Never take worship for granted

 I am currently reading The Worship Architect by Constance M. Cherry. When our region was offering Church Alive to our churches as a process to help them grow and become healthier, Dr. Cherry was one of our presenters. She is professor emeritus of worship and pastoral ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University and an authority on Christian worship. She shares an incredible story in the book which I want to share with you. It is a story of a house church in China. She writes

Because of the necessity of worshiping in secret, the pastor left his home at 11:00 p.m. on the nights the church held worship services and walked a few hours by the light of the moon up to the mountains, where the villagers would gather in a cave with only a dim candle. They would "lip-synch" hymns that they knew from memory without uttering a sound for fear the Chinese government might discover them. After worshiping together, they would go back to their village to reach their homes before 5:00 a.m., when they would go to the field to start another day of work.

Several years ago I was part of a group of American Baptist men who went on a mission trip to Haiti. On Sunday we attended one of the Haitian churches for worship. The service began at 7:00 AM. People were asked to move from the front row so we could have their seats. The building was full with people actually sitting on the pulpit platform and others sitting in the rafters above us. About 9:00 the service ended, and as we were leaving, people were already coming in for the 10:00 service, many carrying their own chairs.

I have often thought about the difference in the approach many American Christians have towards worship and what I experienced in Haiti. As I read the account of the house church in China and how they had to worship due to fear they would be found out, it again reminded me of how nonchalantly many American Christians approach worship.

Our Constitution gives us the freedom to worship, a freedom many throughout the world do not have. This is not a freedom from worship, but a freedom to worship. According to Dr. Cherry's book, there is evidence that the early church gathered every day to worship. Some today feel they are doing God a favor if they attend church once a month. Those Christians in China literally risk their lives by gathering for worship; some of us have to decide each week if we are going to attend church services or if there is something else we want to do.

This is not intended to be a rant. I simply want us to examine our hearts. We should never take worship for granted. People risk their lives to worship God in other parts of the world. Our attitude every Sunday should be "I get to go to church and worship God today," not "I've got to go to church today and then we can do the other things we want to do."  

I want to encourage you make worship a priority in your life. This not only means attending church services each week, but also to worship God in your personal life as well. Spend time in prayer and in reading the Bible. Many of us are reading through the Bible this year as an act of worship and discipleship. I invite you to join us on this journey.