The Real Melting Pot
America has always liked to think of itself as the great melting pot, and to some extent it has been, but I think Heaven is going to have it beat. And sometimes here on Earth, we get a taste of that.
What I’m talking about is that all over the world there are billions of Christians, and they all belong to a vast number of denominations, movements, belief systems, etc. Historically, we haven’t been very good at getting along with each other (I mean, America was born in the first place because we couldn’t get along). But I think when Everything is said and done, we’ll be in Heaven and we’ll learn that all of these different forms of worship, and the minor distinctions in belief, are not only separating us unnecessarily, but these differences are all necessary to express the infinite aspects of God and His Kingdom.
So I grew up in a Conservative Baptist church. We sang hymns written a hundred years ago, stood up and sat down when we were told, rarely laid hands on people when praying, and never, ever spoke in tongues. I came from that to the Vineyard where we sang the latest songs written by worship leaders all over the world (often including songs that our own members wrote), we stood up to honor God, knelt down to submit to him, raised our hands - all when we felt like it, always laid hands on people, and very often spoke in tongues. But how did I get from one to the other?
I got there because I found a place where worship and belief systems had to mix. When I first came to InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, I was surprised (and sometimes scared) by people standing when they wanted to, lifting up their hands, praying in strange ways, and one time even speaking in tongues. But I was immediately able to deal with my fear (perhaps it was God speaking to me) because I reasoned that, being a college fellowship, they would have Christians coming from all over, so of course they would be accepting of all sorts of different denominational things (this also meant that they were accepting of me if I chose to sit the whole time). Not only that, but I saw the fruits of it, and they were always good. I think this sort of forced acceptance is not only Biblical, but necessary to the health of the Church.
The reason I’m thinking of this is that we’ve found that sort of forced acceptance here at Im Jai as well. The Thais have their own Christian culture that’s a mix of Thai culture, Asian Christianity, and old Western Christianity. The other foreign staff here comes from a Southern Baptist background. Every so often there are mission teams that come from all sorts of backgrounds. And of course we come from the Vineyard.
And when differences come up we have a choice. We can either say, “This is the way worship should be done, and these are the things you should believe.” And by saying so we turn away large numbers of our family (in fact, if the staff here had said that, we ourselves would have been turned away). Or we can say, “We are brothers and sisters, and even though I’m weirded out by our differences, we are still family.” And by saying so, we begin to learn from each other, bear with each other, resolve conflicts, and ultimately grow to be more and more like Christ.
From a Biblical perspective, I think the choice is obvious. I just wish we could learn that more in our comfortable home churches. The Enemy wants us divided as much as possible, so he has convinced us that our differences matter - that we can only get along with people who are like us. But that’s stupid because nobody is like me, yet God designed and loves all those other people who are different from me! Our differences do matter (that’s what makes this lie so subtle), but not in the sense that they must be resolved to have community. Rather they must be learned from and enjoyed, and that takes a lifetime of living together to do.
God calls us to community… with all Christians. He doesn’t call us to it because it’s easy. On the contrary, he calls us to it because it’s very, very hard, but without working through the hard stuff we will never learn the greatest truths of the Kingdom.
Adam, I so agree! I think Satan uses these petty differences as a way to keep Christians from unifying. Just like people have different styles of dress or home decor, we have different styles of worship as well. But those things are just “window dressing” of what is underneath, what truly matters.
I know I don’t comment often, but I read every post and pray for you guys daily. I love you and miss you!
I think the big difference between worship in heaven and worship on earth is that we are visually driven. In heaven we will see the object of our worship and focus on Him and the form of worship will be lost relative to that. Here on earth we don’t see the object of worship as much as we see the form of worship, and so the tendency is to focus on the form rather than the object.
It is “window-dressing” that we get so caught up in. Our focus should always be on the main thing - God Himself and what He has done for us. I remember in a Sunday School class your Opa was teaching Adam when somebody got side-tracked on the window-dressing part of things. Opa politely let that person finish and then calmly asked the question, “What has that got to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ and winning others?” He refocused the class on the main thing. Window-dressing can be forms of worship, doctrinal differences, trying to understand details in the Bible and on and on.
