Worship Has Left the Building, Part I
Though I had a deep and intimate faith and it had been the foundation of all my music and relationship, going to a local fellowship to worship and even leading well known worship songs often seemed so shallow to me. I resolved it must be because of my own arrogance and immaturity and kind of forced myself to do it. It has only been in the last several years, coming into a family of Levite like, artist missionary, public worship leaders that my passion for worship has been ignited and vision for worship restoring the Kingdom of God has come alive. Notwithstanding my arrogance, or the sincerity and power of well known worship songs, I have found, and become part of, a tribe of worshippers celebrating the presence of God outside of Church buildings.
In hind sight, one of the reasons I seemed to rebel against worship (as I knew it) was the worship experience seemed to be divisive in it’s containment to a building and the narrow demographic of people it held. Worship is an eternal act and one of the few things we do on earth and in heaven. And if, in heaven, when the Kingdom is restored, we are all together, why on earth, when it is our work to restore the Kingdom, do we move backwards by dividing ourselves in buildings either to keep people in or out?
Here is an excerpt from “The Question For Worship Leaders,” an article by my friend Ben Pasley (www.bluerenaissance.com).
Here are a few insights, however, that may help us in our discovery. A quick study of the design of the Temple in Jerusalem reveals that the mass choirs and music of the Levites could be easily heard all over the Temple platform. The music performance area was open to the court of the Gentiles via the open roof and the large open entryways. People from every nation, gathering on the huge Temple platform for trade or tourism, could hear the awesome songs of worship to God! This is an amazing picture. It reveals that the Psalmists were well aware that all of there songs would be heard by the nations of the world. The crying, the repenting, the thanksgiving, and the wild praise would all be on display on the most public platform in the eastern world. Jerusalem was a primary trade route between Persia and the Mediterranean and between Egypt and Assyria. This public worship would be the modern equivalent of doing outdoor worship ministry in Times Square or the lawns of Parliament buildings of the world’s greatest nations...every day and for all the world to see!
A Recent Example…
I work with an amazing group in Minneapolis called Source. Source is a believing community in the heart of Minneapolis serving at risk youth. They interact with people primarily through an art gallery, a music venue, and transitional housing. Every summer they hold an art festival, and as they have genuine relationship with many artists in the city, believing or not, they fill the street with stages and booths for people to display their work and present their music and poetry. They are also passionate about giving a voice to the people they serve and so there were community murals, open mics and much opportunity to express yourself.
This past summer myself, a few other Blue Renaissance artists and the Psalters were there as artists and worship leaders. After a long day of art festival type activity, we all took the stage and started leading worship. The result was several hundred people worshiping in the street, painting, dancing, (we even had one fire dancer) declaring the promises and hope of the Living God in a broken, violent, and impoverished area of the city. I believe the worship that was offered that evening impacted the entire city.
The bottom line is God moved and the Holy Spirit who has the power to draw and unite people moved. But I also think the success lay in the journey together as opposed to the presentation of a few to the masses. We sang about a God who loved the people right in front of us. We sang about hope for the people who lived one block away and we welcomed their voices too. There was live feed journaling on the video screens and painters on stage with us. As a worship leader that night, I prayed for God to do exactly what he did for Gomer the prostitute (Hosea’s wife). He called her into the wilderness and spoke words of comfort to her; he showed her hope, and her song was restored.
14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
His beauty enraptured me that night in all the people. And I longed for their songs to be heard. I needed them to help me understand the fullness of God’s character and love.
In hind sight, one of the reasons I seemed to rebel against worship (as I knew it) was the worship experience seemed to be divisive in it’s containment to a building and the narrow demographic of people it held. Worship is an eternal act and one of the few things we do on earth and in heaven. And if, in heaven, when the Kingdom is restored, we are all together, why on earth, when it is our work to restore the Kingdom, do we move backwards by dividing ourselves in buildings either to keep people in or out?
Here is an excerpt from “The Question For Worship Leaders,” an article by my friend Ben Pasley (www.bluerenaissance.com).
Here are a few insights, however, that may help us in our discovery. A quick study of the design of the Temple in Jerusalem reveals that the mass choirs and music of the Levites could be easily heard all over the Temple platform. The music performance area was open to the court of the Gentiles via the open roof and the large open entryways. People from every nation, gathering on the huge Temple platform for trade or tourism, could hear the awesome songs of worship to God! This is an amazing picture. It reveals that the Psalmists were well aware that all of there songs would be heard by the nations of the world. The crying, the repenting, the thanksgiving, and the wild praise would all be on display on the most public platform in the eastern world. Jerusalem was a primary trade route between Persia and the Mediterranean and between Egypt and Assyria. This public worship would be the modern equivalent of doing outdoor worship ministry in Times Square or the lawns of Parliament buildings of the world’s greatest nations...every day and for all the world to see!
A Recent Example…
I work with an amazing group in Minneapolis called Source. Source is a believing community in the heart of Minneapolis serving at risk youth. They interact with people primarily through an art gallery, a music venue, and transitional housing. Every summer they hold an art festival, and as they have genuine relationship with many artists in the city, believing or not, they fill the street with stages and booths for people to display their work and present their music and poetry. They are also passionate about giving a voice to the people they serve and so there were community murals, open mics and much opportunity to express yourself.
This past summer myself, a few other Blue Renaissance artists and the Psalters were there as artists and worship leaders. After a long day of art festival type activity, we all took the stage and started leading worship. The result was several hundred people worshiping in the street, painting, dancing, (we even had one fire dancer) declaring the promises and hope of the Living God in a broken, violent, and impoverished area of the city. I believe the worship that was offered that evening impacted the entire city.
The bottom line is God moved and the Holy Spirit who has the power to draw and unite people moved. But I also think the success lay in the journey together as opposed to the presentation of a few to the masses. We sang about a God who loved the people right in front of us. We sang about hope for the people who lived one block away and we welcomed their voices too. There was live feed journaling on the video screens and painters on stage with us. As a worship leader that night, I prayed for God to do exactly what he did for Gomer the prostitute (Hosea’s wife). He called her into the wilderness and spoke words of comfort to her; he showed her hope, and her song was restored.
14 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
His beauty enraptured me that night in all the people. And I longed for their songs to be heard. I needed them to help me understand the fullness of God’s character and love.
posted by Tracy Howe at 7:19 PM
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