February 06, 2007
Lean on Me
I remember the days when the tempo of the hymn dictated whether you sang it sitting or standing. Many worship directors today keep the congregation standing through the entire music portion of the service. Although they will tell you it’s OK to sit down if you can’t stand for that long, the peer pressure to stay standing remains. After all no one wants to look tired and old in the midst of all that enthusiastic praise. Personally, I believe keeping members standing for 20 to 30 minutes shows a lack of concern and respect for the elderly and those in poor health. Aging often requires ingenuity and I like Jacob’s solution. “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.” (Heb 11:21 NIV) Does anyone know where I can buy a staff?
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1 comment:
Gail;
----I suppose, though, we are pretty fortunate. If I remember my learnin’ right, the churches of the dark ages were without pews. And that standing had to be done on stone floors! Personally, I don’t mind standing, and sometimes I rather prefer it. In some circumstances standing does make the worship or event more expressive and meaningful. But too often that fact is used to imply the propriety of continuous standing.
----I think it is another manifestation of the mistaken idea that our relationship and interaction with the Lord is made of doing things. Although doing things does become the product of that relationship, and the relationship is somewhat a product of doing things. It is entirely wrong to presume that the things I do from great meaning to me have anything to do with your relationship to the Lord. The things you do proceed from your own relationship with Him. So why should I think that everyone should stand unless what I am actually thinking is that my relationship is the model relationship, and everyone should pattern theirs after it. The only other reason is if the Scripture itself evokes continuous standing. But it does not.
-----Last Sunday the music leader at our church invited those who wished to stand to stand. A couple folks did, here and there. Then a few more. Soon the compellation to stand spread to those in front of me, and they stood too. Then I could no longer see the projected lyrics. So I sat and leaned from side to side making sense of what I could see. What I could definitely make sense of was that if it were the stirring movement of “How Great Thou Art” as recast to a contemporary ditty that had everyone getting (but not clamoring) to their feet, then this rising-up would not have been riding across the congregation on the crest of such a slow rolling wave of peer-pressure.
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