Satan is trying to side-track us always away from the main thing - our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I was being quizzed by somebody at work about Intelligent Design and where are the details in the Bible on how the Intelligent Designer created all these things. I pointed out to him that it was interesting to me that only the first two chapters of the Bible deal with creation and it ends with God saying, “It is good” yet the remainder of the Bible deals with the relationship between God and man. Instead of just focusing on the first two chapters, why don’t you spend time dealing with the remainder of the Book. This little example clearly demonstrates how satan is busy trying to side-track. We must always focus on the maing thing. Or, as I have heard so eloquently stated, “we must always make sure that the main thing in our lives is that the main thing is the main thing.” I think that sums it up quite well.
So whether we raise our hands or not, sing 100 year old hymns or contemporary music, stand up or sit down - either when told or of our own free will, what has that all got to do with the main thing - NADA. Remember 100 year old hymns were new to people 100 years ago. Mom and I have always taken the attitude that regardless of what form of worship we are involved in, as long as the gospel is being preached, we will stay where we feel God has provided us with a ministry.
Btw, only your dad can exceed your long-windedness ;-)
My dad took my brother and me to England in February of 1992, and while we were there, we met a man who had recorded an album with a friend of his. (The duet was named “Shattock and Rust” (pronounced “roost”), but I can’t remember for the life of me which one we met). One of the songs on it was called “It really doesn’t matter”, and was a) hilarious, and b) full of truth. In it, the narrator was taken up to Heaven in a vision. And angel showed him what worship was like in Heaven. An excerpt:
“I saw universal Anglican communion
And the Baptists had at last achieved a union.”
Now, as a 14-year-old Baptist, this last line struck home, as you might imagine. He was making a joke about Baptists! And it was funny, because it was true! Hee hee! In fact, the only lines I can remember from the song are that one and the chorus (what the angel tells them about the worship differences they’ve experienced on earth):
“It really doesn’t matter up here
It really doesn’t matter up here.
The things you held so dear, well they were bound to disappear,
Because it really doesn’t matter up here.”
All of which is to say: rock on, Adam.
-M
PS InterVarsity r0×0rs!
I have a lot to say on this subject. I find much of the southern baptist tradition troubling (dispensationalism and bible worship mainly.) I think the key to worship is acceptance as long as no one is dancing around worship should be enjoyable spontaneous and spirit filled.
The problem w/ folks from the more conservative end is that they don’t feel free w/n themselves to enjoy worship thru dance and other forms. The problems w/ the charasmatic folks is they think everyone should worship like they do. I think if we all came into this worship thing w/ a heart to let people worship how they feel comfortable then we would be given a broader awareness of the Holy Spirit.
Some people get distracted by dancing, which is strange because they should not be. I love dance, it brings me closer to God. When I do it I have only heard two negative responses to it since the spirit instructed me to start dancing 8 years ago. The problem is people’s preoccupation w/ themselves or others. They focus on people instead of the Father and that needs to change. I pray that there would be more acceptance and love in your community in Thailand.
pay
The way conservative folks worship is neither right nor wrong. The way charismatic folks worship is neither right or wrong. We tend to be visual and look at the outside. However, we all know that God sees the inside. The question is not which form of worship is right or wrong, it is Who is the object of our worship. Whether I dance, raise hands or sit quietly as long as God is my focus of worship all forms are correct. If I am focusing on whether the person next to me is raising hands or not, then I have taken my focus off of God and on to myself as I assess what other people are doing relative to me.
Payshun,
I’m not trying to hi-jack someone else’s blog for a discussion that’s slightly off topic, but I’d like to hear more about the ‘Bible Worship’ you mention. From your previous posts, I take you to be a thoughtful individual, committed to both the Word of God (Scripture) and the Word of God (Jesus).
I’m interested, since the only people I’ve heard use that term have tended toward an anti-Scriptural bias. What do you mean by it here?
My pastor at Central Vineyard here in Columbus doesn’t draw a strong distinction between the prayer and the study of or meditation on Scripture; I think that’s helpful. Since all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, rebuke and training in righteousness, I think a GREATER emphasis on the Bible is needed in all of our churches — conservative AND charismatic.
Furthermore, I think that an increased emphasis on the relevance and authority of Scripture is most certainly not antithetical to a reliance on and empowerment by the Spirit.
But perhaps we’re talking about different things. At any rate, I’d love to hear more about what you’ve seen in conservative churches that would be characterized as ‘Bible Worship,’ and how that would be troubling.
Warm regards!