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oakbrook church -morgan young 10.8.06

(This first section in quotations is from my journal)

Starbucks Community Church Nov 14, '05, 9:41 am, Starbucks Kokomo

"Everyone comes to Starbucks: business men in pleated Dockers and polo shirts, business women smartly dressed--hair and personality up tight, older ladies proudly wearing autumn scene-stitched sweatshirts; their husbands with Members Only jackets and white New Balance shoes, students still young enough to look fashionable in sweats, pit-stopped travelers in baggy comfortable clothes--stretching and flexing like over-sized gymnasts--then quickly scouting the little boys' or girls' room, bohemians in worn cargo pants, sock hats and multiple frayed wristbands. And then there are guys like me-- looking at all of them trying to figure out what is hip and cool for a guy of my age, build, and place in life.

All of us find our way to the counter; some swiftly, sure and confident of their order, others sheepishly slow, hanging by the over-priced travel mugs trying to make a decision. Caf., half caf., no caf., tall, grande, venti, extra shot, lite, black, Carmel Macchiato. We have no problem parting with a five, getting back little change as long as we get our drink of choice; our personal customized favorite.

I have a hunch that if I were to go around this shop butting into their lives asking what they're drinking, I wouldn't get simple answers like, "Pumpkin Spiced Latte," but little commercials subtly justifying why it is so good and that in fact, I too should order one.

Once upon a time in America coffee was just coffee. It's hard to believe, but it was just one line on a menu and it was pocket change. Now it's an entire experience, an entire menu and entirely expensive, but that's ok; we like it this way. We get exactly what we want, our way. And I feel like that phrase, "what we want, our way," is not just about Starbucks, but about our entire life experience.

Coffee used to be one menu line and we drank it. Television was three channels and we all watched them. Church was church and we went to it (well, I didn't but that's another story). Now, in every part of my life I'm choosing my preferences from complex menus. But then on Sunday morning, this strange phenomenon happens...

All of us weird, diverse, personal-preference Starbucks people plop down into a seat in a church and we all try to watch the same channel; we all try to drink from the same cup. (Have you ever tried to watch TV with your grandparents? Tried to listen to the radio with your kids?) And every week, invariably its, "Too strong, too weak, not the right flavor, too fancy, too plain, served with too much hospitality or not enough." And just as hard as it is to get any ten people to equally like a Vanilla Latte, so it is for those same ten people to equally like the Sunday offering.

As I write this, it occurs to me that you and I are a long way from Jesus' Jerusalem. I would have been thankful to have a hot meal or any kind of warm drink. I would have been thankful that my clothes even somewhat fit and smelled only somewhat bad. But I'm a long way from Jesus' Jerusalem, and now I seem to be most thankful and blessed for my personal-preferenced life.

Now if I can only find a church with my fashion sense, reflecting my iWorshipTunes, and talks like Bill, Rick,
Erwin, Louie, Rob or Andy. I think I'm looking for the Starbucks Community Church."

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That's a subtle picture of maybe THE struggle of our time: being a consumer and being a Christ follower at the same time. It's a struggle because the heart of consumer and the heart of a worshiper are polar opposites.

And you and I are consumers. In fact some studies say that the number one leisure activity of Americans is SHOPPING.

And how we consume has changed drastically over the years. Starbucks is an example; it used to be one menu item, now it's an entire experience.

And if you want to see some consumers overwhelmed with making a decision, go to the paint chip section at Lowes. "Which one of these 47 shades of green is just the right one for Meghan's room?"

Now virtually every section of every mega-store is its one store within a store. Want to look at 26 different TVs, just go to Best Buy.

And more and more, we're not just checking out the selection in one mega-store; we're shopping online. So by mouse clicks, we're virtually shopping the entire continental United States to find the perfect blender, the perfect color at the perfect price.

As consumers we're all about getting exactly what we want, our way.

