Worship, Praise, Liturgy – and Eschatological Participation

Much worship today is influenced by our contemporary western, individualistic, and atomised culture. This is so, whether we are discussing contemplative of charismatic spirituality. However while there is a Biblical emphasis on personal devotions, there is also a stress on corporate, gathered worship, as the people of God. 

Church Hurt

Throughout my ministry, I’ve often met people who have been hurt by their experience of church. Of course, sometimes their complaint may not be justified – but sometimes it is, and that should not be! We are here to heal not hurt. But these people (often called ‘victims’, but who are really ‘survivors’, of abuse) are frequently ignored, not listened to. Consequently, many drift away, or deliberately renounce, their faith, and church, because they equate their treatment, at the hands of pastors, and/or church members, with what Christ is all about. 

Church: Physical, Virtual, Aboriginal, Spiritual – Theological Options

During the pandemic, we’ve become sued to online church. Virtual gatherings, one-to-one conversations, and pastoral care, replaced ion-person physical encounters. In some cases, these were enrichments, enabling, for example, people to attend Life-Groups, who had never been able to come physically: e.g. single parents, shift-workers. 

Why I carry on

I read some social media posts recently, about how there seems to be a lot of pastors in the US, who are leaving vocational ministry. I don’t know if the same is true for the UK; and in any case, it is largely anecdotal, there doesn’t seem to be any statistical corroboration. But it prompted me to wonder why. Certainly, in Britain too, there is disillusionment among pastors.

In commenting, I'm not setting myself up as superior. I too have suffered from discouragement, disillusion, and depression, frequently during my ministry. I think I’ve not recovered from burn-out for the last ten years. Probably, once a week, I think about leaving it all. But somehow, I’m still here: it reminds of a TV sketch by Rory Bremner in the 1990s, of PM John Major, who despite all the scandals, kept repeating “I’m still here”.