one church (the date is 9-14-08)is the where the series begins. But i believe the Church is designed for worship…but…the Church is not fully developed yet…not till every tongue tribe and nation declares our Lords name will it be…and this is why we still have sermons…soo we grow and learn and we can equip others….but then there is the question what exactly is worship!?! isn’t worhip glorifying God?! can’t we Worship God sitting in the pew? or doing our duties at work? worship is more than singing. who knows why our services look the way they do and in the pattern they do. it is just they way it happens! yeah catered to our culture…a lot of times…but not all the time…

to response to phil.. i think that church is not just a building we waste a few hours in, in the morning…it is a community…juast as God gave adam eve…he gave us eachother…we need eachother we need community…i honestly believe the community is what keeps most of us going back to church….it is not a place that is perfect but it is a place filled with imperfect humans who need each other and are learning how to love each other together!

Like Brittian said in his comment, God makes it clear what he wants out of our “worship services”; “and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with the Lord your God”. And yet at the same time, the community aspect of what John Wesley described cannot be forgotten about. It seems to be so crucial.

But…are we really doing any of this? And if we are, are we doing it in the best way possible?

It forces me to rethink what the context of a sunday morning “needs” to be, and within that context where does all of this fit or not fit.

In other words, and this might give some pastors and worship leaders a heart attack;

do we need music?

or do we need a sermon?

Most people might quickly size up my age, and say I’m a rebel spirited post-modern hipped (whatever that means), and say that that I’m just trying to get rid of church, or to change everything.

On the contrary, I tend to think that everything has already changed, and it’s about time we figure out exactly what we are doing on sunday mornings. Because sometimes, it sure feels like we get up early, and enjoy wasting a few hours.

I wonder, and I think this is pointing back to a blog post you had a while ago…

What’s the big idea?

In some ways what you’re describing feels a little more like what I would call from my experience, “liturgical worship”…I don’t actually mean in the standard sense, except to say that everything within it…from the sacrament of scripture to the singing of song serve as worship of God.

Along that vein it is apparent that not all Church has put “bible teaching” front and center. I’ve been impressed that several episcopal or celtic christian churches I’ve visited here in Portland the focus is decidedly NOT on exposition but rather the pure and transforming affect of the uninterpreted Word of God…very different from my standard evangelical experience.

Finally I would comment on two thoughts I’d like to hold in tension. The first is out of Isaiah 58, and other prophetic voices, such as Amos and Micah, and is continued through the prophetic ministry of Jesus and then in the church through James: true worship. “I’m tired of your sacred assemblies…you seek me daily…you delight to know my ways (as if you did justice)…yet is this the kind of fast [and I would insert "worship"] I have required?…do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God.”
This is the nature of true faith and real worship. Does God care for our effusive worship songs and praise choruses? Is He in need of our constant “Jesus My Boyfriend” romancing the Divine? Or is it as Father Richard Rohr suggests, a subtle way for the human psyche to satisfy its sensibilities? In other words…if I focus on the messenger…if I lift him up and preach jesus…I can forget what He said…I can disregard the message altogether. Is our labor and are our energies misappropriated according to God’s own heart?

At the same time I remember John Wesley describing “kingdom colonies”, where mutual accountability and exhortation for the living out of the good news occurs. Those seem to me to be infinitly valuable. A society of transformation in which every element is dedicated to the furthering of God’s good dream…

Anyhow…sorry I took up so much space on your post…really good thoughts and questions though. They got me going.

Cheers