Worship: The Anti-Selfie

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So it turns out so far in 2015, there have been 12 deaths resulting from selfie mishaps while there have only been 8 deaths resulting in shark attacks. 

We can roll our eyes at the selfie and think that those who take them are a narcissistic bunch. Maybe that is true, but the way I see it, the selfie is less an expression of narcissism and more an expression of how we in the Western part of the world value the individual.

In the U.S.A., the emphasis on the individual has entered into the mainstream debate almost every time you encounter the news.

• Does an individual have the right to take a gun anywhere they want to, even in places where guns had historically been banned?

• Does an individual have a right to privacy?

• Does an individual have the right to refuse a public office if part of the public office violates the individual’s beliefs?

We see the rights of the individual taken to extreme examples when people walk up to celebrities and take selfies with them, without the permission of the celebrity.

In 2006 TIME Magazine declared that the person of the year was “You”.

The rise of the individual has also brought with it a great number of goods. Women’s suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965, freedom to choose where and how to worship, social integration, and personal responsibility are just a few ways we are indebted to individualism.

I am not saying that individualism is good or bad, but rather that if we think that the youngest generations are selfish, entitled or freeloaders because they are somehow inferior as a people we may be missing a critical point here. These expressions of the individual may not reflect a narcissistic generation but a generation that has only expanded on the values of individualism they inherited.

And perhaps because individualism is a dominant value of our time is why we worship.

At the core, worship is the anti-selfie. Corporate worship is one of the last places in the world that is designed to de-center us from our own lives

Everything in worship is a de-centering practice. For instance:

• you follow a script that you did not write

• you are invited to sing - in public - when you might not normally do so

• you do not get to choose the words in the creeds

• you do not get to choose who preaches

• you do not get to choose where every dollar we give goes to

• you don’t get to choose how God will speak to us or what God will say

And perhaps because worship is the “anti-selfie” we see a number of people of all ages who do not like worship. Even the very idea of liking worship still places the the emphasis on personal preferences and not on de-centering oneself.

The very act of corporate worship is counter-cultural in the days of individualism because corporate worship forces us to step down off our individual throne from an hour and de-center ourselves.

If worship is going to the theater, the congregation is not the audience

Rev. Dr. Todd Renner shared with a workshop he was co-leading something from Kierkegaard and his metaphor of worship as theater. I have not read Kierkegaard to know the context of this metaphor, and I have not taken time to look the source up, but here is how Dr. Renner shared it to our group. 

There were three aspects of traditional theater:

1. Audience
2. Actors
3. Prompter (situated out so to cue the actors if they forget a line)

In worship it is commonly understood that:

1. The congregation is the audience
2. The preacher is the actor
3. God is the prompter - provoking/inspiring the actors

Kierkegaard used this metaphor but argued:

1. The congregation is the actor
2. The preacher is the prompter
3. God is the audience

I am not sure what to make of this at this time, it really is just something to meditate on and consider the role of worship in our lives. Consider what role you fill and where you see God in it all. 

Worship: Less Zoo, More Petting Zoo

The thing about the zoo is that when you go, the main attraction is behind walls or glass. The majestic tiger or the curious mongoose is something that you can observe at a distance. It is something that gives you the impression that you "know" the animals. A zoo is also a place that few people enter with a sense of "fear". Unless you are going to the zoo with Harry Potter, you will not find a rogue snake at a zoo roaming around. And since zoos are set up to be so distant, there is an elevated amount of energy put toward the zoo keepers. We are too distant to the animals so we talk with the zoo keepers who tell us what it is like to have direct encounters with the animals. We rely on a mediator to tell us about the animals. 

Things are different for a petting zoo. 

First of all, it is clear that you will have a close encounter with the main attraction of the petting zoo. There is no protective glass or barrier keeping the curious animals to come toward you. But perhaps more importantly, most people I have seen enter a petting zoo enter with at least a small amount of nervous energy because they are not sure exactly what can happen. Will a dove descend on them? Will a lamb push up against their leg? Will there be a snake that strikes a bit of fear in them? And since the animals are there in your lap, there is less interest in hearing about the experiences of the animal caretakers. It is clear that in a petting zoo that it is the animals that need the most attention. 

Worship needs to really be less like a zoo and perhaps more like a petting zoo. We ought to enter worship with a sense of energy, unsure of what will happen exactly, anticipating a close encounter with the mysteries of God (the main attraction). A place where we desire a direct encounter with God rather than primarily rely on hearing how a direct encounter with God might feel like.