Pep Rallies?

Pep Rallies?

Romans 8:37-39 (NASB)

One of my fondest memories of junior high school were the sports pep rallies. Pep rallies were usually a Friday phenomenon that preceded an athletic contest, i.e. football game. This was something new for this 12 year old. It seemed I had a new identity. I had a mascot, fight song, alma mater and sports team that represented me on the field of sports competition.

Next to the actual sports event, the pep rally was the greatest event of the week. Classes were suspended for this motivational and inspirational event that brought the student body, marching band, team and coaches together for a loud demonstration of school spirit.  

As I see it now, the underlying goals of these pep rallies were to build pride in the school and convince the football team and students that victory was within our grasp. The orchestration of these rallies was well thought out. The fight song blared from the marching band as the entire student body (packed into a reverberating gymnasium) cheered and clapped while the cheerleaders led the football team on to the court waving to their adoring peers. It was quite a rush of excitement. For a few brief moments we were the greatest students, in the greatest school with the greatest team and faculty in the world. After a few short inspirational speeches from team members and head coach, the band struck up the fight song once more, and the students cheered again with even greater frenzy.  Having heard the determined words from the team and coaches we were convinced victory was only hours away.

The pep rally ritual was a beloved tradition throughout my junior and senior high school years. I was fortunate, because most of the time our teams were successful in their campaigns. We hardly ever lost, but we did lose. For me, that first loss was a hard pill to swallow and pep rallies were never the same.  The assurance of victory was replaced with a definite maybe.  I wasn’t a sold out believer any longer, but a skeptic who needed more than a rally to convince me.

Worship is not a pep rally, as some would think.  In worship, jaded thoughts that entertain the possibility of defeat are replaced by a collective ‘holy gasp’ when we remember we participate vicariously in the ultimate victory over death (Romans 6:4) that is light years beyond our reach. The loud and bodacious celebration of a pep rally changes to humble worship when tempered by the realization that we are the most sinful congregation, in the most sinful church, led by the most sinful leaders and yet are draped in forgiveness and mercy. 

There are similarities in the rituals we share as part of gatherings such as pep rallies, but worship is not for convincing, it is for the convinced. Worship is remembering who we are and who He is. In worship we celebrate ultimate adoration for the ultimate adorer.

the friar

Change the Subject

Luke 18:9-14

In my first post, “Why Worship Together”, I wrote about the community aspect of worship. The most neglected part of Christian corporate worship is its communal nature.  We have forgotten how to worship together. Often worshippers are more dedicated to separating themselves across an auditorium than the acts of worship itself. Corporate worship needs an intimacy that is not only vertical, (between us and God) but also horizontal (between worshippers). We avoid one another because we carry that Garden of Eden virus called shame and would rather hide than be truly known.

The lack of community in worship does not go unnoticed by worship leaders. In an attempt to bring congregations closer together, worship leaders will sometimes use “icebreakers” to promote community.  At best, the leader will offer a time for the congregants to share a greeting with one another, sometimes called a “fellowship time”. At worst, something akin to a comedic monologue is offered to relax and engage the worshipper.  

More often, congregations will take matters into their own hands and engage in light conversation prior to a worship time to either meet their need for intimacy or satisfy curiosity. Subjects such as sports, clothing, weather and hairstyles are discussed at varying depths. Unfortunately, we have not shaken free of worldly cares and gained the courage to verbally share our common heritage (adoptees of the Creator of the Universe). We are afraid to get close to one another and share both holy praise and lament. Our pride keeps us strangers at the altar of grace.

The parable in Luke 18:9, contrasts men of different hearts who came to the Temple to speak to God. One stood proudly while the other fearfully cowered at a distance. One gave thanks for his supposed righteous stature while the other asked for mercy. One rejoiced in who he was not, while the other contritely admitted who he was.

This Sunday, engage fellow worshippers in more than small talk and shake loose from the language of the world that keeps us strangers. We need to change the subject.  We need to tell our stories and listen to the stories of others. The horizontal dimension of worship is realized when we recognize that God is the change agent in the stories of our peers. When we look into the eyes of our worship family and see the joy and pain of their stories, worship happens communally.  Remember the men in Luke 18: 9. Is our pride keeping us in separate pews or are we embracing others who are just like us; sinners in transition?

the friar