::confession

Precious Lord, I praise You for Your new mercies every morning.

There is such chaos in my heart, swelling in my soul.
I confess:

...to my constant worry and anxiety, continuously doubting Your provision for my needs.
...that I eagerly elevate and bow before the idols of my own preferences and opinions.
...that in thought, word, and deed, I marginalize others with cruelty and judgment, refusing to see Your image reflected in them.
...that I have treated Your perfect commands as if they are mere suggestions.
...to the ways in which I have squandered precious gifts and blessings.
...to my own self-destruction and self-sabotage, an outgrowth of my failure to recognize my own value as Your beloved child.
...that I have neglected to treat Your Love for me as a Glorious reality.

Please restore unto me the joy of salvation, and renew a right spirit within me.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be always pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

::pageantry

I'm a Christian who grew up in the Baptist church.
At 27, I decided to leave.
I landed at Trinity Church, where the worship service was drastically different. Traditional, liturgical, bursting at the seams with sacred creeds and elegant litanies.
I was hooked.
I still am.
Now, eight years later, my views on worship are quite pronounced.
Some may categorize them as snobbish or elitist.
So be it.

Sending someone from your church to go out and interview people about what they want from a worship service is an interesting idea.
If you're working on some sort of investigative journalistic article, that's a fine tactic. Perhaps even admirable.

But worship is not about what WE want.

...Or, is it?
The troubling trend is to erect a giant auditorium and stage a slightly-spiritually-themed theatrical production once a week.
Type the song lyrics into PowerPoint slides, project them on giant screens, flash a few colorful lights, perform a set of 7/11 songs, and let your latest guru share a few words before he shows you a particularly poignant scene from Iron Man 2.
What is your role in this?
It's simple, really.
Sit back and enjoy the show.
Be entertained.
Focus on your own comfort, your own preferences, sip your Double Mocha from the lobby's coffee shop/bookstore, and just relax.
After all, "God wants you to be happy," right?
This postmodern pageantry requires nothing from you; no self-examination, no confession of wrongdoing, no contemplation, no sacrifice, no discomfort whatsoever.
Lounge lazily in your comfy chair.
Welcome to worship.