Comments on: Content is king http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/ life's a journey, not a destination Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:30:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Katy http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-33 Katy Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:10:57 +0000 http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-33 So what you are calling for in your church services is just plain worship. Certainly, God is worthy of worship. He is worthy of far more worship than I have ever given Him or hope to give Him. But at the same time, a lot of things you mentioned under your second point are not necessarily detracting from true worship. The "soloist three rows back" may or may not be trying to gain attention; I have been that soloist (on rare occasions), and I know that most of the time, my heart is just overwhelmed with love for my Father, and I have to let it out. What better time than church, where the whole first part of the service is set aside for just that purpose? "The spectacularly done choir number" is not meant to distract, but to direct our attention towards God, and to either sing His praise for who He is, or for what He has done. For example, I was singing in my church's choir on Sunday, and my heart was so overwhelmed with praise and gratitude to my God that I started crying. Not because the song was an emotional, slow song, because it wasn't. It was a song called "I Stand Redeemed," and it was all about the Christian's standing in Christ. It was praise to God for what He has done. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't understand your issue with these things that you have labeled "distractions/decoration." I believe that those who came to church to worship God and have fellowship with other believers will do so, and those who came to church because it was required or expected will go home no better than they came. They will not worship; they have no comprehension what worship really is. This all isn't to say that I completely agree with everything my church does in it's church services; sometimes I don't. But I do believe that everything done is designed to direct the congregation's hearts into attitudes of worship and praise to God. So what you are calling for in your church services is just plain worship. Certainly, God is worthy of worship. He is worthy of far more worship than I have ever given Him or hope to give Him. But at the same time, a lot of things you mentioned under your second point are not necessarily detracting from true worship. The “soloist three rows back” may or may not be trying to gain attention; I have been that soloist (on rare occasions), and I know that most of the time, my heart is just overwhelmed with love for my Father, and I have to let it out. What better time than church, where the whole first part of the service is set aside for just that purpose? “The spectacularly done choir number” is not meant to distract, but to direct our attention towards God, and to either sing His praise for who He is, or for what He has done. For example, I was singing in my church’s choir on Sunday, and my heart was so overwhelmed with praise and gratitude to my God that I started crying. Not because the song was an emotional, slow song, because it wasn’t. It was a song called “I Stand Redeemed,” and it was all about the Christian’s standing in Christ. It was praise to God for what He has done.
I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t understand your issue with these things that you have labeled “distractions/decoration.” I believe that those who came to church to worship God and have fellowship with other believers will do so, and those who came to church because it was required or expected will go home no better than they came. They will not worship; they have no comprehension what worship really is.
This all isn’t to say that I completely agree with everything my church does in it’s church services; sometimes I don’t. But I do believe that everything done is designed to direct the congregation’s hearts into attitudes of worship and praise to God.

]]> By: nathan http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-26 nathan Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:18:21 +0000 http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-26 I noticed that I did only allude to the importance of structure (i.e., formality). I think that a proper service structure can certainly enhance the content. While I suppose that structure based solely on tradition or preference <strong>(or a negative obsession with either)</strong> could distract, most of the time organization won't fall under the heading of "decoration" but under that of necessity. I noticed that I did only allude to the importance of structure (i.e., formality). I think that a proper service structure can certainly enhance the content. While I suppose that structure based solely on tradition or preference (or a negative obsession with either) could distract, most of the time organization won’t fall under the heading of “decoration” but under that of necessity.

]]> By: Matthew Fitzsimmons http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-25 Matthew Fitzsimmons Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:14:45 +0000 http://opinionate.nathanfitzsimmons.com/worship/content-is-king/#comment-25 While there are significant differences in the "decoration" of our worship services from yours, the basic idea is the same. Just like in good web design, though, there is a structure to this content (which you sort of alluded to). The structure is not king, but is designed to help the worshipper truly engage with the content and understand the purpose of the various elements that you mentioned. While there are significant differences in the “decoration” of our worship services from yours, the basic idea is the same.

Just like in good web design, though, there is a structure to this content (which you sort of alluded to). The structure is not king, but is designed to help the worshipper truly engage with the content and understand the purpose of the various elements that you mentioned.

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