OUTWARD FLOW OF WORSHIP JL
Depending on what church background you come from, evangelism seems like it’s either
the sole focus of our existence or a distant cousin we meet occasionally at family
reunions but it’s awkward. We don’t feel like it should be either of those. As we’ve
observed God’s movement in our lives and in the church over its history (beginning in
the upper room at Pentecost), we’ve noticed there’s a natural flow into evangelism and
it’s not something that should feel forced, but rather a by-product of genuine interaction
with God.
That was our prayer for the evening. As we begin our days, center our lives around God,
commune with Him, naturally we begin to see things He sees and feel the things He feels.
Without this element of sending, the cycle never completes itself and then people wonder
why they’re not experiencing the life God has intended. As the late John Wimber said,
“the meat is on the streets.” We need to stop asking our pastors and teachers to give us
the meat and recognize that we find the meat as we begin to walk in the things that Jesus
has called us to do. To share His story of love to the world, to feed the poor, to look after
our local and global neighbors, to teach them to do the very things Jesus did, and to take
care of the orphans and widows and social outcasts.
As I was at a conference a couple months ago, the speaker compared our meetings to
huddles. You know, the huddles that sports teams have before and during games as they
prepare to play. Those huddles serve as a time of interacting with one another,
envisioning, encouragement, strategizing, but the ultimate goal is never to remain in the
huddle. Imagine a team that never left the huddle, or a team that would break out of the
huddle only to sit on the bench and not play. It wouldn’t make any sense. The goal of the
huddle is so we can all be on the same page as we go out to play. It seems like we expect
the huddles to be the pinnacle of our existence, when in fact it is only a small part of it.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m definitely not saying that worship in the “huddle” isn’t
worthwhile. What I am saying is that the worship that begins in the huddle must
continue if it is truly authentic and not end as soon as we say, “Break!” The question I’m
asking myself is, “Am I more envisioned to love the world around me with the love of
God after I leave these ‘holy huddles’? Are those times together times of refreshing,
envisioning, but also a catapult into the world?”