Observations on Sept. 11th service

So I had some thoughts during Sunday's service. Now that we have been talking about worship, it's on my brain, so most of what I see passes through that filter now. I don't think that our commenting on each service as as sort of approval poll is a good idea, so I don't offer these thoughts as any such thing. Instead, these thoughts are just lines of thinking that interested me.

We talked at the meeting about the importance of making space in the service for reverence and time to encounter God and his holiness. There was also discussion about the place for light-heartedness and fun. We discussed the balance between having fun (as joy in the presence of God) and also preserving reverence for people to truly encounter God's forgiveness and have His word speak in their lives and situations. I felt that, thanks to God, the service this week struck that balance nicely.

I am usually turned off by wackyish skits; they tend to feel like entertainment to me. For some reason, this week, it didn't feel that way. I laughed and enjoyed the hilarious video (I always enjoy them), but somehow it seemed a part of worship, not an entertaining side-show to bring people in. I don't know what the difference was; it was probably just me and my changing moods and attitude. Maybe it was the way Scott Vermillion came forward so directly and earnestly afterwards. His message was plain, simple, and truthful; I didn't feel at all like he was tring to convince the college crowd that CHBC is a hip place.

I felt the same way about SpencerAcuff. Their song was wonderfully performed, but they were so simple in their presentation (again, I didn't feel like I was being entertained) that I found myself focusing on the words and feeling God's truth in them.

Mark's sermon had a driven feel to it as well. Of course, the Katrina circumstances played a large part in that. Tragedies and crises help to cut through the haze in which we (or I, at least) live most of our lives. I like it when preachers come at me straight, spare no punches, and just preach God's truth to me in a way that cuts me. Regardless of how fun and funny the anecdotes are, the message should always come right back to the plain truth, I think.

The worship team seemed to share this great balance of light-heartedness and reverence this week as well. The songs were potent and beautiful, and they pushed me towards singing to God (as the Psalms tell us to do).

It's a bit weird of me to feel this way, but I'm always annoyed when we clap in church for a performance. It's not that I don't want the performer to feel appreciated; I just think that, especially in church, it should be clear that the person on stage isn't singing for us; she's singing to God. I feel more appreciate to the purpose of the song when I reverently and silently honor it as a gift not to me but God.

Thus, I thought it was a neat, God-honoring service that balanced between somewhat serious reverence and ebullient joy. I'm sure that many were praying for it to be that way. I like to think that God blessed those prayers and gave our leaders what they needed to honor His name.

So, there are my thoughts, mostly unrefined or edited, on recent worship. Is that what we are supposed to be doing on this blog?

PS On a completely practical note, did anyone think that all of the audio was very loud? Both my wife and I felt that the volume was quite piercing to the ears.

-- Walker Hicks