Whew - long weekend playing music for a missions conference and today's service, all while still under the weather from a three week old cold and sore throat. Anyway, I've been listening to yet another great seminar on CD from ec2005 - this time from Brian McLaren. I really hate to gush about anyone, but Brian's speaking style is much like his writing style - friendly and inviting, challenging yet companionable and a joy to listen to.
With the advent of some of the new alt-worship style communities that eschew big communal meetings I was interested to hear Brian's take on this subject. With Maggi's post about the upcoming Worship, Arts, Liturgy and Preaching Conference coming up in April this seemed even more apropos. Obviously from the title Brian is advocating that there are good reasons to have regular public worship meetings. Like any great communicator, it's not so much that what he says is so radical or innovative, but that he makes clear that which often lies hidden in our subconscious.
He starts by saying that the "go and make disciples" would be better translated as "form disciples". With that in mind, public worship is an opportunity to actually do some of the forming. He says there are (at least) eight reasons to engage in public worship as spiritual formation, and here they are. I give you the title and one line summary as Brian gave it (italics) and the rest are my meanderings.
1) Inconvenience
I go to a place I didn't choose at a time I didn't choose to be part of something I do choose. This is part of disciplining oneself. In a world that caters to our every whim, the fact that I choose to inconvenience myself to go to church is an act of spiritual discipline and formation. In my experience my most profound experiences in regular church worship have been when I have reluctantly dragged my sorry butt there kicking and screaming against my own will.
2) Identification
Associating with some people I like and some I don't like for a purpose I believe in. While many of us attend churches where people are just like us, aren;t there always people we would rather not associate with, or that we don't get along with? Much like inconvenience, this is part of an ongoing process of disciplining oursleves to be around people who are not like us and that we may not agree with.
3) Ritual
Doing things I may or may not feel like doing to bond to the meaning they represent. Ritual is often dismissed as meaningIess, but that's only true if we don't understand what the ritual represents. We do need occasionally to teach what the rituals mean, like doing an occasional instructed Eucharist, for instance. Brian also tells of one pastor who gives one sermon a year on "how to listen to a sermon". I liken rituals to sacraments, in that they are an "outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace". Note: I think sacraments are rituals, but not all rituals are sacraments.
Brian says a book that has been helpful is Symbol & Ceremony: Making Disciples Across Cultures (Innovations in Mission) by Zahniser (retired faculty at Asbury College, Kentucky apparently).
4) Speed
Altering the pace of life and rhythms - weekly, seasonal, annual. Protestantism deconstructed the church calendar, eliminating much of the rhythm of the church year. Also, fast and efficient is so embedded in our culture we need somewhere to slow down. What paces are appropriate in our lives?
5) Hospitality
Using my presence and our space to help the other feel welcome in our presence and our community. Yes, the ladies (usually) who host coffee hour are an important part of community. Who is welcome? How do you treat newcomers? How do you treat and welcome the elderly, the very young, the disabled, the sick, the mentally ill?
6) Attentiveness/Receptivity
Waiting for what I may receive only by waiting receptively. Being available and open to hear what you need to hear when it happens in the presence of your community.
For instance - you sit in the pews and hear 52 sermons in a year (OK, so you're a stellar attendee...) Are ll 52 of those sermons going to touch you equally? No. But the discipline of presence and attentiveness puts you in a position to hear the handful that are what you need to hear. And we never know which ones they are ahead of time...
7) Generosity
Take greater pleasure in being fruitful and productive than in being consumptive. Not looking for "what's in it for me?" so much as "what do I have to offer?" Money should be less about funding church programs and more about honoring God with our wealth.
8) Modeling Mastery
Exposing apprentices to masters of the arts of the spiritual life - of prayer, teaching, artistry, faithfulness, service and hospitality (for example). All of our communities have great and experienced people. How can we learn from them, not in a classroom, but by observing them doing what they do best?
Listening to the entire 90 minute seminar there are many more illustrative examples of each and I can see many of them at work in my own church community to varying degrees and they are indeed things I find valuable.
Hope you found this useful too :)
