I have been feeling a bit uneasy about this for some time now. Every once in a while in my visits to various churches for my speaking engagements or in my own church, I would hear this phrase being uttered from the worship leader, "God, you are the only audience in this sanctuary as we worship you."I am not sure how or when this understanding of God and our worship began to creep into the church. If God is reduced to the only audience in our worship services, then who are we? Who are the worship leader together with his/her team of musicians and back up singers? Are we simply actors/performers on stage trying to earn God's applause and approval? What about the preacher? What about the congregation?
If worship is a celebration of God's magnificence and majesty, and it is giving glory and honour due him, can God be the audience?Perhaps this is just another way of saying that the worship team would like to give their best to God...perhaps I am just a little bit too sensitive on the use of this kind of terminology (sign of getting old?). I am not sure.
2 comments:
the Audience of One...
I guess this is one of the fallout of the worship wars. To those who do not know about the worship wars, God bless you.
The reaction to the whole worship service being a performance or that those on the stage perform while the rest of the congregation are consumer Christian lead to this concept of the audience of one.
For me, God has always being the only Audience with the capital A. Then there are the rest of us hanging around with the 'cloud of witnesses' of Christians from all eternity. Cool
having been a worship leader before, i think the phrase meant that the non-musicians ie the folks on the pews are not audience enjoying a concert happening on stage, all of us (the entire church) is 'performing' ie giving worship to God, while God is the only 'audience', enjoying the show hahaa..
Post a Comment