Reflections on Worship, June 15

Worship on Sunday was incredibly powerful, filled with sincere emotion. Even now, a few days later, I still find that I am moved when I think about it. And, to be honest, I'm having trouble finding the words to describe it (which is probably the reason why I've been delaying this post, of course using busyness as an excuse).

What can I say about our celebration of our graduates? As I mentioned Sunday, we are a church family, and we have a shared pride in the achievements of our young people. It is a great privilege for a congregation our size to be able to celebrate six graduations in one year (that's quite a few). Even more, it is a reminder of the great transition that many of our members are undergoing, both our young people, as they move forward in their education and careers, and their families, as they get used to the idea of their children moving out or starting their careers.

And what can I say about the sermon given by Brooks, Leigh Anne, and Jenny? First, I won't be shy about calling it a sermon, even if they cringe at the term, because that's what it was -- an application of God's teaching to our lives. I thought that Brooks' personal testimony was powerful and moving, and I also thought that Leigh Anne's and Jenny's roleplaying was accurate and effective in highlighting some key ways that faith develops (or is hindered) in our college experience.

And I thought, especially, that Brooks' observation/recognition that we will sometimes be called upon to share our faith, by someone desperately in need, is an appropriate lesson for Christians of all ages. Sometimes people will seek out the pastor or an elder with their questions in times of anxiety and need; sometimes, they will seek out the closest person to them, which might be you. And you better be able to say something honest about your faith -- if not, they'll probably back away thinking that this Christianity stuff is just a load of nonsense. That doesn't mean you have to have all the answers, or even the perfect answer -- you just need to be willing to listen, to love and care for that person at that moment, and to be open and honest about your own relationship with God.

Of course, sometimes you will have the answer, even if you don't know it or you don't quite trust yourself. This is why it is important for us to nurture everybody in our congregation and to give several people opportunities to share their faith with us during worship. I believe I am gifted in leading worship, teaching, and preaching, and I am thrilled to be able to share those gifts. But I fervently believe -- no, I don't just believe, I KNOW -- that there are others in our midst who have those gifts. We need to teach each other and learn from each other, which is why I hope to slowly increase the number of leaders participating in our worship. God has touched all of us, and continues to work in our lives; and we all react to God in different ways. And we can benefit in our faith from hearing first person accounts of God's love, and God's faith, and God's action in our lives. Whether he believes it or not, Brooks has a standing invitation to preach at Central Christian if he's moved; and I think he will do that sometime in the coming months. But more than that, whether you believe it or not, you have a standing invitation too: to preach, to meditate, to testify, to teach, to pray.

And when we share together, when we learn together, we will be moved. That's what happened on Sunday, I think. After we had people come forward to take the next step in their faith journeys, to publicly join our congregation. As we know, this family has long been active in our congregation, participating and serving in numerous ways; this was just the next step. But we know it was a big step, and we celebrated. And we cried together, tears of joy and recognition, to see again the hand of God at work in our midst, to see again that our faith matters -- it matters to us and to others. Alberta, Zach, Shawn, and Shannon were a testimony of that on Sunday.

Several people have talked to me since the service to tell me how moved they were, and to tell me that I had done a good job. But practically speaking, I did not do much on Sunday, which I suppose is a reminder of other things for us. If we have a good service, then we've done a good job; if we have a good service, then God has been present and praised. And we definitely had a good service on Sunday.