A few years ago, a young adult very openly expressed his frustration with worship at church. “Rich, why is it that I feel closer to God at a Coldplay concert than I do at church?” This was a stunning admission, because it represented not just his experience but that of many and perhaps spoke to some doubts in my own mind. However, what came from this conversation changed how I viewed worship in church. Worship at church should either be made more like the secular music out there, if that is truly more spiritual. Or, there is something missing in the worship at church that needed to be changed. I tried the first, making relevancy a goal, but I think that hand has been overplayed. So, I am left with the second idea. What is missing?
It seems some would say there is no line between the sacred and the secular. This is quite a popular discussion over recent years. My confession is that I am quite tired of this sacred-versus-secular conversation. Why? Because I think we are separating and discussing something that really is deeper than one dichotomy. Here is how I see it: The profane versus sacred, and the physical versus spiritual, are the real dichotomies. We must still choose to hold some things “holy”—just like we do in marriage. And, we must realize that because of the Incarnation, the physical is not disconnected from the spiritual. So, can a place be spiritual? The physical is not something we just discard as computer minus the software, is it? It’s more than that—our Savior is fully physical (human) and divine. Does our integration of sacred and secular degrade the importance of the holy? Or is the abolishment of that line helpful?
Let me explain. When we say that there are some things that are holy—or set apart for God—we are saying that there are special days, times and places we decide are God’s more than ours. A bank is set apart to deal with banking. A church is set apart as a place of worship—even if it is used as a basketball court on Monday. The idea that physical space is important and that the things physically created can be holy is something I believe in. A song can indeed be holy, right? Its design, purpose, function and beauty are all for the purpose of God’s more than mine. A secular song then can be for any purpose other than that. That difference does not mean God is not in the person who created each or that spirituality is not a part of both. It simply means that things set apart for worship are a specific just like things for banking are. Being set apart for something sacred or holy then can be a building. What makes it holy is what we purpose for it to be. Should then there be things specific for our life of faith and worship?
