Kanisa Linajengwa Na Kina Nani?

"God's church is being built by who?"

That's the question the congregation of New City Fellowship sang with great joy this past Sunday morning, followed by the exuberant response: "God's church is being built by old men, by mamas and papas, by children and youth, by all people from everywhere."

The worship debates rage as strongly as ever in the US, as far as I can tell. Pentecostals perpetuate a theology of power, based on teachings of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles' miraculous signs and wonders that marked the ministry of the early church. Many Catholics might counter with a worshipful theology based on brokenness, centered around the crucifixion and echoed in the humility and suffering Paul and the others experienced in the early church. Presbyterians love to quote the passage about "orderliness" in worship, while members of all traditions turn instead towards the Psalms which call God's people to dance and sing, to bang on tambourines and drums and whatever else we can find in mad joy over God's presence. My Easter and Christmas services were marked by the overwhelming mystery of the Incarnation and Resurrection, a mystery symbolized in the high church worship of 2nd Pres, but we never talked much about Paul's command to the church to make sure they have an interpreter when, as part of corporate worship, people were to speak in tongues and heavenly languages. Probably a similar oversight among charismatic churches would be neglecting the passage where Paul makes it clear that tongues are not to be considered among the higher gifts.

Paradox marks our faith at every turn. Funny thing is, most of our churches are based on theologies that make their stand on only one side of the Bible's many apparent conflicts. "Your worship doesn't reflect the joy of the lord, it's so bound by tradition, it's so dead," says one side. "Your worship is too focused on people, it's distracting, it doesn't show God enough respect or reflect the majesty of the King," says the other. And with a total lack of self-awareness, we shout scriptures at each other, using God's Word to fight God's Word.

While the worship team cried out, "Who will build God's church?" I noticed that one of the Kenyan singers was wearing a traditional Indian outfit, while an Indian percussionist was wearing a traditional African shirt. The singer is a young girl who has been pseudo adopted by an Indian family in town while she goes to school, the percussionist an Indian elder who has learned how to serve God amidst a congregation that breaks all the rules. Kenyans and Indians don't get along. Not in Nairobi, anyway. But in this church, they share clothes.

In fact, sharing clothes, food, and other cultural activities is simply part of what it means to be a Christian at NCF. And maybe a survey of what the Bible says about worship would reveal one stunning, overwhelming truth: the biggest mistake a church could make in worship is to do it all one way. Maybe the idea that God allows his people to pick their favorite worship type, and more tellingly, their favorite social demographic to worship with, is a lie from Satan. Maybe God created culture because we're His image bearers, and He's too big to be captured by any one group. That's the way New City sees it. That's what our church is teaching us. And when Paul talks about sacrificial worship, we know a bit more of what he means. From not understanding every third song (we sing in 5 different languages), to sacrificing "excellence for God" to stylistic diversity and all the chaos that results, to dealing with the much deeper issues that result from embracing the "ministry of reconciliation" in a community that actually physically demonstrates why reconciliation is needed, worshiping at NCF is neither easy nor simple. But neither is God. And neither is the worship that He calls us to, worship that includes rich and poor, black and white, young and old, liberal and conservative, every tongue, tribe and nation, not because "they" need it, but because He demands it. Maybe it's time to put on someone else's clothes for a change.

Peace,
Michael

*Sorry about another post that focuses on our church! The truth is, our experience at NCF has been one of the most amazing experiences of our lives (much as our time at ICF in Memphis!), and we just want to talk about it! Look for a general update later this week!