Is Worship Just Too Casual?

Gary: Now, Contending for the Faith. In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question: “Dear Dave and Tom, I know I’m just an old coot, but I think I have a legitimate gripe here. I observe my fellow Christians today as they come to church to supposedly worship God, and for many (not all), there seems to be an attitude that borders on disrespect. That ‘whatever makes me comfortable’ priority is apparent in the coffee mugs carried down the aisles, the ball caps worn throughout the service, the bare midriffs displayed, t-shirts with worldly ads that border on the gross, and I could go on and on. I know the church sanctuary is just a building, but doesn’t gathering in a place in His name and in His presence demand some respect on our part? Do you think this bothers God at all, or just an old fogey like me?”

Tom: Dave, I think this letter shares some thoughts that maybe run through many of our minds. It isn’t just the young people either. You’re in church, guy’s wearing a hat, ball cap, he’s praying with a hat on…you know, I think it has to do with reverence or irreverence, don’t you?

Dave: Yeah, absolutely. We have lost the fear of God. “There is no fear of God before their eyes,” the Scripture says. Tom, part of it is I’ve seen the so-called worship team dressed like this. And I think the first spiked hair I saw was in a worship team. Well, I don’t think they would dare to do that before the throne of God. 

We need to remember we are not there to entertain ourselves. That’s one of the problems of so-called worship teams. I’m not condemning all of them, but there are many who fall into this category. They are promoting their own supposed artistic musical ability. They are performing, they’re showing off. They get paid for this, some of them rather handsomely. Demand a king’s ransom for them to appear. Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit…

Tom: No, Dave, I was at Willow Creek—these are professionals. Everyone who’s on that stage, and it is a stage, they are professional actors, musicians, whatever it might be. 

Dave: Yeah. So the point I’m making is it’s not worshiping God, but it’s entertaining ourselves, entertaining people who come on a Sunday morning to be entertained. And you would not dare to do that in the throne room of God. You would be on your faces before Him.

Tom: But, Dave, can we make a distinction here? Again, this is not a sanctuary in which…you know, it’s just a building. It’s a place where we gather together. But let’s move away from the worship team, let’s move onto the congregation. I was at a church that just moved into a new building. I spoke there, and the Sunday that I was there was the first time they used the sanctuary, and the pastor put a big sign up: “No drinks, no wearing of caps.” Because he wanted, you know, starting off with a new sanctuary, and we’re gathered in the presence of the Lord. You know, “where two or more are gathered together, there He is among us,” and so on. 

Dave: Right.

Tom: And that was something he just wanted to lay down. I don’t think he was legalistic, but he was laying down the law: this is the way you’re going to, if you’re going to enter into this place, this is the respect, this is the reverence you need to show. And he put on a sign. What do you think of that?

Dave: Well, Tom, I don’t like the word “sanctuary,” because it’s not a sanctuary. As you said, it is just a building. However, the church comes together. We’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Christ said, “When two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” We are supposedly coming in the name of the Lord. We’re coming to honor the Lord. We’re coming to worship the Lord. The prayers are directed to Him. The songs ought to be directed to Him. We come there to worship the Lord. So you just wouldn’t act that way in the presence of God. And do we expect the Lord to be there? Well, we expect Him to be there. He said that He would. So we come there to commune with Him, to worship Him.

And…well, Tom, the only rule, and this is not a legalistic rule, the only rule that I would come up with would be: If it fits the throne room of God, then it’s okay. If you wouldn’t dare to wear this or say this or act like this…

Tom: Or indulge in something while you’re there.

Dave: …in the throne room of God, you better not do it in a so-called church sanctuary. 

Tom, we even have a recognition of this in the unsaved world. You go into—you want to get a loan from the bank president. You are ushered into the president’s office. You don’t go in there wearing short pants and—at least not in most of them. If it’s a little town, little hick town, okay, but not in Beverly Hills. Not in downtown Los Angeles. You wouldn’t do that to the president, they wouldn’t let you in the White House, and so forth. We recognize some respect for dignitaries, and certainly God is the supreme Dignitary. Then we need to show some respect to Him. 

Now, I know there are people listening (or maybe they’re not listening; they already turned it off) who are not liking what I’m saying. They think anything goes, okay? And then that becomes a problem in our attitudes. Same thing in schools, public schools, Tom. The looser you get, the worse the attitude becomes. And we certainly don’t want that when we’re coming before the Lord. So why not? Why not show some respect?

Tom: Well, again, Dave, as you say, the emphasis is on “creature comforts.” Pleasing self.

Dave: Right.

Tom: Not reverence and awe of God, and not the respect that it really demands.

Dave: And, Tom, we ought to mention that the Catholic Church—not all of them now, but in the old world, you go to South America, you go to Italy or Spain, they come with great reverence. They’ve got the wrong doctrine, the wrong Jesus. They’ve got so much just wrong, yet they still have something right, and that is the reverence that ought to be.