The Dangerous Act of Worship

1. Worship is a Dangerous Act That Awakens Us to God's Call for Justice

Everything. That's what's at stake in worship. The urgent, indeed troubling, message of Scripture is that everything that matters is at stake in worship.

Worship redefines reality. It is not merely a religious service or a set of songs, but a transformative act that awakens us to God's heart for the world. True worship exposes our cultural and spiritual complacency towards suffering and injustice. It calls us to embody God's love and justice, especially towards the poor, forgotten, and oppressed.

The church's crisis: Many Christians are asleep to God's heart for a world filled with injustice. Our worship often fails to produce the fruit of justice and righteousness that God seeks. This creates a crisis of faithfulness before God and a crisis of purpose before the world. The challenge is to reconnect our worship practices with our call to justice, fostering self-sacrificing lives rather than self-indulgent tendencies.

2. True Worship Confronts Power and Challenges the Status Quo

When worship is our response to the One who alone is worthy of it—Jesus Christ—then our lives are on their way to being turned inside out.

Worship realigns power. At its core, worship acknowledges Jesus as Lord, which fundamentally challenges all other forms of power and authority. This recognition should lead us to confront injustice and abuse of power in all its forms – personal, social, and systemic.

Liturgy as a tool for transformation:

• Call to Worship: Reminds us that God's authority supersedes all others
• Prayer of Confession: Helps us recognize our complicity in unjust systems
• Declaration of Forgiveness: Empowers us to act justly from a place of grace
• Communion: Embodies a radically inclusive community that defies social hierarchies
• Benediction: Sends us out to live as agents of God's justice in the world

3. Sabbath Rest is Essential for Pursuing Justice

A life that worships and does justice starts with rest.

Rest reorients our priorities. Sabbath-keeping is not lazy escapism, but a radical act of trust in God that frees us from the relentless demands of production and consumption. This rest gives us the spiritual and emotional resources needed to engage in the work of justice.

Practical sabbath practices:

• Saying no: To agendas, schedules, busyness, and cultural pressures
• Saying yes: To God, community, reflection, and re-creation
• Daily rhythms: Incorporating moments of rest and reflection throughout each day
• Weekly sabbath: Setting aside a full day for worship, community, and renewal

4. The Church Must Embrace Both Exodus and Exile Paradigms

To follow Jesus Christ means to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14), to be made alive after being dead (Ephesians 2:1-10), to be "born from above" (John 3:3), to "live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27).

Balancing liberation and engagement. The church needs to hold in tension both the exodus paradigm (liberation from oppression) and the exile paradigm (faithful living within unjust systems). This dual perspective helps us avoid the pitfalls of either escapism or assimilation.

• Exodus paradigm: Emphasizes deliverance, hope, and God's liberating power
• Exile paradigm: Calls us to "seek the welfare of the city" (Jeremiah 29:7) even in hostile environments
• Synthesis: Living as "exiles and aliens" (1 Peter 2:11) while working for transformation

5. Cultivating a God-Inspired Imagination for Justice

God's imagination operates on different terms.

Expanding our vision. Our imaginations are often crippled by sin and self-interest, limiting our ability to envision and work towards a just world. Worship should enliven and enlarge our vision for seeking and doing justice, inspired by God's boundless creativity and love.

Practices for cultivating imagination:

• Immersing ourselves in Scripture, especially prophetic literature
• Engaging with diverse communities and perspectives
• Exposing ourselves to stories of injustice and redemption
• Practicing empathy and "holy discontent" with the status quo
• Dreaming and planning concrete actions for change

6. Moving Beyond Safe Worship to Encounter the Living God

Nothing is as dangerous as encountering the true and living God.

Embracing holy disruption. Many churches prioritize "safe" worship that doesn't challenge or discomfort. However, truly encountering God will always be unsettling, as it redefines everything we call normal and commands us to seek first his kingdom.

Moving from safe to transformative worship:

• Allowing space for silence, lament, and uncomfortable truths
• Incorporating diverse voices and experiences in worship planning
• Connecting worship themes directly to issues of justice and social concern
• Encouraging testimony and stories of God's work in difficult places
• Creating opportunities for response and action within the worship service

7. Transforming Our Lives and Communities Through Faithful Worship

The measure of our worship is the fruit of character and action that looks more and more like the character and action of God.

Worship as lifestyle. True worship is not confined to a Sunday service but permeates every aspect of our lives. It should lead to concrete changes in our priorities, relationships, and engagement with the world around us.

Signs of transformative worship:

• Increased awareness and concern for issues of injustice
• Sacrificial giving of time, resources, and skills
• Advocacy for systemic change in our communities
• Cross-cultural relationships and solidarity with the marginalized
• A willingness to risk comfort and security for the sake of others

8. Developing a Wider Communion and Deeper Love for the Marginalized

If we worship Jesus Christ, then we are to live like Jesus Christ: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:23-24)

Expanding our circle of concern. Worship should lead us to a deeper identification with those on the margins of society, reflecting God's special concern for the poor, oppressed, and forgotten. This wider communion challenges our natural tendencies towards self-preservation and in-group favoritism.

Practices for developing wider communion:

• Intentional relationships across socio-economic and cultural boundaries
• Short-term mission experiences with long-term follow-through
• Regular prayer and advocacy for persecuted Christians and global issues
• Supporting and learning from indigenous leaders in difficult contexts
• Simplifying our lifestyles to free up resources for others

9. Embracing the Real Dangers of Worship for Personal and Social Transformation

We urgently need to recover a comprehensive vision of worship that recontextualizes our entire life and leads us to live out the worship God intends and desires.

Counting the cost. Faithful worship will always involve risk and sacrifice. It challenges our comfort, our social standing, and our allegiance to anything other than God. Embracing these "real dangers" is essential for both personal growth and social transformation.

Real dangers of worship:

• Encountering God: Facing our own inadequacy and need for change
• Truth-telling: Confronting lies we tell about ourselves and God
• Changed priorities: Reordering our lives around God's concerns
• Prophetic stance: Standing against injustice, even at personal cost
• Radical love: Loving enemies and those society deems unlovable

10. Living Awake: Practical Steps to Align Our Lives with God's Justice

Worship exposes our cultural and even spiritual complacency toward a world of suffering and injustice.

From awareness to action. Living awake to God's call for justice requires intentional choices and practices. It's not enough to be aware of injustice; we must actively align our lives with God's purposes in the world.

Steps for living awake:

• Choose to live our worship: Make daily decisions that reflect our identity in Christ
• Choose to see: Cultivate awareness of injustice and God's heart for the marginalized
• Choose to engage: Take concrete actions, both personal and systemic, to pursue justice
• Develop spiritual disciplines: Prayer, Scripture study, and sabbath-keeping to sustain engagement
• Join with others: Find community and accountability in pursuing justice
• Start small: Begin with "little things done with great love" (Mother Teresa)
• Persevere: Recognize that justice work is long-term, requiring patience and hope

Last updated: November 19, 2024