Here is a helpful phrase for ministers to think, but not say, “Bless your heart; you don’t get worship.”
For instance, when someone says, “I’m making the announcement about the party. I’m using ventriloquist puppets.”
A kind minister thinks, “Bless your heart; you don’t get worship.”
Brett Younger
Or, “My favorite service was when the dog got loose in the sanctuary and barked through the Doxology.”
A gracious minister thinks, “Bless your heart; you don’t get worship.”
Or, “Preacher, we didn’t finish until 12:10. The Methodists are going to beat us to Applebee’s!”
A forgiving minister thinks, “Bless your heart; you don’t get worship.”
Every Sunday, preachers look at their congregations and see people who “get” worship. They sing joyfully, pray honestly and listen attentively. They praise from their hearts, confess from their souls and worship from the depths of their being. They open their hearts to Christ, wait for the leading of the Spirit, and give themselves to God.
But they are not the only children of God in the sanctuary. There are others who don’t sing. They check their phones during the prayers. They make grocery lists. They appear to feel above it all, as though something vaguely disreputable is going on.
Sigmund Freud bragged that he was incapable of obtaining pleasure from music because he was too analytical to be moved by music. We can’t explain to someone who does not appreciate music what they are missing. People who do not care for music cannot be argued into loving music. In much the same way, some think they are too smart to be moved by worship. They are too logical to lose themselves in praise. They cannot be argued into loving worship.
“They don’t understand that sitting is not the point.”
Worship is hard for them, so they think worship is less than it is. They come because they see themselves as church people. Their grandparents made their parents sit through services. Their parents made them sit through services. They make their children sit through services. They don’t understand that sitting is not the point.
Some who don’t get worship think it is an educational exercise. They like three-point sermons that rhyme: “Sin’s Deception, Our Rejection, God’s Protection.” They are waiting for a series from Habakkuk. They come because occasionally they learn something — a fact about the Bible, a story from church history, a little lesson in Christianity.
Some who don’t get worship think it is a commercial for the church. They were taught to measure the church’s success by how many people are there, so they come to support the congregation. Churches are working with this understanding if they have Starbucks gift cards in the order of worship, the announcements are longer than the Scripture readings, or the children’s choir sings at the Good Friday service.
Some who don’t get worship think it is cheap entertainment. They come because although it is not that amusing, it is free. Some who have this perspective surreptitiously eat M&Ms through the service, suggest bunny-shaped balloons at the end of every pew on Easter, or recommend a soloist sing Miley Cyrus’ Flowers because, “The kids should get a turn.”
“How sad is it to be surrounded by a congregation praising God and miss it?”
The proper response to people who are bored by worship is compassion. We need to love those who have an impoverished view of worship. How sad is it to be surrounded by a congregation praising God and miss it? How disappointing is it to be left out while others are praying? How miserable is it to feel nothing when others feel God’s love?
We understand that some don’t get worship, because there are Sundays when we don’t get worship. Worship is meant to lead us from empty to full lives, but some Sundays, we leave feeling empty.
What do we do for those who don’t get worship? We pray the same prayer for them we pray for ourselves. We pray the Spirit will work the miracle of worship. We pray we will remember our purpose. We pray for forgiveness, hope and joy.
We long for authentic worship because without worship, we remain self-centered. Without worship, we lose our sense of wonder. Without worship, we forget God is with us and live in fear. Genuine worship provides hope when we despair, love when we are feeling left out, courage when we need to let go of where we are for where we can go.
On Sundays, we get to gather with people we love, give thanks for life, listen to the silence, receive God’s grace and be grateful we get worship.
Brett Younger serves as senior minister at Plymouth Church in Brooklyn, N.Y.