Creekside Church Sermon of October 13, 2002 "So How Are We Suppose to Worship?" Matthew 9:16-17; 13:51-52	Rev. David Bibbee
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Yogi Berra, the beloved catcher of the New York Yankees who years later became the Yankees' manager, was a quotable character if ever there was one. Yogi once used this gem, "You can observe a lot by watching." Did this ever occur to you? You can observe a lot by watching. I translate this, " You will learn a lot when you pay attention. Don't just focus on appearances. Take a close, careful look to see what lies beneath.."

I observed a lot by watching the District Marching Band Contest last Saturday. Concord walked off with all the awards and the highest total score. No surprise here. The surprise I hadn't expected was a sad one. Concord's band has 211 members. Two of the South Bend's bands from schools with the same enrollment as Concord, fielded bands with only twenty-five to thirty members, including the Color Guard. The spectators applauded their efforts and the courage it took to play along side larger, better-trained bands. Why the disparity? School corporation funding is a big factor. Music and art usually bear the brunt of budget cuts. Music education is not the priority in some school systems as it is in others.

During my sabbatical I observed a lot by watching churches worship. The churches I visited ranged from one hundred to ten thousand members. Worship styles varied from thoroughly traditional to totally modern. Most were growing churches while a few were in obvious decline. It was clear which ones put a premium on worship and which ones were going through the motions. In some, I felt at home, in others I felt like a tourist on a museum tour. If I were looking for a church home, I know the ones from which I would choose.

The question I bring today is this; "How are we supposed to worship?" It's easier to answer how we shouldn't do it. Anxious about the mass exodus of people from the church, many follow the advice of marketing and have turned worship into a spiritual mall where religious consumers can pick and choose as they like. Rob Suggs is a cartoonist who took a poke at churches that give in to this trend:
Come to St. Happy's: The Worship Place. Our slogan is, "Have it your Way." Select your preference from the overhead menu. Choices include, "Liturgy Lite, Kiddie Christianity, The Feel-Good Filet, and the Happy Homily." Sing, "Jingles for Jesus," or "Boomer Beat," or other happy tunes. Pick your favorite bread and juice or wine from the communion bar or sample side orders of "Twelve-Step Groups" or "Twelve Holes of Golf." At the Service Counter, male and female pastors are waiting to take orders from the new kids collectibles. The new series is "Pastors of the Universe Action Figures."

"How are we supposed to worship?" implies there are ways "not" to worship. It implies there are ideas and attitudes that make us more or less receptive to God's presence. "How are we supposed to worship?" also implies there are methods and modes that are better than others.

This question doesn't have just one answer. Today there is great interest in worship renewal, or more accurately, there is great need. Christian worship is changing the world over. Some of us look at the new forms like a nagging headache. We take some extra strength pain reliever, lie down, and hope that when we get up the stuff will disappear. I can tolerate lots of different music, except for Rap. I loath, I abhor, I detest, I hate Rap. It began when my daughter, Lisa, was in the fifth grade. She loved the stuff. "It won't be around long," I said. "Oh yes it will," she responded. I said, "It won't last five years. I'll give you twenty-five dollars if it does." She was eleven at the time. Now she is eighteen, and the rappers are still a-rappin', and my billfold is twenty-five dollars lighter.

This attention upon worship renewal is not just a little "hiccup" on the church's timeline. It is not just a fad or phase we're going through that will go the way of the poodle skirt, the Nehru jacket, and the leisure suit. Throughout history whenever there is a major cultural shift and perceptions of the world change, Christianity goes through a change as well. God is the same yesterday, today, and always. Jesus will still be the only hope of the world. Our destiny will remain tied to his. Nothing will conquer, or even curtail the coming of God's Kingdom. But the way we tell the Holy Story will change. There is a tremendous spiritual longing today. People are hungry for spiritual guidance and are drawn to churches with worship and a message that is relevant.

Renewal will be different from church to church and place to place. There is no one-size fits all. Just because something works for church A doesn't mean it will work in church B. Surefire methods that work in one church misfire in another. In some churches the order and the elements of worship will stay the same, not done mechanically, but with a spirit of enthusiasm and energy. Some churches will arrange a marriage between tradition and contemporary influences. In other churches, something totally new will be created that bears no resemblance to what had been before.

