Is it OK to window shop for a worship experience? I can't tell you how much this question has been plaguing my mind! Perhaps to correctly frame the discussion I need to back up and talk about the concept of a worship experience. Such a subjective term really. What bores me may excite you and my solemn moment may be your time to celebrate. Overall I am referring to the thoughts and feelings a person has during worship. There are those who believe that personal experience should be removed from worship so that God is the only beneficiary of that time. Noble, but impossible. We are part of the worship equation. Worshipping God will affect us in some way. Should we benefit from the experience? YES! David delighted in meditating on the precepts of the Lord. We should desire to worship God and to benefit from being in communion with God.
Now, with the proper backstory I return to my original question. Is it OK to shop for a worship experience? It is OK to have certain expectations for worship- what it should or should not be. Many of the prophets along with Paul and James discuss worship that is unacceptable. However, there is not much defining the "acceptable." There are those elements that need to be present such as singing, encouragement, reading of scripture, fellowship, communion, etc. Very little talks about how we package or present these elements of worship.
If you're paying attention you have noticed that I did not answer the question yet. I have to concede... I don't know for sure. Here is what I do know:
- Worship should be about God
- I should benefit from worship
- It needs to be done in community
The best conclusion I can draw is that I should not rely on anyone to create my worship experience for me. My relationship with God should primarily dictate how I experience worship. Rereading that statement I fear I sound too relativistic. I would benefit from hearing what others think about this topic.
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