Drinking a soda the other day got me to thinking about pop culture (sorry Naddy). And, thinking about pop culture got me to thinking about pop culture in the church. It hit me how, just like the drink in my hand, you can find a fellowship in any flavor. The area I live in is full of churches that have inundated with pop culture. They have the bands, their pastor is professionally good looking, and they have large connectivity groups. Members can go and be entertained, be inspired, and get plugged in. The result that I have seen, though, seems to be socialization, and not fellowship. It becomes a competition of hairdos and shirt styles. You get thousands of Christians all together, and yet communion is still just a personal issue between you and Christ.
But we reformed are so much better. We can hide our shallowness. How tight can we wear our neckties? How somberly can we sing our psalms? In how many parts?
I think one of the greatest problems, for individuals, is that we come to church wondering what we can get out of it. One time a pastor friend of mine through me for a loop when he told me that his session asked prospective members what the they had to offer the church; what gifts did they bring to the table. I was floored. I idea was totally foriegn. But imagine what church would be like if all the members came to it wondering how they could serve. What if we chose our churches based, not on how the worship service made us feel, but on how compatible the congregation is to recieving the gifts we have to offer? That would, of course, mean having time to serve, but I'll leave you to search the scriptures on that one.
All Peoples, Clap Your Hands for Joy, psalm 47
All peoples, clap your hands for joy,
To God in triumph shout;
For awesome is the Lord Most High,
Great King the earth throughout.
He brings the peoples under us
In mastery complete;
And he it is Who nations all
Subdues beneath our feet.
The land of our inheritance
He chooses out for us,
And He to us the glory gives
Of Jacob whom He loves.
God is assembled with a shout,
The Lord with trumpeting.
Sing praises unto God! Sing Praise!
Sing praises to our King!
For God is King of all the earth;
Sing praise with skillfulness.
God rules the nations; God sits on
His throne of holiness.
Assemble men of Abrah'm's God!
Come, people, princes, nigh!
The shields of earth belong to God;
He is exalted High.