What concerns us most is not the form of worship, but it's function. The goal of worship is not reading all the words correctly, or transitions done with flawless execution. The goal is found in the verse of an old hymn. "Nearer my God to thee, nearer to thee." Ultimately worship is the pursuit of God. The priority is not people, ministry, program, growth, or success. The priority is God-bowing before the Presence, learning about God's being, following God's ways, listening to God's voice, and doing God's will. Adding something new to the worship order will not do it.

When I moved to Elkhart, I had a dickens of a time getting around with all the railroad tracks, rivers, and diagonal streets. But the hardest part was finding my way around the hospital. I could navigate St. Joe and Memorial hospitals blindfolded. Not Elkhart General. It seemed like they took the central structure and randomly attached appendages to it-a wing this way, a unit that way, add a floor here, put a corridor over there. I felt like a rat wandering around in a maze, wondering if I would ever find the patient. Simply adding things to worship will not necessarily lead us to God.

Jesus' conflict with the religious system of his day was a struggle between the old and new. Judaism could not contain Jesus. "You can't put a piece of new cloth on an old garment," he said. The old garment served it's purpose, but another garment was needed. The old coat had revealed as much of God as it could. Then an utterly new revelation of God appeared. A patched up old coat would not fit. The coat of religious regulation and legislation couldn't be patched up or worn without splitting down the back.

Jesus brought a new covenant…the new wine which couldn't be kept in old, brittle wineskins.

It is easy to confuse containers and contents… we don't pay homage to buildings, but to the Spirit of God that dwells among us. We don't honor creeds, but the truth about the One the creed contains. Buildings, creeds and forms of worship exist for one reason…to usher us to bring us to God.

Someone put it like this: "Christianity must have a place to stay. But it does not have to stay there." As time marches on and the world changes, Christianity outgrows it's era and finds another place to dwell. We don't look down our noses at the past. Jesus came with a covenant that surpassed the old one, but he didn't reject it. He built upon it. "Do not think I have come to abolish the law," he said. Jesus only preached the Old Testament, remember? He loved it, but he loved God and the new thing God was doing even more. "I didn't come to erase the law, but to fulfill it."

This is why Jesus gave us a little parable about a householder who reaches into his treasure chest and brings out treasures new and old. Jesus has blazed a trail for us to follow that began where the old road stopped.

Listen to these words by David Redding who pastors one of the churches I visited this summer:
"Christianity does not collect fossils, but things that will work. It is not a museum but a live operation…people divide into two camps, one applying the brakes, the other accelerating; one group caressing antiques, the other in love with the latest models. Christianity does not vote a straight ticket-it selects treasures from both old and new."

Faith takes old people and young people, tradition in addition to adventure. It will not be reckless nor hidebound, but it will go to theends of the earth, to the end of time, in whatever transportation is available.

This week I had a great visit with Evelyn Miller. We spent most of the time talking about worship. We came to the conclusion that however it is done, it should get us outside ourselves and point us in God's direction. It should have spiritual and theological depth, no fluff. Above all, it must be true…true to the Bible, true to the character of God and true to the testimony of Jesus.

As we talked, Evelyn said, "We are always looking for a new solution, a new model, and a new way of doing things that will make it all work out the way we want. Something comes along and we are all enthused. We think, 'Now we've got it!' Then we get comfortable and hang on to our little system. It happens all the time in education, and in worship, too. We turn the way we worship into God."

Evelyn and I decided to tell you how to worship. We suggest pulling out of our worship treasure chest that which is old and new.

Let me inject another gem of Yogi Berra wisdom. He said, "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be." Our worship of God should be the best we can offer because God gave is his best in the perfect gift of Jesus. We can try making our offering perfect, but it won't be. The church has been working at worship a long time now, and we still do it like a bunch of rookies. Our words, our playing, our singing, our poetry, and offerings fall pitifully short. What worship can we possibly offer that can capture the totality of God?

But God loves is when we try. God loves our worship when it is God we are seeking and nothing less. And when we try, surprises are in store. As Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:8, "We may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God."

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