I’ve mentioned in recent months that I feel we can glean much from periods of stepping away, and during these past few months of not having in-person church services available to me, I’ve spent time contemplating again what has been in the past and is now meaningful worship for me. While I respect all denominations and believe everyone should worship where it feels meaningful to them, I want to share with you what for me has been meaningful and what has not in regards to worship.

Growing up and attending my family’s small, rural Presbyterian church, one thing I continue to recall is sitting in services feeling baffled as to the value of responsive prayers and readings. And again I’ll say that everyone needs to worship in ways that are meaningful to them—for me it just wasn’t. “Worship” experiences that were meaningful for me during that time were times spent sitting up in a tree reading my Bible, surrounded by nature, including often a cat that would join me to try to of course sit on my open Bible, maybe an occasional walking stick or praying mantis to spook me a bit; times spent up in the pasture sitting on a terrace beneath a lone tall old tree, again surrounded by nature, feeling the presence of God as I had free-flowing, conversational prayers with the Lord.

When I went to college about two hours away, I began attending church regularly with a great aunt and uncle who lived in that town, a vibrant Methodist congregation. Attending that church, I came to see a contrast between “religious” and “spiritual.” I could literally sense the Spirit of God in those services. I don’t recall there being responsive readings and responsive prayers, something that had felt so meaningless to me in the past. The pastor there radiated the Spirit—the Spirit was everywhere. It was such a neat experience attending that church. Prior to that I hadn’t been in a church where people lifted their hands as they felt moved in worship, something I too have found connecting with God. And I began each day with a half hour of free-flowing, conversational prayers and later reading my Bible daily.

Over the years I have attended services at various times for various reasons of several different denominations—besides the Presbyterian and Methodist churches that I’ve been members of, I’ve attended Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, and Episcopal churches. One thing I’ve come to notice is that some seem more like a Bible study—the initial premise is a scripture that the sermon is then based around; while others’ premise is an ideal the pastor would like to teach, and scriptures are referenced to support that ideal. While certainly both have merit, especially for those who may not otherwise study their Bible or who are seeking guidance or other perspectives about a scripture or may not otherwise have Bible studies available to them; the latter has many complexities because the presumption may be made that the pastor is led by God to share a particular ideal, which may or may not be true, and the potential dangers of often blind trust placed in ministers. For that reason, everyone should read and study their Bible on their own so that hopefully they can better discern if they are being misled. That being said, I prefer sermons based on an ideal with scriptures used to support that ideal, and here is why.

I believe the Bible should have always remained an unfinished book. Yes, we need to know the past and the history of God’s relationship with the Jews, Jesus’ life and teachings and salvation through his death and resurrection, the early church’s teachings, etc. BUT, we don’t only need to know how God USED to work in people’s lives—we need to know how God CONTINUES to work in people’s lives today. I love hearing people share their stories about how God has impacted their lives, how God has answered their prayers, how God is working in their lives, their spiritual experiences—we need to hear those stories because that’s what makes God alive to us TODAY, and it strengthens our faith hearing those stories. And in that way, meaningful “worship” isn’t just found inside a church, because God doesn’t only work in the lives of pastors. We worship together when we share our stories with each other about how God has worked in our lives.

Currently I work in various capacities with four churches—two ECLA Lutheran, one Methodist, and one WELS Lutheran. A common theme I hear in conversations is about how attendance is down from what it used to be, that people (especially the younger people) aren’t attending worship anymore and speculation as to the reasons why. Some think they’re too busy, some think they need to find a way to better appeal to them (such as wearing casual clothes to church)—the list goes on, and in truth, has anyone actually asked them why?

The older I get (don’t you hate that phrase?), the more I’m feeling “tired” of so many things, that so many things have become boring to me. Maybe other people feel that way about some things as well. Could it be that the “old” Bible stories to some have just become—old? Could it be that there are times when we just need something new to re-interest us?

So, for me meaningful worship will never be found in pre-written responsive prayers and readings—I will always find free-flowing, conversational prayers that are from the heart more meaningful. I also won’t ever get as much from a sermon that is elaborating on a Bible scripture, as I will from a “new” message that shares how God is working in people’s lives today. But that’s just me. And I in no way intend to negate the significance of the Bible in any way—everyone should read and know its contents. If your soul is being adequately fed, that’s great. But if not, I hope you’ll continue to seek and better ascertain what may better fill your soul.

Such are my ponderings…what are yours?

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