Action/Worship
Dave,
Yes, you did it. You stoked the fire to a flame with this discussion, man. From now on I'm going to record and save it.
I resonate strongly with your thoughts. Here are mine...
Worship songs do not equal worship. They can sometimes be a vehicle, but they're not the only one, and don't even have to be one all the time. I often feel like saying, "enough talk already, go do it." Perhaps we, like young soldiers, are still at base training right now before we get to fight the war. If so, then I'll try to prepare adequately. But the vision is bigger than the climax of a worship song (yes, I was vaguely making reference to old talks of bridal mysticism and "worship as sex with God" trends that are floating around our culture. :)
Action. Purpose. Mission. These are things I desperately need right now. I am waiting for the dream, the battle commands. And they have to make sense with my life. How do my daily workings accomplish His Kingdom's purposes? Is there an actual battle to fight in life, or is it just a taunting analogy? I feel much closer to reality when I'm weilding my sword than when I'm sitting in chapel. I was created to be a warrior. In some sense, most (or all) guys were, before they gave up that terminology as ungodly. In life there is no lack of risk. We can lose much and hurt much. And that is often beyond our control. But what good can I accomplish? This is my question (and I have thoughts on the answers, but I don't believe them enough to write them right now.)
Oh, and one more thing. The Church is relevant. It must be! Maybe church services feel lame, but even those must carry power. God is not dull, nor is He weak. We should never meet with Him and leave unchanged. (....though I often do. As much as I believe what I just wrote, I found myself wrestling with God and my own mind during a worship service all last night.) I think that if we find the church irrelevant, we must make it relevant. For it is us and we are it.
November 14, 2003.
-Jarod
P.S. I've wrestled hard and failed much this week. For as great as I see my calling to be, I feel that much more unable to become great.
