Work, worship... And an Audi R8... Poetry and Prose
Friday, November 28, 2008 at 8:39AM Being an extrovert it is not all that difficult to 'live my life in public'. I know that there are some who wish to set up fairly strict boundaries around themselves. I am not in that place. There are various reasons for that... Perhaps one of them is simply that I want to be authentic. I know who I am, what weaknesses I have, what I struggle with, and how I find joy, blessing, and life, in spite of those. It would be untrue to project another picture of myself, and my life, to people whom I hope to encounter in truth and love.
So, today you'll find me a little 'battle weary'. I have been traveling extensively over the last few weeks, and now I'm in final sprint for the finish line. Part of my work, as some would know, is overseeing the work two sizable charitable trusts. Each one disburses fair amounts of money. This is a good thing since it facilitates hope, it supports good works that require a bit of finance to get even better, and of course it also allows for new transforming initiatives to be birthed so that our nation, and ultimately the world, can become reflective of the values of Christ and grace of God's Kingdom. We work very hard to make sure that we are good stewards of what God has entrusted to us, both in terms of the financial resources that we have to share, but also in terms of our influence, time, and energy.
There are so many wonderful projects on the go - just yesterday I received a report from a group that we are assisting in the Boland area who work with children that suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome, two days ago I met with a group of social entrepreneurial projects in one of the poorest communities in the Cape - we are financing the establishment and growth of a number of businesses and social ventures (such as clinics, creches, skills development centers etc.) That same night I attended a dinner for Eagle's Rising, a social upliftment program that takes abused and disadvantaged youths and does restorative work and self esteem and skills development with them to prepare them for healthy integration into the South African workforce. Last night I attended a dinner for an incredible seminary that trains young people for ministry in the visual and communicative arts... It's all good stuff! It helps to change the climate of hope within our nation, it brings renewal, establishes justice, it reconstructs the lives of individuals and communities, and it helps to prevent future abuse, brokenness, and suffering.
In the midst of all of this I have been mediating necessary and destructive conflicts in two 'societies' (that's the name that Methodists use to refer to a Church community) in our area. Since I am perceived to be neutral I have been called upon to facilitate some measure of healing and reconciliation between the communities and their respective pastors. It is a complex, emotional, and disheartening process.
It leaves me wondering why the Church is dysfunctional, yet community organizations (some of which only have very tentative links to the Church) are doing so much good? Perhaps it is the energy of working towards a common cause that give the community organizations the ability to function with very little conflict? Alternatively, perhaps it is simply that the Church fosters real and honest relationships at a much deeper level, and that will naturally lead to real and significant encounters between people (both good and bad)? I'm not entirely sure.
However, one thing that has become increasing clear to me is that there is a strong need to recognise that WORSHIP is no longer the 'sole mandate' of the traditional Christian Church community. Yes, I appreciate how significant it is when Christ loving, sincere disciples, gather together to praise God in song, to be challenged and changed by liturgy, prayer and sacred and symbolic activity... I do pray that it would never end, and that one would find more creative, more engaging, more life changing instances of this!
YET, I am becoming increasingly aware that for many of the Christians I am encountering worship is something altogether different. It is about finding ways of declaring and celebrating God's worth WITHIN the ambit of regular, everyday, life. It takes place outside of the walls of the church building.
It is a little like the relationship between poetry and prose... Poetry is beautiful, it inspires, it has its place. Yet, it is a little removed from the regular patterns of speech. Prose on the other has a strong narrative element, it is much closer to rhythms of everyday life, and so it has an equally valid place and special kind of beauty.
So, during this busy week (with an equally busy weekend ahead) I have tried to practice the worship of prose, as I've rejoiced at the wonderful work that ordinary people are doing in their everyday lives. God has been worshiped as people have cared for mothers and babies, God has been worshiped as young people have been loved, restored, and prepared for integration into society. God has been worshiped as medicines have been dispensed and minds have been opened. God has been worshiped as fields have been built for children to play.
God is being worshiped through work... Here's a little reflection on the way to work. By the way, keep your eyes open for an Audi R8 that enters the scene on the way to the office!
Remember, we need BOTH poetry and prose! I look forward to preaching and sharing in worship at my local Church this Sunday, but, on Monday I look forward to 'keeping the worship switch on'!
Reader Comments (3)
Great post, Dion.
I totally agree with what you're saying here about worship. One of the challenges for me as someone in a worship consultancy ministry, is to teach people that what we do in church is not about what we do in church. It's about what we do when we leave the church building. I long for us to see stronger connections between our "worship events" (what I like to think of as a spiritual discipline) and our work of service outside of the worship event.
I believe we have gone astray somewhat in our worship - we've made it about feeling good, and have made our church services an end in themselves. Wouldn't it be great if we could see our daily lives as a continuation of our worship services, and our worship services as a continuation of our daily living and loving?
It is for this reason that I often sing "Come, Now Is The Time" as a closing song in a service as people are about to leave - it reminds them that worship has not ended when the service is finished.
Blessings
John
Thank-you Dion. These insights on the role of worship are very real to me. Having moved out of formal church ministry back into the education field, I have become much more aware of people's worship in the everyday comings and goings of life.
I am not convinced that the Church "fosters real and honest relationships at a much deeper level". This may well be true in some instances but I have found that in many cases people are far too involved with "doing Church" or "playing Church" to engage in the deeper level of community envisioned in Scripture. It is a sad indictment on the Church that it is sometimes the last to respond when the community needs it the most - perhaps because its people are too focused on the "doing of Church" and not "being the Church".
The 10 years I spent in formal ministry in a local church were formative for me and I am very grateful for that time. There are however days when I feel that I am more involved in daily ministry while I lead my school than when I was part of the formal Church environment. Whether that is because of the institution or because of my own personal growth or a mixture of the two, I am not sure.
I do not have the same passion for the institution of Church as I did some years ago. I have seen too much of the internal politics, the jostling for power, the promotion of self and the mismanagment of people under the pretence of "doing it for God". My passion for following Christ each day is still real as is my desire to live each day for Him. I am just not as convinced that the Church is fulfilling its mandate as best it could and that it is fulfilling its role as Christ's bride as it should.
I do realise that these comments are very broad strokes and that there are many wonderful churches with wonderful Christ-followers who live every day making a difference in the world. I just wonder when the rest will "get it"!
This is a bit of a ramble so I'll stop now but I did want to respond in some way to your post!
All the best my friend as you worship each day inside and outside the Church.
(Just be careful while driving and posting on Qik!)
We need to learn to use the whole buffalo, from the website of http://www.saragroves.com" REL="nofollow">Sara Groves
There is a scene in the movie Dances with Wolves where the Sioux are on a much anticipated buffalo hunt. As they come up over a hill, they are shocked to see a field full of buffalo carcasses. The tragedy of that moment is that where the Sioux use every piece of the buffalo—the bladder holds water, the bone makes a tool, the skin is a covering for a tent- whoever has done this has taken the best part of the buffalo for himself and has left everything else to waste. There is no way to make good use of all that is lying in this field.
I was so convicted when I went to Africa that I am not using all of my spiritual buffalo. I have developed this one side of my personal relationship with God. I go to church, I have incredible worship, and I listen to incredible speakers. I have money to buy devotionals, and leisure time to do those devotionals. I have spent a lifetime grooming a personal faith in Christ, but have I been taking the best piece of the buffalo for myself? There has been a joy in discovering the good use of my life. There is a reciprocal redemption that happens when we enter into stories of helping our neighbor—not just around the world, but in our own communities.