And I am no different than you on this, in many ways I'm probably worseever know someone with an artistic temperament that was short on opinions & preferences?! ;-)

But here's the thing: Every time I'm in consumer mode, every decision I make is all about me. What I like, my color choice, the price I want to pay, I like this feature, this one suits me best, I just feel better about this one (on & on).

I don't think any of us want or try to be these "me-driven" creatures, but if we're honest with ourselves when we get into "consumer mode" it can be hard to get out of it.

So when we leave Starbucks or Clay Terrace to come to church, it's hard to turn off the "It's all about me" mode that we never consciously turned on in the first place.

This is hard for me personally, and it's hard for Christians in general because worship is just the oppositeworship is all about God and NOT ABOUT ME.

Worship is BIG GOD little me. Consuming is all about me.

Say "BIG GOD little me." (audience reply)

I don't care if that's only thing you remember today. If you're prone to sleep in church I now give you permission to proceed.

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BIG GOD little me, is a great place to start with worship, because worship is kind of hard to describe.

Most of the time we think of "worship" as a Sunday service or it's the time in the service when we're singing. Those things ARE worship, but those are only little examples of it.

Worship can be personal (something I/YOU do): praying, talking, singing, acts of service, "engaging" God in any way imaginable.

It can be corporate (something WE do--group): singing together, praying in groups, serving together, or anything a group of people can do that honors God.

The Hebrew word for worship is "shahah" (shae-hah) and it means to "bow down," and literally to "kiss the hand of a king."

In other words, worship starts with us realizing that God is the Creator King and we are the created.

Realizing He is the King who saves us and apart from Him we have no eternal life.

Realizing that even though in a consumers world, we have all the power and we make all the choices, that as Christ followers our King has all the power and He calls all the shots.

Again, "shahah" is BIG GOD little me.

(Man I want you to get this) worship is not just singing songs and coming church. Worship is a lifestyle of lovingly submitting our life to what God says in response to what He's lovingly done for us. Worships isn't some "thing"; it's EVERYTHING.

(Key verse) Romans 12:1-2 says worship is 24/7 --- 24 hours a day, seven days a week:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to Godthis is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" Romans 12:1-2 niv

The Message breaks it down like this:

"Take your everyday, ordinary life---your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life---and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it."

Romans 12 says worship is 24/7.

It says that everything we do is our worship to God. And if worship means to "bow down and kiss the hand of a King" then everything we do should be under God's authority. BIG GOD, little me.

I gotta talk about this for a minute: This is a key piece about worship and a HUGE cornerstone about being a Christ follower; and to be honest, I think Christians on the whole are missing this whole "God's in charge" component to our lives. Let me try to explain what I mean:

As we mature as Christ followers, we get exposed to Sun. morning biblical teaching (here or @ other churches). We get in a small group and get exposed to God's Word. We spend time alone reading through the Bible. In other words, we're exposing our life to how this BIG totally in-charge God says things should go.

One of the most common responses to information these days, in general, in the culture is, "Well, I feel" "Yeah, but I think" In other words, we rarely take anything at face value. We decide what we think is right and appropriate for us. "Yes, that's good for you, but for my family" There is something about our culture that makes us feel like it's our right in all things to determine how things are going to play for us and our family.

Please hear me: There is a temptation for this pattern of the world, the "I thinks" & "I believes" to slip into the lives of Christ Followers. When I am exposed to biblical Truth and respond with "Yeah but, I feel" "I know it says this, but I think"whenever I do that (respond to God's Word with "but I feel & I think") I am switching BIG GOD little me, for BIG ME little God.

One of the cornerstones to worship (Christianity) is exchanging "I believe" and "I think" for "God says." (repeat)

"I believe" & "I think" are very consumeristic responses. "God saystherefore I'm going to do" is a very worshipful response. "God saystherefore my family is going to" is a worshipful response to the decisions of this world.

Let me give you some real simple dangerous examples of how this can play out:

We say: "I don't feel comfortable singing in front of people." (I have!)

