From the pastor . . .

                          Last month I started a five part series in my pastor’s page on a book I’m reading by Robert Schnase entitled, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.  The first practice, which I wrote about last month, is Radical Hospitality.  The goal of Radical Hospitality is to desire for others that they grow closer to God and to invite them into the life of Christ’s church.

The second practice of a fruitful congregation is Passionate Worship.  Passionate Worship is one of the practices that brings vibrant, fruitful and growing congregations closer to God and closer to one another.  In Passionate Worship, participants encounter Christ through singing, praying, preaching and Holy Communion.  People are searching for worship that is authentic, alive, creative and comprehensive, where they experience the life changing presence of God in the presence of others.  The response to this kind of worship is that people allow God’s Spirit to shape their lives.

This chapter mentions a number of key things that make for Passionate Worship.  There is an expectancy by those who come to worship that they will encounter God during worship.  They expect God to speak to them as they sing together, join their voices in prayer, listen to the Word, confess sins, and celebrate in the sacraments.  In all of these things they inter mingle their lives with each other and they connect with God.  Passionate Worship is not restricted to any particular style.  It is the honest and palatable connection with God that is all that is important, whatever the style.  Passionate worship give people an interpretive lens through which to view the world.  It helps them to see the happenings of the world around them through the eyes of God.  Passionate worship is contextual, an expression of the unique culture of the congregation.  It offers its best, its utmost, its highest.  Churches that practice Passionate Worship make this sacred time as free as possible from distractions, annoyances, and inconveniences, and people sense the deliberate care in preparation and intention.  In Passionate Worship the music is at least good, usually excellent, but never mediocre.  Music speaks directly to the soul, setting the tone and the emotional texture of the service.  The musicians understand that the purpose of music in worship is to connect people to God.  There is a rhythm in worship that incorporates sound and silence, upbeat as well as reflective.  Lives are changed in Passionate Worship, and people who are absent feel that they have missed something.  They also feel missed.

Another important ingredient in Passionate Worship is attitude.  In how we sing and pray, in how we greet others, in how we approach the sacraments, Passionate Worship begins with our love for God, our desire to open ourselves to God’s grace, and our eagerness for relationship to God.

Finally I want to end my report on Passionate Worship with a great paragraph from the book.  “People come to worship carrying many concerns.  Some worry about a cousin serving in the military; others face financial struggles that tear at the fabric of family life.  Some sense a disturbing lack of fulfillment in their careers, fear health challenges, or feel deeply affected by the immensity of a distant tragedy.  Some face monumental decisions while others must constantly moderate intense conflict at home.  Some are overwhelmed with gratitude, humbled by feelings of love and joy, or seeking discernment on how to channel their charitable impulses.  Every congregation, large and small, is a tapestry of hope and hurt, a collage of experience and anticipation, a patchwork quilt of gifts, needs, fears, and aspirations.  People come to connect to God and one another as well as feel restored, reminded, remembered, and refreshed.  They wonder what God has to do with all that is going on inside of them and in the world around them.  They want to know that having a relationship with Christ changes their life.  In their searching, God finds them, heals them, sustains them, and forms them anew (page 56).

The Lord bless you and keep you,

Pastor Magdalene