The longer I spend time here in the so-called “Bible belt,” the more fascinated I become by religion here in the U.S, which is blown about by every new wind.
Even though I grew up in this area of the country, I had been away long enough for several formative years, to become detached from the inherent legalism, traditionalism, Biblicism and fanaticism found throughout the religious movements and organizations of the Bible belt.
I’ve commented before on how it flabbergasted me to hear people speak from one side of their mouths on the importance of believing in “the Bible alone,” and then to spend their next breaths commenting on how “times have changed” and it is no longer necessary to adhere to “old fashioned traditions” — even those found in their Bible! I believe the context of this discussion was living with a partner before marriage, something the Church unequivocally considers to be inappropriate, unwise and a distortion of the marriage relationship, but it doesn’t matter, really, what the subject was.
On the subject of worship, as well, there are a number of peculiarities one can observe among the evangelicals.
To give an example, I remember seeing recently something about a sermon or sermon “series” (because one need always keep their target group wanting more, as any good marketing firm knows) on worship that emphasized the importance of worshipping for the glory of God and for His glory and honor, and not our own.
The irony of this is that, for many evangelicals, their idea of “worship” is a band and chorus of musicians and singers who regularly and intentionally would draw attention to themselves and their skills during what they call “worship.”
I fail to understand how “performance art” such as we find in America’s evangelical gatherings is “focused on God and His glory, and not our own” when there is so much emphasis on the skill of those involved. In fact, the congregation is often left to simply get caught up by the musical movement of the songs, the skill of the musicians or singers, and the emotionally-driven impact of it all (combined with careful lighting techniques, visual elements, technology, etc.).
Now, don’t get me wrong, I was very much a part of this so-called “worship” experience growing up, and I played guitar and bass guitar for these gatherings for much of my teenage and early adult life. However, what I quickly realized — the further away from all of this I became — was that the exact same sensations and emotional experiences I had in “worship” on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings were also had during the various rock concerts I attended (or participated in as a musician), along with emotionally-driven experiences listening to my favorite rock music at high volume while relaxing at home or in my car.
These “sensations” that people experience in these highly-charged, energized and emotionally-driven “worship” settings are not driven by the Spirit of God, but by our emotional attachment and reaction to music itself. Some people are more affected by this than others, but the bottom line remains the same: it is mostly a farce, and does little to actually point people towards a calm, collected and noetic experience of God. There is always the potential of a real encounter with God, of course, but the likelihood of that becomes slim as we focus more on emotion and performance than on soul and spirit.
It seems, then, that within the evangelical groups of America, the way one enters into the worship of God is through excitement, emotionalism, sensation and “getting pumped up,” to put it plainly.
On the contrary, however, the Orthodox Church — for two thousand years now — has approached the worship of Christ our God through calmness, solemnity, serenity and peacefulness. The entire worship experience for an Orthodox Christian is one of melting away the cares of this world and focusing on the glory of God the Father and the peace we find through the consolation of the Holy Spirit. We enter into the heavens through the Divine Liturgy, and therefore into the presence of God to receive Christ’s precious Body and Blood at the climax of our worship service. This is not something to be taken lightly or flippantly, as with the “worship” that is seemingly concerned more with fostering an emotional response and generating “excitement” within one’s person as you’ll find among the evangelicals. [Interestingly enough, then, it is no wonder that evangelicals rarely participate in the celebration of the Eucharist or "Lord's Supper," for that is often of little concern to them (whereas with the Apostles and the entire history of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, it is the central focus of all worship and devotion towards Christ).]
When worship becomes about excitement, being energized, and even entertainment, it is clear that it is about us, and not Christ.
This all leads me back to the encounter I had with two evangelicals who said “the times have changed.”
I suppose if your religious experience or “relationship with Christ” is based upon the seasons of change, one could easily retort to all of this “The times have changed! Worship can be exciting and entertaining now!” But again, how does this show that one is submitting in all areas of Faith to “the Bible?” Does the Word of God change? Does the manner in which we worship Him change? Does it really?
Lord, have mercy on us all, and may we always be focused on Christ in our worship and devotion, and not our own excitement and entertainment.
Great article. If more Evangelicals even knew about Orthodoxy, I am certain we would expand like never before.
While Orthodoxy worldwide dwarfs evangelicalism, I certainly agree and share your optimism. However, one must re-align their interests, beliefs and heart rather significantly — especially in America today — to see the benefit of Orthodoxy. It is certainly a counter-cultural, “anti-American” religion. For that, I’m beyond thankful.