God says: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16 niv

We say: "I don't think I have the time to get out and serve people right now."

God says: "But if anyone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help--how can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions." 1 John 3:17-18 nlt

Those are things that reflect "the pattern of this world"they're things any non-Christian would say; they're things consumers say. Here are things worshipers say:

"God, I know you want to be worshiped in song. You created me, you even made this voice that doesn't sing so well. I want to worship you in song but it doesn't come natural. Father, You want my worship. Help learn to worship you in this way."

"God I am feeling the tension of knowing (on one hand) you want me to worship You through serving, and (on the other hand) not having any time. God, show me what you want me to say 'no' to, show me how to make time to serve You as I serve others."

Worshipers live out BIG GOD little me by continually exchanging "I feel" & "I think" for "God says." Worshiping isn't so much what we sing, it's what we actually do with this life God's given us.

**********************

In Romans 12, God warns us not to conform to the pattern of this world. One of the ironies of one of the patterns of this world is that it is full of worship; it's just not people worshiping God exactly.

And there's a biblical caution, for us to be aware of what we worship, because God says we become like the thing we worship.

We can all see this in the culture:

There's financial worship. Every time you see a greedy person, money is providing their security instead of God.

There's stuff worship. Every time you see a materialistic person, things are helping them feel good about themselves instead of grounding their identity in Christ.

There's self worship. Every time you see a person who's full of ego or pride, they make themselves big and made God small. They repel their friends and at the end of the day they're really not happy.

There's sinful habit worship. Every person stuck in addiction is trying to use lethal stuff to create false happiness; trying to provide the joy that God wants to provide.

There's kid worship. The family isn't centered around a BIG GOD, but instead the family is second to the kids' desires or the parents desire for the kids.

And a spirit of, "trying to give our kids a better life than we had" becomes a life without God calling the shots, and the kids never learn BIG GOD little me, they accidentally learn that life is all about them.

Anytime that anything takes God's place, that place of highest importance, we're worshiping the wrong thing.

In Psalm 115 God warns us about misplaced worship. He says:

"But their idols (things they worship) are silver and gold,

Made by the hands of men.

They have mouths, but cannot speak,

Eyes, but they cannot see;

They have ears, but cannot feel,

Feet, but they cannot walk;

Nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them." Psalm 115:4-8 niv

The Psalmist says that we will be like what we worship. And as you and I live everyday, there's a struggle for our worship. The world and the evil one pull at us to put things in GOD's place of most importance. There's a constant pull to make it so that your life looks more like BIG ME little God.

I hope I'm making you curious about your worship. It's a healthy thing to take a worship inventory. Ask yourself things like:

Who do I hang out with?

Where/how do I spend my time?

Where does my money go?

What do I think about most?

If you can't find reflections or hints of God in your answers, it's time to get intentional about worship. It's time for you to do the next right thing by consciously responding to God in how you spend your time, what you say, what you do that reflects the glory of God.

Let me help you do that by defining more what worship is:

Worship is the combination of our words AND actions.

Which would you prefer?:

A spouse who tells you 10 times a day he/she loves you?

Or, one who's 100% faithful to you and is consistently doing things to show he/she cares?

Kids who tell you how much they love and appreciate you?

Or kids who are trustworthy and obey you out of love because they believe you have their best interest in mind?

Friends who tell you that you're really important to them?

Or friends who are there for you in your toughest times, that have been trustworthy with your most intimate stuff?

The answer is BOTH. We want words AND actions. God is the same way, He wants our words of worship (songs, prayers, conversations) and our actions of worshiphe wants words and the deeds of our 24/7 life to reflect His glory.

Jesus talked about worship and said,

"But the time is comingindeed it's here nowwhen true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way." John 4:23 nlt

A true worshiper of God is someone who's accepted Jesus as their savior and because of that, the Holy Spirit is in them. So God wants worshipers that aren't acting the part of a good church attender.

