he invited them up. And when it was over, there was unrehearsed, spontaneous clapping for nearly eight minutes as in a declaration smashing of granite, from every generation in the room. No one was rushing to the door even though it was late.
Mysterious! And yet in both settings, the call seemed to be the same: “Be the Church. Worship Me deeply here, and by all means, worship Me deeply as you head out those doors.” We like to put God and God things in boxes. Jesus says, as He did to the woman at the well in John 4, worship is not confined to a building but is meant to be carried with us wherever we go. Worship is inside and it is outside. It is inside-out. And for a purpose beyond “just singing”, as the video clip at the end illustrates.
Not coincidentally this week, I came across this awakening, re-orienting journal entry from four summers ago..
…“My church, like any church, is far from perfect, because my church, like any church is not a building at all but a bunch of people. And every one of us, saved by Grace or still seeking, walks with a limp of one kind or another. We can’t help but bring it with us every time we walk through the doors, and inevitably the pain from the limp comes out from time to time…words are said which come out wrong and are received even worse, the spirit of offense rolls in, and so the people get distracted from the vision and purpose for being the Church.
It’s why many on the outside looking in often say, “the church is just a bunch of hypocrites.” No, just as it has been from the beginning, the church is filled with real and very imperfect humans seeking to follow a real and very perfect Savior. The adversary tries to use the distractions and offenses to sidetrack and destroy. Jesus uses them to strengthen as iron sharpens iron, to become stronger salt and light people of individual personalities and differences of opinions and likes because that is what the world is like and where the Church is sent—and distractions and all, He still says “…I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
Because even as iron is sharpening iron, and everyone is desperately looking to Jesus as their example to press through and love and show grace, grace, grace, the adversary is getting kicked in the teeth: There is continual new Life—someone desperately seeking finally says “yes, Lord!,” and several someones of every generation are immersed in a lake baptism. And there are miraculous testimonies of God’s goodness through thick and thin that only God could do and that encourage us to hold on to our faith. And just about every day, scattered in several locations, fervent prayer and tireless service are going on—often, where no one sees and applauds but where Jesus smiles and empowers and answers.
I suppose it is this way in many imperfect Christ-one churches. And truth be told, none of them are as amazing and perfect as their social media hype would like you to believe. We are all a beautiful mess. But the Kingdom is advancing in stealth fashion nevertheless! And through all the messiness, I have found that other than the Gospel being preached and walked out, one thing really matters, something I experienced the first day I walked into our building that is called church—an overwhelming, can’t really put your finger on it sense of peace where your only words are: “Jesus is worshiped here, and His presence is welcome here. I feel like I’m home.” You know it in strange ways, like feeling the tension in your shoulders suddenly go limp.
“I wish that we might get back to worship again. Then when people come into the church, they will instantly sense that they have come among holy people—God’s people. They can testify, ‘of a truth, God is in this place!’”—A.W. Tozer
Sure, some gatherings are more engaged than others, but I can think of no better place to be, because in that environment of united worship by us bunch of individuals walking with limps, whether in hymns from a hymnal or new songs projected on a screen, Jesus is made huge again in our squinty eyes and heavy hearts, and faith is stirred, and you are reminded once more that with God all things are possible, and that this is why the Church is God’s wonderfully messy idea, and that a people who worship together and especially with no one else around throughout the week can make all the difference in the world, from the inside out…”
“…Sing loud when you can; stop and let the words and joy wash over you when you can't. Take the long drive. Those who do return to meeting with God again in worship, choosing to fill homes and cars and lives with worship music that lifts them in orientation to Jesus for a good, sustained long while, even if it's just running in the background, have told me they feel like someone who's just received a cool drink of water when they didn't realize how thirsty they had become. Don't lose this; it's life and help and strength because the Spirit meets us in it.”—Dan Wilt, "Engage in Worship Again"
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