Worship

Worship

         Worship is an exercise in developping healthy worthship. When I find that which I value more than anything else I cannot help but want to give praise and as I praise discover I AM worth dying for. It is for this same person (Jesus) that I am dying to want to serve and meet on a daily basis. Recently I was reminded of how this works. I went to a minister's conference a few weeks ago for the first time in fifteen years. I was anxious to meet persons I had not seen in a while. On registration day I did met a few people who recognized me and yet seemed aloof. I was beginning to feel lost as thousands of other persons entered the fray. At worship that evening I found a place in the back of the sanctuary I sang praise to Jesus Christ and was challenged to live out my faith not just talk about it. The speaker talked about injustice to blacks and related that to how we treat others we call our brother and sister. The next days we would process some of what we experienced at worship in dialogue with each other. I celebrate that worship is a dialogue between us and God. I want to talk with someone as much they want to talk with me. This mirrors the personal relationship I have with Jesus Christ.

         I woke up to the smell of morning ready for another adventure. The smell of coffee and donuts greeted me. I looked around and was aware I was among family even if I did not know who everyone was. The Word of God was the connector. I went into a large room longing for a worship type of experience in which worth and dialogue were the focus. The odds of me meeting any one familiar were slim to none. As I entered the room my pastor greeted me with his familar jeans and suit coat. I was beginning to feel like I belonged to something greater than myself, another aspect of worship. I entered further into the room finding a table way in the back. It did not take me long to get to know persons who knew my pastor personally. My pastor had grown up in this church. His father was the pastor. During my seminary days, thirty years ago I attended that church. Shortly after that my ex-wife sat down at the same table and we reminisced as a group in dialogue sharing how we might celebrate God's gift in the work God was calling us to.

          Work is another important aspect of worship. God is at work and we are at work expressing what God can do through us. Soon after I celebrated seeing an area minster who was like a spiritual mother when I pastored in a small inner city church. I began my experience feeling isolated and alone. The prayer request that read: "I want God's will" just before the conference experience began was being fulfilled. It was God's will that I celebrate in worship the word and work that comes from God. God was at work through me who was now a lowly Security guard, through my ex-wife who was studying to be a minister at the same seminary I attended and others who came from many different nations and states. As a pastor for a lot of years I felt the need to feel and be special and eventually I became burnt out. I believe God above wanted me to experience unconditional acceptance; like a prodigal son I was glad to be at a place I could call home. Because of this I am determined to worship as long as I have breath and use this truth to encourage others to worship God along with the purpose God has for each and every one!!!!!!!

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