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I read this article today from a blog called Catalyst Space. I could easily identify with the article. Long story. It talked about how Pastors have become Rock Stars. The blog posts says if you are a pastor and you are a rock star you need to change. In short, its not about you. Thats how I feel about worship. I know a guy who used to sell orthopedic shoes, he led worship at my church. I remember two things about him leading worship. First.  He wasn’t entertaining me. He was worshiping the creator of the universe and I was invited along to worship with him. Second. He didn’t seem to notice anything around him, didn’t care how he looked, he simply was worshiping with voice and guitar and we were welcome to sing along with him. That is rare. Unfortunately rare.

Recently I attended a Catholic Mass for a special occasion, a wedding or funeral or something and I left there with a few thoughts about my evangelical..contemporary..protestant way of worship.
First: Catholics have better buildings. Just the architecture lends itself to worship and reverence. A coffee shop with a theater lends itself to community and entertainment.

Second: The Mass we attended had the musicians, aka worship leaders, primarily hidden from view. They were in an orchestra pit of sorts behind the pulpit. Again, the focus was on the cross, the moment, not on who the drummer was, or the shoes the guitarist was wearing.

So my thoughts are this:

What if my church closed the curtains. What if the cross was front and center. What if the music was the same. The vocalists the same. What if the two jumbotron screens displayed the same lyrics, but the band..the worship leaders were hidden behind the cross. What if they were second. What if I was second. Then would the object of our worship be first?

What if.

Perhaps then the music would also be secondary. Then the hymn or Crowder anthem would be less of an issue.
What if.

Perhaps then folks would be more apt to worship in their own way without regard to the 14 faces staring back at them during an intimate moment with God?

What if.

Perhaps the draw to a really nice theater at 9:00 a.m. on  a Sunday morning was worship, not a produced 1 hour 10 minute production that is repeated identically in 11 other locales in the 937?

Disclaimer:

For the last 14 years I have been a Christ Follower. I have worshipped my creator in a tiny 200 year old church with organ and hymns with all 40 members of the congregation. I have worshipped my savior in a park in Miami Florida in a bi lingual service where english was neither of the two languages, I have worshipped the Son of Man in the midst of 7000 others in one of the largest mega churches east of the Mississippi and have worshipped Christ with hundreds in a back ally in Havana. Worship can happen any where, at any time, by anyone who is willing to put themselves second and put the object of their worship first.  The point of this blog post is to simply question whether or not we can find a way to put our focus where it should be with a change of the drapes.