I wanted to take a moment and respond to a comment left by " Seth" here on my blog. Seth, I believe is LDS, and left the following comment in response to my blog post about "worship" I shared yesterday.
" Lack of proper worship is hardly a unique LDS trait. I doubt that most Evangelicals in the USA , for instance, participate in "worship" to the degree you have discovered. This is just human nature. Not "Mormon nature". "
I wanted to point out that I agree that The LDS Church is certainly not the only Church out there that doesn't set apart time each week during their Church services for "worship". There are a number of Christian Churches and denominations that really don't spend much time in "worship" during their services. I would make mention that Fundamental Baptist Congregrations do not use music outside the hymns and do not dedicate a set time for "worship" as I described yestereday.
With that said, I would "disagree" with Seth, by saying that most Evangelical Churches *do* spend a considerable amount of time during their Sunday Services in Worship. That is a common "trait" of Evangelical Churches or a pratice that does appear to "set them apart" from other denominations. In defence of the Baptists, I would also say that there are some Baptist churches out there as well that devote time in their Sunday services to "worship". Although, Baptist tradition is rather formal and use of traditional hymns are more common.
I have visited a few Evangelical Churches and when I left the LDS church I did considerable research on local churches here and without exception Evangelical Churches ( non denominational and denomination) do see worship as am important part of their Sunday service and do set apart some time for worship service. Some , even have "worship bands" .
I also have to point out to Seth, that I do believe it is "human nature" or the "flesh" that naturally does not spend time in worshipping the Lord. Thus, the need to "crucify" the flesh and become a new creature in Christ Jesus! Thus the need to become "born again" and become filled with the Holy Spirit, and when we are filled with the Holy Spirit we are more inclined to desire to praise God, lift our hands to heaven and worship the king of Kings!
I agree with Seth, that this lack of worship is truly not a "Mormon thing" . Sadly, many churches today, do not set a time apart for worship. I merely was using my experience in the LDS church as a comparison to what I now experience with the body of believers I fellowship with.
Thanks Seth, for your comment and for the chance to respond.
God bless,
gloria
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Thanks for the thoughtful response. I also acknowledge there are places the LDS Church might do better. I don't think any Mormon is justified in claiming an infallible Church. I think our Sundays tend to be just a little too busy sometimes, and it ceases to be the day of rest the Lord intended it to be.
ReplyDeleteNot saying I don't still totally believe in Mormonism and adhere to it. I do believe in it.
I just don't think we've worked out all the kinks in the system. And I'll admit I get mighty jealous at descriptions of Eastern Orthodox worship, with it's rich symbolism and scope of personal ritual.
But one final note - do keep an open mind as to what constitutes "worship." Worship can come from a lot of odd places. Make sure you don't overlook it just because it looks unfamiliar.
I attend a Southern Baptist Church and we spend about the first 30 minutes in worship. I love it. It is so different from LDS Sacrament meetings which I always found so *blah*. For those who follow Christian music, the band Casting Crowns started in a Southern Baptist Church in Georgia. So, although more fundamentalist Baptists (say Independent Baptists) don't heavily "worship" with music, many Baptists do. My church is actually getting ready to move to having a traditional service and a contemparary service. My family and I will likely head the contemparary route.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless and Happy Easter!!
Darrell