Discovering Worship
I gained a new insight into the dynamics of group worship while at the Marked Leadership Camp. The environment we found ourselves in played against the stereotype of how to set up for great worship. First, we were a small group–only 34 of us on most nights. Some might have said that we did not have critical mass. We were in an outdoor tabernacle that was simple and even a little cluttered. The seating was homemade wooden benches that were moderately comfortable. The tabernacle was open sided which added to our attendance in the form of gazillions of mosquitoes and other pests. It also helped us to fully experience the heat and humidity. This definitely wasn’t a new, air-conditioned building with individual padded seating. We had two worship leaders who each played an acoustic guitar. No drums, no keyboards, and no backup singers.
Yet after being together for about four days, something happened in our worship. It became powerful, moving, and indescribable. Everyone became more engaged and interactive. The Spirit was present in a way that I had not felt during a worship gathering in quite a long time. When the celebration was over, everyone seemed to linger, not really wanting to ascend the hill back to the lodge. What changed? What happened?
We had become a true community. We had grown together as we were challenged to look deep within ourselves and identify all that God had placed within us. We had encouraged one another as we tapped into this potential and we began to develop into leaders. We faced fears and anxieties and tackled them. We overcame. We blossomed. It was amazing. The experience in worship was the result of a gathering of individuals who had opened up their lives to God and to each other. We were a true community. And we still are. We have each gone back to our “regular” lives, but we are no longer “regular.” Something has changed within us because of this awesome experience. That group of 34 people will always be a community because of what we hold in common. I look forward to worshiping with that group again.
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