I don't think anyone would describe me as a touchy-feely kind of guy. Before Kim and I got married we took a bunch of personality tests and one dealt with how we viewed each other. Kim's results said she viewed me as a "cold fish." (How's that for a lot of confidence going into a marriage.) I'm just not wired that way.
There are things that move me though. The big two are dramatic endings and music. These are things that cause me to notice that growing lump in my throat, the quivering lip, and even tears. They take me beyond where I am and give me hope for the future. They make me realize that those little annoyances are really no big deal.
Dramatic ending can be in the form of the conclusion to a sporting event, the end of a movie, or finally holding my child after spending the last twenty minutes at my wife's side while she had a c-section. Whether the result is elation or heartbreak the dramatic ending moves me.
Music does too and that's what brings me to worship. At this point in time I'm tired of the worship wars. What is worship? What is not worship? I read people criticizing the focus on communal worship that usually takes place on Sunday mornings for most of us. I read people criticizing the theological content of the lyrics. Some criticize how worship is lead in churches. Or should I say prompted? My brother wrote a piece about worship that focuses on God's transcendence versus His immanence. I'm still not exactly sure what he was talking about.
In the end I want to be moved when I worship. That's when I feel like I am truly worshiping the Lord of Lords. I'm not theologically explaining my love for Him, I'm simply sharing my heart with Him. I really don't care what the specific elements of the music are teaching me or anyone else who is present. I want it to be about what I can give rather than what I can receive.
I know there is a time and a place for discussing and debating worship. But right now I'm tired of it. Right now I just want to say "thanks for the joy you've given me, I want You to know I believe in Your song, rhythm and rhyme and harmony, has helped me along, making me strong, so give me the beat, and free my soul.
Worship Wars
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11:28 AM
:-)
11:36 AM
I agree with you completely. In fact, I always find it odd when I read (for ex., I believe in at least one thing I've read by Merton(?)) that we are supposed to have a fairly detached, non-anthropomorphized concept of God and our relationship with Him. Except Jesus wasn't anthropomorphized - He was a MAN. And we are supposed to be in relationship with Him, and how do you do that if you don't have any emotion? I dunno, but it's never made sense to me. So I guess I am a weirdo when my eyes tear up at various times in church (actually I KNOW I am a weirdo because of that - most Lutherans are famously staid, whereas I was not raised in the religion so I don't have the antibodies to emotion during worship).
5:13 PM
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