Peace,
V
Hello Vincent, I’ve just started blogging myself. I’m so glad I came across this piece, it is a wonderful article and I will definitely check out more of your posts.
I too hope that we continue to gain converts from among the evangelical communities. So many of the evangelicals I have met have such a deep and all-encompassing love for God, they really do strive to keep Him in the center of their life. I think the reason so many find this difficult is because their spirituality is just as you described: vulnerable in its modernity and innovation, limited by its complete separation from historic Christian liturgical worship, and often becomes man-centered around the instrumental or vocal talents of the musicians, the passion or public speaking skills of the preaching minister, etc.
The reason people often end up in these churches is what my dad, who has enjoyed the few we’ve gone to, described as the “rush” he feels. This to me seems more like one’s experience of a rock concert than anything else, where people pack into the stadium in the hope of getting that “amazing feeling” as they lose themselves in the drama of the music and lighting and visual effects. When I’ve seen people at these services swaying and even dancing, I cannot help but think they are pursuing pleasure and sensory indulgence before worship of the Almighty. There are descriptions in the Old Testament of the Israelites dancing before God- of Miriam beating her tambourine as they escaped Egypt in Exodus, of the psalmist King David leaping before the Ark as it entered Jerusalem. Yet this kind of dancing, even if taken literally, is far more reverential and sacred than the rock concert mentality I’ve experienced at the Praise and Worship services I’ve attended.
I think for those mainline Protestants (and Catholics, for that matter) who crave the spiritual richness, rich sense of liturgical tradition, and transcendent majesty many of their parishes and communities are now abandoning in favor of more “innovative” and experimental worship styles (often in vain attempts to keep people in the pews), Orthodoxy will naturally be a “safe harbor” for them. The principal challenge, as I see it, is a lack of evangelism on our part. There is a reason we are often called the “best kept secret in America”- because we are. For how many Orthodox born into the faith does the Church become compartmentalized, as with Christians of other churches, as simply “what they do on Sundays” with their family? For how many is their life in the Church part of, but not the center of, their being?
As a new convert, perhaps I am overzealous in my desire to follow and carry out the Great Commission of our Lord. I would never presume to change the Church’s teachings, and I don’t think these need to be “modernized” at all. I do think many Orthodox who sincerely love their faith and treasure it, could do a better job of sharing it. If you have access to such a jewel, such an indescribable joy, how could you keep it to yourself? It is so easy to design and print up fliers giving the information about your local parish. You can leave them in any public area in the suburbs, in common areas of one’s university or apartment if one lives in a city.
I am a convert from Roman Catholicism. I have seen Catholic masses offered in the full solemnity and historic beauty of the Roman tradition, and I have seen masses with ‘folk choirs’ sporting guitars, trumpets, and even drums which are not entirely dissimilar from the evangelical Praise and Worship services. I have encountered many new converts still not quite used to the compelling beauty and solemnity of the Liturgy who come from non-liturgical traditions and are essentially overwhelmed by their experience of Orthodox worship in the first months. Gradually, they come to see how it is a much more full, historic and timeless, way of worshiping God that centers around worship of the divine. The liturgy brings the spiritually minded into the very heavens, as you wrote. It is this reason I think, its incredible transcendent power, that we will continue to guard it as a treasure to the end of time.
Thanks for your comments. I obviously agree with you that we should share our Faith, since I have a blog and do things like teach Bible study classes for our parish.
On the other hand, some caution is due, as the so-called “Great Commission” was given to the Apostles directly. This is even more clear in Acts, chapter 1, when only the eleven (plus the newly ordained Matthias) are present as Christ ascended into the heavens. This is where protestants/evangelicals “miss the boat,” so to speak – they’re not ON the boat, first of all. Without having apostolic succession and the RIGHT to minister on behalf of Christ as His rightly appointed successors, there is no possibility of fulfilling the “Great Commission.” Furthermore, as laypeople, we are limited in the extent of what we can (and should) do.
Ultimately, the local parish priest (and/or Bishop, if available in this large country of ours, where Bishops are spread out over a great distance) is responsible for fulfilling this Commission, as they are the ones rightly appointed through Christ’s one, apostolic Church to teach and make disciples of Christ through the Mysteries (e.g. Baptism, as mentioned in the passage in question) of the Church.
Thanks for reading, and I wish you great strength for the remainder of Lent.
In peace,
Vincent