A theme keeps repeating itself in what they say. It touched their hearts. There was a life-changing power present there that night. It was far bigger than Cody Haner and far cooler than Joel. It was smarter than Chris and more whatever than I am. It was electric. It was sublime. Sometimes the Spirit works right through you. We weren't several people ministering to a small group of believers. We were one. We were united by the Holy Spirit.
There is something amazing that happens sometimes during worship, when ritual is stripped away and the masks are removed… When we stop worrying about status and roles, and such man-made barriers that we put up and we just focus on communing with the Almighty. It’s life altering.
This lead me to ponder, what are the most effective example of Postmodern, Emergent, Experimental Worship I have encountered?
I love the monthly Service of Praise and Worship (SPAW) at First Assembly of God in Harlan. It has a round table feeling. Everyone comes to share bible verses, testimonials, prayers, and their song of their choice. Time after time, everyone’s message blends together in this perfect divine chorus, as if God had lead each of them to the same place and the same course to form the perfect message. I have worshipped there and felt so surrounded by a family of worshippers all yearning to praise God… openly and freely. It shouldn’t be shocking or scary to other believers. We all are destined to do this! Someday I will sit, stand and jump and shout on the golden shores worshipping in heaven. SPAW leaves you refreshed, not by the waters of this world, but as if pulling away a veil to the next, living water that quenches the soul.
Another Postmodern worship experience that I love is Immersion at Church of Hope in West Des Moines on late Thursday nights. To praise unhindered, to be immersed, to be surrounded by the sights, the sounds, the smells, the art… to break the bread and drink the wine, to sing and dance. Immersion gets it right. The relevant message screams to the millennial generation. I go to Immersion when my tank is running low and I need filled up. I never leave the same as I enter.
But truly I say to you, never has worship been so meaningful as Elk Horn Luther League’s Easter Walks. What else is more postmodern, more emergent, more experimental than the drama, the testimony, the evangelism of a bunch of teens giving Jesus to you… the path of Jesus, the ministry of Jesus, the footsteps of Jesus, then finally, in a tearful climax, the image of Jesus on the Cross. The Easter Walk isn’t about one man or woman preaching, it isn’t about a performance of a talented musician or a praise band. It’s kids, each one taking a bit of the story of Jesus, drawing it in tight to their souls, and lovingly passing it back to you as you walk the steps that Jesus did on His route to vindicate the sins of the world… my sins and yours. It can stun and it can transform.
I remember my first one. I wasn’t prepared for what was coming. I only knew it was going to be a nice little Easter play. I did not know I was about to encounter Jesus there…. The real deal Jesus. Not the calm, safe Jesus that is dispensed like candy in our mega-churches and at our vacation bible schools. It was God in the Flesh, He was real, He was radical, He was something totally different, and He was wanting to change my life.
There was one powerful moment I remember like yesterday. Breaking bread in the Upper Room has amazing. Chris Williams headed the group that dispensed communion with just ordinary bread and grape juice. While a pastor's son and a devout Christ-follower, C-dub holds no title in any church. He isn’t ordained by any organization nor school. He just came to that Easter Walk with a servant's heart wanting to reach people and teach them the Good News that Jesus Christ is alive and well and available today to start an ultimate extreme makeover in your life…. And He started one that day in mine.
Never has communion been more real. Never has Christ been so present. Never has Christ reached down in such a meaningful way and blessed me as He did right there in that Sunday school room. You can say all you want about the sacrament. You can quote dead theologians and legalistic dogma... but Christ is the only thing necessary to validate the life changing power in Communion. Christ and a receptive heart.
Last Sunday was extra special to a few people that have contacted me. Some have felt old burdens lift; others have recommitted their hearts to the Lord. Others just needed to attend church; to sing, dance and confess. Evermore we strive to capture that magic we find when worship goes right. We want to be unbridled. We open ourselves up to the Lord and we ask Him to use us to touch lives, change hearts and spread the Good News that Jesus is AWESOME. He isn’t timid, fragile, trapped, out-of-date, for one generation and not another. Jesus is NOW!
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