Is this reality for some, many or all?

How did Sally Mortgenthaler reach this conclusion? You must read her entire article to understand.

As I pulled my Sacramentis site off of the Web, I posted this statement: "Sacramentis has been a pioneer site on worship and culture for seven years. From the beginning, it has been a gathering spot for the most helpful worship ideas and resources we could find. Sacramentis has also been a place where church leaders could go deeper into what classic Christian worship is and does, and where they could re-imagine worship for communities where churchgoing is no longer the norm. But as culture has become incessantly more spiritual and adamantly less religious, we at Sacramentis have become convinced that the primary meeting place with our unchurched friends is now outside the church building. Worship must finally become, as Paul reminds us, more life than event (Romans 12:1-2). To this end, we will be focusing on the radically different kind of leadership practices necessary to transform our congregations from destinations to conversations, from services to service, and from organizations to organisms."

In January USA TODAY featured an article titled, "Can the 'E-Word' [evangelical] Be Saved?" I think we need to ask a parallel question. "Can the W-word [worship] be saved?" Saved from the definition that it's just what goes on inside the tent? From the lie that worship is a place you go, not what you do or who you are?

JCPenney stores adopted a new motto a few years ago: "It's all inside." That may work well for clothes and housewares, but it doesn't work so well for spreading the gospel. Ah, but aren't buildings important? Yes, they are. Jesus himself spent crucial time in synagogues and the Temple. He affirmed that the worship of God is central to what it means to be a disciple. But here's the catch. He did not make the building—or corporate worship—the destination. His destination was the people God wanted to touch, and those were, with few exceptions, people who wouldn't have spent much time in holy places. Jesus' direction was always outward. Centrifugal. Even in death, he was broken and poured out for the sake of a needy world. God's work may not be "all outside," but if we look at where Jesus spent his time, I think we can safely say that most of it is.

I am currently headed further outside my comfort zones than I ever thought I could go. I am taking time for the preacher to heal herself. As I exit the world of corporate worship, I want to offer this hope and prayer. May you, as leader of your congregation, have the courage to leave the "if we build it, they will come" world of the last two decades behind. May you and the Christ-followers you serve become worshippers who can raise the bar of authenticity, as well as your hands. And may you be reminiscent of Isaiah, who, having glimpsed the hem of God's garment and felt the cleansing fire of grace on his lips, cried, "Here am I, send me."



SALLY MORGENTHALER speaks about leadership in a "flattened" world. She is a contributor to An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, edited by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones (Baker). She may be contacted at info@trueconversations.com.