He's looking for people who've come to believe that Jesus Christ is His sinless Son, who willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross so that His blood could wash their sins.

It's someone for whom Jesus has become personal, not historical. "Worshiping in spirit" means there's a mystical relationship going on between you and Jesus Christ. It means your worship is based on a relationship, not religion.

And God is looking for true worshipers whose lives look like BIG GOD little me. In every area of their life they're trying their best to say, "Not my will but THY will be done." They're making honest efforts to exchange "I think" & "I feel" for "God says." They're trying to be a 24/7 reflection of God's glory. "Worshiping in truth" means that it's not enough to just sing your heart out to the latest Chris Tomlin worship CD; true worshipers live lives of faith in action.

And God wants both. He wants our worshipful words and the actions of 24/7 worshipful lives.

Quick recap: worship is:

* our words and actions

I've saved the biggest reason to worship God for last. Love. Worship begins and ends with love:

God loved us so much that His only Son died for us.

And so worship is our response to the most miraculous gift everthe gift that wiped our sins, gave us eternal life and His Holy Spirit.

Love is why we want to bow down to a loving God.

Love is why we want to serve a loving God and His people.

Love is why we want to live a life that reflects BIG GOD little me.

(from The Air I Breathe Louie Giglio pg 43-44)

"God doesn't let us worship Him for free. Our worship cost Him the life of His only Son. Bringing us from death to life required someone besides us paying the ultimate penalty for our sin.

That's why at the center of all true worship stands a wonderful cross; the cross on which the Son of God died.

But how can that cross be called wonderful? Isn't it a scene of shame? Isn't its beam a place of suffering?

Absolutely. The Roman cross was a cruel and painful ending. It was a place of execution. Rusted nails. Pierced flesh.

The cross meant humiliation. Judgment. The cross was agony. A place where people hung until breathing and heartbeats ceased.

Jesus experienced the most horrific death imaginable. There's nothing wonderful about how He died. What's wonderful about His cross is why He died.

Something truly amazing was happening that day as God offered a ransom for the whole world---Jesus becoming sin and shame, suffering and dying for you and me.

To some, it may have appeared that Jesus was being railroaded through the courts of justice and taken by sheer force to die among common criminals. But that's not so.

No one took Jesus' life. He laid it down, willingly satisfying the wrath of a holy God. He chose the cross in order to demonstrate that God was both loving and just. He gave His life so we could receive ours back again. Men may have driven the nails through His hands and feet, but He died because God was sacrificing His only Son.

The cross was the Father's determined end for His Son. The cross was God's idea; God's redemption plan. The cross was the way the door would be opened. The cross was the only way rebels could ever truly worship again.

Yes, it's a blood-stained cross, but a wonderful cross. In fact, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

The cross of Christ is a cross of healing. A place of unconditional love. A place of sweet embrace. From His cross rings salvation's song, declaring to all that redemption has come. From it flows forgiveness free. The cross of Christ is a place of peace.

And the place where true worship begins.

In fact, even as Jesus was dying, worship was very near.

Remember the story? A Roman Centurion was standing there, doing his job while Jesus breathed His last breath. As Jesus died, the heavens rumbled and darkened, and the earth shook with awe. All of creation shuddered at the sight.

Then, witnessing the greatest act of mercy history has ever known, this Roman soldier---who with his companions had stripped, beaten, mocked, and crucified Jesuswas compelled to proclaim, "Truly this man was the Son of God."

Amazing! This supposed enemy of Christ was the first of many to have his eyes opened to God's redemption story. He was the first among us to see the wonder of it all.

And in a heartbeat, right there in the midst of the stench and sorrow, worship began at the foot of the cross."

(listen to Sarah sing Wonderful Cross by C. Tomlin)

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us,

but to Your Name be the glory

because of Your love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1-2

The Psalmist said we become like what we worship, so when we worship God, we become like Christ.