Worship is not a spectator sport

How was your worship experience today?  Were you moved?  Were you fed?

Common questions.  And I’m not saying they are bad questions.  But I will say that they should not be the only questions we ask after we worship with other disciples of Jesus.  These questions focus only on us.  And worship is not first of all about us!  What’s more, it doesn’t end with the final song.

Here is a fresh reminder of what worship is (and is not) from Kevin G. Harney’s book Seismic Shifts:

Worship is not a spectator sport.  We don’t come to sit in an audience while a group of people perform for us.  There is an audience in worship, but it is not the congregation; it is God.  We, the people of God, are all on the stage, and God alone is the recipient of the praise we express.

Worship is about giving ourselves to God.  …Our worship does not end with the closing prayer or benediction.  Worship is a condition of our heart.

We can’t confine worship to a set time of the week in a certain place.  We are God’s worshippers at all times and in all places. (pp. 66-67, 68)

Related:
I’ve quoted Kevin Harney a couple times before…
::  17 Sep 2009: ”Falling Asleep While Praying”
::  19 Sep 2009: “Sword Fighting”