How do you pay homage to God? What is your worship style? Are you the Contemporary Worship type of person? Traditional? Liturgical? (My hubby's in the ministry that's how I know the big words.) Anyway... how do you make that connection with the Almighty? Do you make the connection? Do you wait for the warm fuzzy to know that you've been worshipping today? Is it just your socialization tool? Is it your clique? Do you make connections with others while you're there?
For many worship is the place you visit on the holiday's. Christmas and Easter. You really don't know your minister's/priest's name. He could have moved and you think the new guy is him. There are those who are on the other end of the spectrum that are at church whenever the doors are open. This is how my hubby and I were brought up. Involved in every activity the church has to offer. Then there are those that want to make it church and just find stuff getting in the way. You worked all week and you want that extra day to laze around and watch TV. Sometimes you make it to worship and enjoy the experience and get on a roll and then you have a rough week at work and you just don't go. It gets easier not to go so you quit for a while. What about those of us whose spouses are ministers and are expected to be there every Sunday rain or shine tornado or sun... kinda like the mailman. Anyway... you're expected to take part in the activities be it Sunday school teacher, choir member, nursery worker, or children's church leader.
I say all this because my worship experience is lacking. I don't seem to "fit" into my surroundings and I can't seem to get past that. It's my fault that I can't seem to connect. I've lived here for over a year and attended the same service all that time. I don't connect with many in the parish. I don't connect with the service even though I sing in the choir. Now due to other responsibilities I attend the service alone. How many people attend a service looking for a connection with someone? Only to never find it. How many go looking for God but experience so many cliques that they don't feel they belong? They think maybe God only wants a certain type of person. They have to be beautiful and married and successful. They need to have the 2.4 kids and the two dogs at home. They have to drive the SUV and be involved up to their eyeballs in the community. Is this the person Jesus reached out to? What about the woman at the well? The leper? The blind men he made see? None of these people were well known in the social circles. Most if not all were ostracized by the community. Where are those people in our churches today? Are we reaching out to them? Or are we sooo happy that Matilda will be there today so we can wear those fabulous shoes we just bought and show them off? When did we forget God? When did we learn to put our social standing above our eternal standing?
I am guilty. Guilty of caring to much about what I look like when I go. Guilty of wanting to be liked and be in the IN group. Guilty of that and so much more. I've personally forgotten what's it's like to have a great worship exerience. I want one so badly I could cry.
