what's important
I'm sitting in the Montego Bay airport. We've been delayed. We'll land at JKF by 2 a.m. Monday morning. Ugh. But we've decided that this situation will not overshadow the good times had in Jamaica. The resort was incredible, the people friendly and the wedding wonderful. I would write about what we did but we did absolutely nothing. So there's nothing to write. We rested and it was glorious.
Now to completely change the subject...
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I don't care to converse with you concerning the right way to worship. Who gives a flying flip about whether or not a church uses instruments while worshiping? Who cares if it's a woman or a man proclaiming God's good news? So what if the kids aren't sitting still but instead are dancing in the pews and down the aisles? And what of that old man right there in the middle of the sanctuary lifting his hands? Finally, I seriously don't want to hear you explain to me The Correct Way of being saved.
I understand that for some these conversations are needed to move forward at all and I'm thankful that there are those patient enough to hang around and have these conversations but I just can't do it. I sat for too long at the side of my son's bed in the hospital wondering if he would be able to take his next breath. I heard far too many mothers and fathers wailing as their sons and daughters took in their last gasps of air. I had one too many nurses tell me tragic stories. I spent one too many nights in intensive care units.
So what is important, you ask? Love. A kind of love that is acted out in service that results in justice. For me, Jesus was the embodiment of that kind of love. All these other matters we concern ourselves with are just not important.
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Now to completely change the subject...
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I don't care to converse with you concerning the right way to worship. Who gives a flying flip about whether or not a church uses instruments while worshiping? Who cares if it's a woman or a man proclaiming God's good news? So what if the kids aren't sitting still but instead are dancing in the pews and down the aisles? And what of that old man right there in the middle of the sanctuary lifting his hands? Finally, I seriously don't want to hear you explain to me The Correct Way of being saved.
I understand that for some these conversations are needed to move forward at all and I'm thankful that there are those patient enough to hang around and have these conversations but I just can't do it. I sat for too long at the side of my son's bed in the hospital wondering if he would be able to take his next breath. I heard far too many mothers and fathers wailing as their sons and daughters took in their last gasps of air. I had one too many nurses tell me tragic stories. I spent one too many nights in intensive care units.
So what is important, you ask? Love. A kind of love that is acted out in service that results in justice. For me, Jesus was the embodiment of that kind of love. All these other matters we concern ourselves with are just not important.
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posted by jch at
7:51 PM
14 Comments:
The apostle Paul, who spoke so much about the overarching importance of love, didn't take that to mean that there weren't appropriate and inappropriate ways of worshiping God.
Worship, after all, is one of the ways we show our love for God. Look at it this way: Suppose I take my wife on a date. But I decide we'll go see a horror film. She hates horror films (well, so do I, but this is just a contrived example). But she's still bound to like the date, right? I mean, she should be happy that I'm taking her out at all. The details are unimportant trifles to be quibbled over by those who probably disregard their wives in the first place. Right?
Which is not to say that discussions I read and heard growing up about the exact meaning of psallo weren't tiresome. I think that comes from having a flawed model of authority: the idea that the New Testament is bound to answer any church-related question we ask of it (much less any question at all).
Hey Ryan, I think we would be hard pressed to say that Paul spent much time on the exact details of how one should and should not worship. His themes re worship were pretty general, no? Sure, he gave some specific examples but that's exactly what they were, examples. Nothing more.
Joe,
"Who gives a flying flip about whether or not a church uses instruments while worshiping? Who cares if it's a woman or a man proclaiming God's good news? So what if the kids aren't sitting still but instead are dancing in the pews and down the aisles? And what of that old man right there in the middle of the sanctuary lifting his hands?"
Your description noted above is exactly what our experience was when we visited Christ Church in March. It brought a smile to my face thinking about our worship time! Especially the "old man raising is hands" was my husband, Larry. He and I laughed that we were probably the oldest ones there that Sunday because we think of ourselves as still the "young marrieds" after 30 years!:) And I can still see sweet Sophia dancing around during our praise time. We really enjoyed our time with you!!! Most of all God was praised and hearts were encouraged with the Hope we have in Him.
Blessings,
Teresa
I agree with you that too often our churches, communities (even politics) are bogged down in arguments over the minute details and missing opportunities to embrace the big picture. However, I also think God could've given us a pamphlet that said "just love" if that's all He cared about. Instead, He gave us a rather thick book with a lot of guidance, which leads me to believe that while to love is clearly one of our greatest commands, there are also smaller things He does give flying flips about. Important when you're Ira working on one breath at a time? No. But when you've been given the gift of breathing freely, I think He calls us to keep seeking His will, His most perfect path for us ... which is much broader than whether or not you're a hand-raiser (!!) but also more narrow than "just love". Many people love deeply without knowing God and I think He yearns for more. And therby we have indivudals who go to seminary and become preachers, right?
(p.s. Definitely not exactly what I think you're saying, and I appreciate your point, these are just my additional thoughts.)
Hilary, in using Ira I was hoping to invoke the "least of these" which Jesus repeatedly points to as folks who have their finger on the pulse of God's Kingdom. The "least" are hardly worried about guidelines, the thickness of the book, etc. They are just trying to make it day by day in whatever manner possible. The main claim of the Bible is love acted out selflessly. While worship acts do fall under that rubric of how one loves selflessly, those acts are hardly main claims of the Bible.
