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i drove up to turner falls today to pick up the kids from camp extreme and pull the trailer home. it was a good camp.
on the way home, i passed by this big warehouse (not sure if it was in oklahoma or texas. doesn’t matter anyway…) with a huge sign on the outside that said, Chairs 4 Worship.
after i got home, i did a little research and found out that it is a chair manufacturing company that specializes in chairs that churches or other kinds of organizations would use in their sanctuaries or auditoriums.
the name of the place made me think. the name was so blunt. and it said way more than the owners intend.
somewhere in the midst of our buildings and bands and fancy video projection and oratorical masters and…soft, over-stuffed, stackable chairs…we have created a definition of worship that can’t be found in the bible.
i have this image of a bunch of comfortable chairs, lined up neatly and symmetrically around the foot of the cross. it’s a painful image. worship on chairs? are you kidding me? give me a short leash for a moment…
there are two primary words for worship in the new testament. the first is a combination of two different words: the prefix is “pros”, meaning towards or in the direction of. it’s where we get the word prostrate…the idea of laying face down, spread-eagle, in front of someone or something. the second half of the word is “kuneo”, the greek word for kiss.
the first definition of worship, then, is to kiss towards or better yet…to lay face down and offer expressions of love and adoration. whoa. pretty intense.
the second word for worship in the new testament is “latrueo”…and it is the word found in romans 12:1…
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.
the “flip-side” of the coin of worship means to roll up your sleeves and go to work. it means to climb on the altar of life and offer your body…your time and talent and effort and sweat and service to god. and when you do that, it’s worship. wow. even more intense.
so how did chairs get into the equation? this is messed up.
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