WORSHIP ESCAPE ACT?
Have you ever heard the type of prayer that ‘people would be able to lay their burdens at the door,’ ‘escape from it all’.
I’m not meaning to sound judgemental in any way (and I know what people are getting at) but something doesn’t quite sit right with me regarding this view point.
I wonder whether we sometimes can see worship as an ‘escape act’?
Maybe this train of thought stems from Eastern culture that has influenced the West where ‘detachment is the final goal’. Maybe we try and lose ourselves in order to have an experience that may make everything seem better?
I personally don’t think detachment is right answer, I would argue that what we need is attachment – to God.
Warren Wierssbe in his book ‘Real Worship’ expands on this thought..
‘God is our refuge and strength (Ps. 46:1). God ‘hides’ us that He might help us. We are not refugees looking for escape; rather, we are wounded and weary soldiers who need rest and rehabilitation so we can go back into the battle.’
Asaph in psalm 73 perfectly exemplifies this thought…’
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
I love that Asaph finds clarity and discernment in the presence of God and His people.
Maybe next time we hear of people wanting to lay their burdens at the door we should help them to carry them a little further and lay them at the feet of Jesus.
Hi Chris,
I’ve always steered clear of the “leave your burdens at the door” approach. When necessary and appropriate, I’ve always preferred to encourage people to bring their problems, issues, burdens and worries in to church and to consciously (but metaphorically!) lay them at the foot of the cross in worship. These things need to be given over to Jesus. And yet it’s not – as the old chorus suggested – that “in His presence our problems disappear”, but instead as we give them to Him we get a fresh perspective on them, His perspective. Hope that helps a tad.
Blessings,
Matt
Thanks Matt, really helpful.
I forgot about that lyric! Also love the bit about fresh perspective, really great thoughts.
Have just been exploring the issue of being out of the comfort zone with my accountability partner.
We decided there is precedent in the Bible, particularly in the Psalms with David’s experience of wars, homelessness, persecution, hunger, refugee status – all through following God’s path for him. He could have said no to God and stayed at home in the relatively secure family business. Also, in the NT Jesus often carried distressing burdens of grief, anguish, exhaustion, misrepresentation – quite apart from Gethsemane and the crucifixion.
Jesus invites us to ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ Matt 11:29. I’ve just noticed he didn’t say rest for your bodies & he tells us we’ll have persecution in the world. Guess that means burdens.
We concluded its about finding our focus and our rest in Jesus through trust & praise. This can happen in a quiet place, throughout the day in our normal routines and at church through worship with others.
Wow, amazing thoughts Eileen. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope you and Andrew are well. Blessings
Great topic of discussion!
I don’t think we’re helped by the fact that most of the songs we sing together are often quite victorious and triumphalist. These are clearly themes drawn from the Psalms and very important ones too.
It’s just that we tend to filter out many of the other themes (e.g. lament, justice…) and so are left with a form of worship which is ‘biblical’ and yet ‘unbiblically selective’.
The selectiveness can sometimes feel like an escape to me at times.
Hi Mark, again, really good thoughts!!
You’re right, maybe people don’t feel they have the opportunity to be real during corporate worship as the words on the screen don’t always echo the difficulty of life.
I suppose we can never cover where everyone is at during a main service, but we could certainly be more mindful of depth of song selection. Although, in the same breath I pray that with the songs of proclamation people recognise who God is and that he is able and find comfort knowing He holds everything together.
Finally, I also think small group is a key contributor in this area as there is more space for diversity of worship and focused pastoral work inc follow up.
Really interesting discussion, I pray that God would continue to show us how we truly connect Him and all of life together.
very late to this conversation, so i just wanted to say thanks for it. its an interesting blog, and some really interesting responses/comments.
i totally agree regarding many songs being victorious in nature, therefor being very tough on people who are not in that place at that time.
my own experience is one of being unable to actually attend church during my real rock bottom times, because of not being able to actually connect with any of the services, because in stead of it being ‘come as you are and where you are at’ it was ‘lets pray for you, lets get you better, lets lay everything thats bad at the door’ and so on …
I think there is a real call for a real depth of honesty within our worship, and that can sometimes be painful for the person trying to or who is connecting with God, and it can sometimes also be painful and hard going for those watching or facilitating. Not a reason to not do it though … if you ask me anyway.
At the moment, in my own life, I am being challenged about church and worship and how it can be accessible to those who are truly broken, having mental health issues, depression and adult survivors of abuse. No small topics, and I understand whoever wrote above that it is hard to accommodate everyone in one service, sure, i totally get that.
Anyway, sorry for rambling, not sure anyone will this anyway as its quite a few months after the original conversation :)
Fragz