I attended a concert last night where we heard things like- I'm Turn't Up, Why y'all scared to be different, I'm unashamed, etc. Lecrae is notorious for his passion for Jesus, music, family, and the gospel being reached to people. His energy is seen on stage and is always felt in the audience...well usually. I've been to roughly 6 or 7 of his shows now and typically end up leaving in sweat from the jumping around/dancing (I mean rhythmic movement) as we enjoy the music and message being displayed. Last night, there were pockets of this happening, but overall it was rather dull. It looked like most worship services I attend on Sunday. Standing, watching someone perform as we halfheartedly participate. I suspect that venue, culture, and audience had much to do with the atmosphere of the night. But, what if it didn't? What if what I saw were people who have lost the joy of salvation; the undignified aspects of worship that can come about? The pictures above are of David dancing undignified before the Lord as He is overjoyed by God and His work. Jeremiah 31:3-4 it states,
"Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
You will again be happy
and dance merrily with your tambourines.
The people of God are a people known of joy in the salvation of God and sometimes that manifests in praise even praise through dancing. I am not saying that worship services should become something undignifed and look like that scene from the Blues Brothers:
What I am thinking is what if our young people now cannot even express incredible joy of salvation in an environment where it is typically expected? What does that mean for our worship services? I understand that the Spirit moves people to worship and that we don't actually create it for people. I know that we can make environments places where this type of expression can take place. But more so, do we teach our people how to show the joy of our salvation? Do we regulate it to what we deem "appropriate"?
I know everyone expresses their passion for the Lord differently. I typically do not raise my hands or jump around in a worship service. But if you sit next to me close enough you probably hear me. I sing loud as an expression of my worship. Not sure why, but that's how I express my passion in worship. I encourage you to be expressive in your worship of God. Who He is and what He has done is incredibly powerful and amazing; why suppress ourselves to show anything less than joy?
Maybe what I see is nothing, maybe there is something there. I just know that I am becoming increasingly tired of passive, disengaged, joyless expression of our Lord and the salvation He brings in all manners of life specifically in worship. This is not happening everywhere, but I feel like I sense it more and more.
