As I’ve written
elsewhere, I believe that doing the seven central things of worship shapes us
as human beings; worship is practice for the rest of our lives. I was recently
thinking about what mastery of these 7 central things might look like, as well
as what incorrect practice might do to a person or a society.
10,000 hours
Malcolm
Gladwell famously popularized the idea that 10,000 hours of practicing a thing
will lead to mastery of it. I wonder how that might apply to the central
things.
In my current congregation, we have
approximately 70 opportunities to worship (for roughly an hour) in a year. This
means it would take nearly 143 years of regular worship to master the way of
being human that we offer. That said, if you add some of the church events that
contain at least a few of the central things in them, things that are worship-like,
there are about 200 such opportunities a year. That would mean 50 years of
regular engagement with church could lead to mastery of the seven central
things.
Such a “worship-master” would
project gentleness, generosity, and contentment, they would easily get over
slights and have a good grasp on life’s meaning, they would have a solid sense
of self-worth and be an asset to their community. I hope one day to be just
such a master.
Incomplete Practice
Now, the
primary way people experience worship is not in line with the 7 central things.
Instead, they practice a truncated form heavy on music and preaching. That
means folk: gather, give thanks, hear the word, and are sent out. I believe
such faith practices will lead to a skewed faith life outside the church doors.
I worry
about this truncated version of worship. I worry that it is producing people
who are only partially formed. I worry that there are a whole lot of Christians
wandering around who are experts at: community without confession, gentleness
toward others without a sense of their own self-worth, and are content without
being generous.
In other
words, non-denominational worship styles are training Christians to: gather
together without knowing how to confess and forgive each other, be sent out
into the world without understanding how being sent is connected to who they
are as baptized Children of God, and give thanks without being fed with the Bread
of Life.
