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If the house of worship is a-rockin’, don’t bother knockin’…

If the house of worship is a-rockin’, don’t bother knockin’…

Last updated on: February 15, 2017 at 7:52 pm by Jonathan Aigner

If the house of worship is a-rockin’, don’t bother knockin’… 2017-02-15T19:52:44-05:00 Jonathan Aigner

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hey, everybody. How would you describe the worship service you attended yesterday? What adjectives come to mind?

Looking around on social media, there is one adjective that people are using quite a bit.

“Rocking.” Or sometimes “rockin.”Apparently, a lot of folks think their worship just rocked yesterday.

Here are some of the goodies.

St. Hillsong is certainly the patron saint of rocking worship…

As is usually the case, worship ROCKED, but the sermon was merely “spot-on.”

Still time to join us for our 11 am service! Worship team is rockin it today! #iamembrace pic.twitter.com/blqqNuu88I

— Christopher Haugan (@hauganc) October 16, 2016

Seriously. Move your butts, people. The rockin has already started.

rocking out to worship music while I drive is da best

— Karah Joy (@little_one66) October 16, 2016

Karah Joy finds it important to get started early. Don’t let the cops catch you with your roadie.

“Oh come to the altar…the Father’s arms are open wide” rocked my world tonight in worship plus its been my jam this week #nocoincidence

— angela tumminello (@angelatumm13) October 17, 2016

Worship rocks when people get to hear their jams. I’d like to hear someone rock some Sinatra next Sunday. Like, mid-60’s Sinatra, after the vocal problems began but before he sounded like an electric chainsaw. Think “Fly Me to the Moon.” No, no, wait, “Summer Wind.” Please do “Summer Wind” this week. You have to. IT’S MY JAM!

https://t.co/U82BcAhGJQ Worship team rocking…Holy Spirit filling the room this morning! @jonpanz @BeneDaye2005

— GraceCommunityChurch (@Gracegso) October 16, 2016

Borrowing the words of the late Rich Mullins, I must ask, is it the Spirit, or the kick-drum? That is the question.

Power is ON! And worship team is rocking…I mean practicing for services at 9 & 10:30. See you here! pic.twitter.com/ST5nubgHnC

— Countryside (@_Countryside_) October 16, 2016

Everyone knows that worship can’t rock without power…

Finally home after a full day! Rocked some worship this morning with TCC and the bestie Aaron Simcik, Growth… https://t.co/F0AKpABVrF

— TXworshipleader (@TXworshipleader) October 16, 2016

“Rocking with my bestie” sounds like something someone would do on a front porch with some sun tea.

Great morning of worship – Joe Meverden ROCKED it and so did his daughter’s duet with… https://t.co/suy73EqJi3

— mrbill6761 (@mrbill6761) October 16, 2016

Yes, but was Holy Communion extra tasty?

Sounds exhausting.

Whatever exactly is meant by “rocking,” I think it’s safe to deduce two things:

First, for many, and certainly most evangelicals, the music portion IS the “worship.” And not just any music, but vaguely spiritual versions of the music they would hear anywhere else. Nobody ever says, “Holy Communion was rocking this morning!” or “I really got my worship on with the rocking Old Testament reading!” or “Why can’t passing the peace rock like that every week?” Calling worship “rocking” is tantamount to saying we can really get into it when the bread and wine are extra tasty, or when the mellifluous baritone of the liturgist gives us goose bumps. But these concerns are so very superficial. It reflects the sad truth that for many of us, the liturgical “main attractions” – the word and the Eucharist – are no longer the main attractions.

Second, rocking worship is a blatant cultural hook, something used to entice people to get their butts in the seats so that they can be confronted with a “life-changing” message from the real star: the pastor preacher key speaker. But this holy bait-and-switch isn’t the point. Several years ago when I was serving a United Methodist congregation, our District Superintendent admonished me that there was nothing wrong with a service featuring a rock concert and a sermon. I just can’t buy that. Liturgy isn’t a preference. Liturgy is how the church worships. A rock concert followed by a sermon simply doesn’t fit the pattern.

Frankly, we must expect more out of ourselves and our congregations.

We must come expecting to play a part, to read a script.

We must come expecting to do work.

We must come expecting impressions instead of expressions.

We must come expecting something that isn’t about our felt needs, but our personal and corporate sanctification.

We must come expecting to be sent back out, renewed, refreshed, and refocused by the clarity and precision of our corporate prayer. May we worship like this – not in search of a rocking, raucous good time that can only end in the worship of self, but in search of the nourishment and strength that is found in the word and at Table.

Basically, we should expect worship to be about a lot more than some rocking music.

So maybe it’s time we came up with some new adjectives to describe our worship. How about some of these?

True.

Rich.

Theological.

Storyful.

Prayerful.

Challenging.

Mysterious.

Demanding.

Sacramental.

Meditative.

Participatory.

Yes, the rocking worship idea needs to go, lest we continue to live in perpetual confusion about what exactly the draw is supposed to be. The draw isn’t the pre-sermon concert. The draw is the communal retelling of God’s story, and the supporting role that is offered to each of us.

It will often seem less appealing to outsiders than worship of the “rocking” variety. It will sometimes be a turn-off to anyone who has never experienced anything but rocking worship.

To be the church we need to be, that’s got to be okay with us.

We’ve got to believe that what Jesus has done for us is enough to engage us, and that the gospel story doesn’t need to be dressed up in cultural trappings to be relevant.

Photo:
Flickr, Christian Holmer, creative commons 2.0

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