Lately, I've been doing some research on a topic that doesn’t seem to come up often in conversations about worship in the American church. I am interested to see how worship becomes a 24/7 lifestyle in places where the church operates with significant restriction, either in freedom to gather, resources to support, or both.
At Beaverton Foursquare, our church leadership often engages in discussions about the constantly evolving culture in our “post-Christian society”. (If this term is unfamiliar, there is a good deal of writing about this name for a cultural shift; the Barna research group gives a good synopsis here: "How Post-Christian is America?"). While I am not going Chicken Little and saying that the sky is falling, as things progress in our world, there certainly is a possibility that we may experience limitations on our freedom to gather at some point in the future.
In every corner of the world, obedience to the Biblical mandate to be a worshiper of God should be a foundational priority in the Church. However, I observe that the large-scale worship services we enjoy in American churches are only possible where there is both great freedom to worship as we please and ample resources to support. We have skilled people to play and sing songs, instruments to make music, facilities to gather in, and technical systems to make communication clear. Conversely, churches in many other parts of the world operate with great limitations, either in means or in freedom, and they are also finding ways to live out the value of deep, heartfelt worship of Jesus in their communities of faith, despite a lack of freedom to do so corporately in large gatherings.
This is not a comparison of styles of worship leading. There are nearly an infinite number of cultures in the world that express worship to God in their own way, and even within each culture (especially our American one), there are a myriad of flavors, both relationally and musically. Worship clearly is not just a musical exercise, and I’m not looking to comment on personal preferences — I’ve met Jesus and experienced His presence in gatherings and styles of many varieties, and there is much to be gained in the celebration of the diversity of believers that all reflects the image of God. However, since most church gatherings employ music as a vehicle for corporate worship (and we are obedient in that, see Colossians 3:16), I am intrigued to learn how musical worship is shared and by our brothers and sisters around the world who don’t experience the same levels of societal freedom that Americans enjoy.
I plan to write a follow up to this post after I return from a trip I’m taking to Beijing, China next month. I have the privilege of traveling there with a team of soccer coaches who have served at our B4 Soccer Outreach Camp the past few summers, and we have been invited to share the game of soccer and the love of Jesus with Chinese kids. While we are there, we hope to be able to visit several churches. China has a small number of “authorized” churches, meaning that the government has given them approval to meet (provided that they stay within certain guidelines), and there is a much larger network of “underground” churches. These often meet in homes and operate mostly outside the view of the Communist government, leaving them vulnerable to various forms of persecution if they are discovered. We hope to be able to visit both kinds of churches, and I look forward to worshiping alongside our Chinese brothers and sisters.
It is my hypothesis that the persecuted church understands the need to dig deep into the presence of God far better than the Church in societies with freedom and privilege. In a previous trip to China 4 years ago, I got to know a few Chinese Christians and found their joyful dependence on God inspiring and humbling. This time, I hope to be able to ask questions and learn from our friends in Christ on the other side of the world. I want to see what it looks like to worship God daily, even when that cannot happen openly.
I am hopeful and prayerful that we will see revival in our own nation. I love where I get to live, and I do not foresee us becoming exactly like China or any other nation in the world. However, I look ahead to the future, and I see a world that is increasingly moving away from God’s desires for how people should live. As a church, we want to continue to permeate our community with the love of Jesus, and I believe sincere worship of God plays a significant role in drawing the hearts of people to Jesus who do not have a relationship with Him. I hope to come back from this trip with ideas and inspiration to continue leading and encouraging people to be 24/7 worshipers of God, regardless of whether it is easy or difficult, musically polished or not, free or restricted. Paul and Silas set a great example of worship, even when they had no freedom in the Philippian jail (see Acts 16:22-34). In this season, I choose to be thankful to God for the blessings of freedom and opportunity that our nation affords us, and I renew my commitment to be a person of wholehearted worship of God, regardless of the environment.
Our Lord Jesus is the great eternal King. He is worthy of our highest praise. Please join me in being a 24/7 worshiper. Thanks for taking some time to read our thoughts as we journey in faith with you.
Brent
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