Who is Worship For?

I know the theologically correct answer - God. Don't go harping.

Our ministry team was asked this question in a challenging meeting this morning. More specifically - and rightly - we were asked by our consultant "For whom do you plan worship?"

The question came up because our church is going through a bit of an identity crisis surrounding worship style. In March of 2004 we launched a non-traditional worship service to increase our chances of reaching out to people who'd had negative or no previous church experiences. Just like a million other churches on the planet. We offered a traditional Baptist service with organ, choir, hymnody, and classical music, while offering a different service that utilized a rock band, contemporary Christian songs, as well as popular music with a redemptive message that you'd hear on commercial radio.

But in December of 2007, our Worship Council decided that our congregation needed have one worship. Here were the top reasons:

1. We were down a staff minister and given financial constraints will probably not hire another one. So, we needed to cut back on programming to keep the existing staff sane.

2. Although our contemporary service had brought in about 100 people in 3 plus years, we were meeting in a cavernous sanctuary, so the energy level in the room always seemed low. Gathering the whole church together at one time created a remarkable energy level.

3. The ministry staff was sensing a need for the entire congregation to worship together - at least for a seaon - so that we could all get to know each other better. After all, that many new people can make an existing congregation seem "all new." Personally, I was tired of hearing long time members say, "Why don't I ever see the young people in church anymore?" And my wife was tired, too. She came to the non-traditional service and hardly ever missed a Sunday, yet she was told almost weekly, "We never see you in worship anymore!"

4. One service on Sunday am decomplicated things. A Bible study and one worship service is so much easier to manage from a custodial point of view.

So our rock band showed up in the same service as our choir. We sang black gospel in the same service that a Mark Hayes arranged choral piece was performed. Most people loved being together, but more than a few would've worn down the patience of Job with their complaining.

Some hated the presence of guitars and drums in worship. I got a letter from one woman who criticized the band for bad music and bad style. I think she used the phrase, "Is that hill-billy band the best you could find? What happened to dressing your best for God?"

Some disliked the organ and choir. "It's too stiff and formal" they said. "Can't you get the choir to loosen up a little? They look so...so....so white!"

Those were the extremes, granted. And the vast majority of our folk simply smiled and sang their best. They smiled, I think, because all together we looked more like the kingdom of God. One woman in her 80's emailed me to say just that. "I saw a tatooed couple with piercings. I saw a black couple enjoying the music. I saw young children at the activity table quietly working during the sermon. I saw a cute little young Asian couple smiling at one another as they sang. And I didn't even have to turn my head to see all that. It looked a lot like I think heaven's gonna look."

So back to the question of this morning: "Who is worship for?" And more specifically, who does our ministry team plan the liturgy for?

Is it for the ones who love the 1950's hymns? Yes.

Is it for the ones who found faith swaying at a David Crowder concert? Yes.

Is it for the hippie who found Jesus in Bob Dylan's music? Yes.

Is it for the 80's rocker who snuck Petra tapes into the youth group? Yes (That was me, by the way).

Is it for the black man who grew up in Jamaica and loves to sing Jesus reggae? Yes.

I could keep asking these questions, and the answer will remain the same. Yes. We plan worship at Willow Meadows Baptist Church for the many faces who show up each and every Sunday with the hopes of encountering the living God of Adam & Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Mary and Martha, Peter and Paul. We plan worship for people who might be 2 or 92. We plan worship for people who are rich, poor, middle class, high class, low class, or no class.

In short, worship is for the multicultural, multigenerational people who inhabit Southwest Houston.

That's my thinking on this today. Our staff has committed to pray over this matter for 10 days and to wait to see if God affirms this multicultural/multigenerational approach. We're going to spend time praying separately and together. We're going to run a wiki (I'll see if I can get their permission to share the link with you). I'm going to blog about it here. Maybe God will speak one more time and show us the way.

Would you pray to that end?