BYOW

I grew up in Alabama during the sixties and seventies. During that time, there were several counties in our state that were “dry counties.” That is, alcohol couldn’t be sold in those counties. Every few years, the pulpits of our local churches would be lit up by pastors booming their condemnation of an upcoming “liquor vote” telling everyone in the church to vote against turning their dry county into a “wet county.” These sermons were kind of like eclipses of the sun. They happened every few years and didn’t last all that long.

One of the interesting things about growing up in a dry county was every party invitation was stamped “BYOB.” This meant bring your own bottle or as we interpreted it – bring your own booze. Because no one could sell any alcoholic drinks, everyone attending the party had to bring their own refreshments. Over time, the BYOB was adapted for other uses. There was “BYO” for everything. Local schools would have “BYOS” – bring your own spirit. Car dealerships would have “BYOG” – bring your gas – because their new or used car, they promised, would take care of everything else.

You get the idea.

I’d like to add a new one to this list – BYOW – “bring your own worship.” For all of my ministry, I was fighting the “worship wars.” I’m old enough to remember when the first drum sets were brought into the sanctuary. From the congregation’s reaction, you would have thought Pearl drums were the mark of the beast. We had the same discussions about guitars, fiddles, Hammond organs, horn sections and lately, people have wanted to know why we still use the big organ in the room.

The worship wars aren’t about what instrument is playing. The worship wars are about who’s coming to worship.

Let me explain.

Every Sunday, people file into their pews and sit down. They fold their arms and defiantly look at the worship leader and silently say, “Do something.” The congregation grades the worship like Russian judges scoring ice skating at the Olympics. I was fully expecting the congregation to hold up score cards at the end of the worship experience. When the final song was sung, I thought I would look out across the congregation and find them holding up cards, “9.0”, “9.5”, etc. More than once, someone would walk by me as they left the service and say, “I didn’t get anything out of the worship service today.”

My answer? “Maybe it wasn’t your Sunday to get. Maybe this is the Sunday you were supposed to give. I can’t find one verse of Scripture that talks about getting something out of worship. I can find a whole Bible that talks about what we are to give when we come to worship.” For some reason, people stopped saying that to me after services on Sunday.

The real issue is how many of us show up empty to worship. We haven’t prayed all week. We haven’t studied Scripture nor have we joined Jesus in His redemptive work in the world around us. We don’t have anything to celebrate. We have no reason to praise. Simply put, we haven’t thought about God since the last time we were in church. We haven’t learned anything new about God. We haven’t experienced anything different about God and we haven’t grown in our faith. Then, we come to church and have the audacity to look at our worship leaders and expect them to bring worship to us.

They can’t.

We have to bring our own worship. Worship leaders can give us hooks for us to hang our worship on. They can give us forms to shape our worship, but they can’t bring worship to us. We have to bring our own worship. Whenever Jesus sent the disciples out to begin their own ministries, they would always return celebrating what they had been able to do in the name of Christ. The sick were healed. Demons were cast out. Most of us show up Sunday after Sunday never having seen Jesus do anything. Why are we surprised we find worship difficult?

I’m not immune to the worship wars. None of us are. We’ve all been in services where we hated the music or the sermon. That doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t.

Here’s what matters. Jesus has promised if two or three people are gathering in His name, He will be there. If I’m in a worship service, I don’t pay attention to the music. I count the congregation. If there are more than two or three people in attenance, that means Jesus is there too. He promised He would be there. If Jesus is in the building, I’m going to find Him. Jesus isn’t going to leave that building with my blessing in His pocket.

Nothing else matters. How can I find Jesus in this moment of worship? I’ve been in services where I didn’t understand the language. I’ve been in a lot when I didn’t like the music. Still, Jesus is in the moment and I’m going to find Him. It may be in the line of a hymn or the expression of a dear saint worshipping near me. It could be in the laughter of a child or the design of the sanctuary. The worship may be in some sacred memory that has come to mind.

But worship will be there because Jesus is there. I’m going to find my worship. I showed up to find Jesus and spend time with Him no matter the circumstances. I have enough to praise Jesus for. You do too.

So, this Sunday BYOW – Bring Your Own Worship. Our worship doesn’t depend on anyone else – just Jesus and us. If Jesus is there, worship is there. So, pack it up and take it with you this Sunday. Come to church BYOW.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.