“But I really didn’t pray at work. I really didn’t understand that what I was doing was just as spiritual as leading a worship service on Sunday morning.” And that, friends, is a key ingredient to a worldview that wins you a major drop in church attendance.
And that, friends, is a key ingredient to a worldview that wins you a major drop in church attendance.
I am curious, Andrew, about exactly what you mean. Your statement could be understood in a variety of ways.
Do you mean that he still doesn’t get it, praying is more spiritually deep than leading songs, or that his failure to direct his mind toward God in his work is the worldview issue, or something else?
And that, friends, is a key ingredient to a worldview that wins you a major drop in church attendance.
I am curious, Andrew, about exactly what you mean. Your statement could be understood in a variety of ways.
Do you mean that he still doesn’t get it, praying is more spiritually deep than leading songs, or that his failure to direct his mind toward God in his work is the worldview issue, or something else?
Sorry, didn’t mean to be cryptic. By including the bit about prayer, I confused what I was trying to communicate. What I mean, essentially, is that he seems to think that his work and the rest of his life should be just as “spiritual” as his Sunday worship of God. He seems to imply that honoring God through his vocation by simply doing it to the glory of God is somehow insufficient. That the rest of life is just as sacred, in other words, as Sunday when we gather to corporately worship. Praying during the workday is, of course, an excellent thing to do, and I’m glad he seems to be doing it more now. I tend, however, to think this understanding ends up devaluing both the secular and the sacred. All of life can be understood as worship, true. But our worship of God as a corporate body is more spiritual in a sense than our everyday lives. And there’s nothing wrong with that. By elevating our every day to the same level as our corporate worship, I believe we begin to plant doubts in people’s minds that Sunday worship is even, strictly speaking, necessary.
I appreciate the clarification — it was not one of my guesses.
I think we do a disservice by labeling work as “worship.” For some reason, we have made glorifying God (and we can work to glorify God) the equivalent of worshiping God. Glorifying God is much broader, and can include even eating and drinking (I Corinthians 10:31).
In my view, not everything we do in a church service is really worship (edification is the broader brush), and is not meant to be. Body life, sharing with one another, etc., is important in a church context, so it should not be minimized. And within that context, we often worship (as when we pray in sincerity, or ponder God’s Word and will, express our allegiance, or praise Him from the heart in song), but other times fellowship with and sympathize with one another.
Unfortunately, the word worship is defined so differently and changes meaning even within conversations, I think we would be better to use the word in a more reserved fashion.
I appreciate the clarification — it was not one of my guesses.
I think we do a disservice by labeling work as “worship.” For some reason, we have made glorifying God (and we can work to glorify God) the equivalent of worshiping God. Glorifying God is much broader, and can include even eating and drinking (I Corinthians 10:31).
In my view, not everything we do in a church service is really worship (edification is the broader brush), and is not meant to be. Body life, sharing with one another, etc., is important in a church context, so it should not be minimized. And within that context, we often worship (as when we pray in sincerity, or ponder God’s Word and will, express our allegiance, or praise Him from the heart in song), but other times fellowship with and sympathize with one another.
Unfortunately, the word worship is defined so differently and changes meaning even within conversations, I think we would be better to use the word in a more reserved fashion.
Discussion
New"But I really didn’t pray at..."
“But I really didn’t pray at work. I really didn’t understand that what I was doing was just as spiritual as leading a worship service on Sunday morning.”
And that, friends, is a key ingredient to a worldview that wins you a major drop in church attendance.
NewAndrew K. Please Explain
Andrew K says,
I am curious, Andrew, about exactly what you mean. Your statement could be understood in a variety of ways.
Do you mean that he still doesn’t get it, praying is more spiritually deep than leading songs, or that his failure to direct his mind toward God in his work is the worldview issue, or something else?
"The Midrash Detective"
NewEd Vasicek wrote:
What I mean, essentially, is that he seems to think that his work and the rest of his life should be just as “spiritual” as his Sunday worship of God. He seems to imply that honoring God through his vocation by simply doing it to the glory of God is somehow insufficient. That the rest of life is just as sacred, in other words, as Sunday when we gather to corporately worship. Praying during the workday is, of course, an excellent thing to do, and I’m glad he seems to be doing it more now.
I tend, however, to think this understanding ends up devaluing both the secular and the sacred. All of life can be understood as worship, true. But our worship of God as a corporate body is more spiritual in a sense than our everyday lives. And there’s nothing wrong with that. By elevating our every day to the same level as our corporate worship, I believe we begin to plant doubts in people’s minds that Sunday worship is even, strictly speaking, necessary.
NewThanks Andrew
I appreciate the clarification — it was not one of my guesses.
I think we do a disservice by labeling work as “worship.” For some reason, we have made glorifying God (and we can work to glorify God) the equivalent of worshiping God. Glorifying God is much broader, and can include even eating and drinking (I Corinthians 10:31).
In my view, not everything we do in a church service is really worship (edification is the broader brush), and is not meant to be. Body life, sharing with one another, etc., is important in a church context, so it should not be minimized. And within that context, we often worship (as when we pray in sincerity, or ponder God’s Word and will, express our allegiance, or praise Him from the heart in song), but other times fellowship with and sympathize with one another.
Unfortunately, the word worship is defined so differently and changes meaning even within conversations, I think we would be better to use the word in a more reserved fashion.
"The Midrash Detective"
NewEd Vasicek wrote: