Lord says:So this isn't the most encouraging Christmas scripture to read, but it is something I read the other day that still has an impact on my of worship. It started to ring louder when I was at church yesterday...
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is made up only of rules taught by men.
Isaiah 29:13
If you are a part of the family of churches I belong to, the former International Churches of Christ, then your Sundays may consist of the list below:
- Three praise/worship songs.
- Welcome and opening prayer
- One or two more songs
- Communion charge and prayer
- One more song during the passing of the communion trays
- Contribution charge and prayer
- One more song during the passing of the contribution trays
- Fellowship break
- Two more songs
- Sermon/Lesson
- Announcements
- One more song
- Dismissal
It's pretty predictable, isn't it? I had heard that at some point in the family of churches, communion was done in two parts, but I was converted after those golden times. First was the discussion of the bread and how it represents Jesus' body, which was broken for us. After this discussion was shared, the congregation would eat the bread. Then next discussion was of the "fruit of the vine"(grape juice or wine), and how the fruit of the vine represented the blood of Jesus, which covers and protects us. I had been to a few Sunday worship services like that, and I thought it was cool to remember how broken we need to be before the Cross and how we need to stay close to the vine as we carry our cross. I've heard in a sermon and read in a book how they were combined because of time constraints some churches had in the places they were renting or members were getting our too late to continue with carrying out their Sunday responsibilities.
When I was first converted, we didn't give contribution on Sundays. We gave our contribution at midweek instead. Many churches I visited then had a poor contribution at that part of the worship service that would either go directly to HOPE Worldwide or to a benevolence account the church might have had. Our church had moved from "coed" midweek services to alternating men's and women's midweek services. This came about when members stopped volunteering their time to children's ministry, fellowship lasted too late to get the children to bed at a reasonable hour, some members made mention to the amount of time spent at church was taking time away from outreach, discipling or what have you.
In the present, at my church, the person who leads the communion charge will just pray for the contribution, rather than share some thoughts or convictions on the contribution. I think it is because of the climatic change in our churches. Also, the church saw a deep decline in the amount of contribution given, and still does. As a matter of fact, our church's weekly budget has been adjusted down to match what has been given on a weekly basis. This isn't a bash on our church or it's members, it is my observation.
Announcements are done at random parts of the service. In the North and West region of the Denver Church of Christ we had an incredible brother who did a great job with them, but he moved to Kansas City. Jeff was also in charge of the middle school ministry, so announcements were done at the randomest of parts because of the needs of his group. With announcements at the end, it was also time for a response. A brother would get up there, validate what was said, by sharing what they got out of it. The response had gone away at this point in time, but churches will do other things to keep the non-members interesting in wanting to know God.
Things have changed from six years ago. It is my understanding, the standardization, if you will, of the Sunday worship service was done in efforts for visiting Disciples to know they were in the right place. I had heard, some one some where said, this is how worship should be, so you must have it this way. I know the church Amy came from, the passing of the communion trays was done at the end of church, after the main sermon/lesson.
Many churches will still have a sister, mainly, share their conversion story at communion time. Special musical presentations, like some one singing, are done randomly, depending on the song. Baptisms will fit in at any point of a Sunday service, but it works best at the end. Special presentations are done where they seem better fit, videos from 3rd world countries a church supports are shown before contributions. Updates on local programs are done before communion. Ultra special announcements or moments of appreciation are done at the very end.
What is the point of all this? I know I get pretty tweaked when Sunday worship is changed up. I start to get a little bothered when communion is moved to the end, or some one decides we need to watch a video from somewhere that doesn't pertain to us. When some one shares a welcome-communion message, because I didn't get to sing as much. I was converted in a campus ministry, so any song not at communion that doesn't snap or clap, depresses me. Some one who rambles/mumbles through announcements gets me pretty heated to. I have a pretty critical heart, huh?
These past few weeks I have not been to church on Sunday. It started with my trip to New York on Thanksgiving weekend. Then the following two Sundays we were out at sea. Last Sunday, I was working, and yesterday I was here in Nebraska. I started to think about the fact I have not been able to take communion in five weeks now, and it bugs me. Why? Worship is a personal thing. It's not that you can sing on key, cry at communion, sign the biggest check, it is about you and God. How is your worship doing? Do I regularly sit at the foot of the Cross and stare at it in amazement about how God did something so radical, so I could talk to him? Do I make the effort to have my heart laid bare before him regularly? Is church my god, or the almighty himself my God? I comes down to how is my worship of God and not of the roads to worship him.
