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Commentary on "Conformity, Compromise, and Crisis in Worship"
Day 5: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
Day 6: Thursday, August 18, 2011 - The Elijah Message
Overview
“Our worship services should always present worshipers with the question that Elijah asked Israel: ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him’ (vs. 21, NIV). Our worship experience should force us to look inside our hearts and see where our true love and devotion are: on the Lord or on anything else.” (Teacher’s Quarterly, Page 96)
Problems
I want to take a positive tack here, because there is much to appreciate in the lesson author’s approach.
There simply is no excuse for the pandering to fads and fashion that we see in many churches today. I completely agree that “the show” has become far more important than the message concerning Jesus.
If we would confront people with Jesus – what He did, what He does and what He will do – then we would have no need for entertainment. Jesus is entertaining enough. As I wrote two weeks ago, the message is everything.
People know when we’re faking it. Seekers, Gen. X’ers, and all the other sociological jargon we throw around to describe different demographics want answers to real questions. They enjoy “the show” as much as any lost person, but if they don’t hear the gospel they will write off the church service as just one more attempt to waste their time, take their money and control their lives.
The lesson’s author captures this very well.
I have two issues with the author’s approach. First, it focuses almost totally on the church service, as if that is the only time worship occurs. A church service may be a corporate expression of worship, but it is far from being the only expression of worship. Everything I do, whether alone or in a group, should be an expression of worship. Worship does not require a band or choir or organ or dancers or drama or anything else. Worship requires a heart totally focused on Jesus Christ, a heart that regularly realizes the amazing grace found only in Him.
Second, the author emphasizes the experiential, emotional aspects of worship. This focus is, in many ways, the cause of “the show” mentality. No one is converted by emotion. No one can live a better life by emotion. The Holy Spirit does not work through our emotions. Emotion is a tertiary event.
The Holy Spirit works within our minds, either because we’re already saved and have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) or because He is trying to convince us of our need for Jesus (see Romans 10:8-15). This is the primary event.
The secondary event is our choice to accept Jesus, which also is described in Romans 10:8-15. This choice is made based on the logic of Jesus’ success in removing our sin, His offer to bring us eternal life and His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.
Given these two events, emotions can be allowed to take care of themselves. There is no need for manipulation (quite often done musically by repeating a phrase or chorus ad nauseum), no need for stirring people to action, no need for most of what passes for “worship” these days. I guarantee that dealing with truth, a mind event, and choosing Jesus, a will event, will result in true, and truly expressed, emotion. This threesome is a soul response to the work of the Spirit, and it results in a physical response whereby the love of God overflows through us to others.
So, although I really do appreciate the author’s accurate description of the battle Elijah faced and its application to our day, I still see behaviorism as the primary concern of Adventism.
Moving away from behaviorism allows us to non-judgmentally consider the various forms of corporate worship we encounter. I may not particularly like a given form, but my preference does not invalidate that form. The question to ask is this. Are the people hearing the true gospel and responding to Jesus? If they are, praise God! If they are not, regardless of my comfort with the form, they are being disserved and ill-used for some human’s glory.
Summary
- Isn’t it amazing that a simple, direct word concerning the one true God could overcome the hyper-worship practiced by the priests of Baal. Thanks to the lesson’s author for using this example.
- I would add to the author’s words by asking that we don’t forget that worship is not primarily a corporate event, but the response of a heart completely given to Jesus.
- In addition, I think we need to very careful not to focus on the emotional results of worship at the expense of the mental and power-of-choice aspects of the Spirit’s work in our souls.
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised August 8, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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