The Next Big Thing... 16Oct

16Oct Chris in Lasalle, Michigan

I'm up in the midwest sharing with our partners, doing some teaching and connecting with family and friends.
Had a great time with the Saints of the Toldeo Vineyard... always a warm and wonderful group.
As I prepared for this morning's time, I've been really struck by the Lord in this area of Worship lately. I know that I have made the past mistake of reducing 'worship' to a fantastic time of music and demonstration of my gratitude to God in a church service.
I am totally convinced that somehow the 'next big thing' in the Church is NOT going to be a really cool song or adding lights and smoke to our church services...
It's going to be all about
<>the simplicity of worship: 12 stones, uncut by human hands to signify our regular lives as THE altar acceptable to God
<>the whole idea of 'song-service is worship' is going to be seriously re-adjusted to become a small percentage of what we KNOW to be our worship
<>worship is going to a total-life-before-God, everything-I-do, everything-we-do, 24/7 experience-the-Presence and God-is-in-the-HOUSE thing
<>worship is going to always be aware that the earth is FULL of the Glory of God, while at the same time we pray for the Glory of God to fill the darkness (and the hearts trapped in darkness)and we look forward to the full consumation of His Presence totally dispelling the darkness

The Next Big Thing... come Holy Spirit!!! Make it happen!!
Church... what do we have to do differently? How can our Praxis line up with the Presence?