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OUR LANGUAGE OF WORSHIP
Started by Jamie. on 17 July 2008 - 10:50am
| 17 July 2008 - 10:50am | |
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Hey Guys, These were some questions that my mentor put to me a few weeks ago about the language we use in worship. I'll not give away what our conculusions were but really look forward to hearing your thoughs as its so important to think about how the things we say from the front are conveyed and interpreted. Here we go.... ;) On the assumption that language matters, here are a couple questions to ponder: 1. Can we receive "more of God" or "more of the Holy Spirit?" If not (consider 1 John 4:13 - "He has given us his Spirit"), what is the desire these phrases express? What would be a better/truer way to express those desires? What could be some negative consequences of "more of God" language? 2. Can the Spirit "come" or "fill this place"? Meaning more so than he already does? If not, (consider Jer 23:24 - "Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord, "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"), then what is the desire these phrases express? What would be a better/truer way of expressing those desires? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on these! |
Good questions, and I was actually discussing 2 with my girlfriend recently.
1. I ascribe to the thinking that I am not a perfect vessel and somewhat leaky... ok very leaky! So the concept of more of the Holy Spirit works for me. There are areas of my life that I am very much still working on giving over to God, so again... 'more' works there. There are areas where that I have pretty well surrendered to God, and then backslidden to a certain extent. Once again.
I defend the song Surrender (I surrender all to You) because people say "but I feel dishonest coz I haven't necessarily surrendered". My answer is that is why we sing it in the present tense, it is an ongoing refining process.
2. Sometimes we say and sing "We welcome You here" too, my feeling is that it is an invitation and an affirmation/acknowledgment that we long for God's presence. If you are in the presence of someone that you love, it doesn't stop you wanting them to be there.
Also we think of the word 'come' as one of arrival, but whack it dictionary.com and you find buckets loads of definitions for example it means "to move into view or appear".
Also saying 'fill this place', at least to me, doesn't infer or imply that He is not already. Again I see it as our affirming and declaring our desire for God to be here with us.
Is that just waffle or did I make any sense?
This is interesting. I've had conversations with my friends about this. Language can be a fickle thing it seems like.
The desire I've seen expressed behind "more God" or "Spirit, come" is that one wants to feel God's presence, to know God more deeply, to experience the transformational work that happens when we do encounter God's presence, to see God beyond ourselves and in his fullness, to convict us of our sin, to bring healing... In that sense, yes, we can receive more of God.
I wouldn't say that these phrases are wrong, but I do see how they can be a little vague.
One danger is that we don't want to make the implication that we don't already have God or the HS's presence in our lives. Like he's somehow left. Obviously this can't be.
Another way I think to express the desire behind "more of God" and "fill this place" is to pray, "God, we acknowledge your presence in this place. Please give us an increased awareness of your presence."
I love words and delight in finding just the right ones for a given situation. However, much as I desire pellucid verbiage, I do remind myself not to get hung up too much on subtleties, especially in what other people say.
A phrase like "I want more of God" can range from the depths of ignorance and selfishness or the heights of devotion - we need to listen to the heart and speak from it as well. I think it is often good to challenge hackneyed phrases but not if it leads us into a prideful attitude towards others who don't speak like wot they orter, innit? ;-)
Wulf
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Bassist for The Elusive Teeth, The Pico Brown Five and Hither Green Baptist Church