Joe, I guess I really shouldn't say this but ti's the same thing about politics and church crap..I'm tired, and I don't want to know anything but Jesus Christ and him crucified...I'm tired of arguments, I'm tired of war, I'm tired of walls weather physical or mental. I'd say let the young fight the wars but I would rather they spend their time talking about love. Thank you for your post. Peace to you good brother.
Well, Joe...look at it this way. Suicide is a sin. Perhaps the greatest of all sins, since, as G. K. Chesterton wrote, it kills all mankind and destroys all creation (from the perspective of the one who does it). But...that's not what you say to a family whose son or daughter has just committed suicide.
Adultery is a great sin too, several kinds of sin: Sexual immorality, faithlessness, deceit... But you don't console a man or woman whose spouse has committed adultery by pointed out how much trouble that spouse is in, in God's eyes.
Yes, everything feels different when it's personal. But the fact that calling adultery or suicide sins isn't a good way to console those affected by them doesn't change the fact that they're still sins. Pastoral concern and solid theology need to be balanced and used at the appropriate time; neither one cancels the other out. In our church we have a category, ekonomia, which refers to "bending of the rules" for the sake of someone's salvation. However, ekonomia doesn't abrogate the rules. Rather, it's a matter of that balance.
So yes, love is more important than worship. St Paul would be the first to say so. But he also spent a lot of time on theology beyond simply "Love one another", and he spent a good bit of time on ethical teaching and practice as well. If he didn't spend more time on worship, the reason is most likely that what Christians were already doing every Sunday (as taught by the apostles and borrowed from the synagogue) was right--and not that St Paul thought worship was unimportant.
Amen, Joe. Amen.
Hey Ryan, I think you should come out and say what you mean. In other words, I haven't said at any point that I don't think worship is important. Rather, the arguments we consume ourselves with concerning worship are unimportant.
Let me begin, as almost everyone does here, by saying that I echo the spirit of this and that we'd probably agree on most of the specifics, if we sat down and hammered them out.
But in response to your last comment about the arguments being unimportant, I would disagree. If it wasn't important than I'd just sit still every time someone insisted that my wife can't pray in public worship. But I don't. Because the worship is important and the how we worship is important.
I absolutely agree that love trumps worship disagreements, but I don't think it means that they aren't important. I'm not even sure that's what you were saying anyway.
Very true, Kes, very true. What I've been trying to say is that the rules that we've - specifically the CofC - written concerning worship are ridiculous and so I'm not interested in attending churches that adhere to such strict rules about what can and can't be done. Those rules are unimportant when I read through the Bible. Thanks for making that distinction.
Fair enough; I'll come out and say it. Yes, the arguments Church-of-Christ people get in about worship are silly. But that's because their model of authority is flawed. That model has always been me-and-my-Bible vs. the world.
So if we're both C-of-C, and I read my Bible and conclude that women have to sit in the back and keep quiet, and you conclude that women should be leading the service and let the _men_ keep quiet, or whatever...well, there's really nothing to mediate between us. I go my way, you go yours, we each start our own congregation and do things the way we want.
Above any individual issue, the real problem is that there's no way to settle an issue. That's why the unified Restoration Movement turned into the Disciples of Christ, and the independent Christian Churches, and the mainline Churches of Christ, and the one-cuppers, and the no-Sunday-Schoolers, and the no-pulpit-preacherers, and all the rest. In the end, the highest authority was always me-and-my-Bible (and the people who agree with me).
Joe,
Randy Alcorn wrote a neat little book called "The Grace and Truth Paradox". Jesus was full of both (John 1:1). We, however, struggle with both of these essentials. Truth takes over and we lose out on Grace; or Grace is applied and Truth is abandoned. Sometimes we have a little bit of truth and a lot of grace or vice versa. Our goal is to be like Jesus - full of Grace and Truth. Now that is hard, ya know?
Alcorn says 'Grace and Truth are both necessary. Neither is sufficient. We need to examine ourselves and correct ourselves. We who are truth-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm grace. We who are grace-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm truth".
I feel this has a lot to do with the way we worship as 'we are to worship in spirit and in truth'.
Evidently there are a lot of people who 'give a flying flip' about how we worship or there would not be so many 'discussions' about it. Richland Hills decided a few months ago to have Sat night service w/instruments. That was a HUGE step for us and took lots of discussions and teaching to actually happen. Some people left but with our blessings and not many hard feelings as it was done with grace. We still have a cappella worship on Sundays though. Most of the criticism is coming from outside our church, however.
It is difficult for some to accept a change in their churches when worship was pretty much the same their entire lives. These things must be done with gentleness and mercy. Slowly, slowly is much better than 'let's just get on with it'. We must be patient with those who may never agree with us.
OK, that's enough. And I don't like to argue either about these issues but know this is so touchy with many people and we must extend grace to them as they feel they have the truth, also.
~Marilyn
I figured we were on the same page, and it seems as if we are.
My dad taught a class on Biblical authority v. man made tradition and the silliness of some of our debates v. the importance of others.
He wrapped up and asked for comments by saying "Sometimes we're dealing with the role of women and sometimes we're dealing with hand raising in worship."
His first comment was from a man who said "Which of those are you saying isn't a Biblical issue?"
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