I’m reading a book right now by Zack Neese, entitled How to Worship a King. I’ve never been great at worship, so I am trying to grow in that area. In the opening pages of the book, the author stated his belief that the modern church doesn’t worship God very well…or even at all sometimes. To make his case, he gave an interesting historical view that I think has merit. Let me quote some of what he wrote.
“How do I know that biblical worship is not commonly in operation in the church? First, we haven’t redeemed what is ours. Almost two thousand years ago Lucifer pulled off the greatest heist in history. He stole Scripture, worship, and the priesthood from the people of God. Sadly, the leaders of the early church were his unwitting accomplices. This is how he did it: by inspiring well-meaning clergy with a really bad idea. He made them think they had to protect what is Holy (Scripture, worship, priesthood) from what is common (people).”
Neese goes on to talk about how the great divide between clergy and laity became standard practice in the church…first with Catholicism but later with the Reformation churches as well. With this mindset of protecting the sacred from the common, the regular church member has become a spectator while the “trained professionals” preach and worship with the congregation providing applause. God’s design, however, is that every member is to be a priest offering up spiritual sacrifices to God on a regular basis. To do less, leaves us with the notion that only a chosen few actually hear from God or have spiritual authority when, in fact, God speaks to all of us and Christ has delegated his authority to every believer. Our congregations assume their role as spectators and are surprised and even resistant when we ask them to get in the game.
Neese writes about his feelings as a new Christian. “When I was alone with God, I was an important part of the equation. I ministered to God and he ministered to me, and then we went out and ministered to people together. When I was in church, I felt like I just didn’t matter. Whether I showed up or not made little difference. Someone else did all the ministering, and I just sat there fidgeting. It was as if the congregation’s main role was to provide an audience for the preacher’s performance…He has called us all to be ministers of his grace. And any church setting that does not place a demand on that calling will either cripple us with an ennui and complacency or frustrate us by underutilizing us. That is why many people have fallen asleep in regard to their callings. They have become spectators – watching as other people live God’s dreams for them.” I know this observation is not true for every church, but I believe it is true for many.
I am reminded of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth when he wrote, “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church” (1 Cor.14:21). In the early church, the members ministered to one another on Sundays as well as to God. What they had heard or learned from the Lord during the week they shared. They fulfilled their roles as priests. It is in the moments that we offer a sacrifice of praise to God, pray with others, teach others, serve others, bless others, share Christ with them, prophecy over them, deliver them from evil, and touch them for healing that we truly feel like an extension of God and, as a result, draw closer to him and his heart.
If we are part of a church that restricts our function as a priest to a great extent, it is hard to draw near. I do not advocate leaving our churches when they are imperfect or starting little house churches. I have not seen good fruit from sealing ourselves off from the greater church. But I would encourage you to become part of a small group somewhere that meets weekly in which everyone can bring a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a prophetic word, a healing prayer, a delivering command, and so forth and minister to one another as God intended.
It is in those settings that we often find our gifts and our passion. It is in those settings that the presence of God is often thick. It is in those settings that the Holy Spirit can have his way and not be bound by a pre-planned agenda that must be adhered to. In large churches with multiple services, some of that is unavoidable but we must find ways in which we can regularly fulfill our roles as priests of the most high God. I want to encourage you to evaluate your spiritual life. Are you living as a priest? Are you passionate about your faith? Are you impacting the lives of other people. Or have you become a spectator by default. If so…change it. The Christian life is not meant to be lived from the stands but out on the field. Blessings in Him.
