In an attempt at communication with the young people, we had a questions and comments box at the front of the venue, which was not really used much during the week - except for the evening of the inflatable globe bopping. We had several strongly worded complaints in our comments box that night. ‘Please do not throw inflatables on us while we are worshipping!’, ‘I found it extremely distracting and annoying to have a globe flying around the place when I was trying to sing!’ and so on.
Slightly surprised at the reaction from what was, after all, a bunch of teenagers, we did stand up the next day to apologise, and we didn’t throw anything else at them for the rest of the event. But the whole story got us thinking: perhaps we all need the world to hit us on the head from time to time during worship; perhaps we have zoned out a bit too much and made worship too much of an escape. Maybe we need to be reminded that God actually thinks about the rest of the world a lot, that if we were as keen on drawing near to him as we think we are, then we would already know that justice and mercy means more to God than the latest worship anthem.
Worship and justice are inseparable in the Bible. You could easily spend a whole evening, or a series of evenings, with your young people studying this link. Here are some of our favourite passages to start you off:
‘The people of Israel are busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me…But they also complain, “Why do we fast and you don’t look our way?”… Well, here’s why: The bottom line on your “fast days” is profit…This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.’
Do you recognise God’s message to Israel in Isaiah 58 (from The Message)? The prophecy is directed to a nation that thought it had worship sorted, which was doing the right stuff; fasting, sacrificing the right animals, praying the right prayers and following all the rules. But it was not the kind of worship God was after. The people were oppressing their workers while they lighted incense in the Holy of Holies, people were starving while the animals were slaughtered as sacrifice. This was an unacceptable situation for God. You will probably know that famous verse in Micah 6:8: ‘What does the Lord require of you’. This too is written within the context of worship. In verses 6-7 Micah lists different worship practices, wondering which may please the Lord; sacrifices of calves, expensive oils or even a firstborn child? In our time and context, our list may read something like this:
‘With what shall I come before the Lord? Shall I bring the newest songs, the most poetic hymns, the loudest organ, the most expensive guitars, the flashiest visuals or the most sublime choir?’
But the prophet concludes, at the end of the list, that what the Lord requires of his worshippers is that they would act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with their God. It’s hard to not be convicted when reading passages like 1 John 4:20-21:
‘Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.’ (NIV)
All of us have probably sung songs where we say that we love God with our whole hearts, while simultaneously abusing the workers in some faraway land who made our trainers or ignoring the homeless guy by the train station yet again. You may want to look into other passages as well, like Amos 8:21, 23-24; Matthew 25:31-46 or Hebrews 13:15-16.
Compared to a decade or so ago, young British Christians seem pretty clued up on justice issues, and many see campaigning, caring for the poor and making godly consumer choices as a large part of their discipleship. And many will know that our worship of God is a 24/7 thing, which includes lifestyle choices. But what about when we come together for corporate worship? How can we let the world come and bump into us, to remind us of God’s heart and stop us from escaping into self-indulgence?
Part of the answer, we believe, lies in stirring our imaginations. Our imaginations are powerful tools to remind us of God’s heart, call us to action and stir us to pray. Here are some ideas of ‘how to’:
Using sound effects
During the Civil War in Sri Lanka, some friends out there shared how they were worshipping with gunfire in the background, and it stirred our imaginations. Using slightly disturbing or distracting sound effects, like gunfire or sirens, during worship can increase our awareness of the suffering of other Christians and stir us to pray. Download a war sounds track from the links section of the Youthwork website.
Singing songs of the world Church
Most of us will get almost our entire worship song repertoire from the UK or the USA. Using songs from other countries reminds us that the majority of Christians don’t look and sound like us, and the songs’ different rhythms and modes allow us to explore parts of our spirituality which we might otherwise miss out on. Try song books like World Praise or Sing Glory, or ideally ask those around you from outside of the UK to share some songs.
Touching, feeling and tasting the world
We like using globes and maps in different worship contexts (but you may want to take heed from our story above!). Sometimes holding, or laying hands on objects helps thoughts and prayers feel less abstract. Globes come in all sizes and materials, our favourite one is a tiny, but heavy, glass marble world.
Another time which can stir our imagination and help us connect with the global Church is the Lord’s Supper. Why not use bread from all over the world, or if you’re concerned about a certain part of the world, use bread from that region. Break the bread, knowing that in Christ, we are one with our suffering brothers and sisters elsewhere.
