Friday, August 03, 2007

musing

as i mentioned to my friend aaron and a couple of others this week, in regards to worship i am beginning to suspect that most Christ followers have very little interest in collaboratively creating the content of Christian teaching or shaping the liturgy of the church every week. since we live in a society wherein we are constantly engaged in the process of self-creation (see: myspace, blogging, fake breasts) i do not find it surprising that that relatively few people are interested in open source teaching approaches or truly interactive worship. rather, when they come to worship they simply want to hear the word, receive the sacrament and, perhaps, participate in the sharing/fellowship of their faith.

what is more, i really think this
ok. while i really appreciate innovative services in which the teachings are dialogical, the worship is improvisational and the fellowship is quirky and unpredictable, i’m not sure that’s where i want to live. i would rather focus on cultivating the creativity that springs out of order and regularly practicing the traditions/disciplines of the faith in hopes that the tried and true paths will lead us towards something of enduring worth.

anyway, that’s what i’m thinking at the moment. does that sound traditionalist or what?

3 comments:

Mike Murrow said...

i am with you on the second point about wanting creativity out of order etc.

but i would think that in a web 2.0 culture folks would want their worship to be open source as well. or were you saying that folks get enough of that day to day and want something different on sunday?

g13 said...

thanks for dropping in mike. i think that most people want are looking for a defined rhythm and tradition on sunday morning.

there are a few cultural creatives who enjoy open source church, but most people are satisfied with listening to the word, receiving the sacrament, etc. i think that churches who design their worship in a traditional way can still leave plenty of room for creativity for as the church lives out its mission in the world there is no standard schema.

btw - by traditional church i'm not just talking about hymns and black bibles, but also of seeker sensitive communities who structure their worship in the same, consumption oriented, manner every week.

obviously i'm still processing this stuff. thanks for stopping by.

Anonymous said...

I can relate as well. Whenever I'm in a more liturgical setting I'm craving more spontaneity (which can and does happen with a little more effort). And whenever I'm in a setting that's totally and beautifully unpredictable I crave consistency and routine.

It sounds like I'm never satisfied but that's not true. I think contentment is found in mentally and emotionally dealing with this paradox of living in order and spontaneity.

Ultimately for me, I think I fall more on the side of order and routine.