Can Worship Be Like A Punk Show?

Every time I walk into our Operation Center in Roseville, I’m compelled to thank God for his grace.  After all, this facility is nothing short of a financial miracle.  A church our size usually has a tithing base that 3 times as large; yet, through thriftiness and the generosity of a small number of families, we’ve been able to build our mid-week auditorium.

Of course, since we moved in, we’ve literally quadrupled the number of ministries here.  And one of those ministries has been our worship nights.  For years we’ve wanted to do extended worship and intercession but, we haven’t had a place to make it happen.  And this Thurs (Oct 22^nd) we’re going to be having our 3^rd public “extended worship night.”

So far, they have been absolutely crazy-amazing.  We probably over-promoted the first one (as we packed an amazing number of people inside like Sardines… with no seats)  It felt like a sweaty punk-show.  But that was one of the most amazing worship nights I’ve had this year.

I remember reading about King David in the Old Testament dancing until his clothes started falling off.  A long time ago, I couldn’t relate to this image of worship as I had grown up in a stiff and stoic liturgical church.  Don’t get me wrong:  I’d jump up and down at sporting events.  I’d mosh at a local concert; but, worship equaled sitting still.  I had no idea that the God of scripture was a God who loved to celebrate.

And if that’s something you can relate to, I’m happy to tell you:  There’s more for you and me!  Worship isn’t always meant to feel like a historical funeral service.  And frankly, when you realize how amazing our God is, I don’t know how anyone can stay sitting down (unless they’re passed-out).

At our last worship night, almost every person was dancing their hearts out like it was 3 a.m.  (Anyone who’s ever thought that Christians were boring hasn’t met this group!!)  For the last song, we started doing this Hillsong United song that sounds like an old-school British punk song.  Everyone was jumping, including our worship band.

Of course, when Jacob Champlin, (one of our worship leader’s) feet went through the wall, I immediately imagined God smiling down on us thinking:  “Now that’s the kind of worship I’m talking about!”

So if you’ve got time, come and join us for one of our worship nights.  Of course, I’m not recommending you invite your unchurched neighbor, nor am I suggesting that you should come ready to destroy our drywall.  But, I don’t mind hiring a construction crew to clean up after our worship nights as long as people are filled with the Spirit of Worship.

One thing is for sure:  If you truly open up your heart to a God whose very name is “Consuming Fire”, you will never be the same.  So try it sometime.  As I once heard from a quirky youth pastor:  “There’s no high like the Most High.”  And although it’s cheezy, it true.