2. Focusing & Forgetting? April 21, 2009
Posted by rickhill in hidden heroes writings.Tags: engaging with God, focusing on God, reflections
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I’ve led worship at a huge variety of events and in countless churches right across the denominational spectrum, and there’s one thing I hear constantly that really gets to me every time. It always comes at the start of a service and usually goes something like this:
“Tonight, this is the time to leave your worries behind you. Let’s get rid of all thoughts about what we’ve done this week or what’s ahead next week. Please forget about work and let’s just use this time to focus on God…”
Cue music.
Cue a time to forget about the rest of our whole lives.
Cue an hour to leave our secular persons behind and become a sacred being for that one time this week.
Cue permission to do whatever you like this week so long as you forget it about just in time for next time you’re here.
What’s the point in leaving our lives behind at the door as we step into church? To me, that’s going to breed yet another generation of Sunday Christians. If we forget exactly how we feel, then how is God going to affect and change our every day reality.
Thinking about what’s going on in our lives and focusing on God are not two mutually exclusive things – they should co-exist!
God’s way is different. We don’t want to forget, we want God to transform.
Here’s what I prefer to say:
“Tonight, if you have worries at work, hassles at home, doubts in your mind or hurts in your heart, then this is an opportunity to encounter God in the midst of it. This is a chance to bring all this stuff to God’s throne as part of our worship, and see what He has to say to us, teach us or restore in us. As these things fill up your mind, let’s focus on God…”
Cue music.
Cue a time to allow God to meet with us no matter what shape were in.
Cue an hour of engaging with the Living God which will continue into tomorrow and the next day because He is engaging with our life.
Cue permission to be changed, moulded, shaped, restored and renewed.
When we come to God, He wants ALL of us. Everything.
That means every smile, every song, every prayer, every hope…but it also means every doubt, every worry, every stress and every hurt.
We’re commanded to bring an offering to God when we worship. Sometimes it’s even described as a “sacrifice”. God wants our worship to Him to be the most meaningful thing in the world.
Something that’s real. Something that engages with all our thoughts, emotions and senses. Something that’s in the here and now, but affects our present and future. Something that changes us.
meant to say…would love you folks to join in the conversation here as i post this stuff so feel free to share your thought!
thanks…
rick
Here here Ricardo. What we need to show the world is a God who is engaged with every aspect of our lives and not just when we put our sunday bests on and become “perfect people” for an hour on a sunday morning. A good post and very thought provoking. Keep up the good work!
Oh Rick I love what you’ve written here and the heart you have! It’s so true – He wants all of us, warts and all! Why do we ever kid ourselves into thinking we can polish ourselves up for Sunday? If we started our worship with the attitude of heart you are describing, I wonder how different our churches and ourselves would be.
Yes Rick but do not forget that to ‘most’ people church is just entertainment, man! It is just another of the weekly scheduled things where we can get into some sort of escapist sentiment and let the world that depresses us for the rest of the week, inspire and reach us in a way that the rest of the week just can’t . . . .
I do hope that you aren’t for one second suggesting that we actually might have to start becoming ‘real’ in church. Come on! Leave us alone! When I ask someone ‘How’s it going?’ I dont really want an answer. I dont really want to hear that their dog died, their granny ran naked through the village or that they were having real struggles with money or thought they might lose their job. Church is a place where we can be nice not challenged. Where we can drift into the background and not have to engage.
Yeah, right.
Nice post Rick. I share your frustration. I suppose thats why I like wearing my shorts to church. Because when I do it reminds me that this is me coming to meet God with others just as I am. Not dressing up and not being different but hopefully being open, ready to listen to God’s voice . . . .
Love this Rick. Greatly challenging content, but also love the way you write. It’s engaging, humble and i love the way you use contrasts to communicate profound truths. Keep sharing your writing with us!
Great stuff Rick, its a frustration I share, and i’ve also found myself doing what you are doing.
Inviting people to leave all their worries etc behind promotes a dangerous form of dualism, where time with God gets divorced from the realities of everyday life. I think this is the problem that infects so many of our churches and rituals of the faith. It’s as if the God we believe in isn’t big enough or interested enough in what we do. As we end this dualism and see God at work and transforming every area of our lives and everything we are involved in, we will discover more and more what it means to be a missional community that is attractive and real and speaks deep into the needs and questions of people’s lives.
yeah loving your perspective here guys. thanks for leaving your comments…
keep joining in the conversation. i need your voice more in my life!
thanks,
rick