Leaving it Behind

Ok so I've got a bunch of things spinning through my mind right now and I think I need to go "blah" and just get them all out. So it probably won't be pretty and it might sound a bit angry. I just need to get it out so I can move on.

Today a pretty famous worship leader did chapel for our school. This guy has wrote some incredible songs, and we do a lot of them at chapel pretty regularly. He seems like such a cool guy and you can tell his heart is in the right place. He has such a heart for worship and a desire to just bless God and be in His presence. But man, today felt like such a show. Not necessarily because of what he did, but because of how all the students responded.

This is the second time this month I've been able to worship with some pretty "famous" worship leaders, and each time I've been pretty appauled at how people can act. I just wonder if anyone realizes how much idolatry is taking place, and how as a whole body I don't think our hearts were turned completely toward God. Of course I can't be one to judge that, but there are things that people do that can make that clear.

I'm reading two books on worship right now, and in one of them it's talked about idolatry and just the rock culture in general and how we've become more worshippers of music rather than responding to God in worship through music. Today one of the guys on the worship team played this really really amazing flute solo with the worship leader on guitar. He got a standing ovation. A couple times the worship leader asked us to give a clap for God. What did he get? A mediocre round of applause. Does anyone else see the problem with that? Things like that happened over and over; it was so out of proportion.

Some personal pet peaves...it drives me nuts when worship leaders do a couple of things. For one, I hate it when they ask you to sing louder. Louder does not equal more heart felt or "better" praise. Generally (though I think there are times when it works) I also don't like it when worship leaders have just the guys or girls sing a section. I mean, I guess there's no one absolutely forcing you to obey, but what if I really just need to sing that section of a song? Not to mention that fact that it separates us. We come together to worship as the body, not as the female body and the male body.

Despite that, I know there were a lot of good things going on this morning, I just wasn't there. It didn't help that I was in an extremely uncomfortable part of the bleaches, pushed right up against the end and could hardly stand up straight because of the barrier I was next to. It also didn't help how my roommate decided to not tell me that she was sitting with someone else and wouldn't be saving seats for us like she had said less than 24 hours before. Communication was stellar. Not a huge deal, but not pleasant.

So now hopefully I can go about my day like normal and just forget about the frustrations. How about this for a happy thought, my parents are coming the day after tomorrow!