Skeptics insist that Christian worship is just so much voodoo for hillbillies! They are convinced that worship services survive into the 21st Century only because bored, superstitious conformists in 'Flyover Country' need a place where we can feel safe and secure. If we hadn't grown accustomed to such rituals through years of repetition and reinforcement, this dry, sanctified blather would be appear as bankrupt of meaning as it truly is.
Of course, critics like Bill Maher and Christopher Hitchens have never experienced my vantage point. As a pastor, I step up behind the pulpit every week and look into the faces of educated men and women, row after row, waiting to hear something that matters. I'm not a scientist or a sports commentator; just a simple theologian with a sacred book in my hand. I have never believed that my thoughts and opinions are particularly profound or even novel. But the book I hold in my hand each week is more than profound; I have come to realize it is supernatural.
As I arrive on campus this morning, I wonder how my church family will relate to the text. We're working our way through 1 Corinthians. Last week was the celebrated "Love chapter." Next week, we consider the mystery and wonder of the resurrection. But today's sermon is based on 1 Corinthians 14: tongues and prophecy. In this disastrous economy with world crises looming at every turn, I wonder how many of today's worshipers have been wondering about glossalalia and prophecy this week? Probably not very many, I suspect.
Speaking in tongues hasn't been a hot topic in most churches for a generation. Some people do it. Others don't. We all go to different churches. As I recall, that debate lost it's appeal and finally died out nearly forty years ago. And when it comes to prophecy: I'm not the kind of prophet who can forecast when the economy will turn around or even when the Gulf Oil Spill will be resolved. My calling has always been more "forth telling" than foretelling. So I open the Holy Bible and begin to teach.
As I speak, I notice the faces of those men, women and teenagers seated out there in the pews. There are people who grew up in Southern Baptist churches deep in the Bible Belt. I recognize others who can honestly say they had never gone to a church anywhere until they came to ours as adults just years or months ago. I notice numbers of sophisticated, well-versed professionals with positions of influence in DC. Some of these have been in worship with us for mere weeks. Quite a few of them grew up Catholic, which is like a different planet in the same solar system.
Many are leaning forward intently while others nod in agreement. Nobody rattles papers or randomly flips pages. And as usual, some have tears in their eyes. Why are these people so moved by a sermon on tongues and prophecy? There are no emotional stories- no tear jerkers- in this message. We are talking about hearing the Word of God and using it to build up the church. There is nothing here about conducting a relationship rescue or dealing with abuse from childhood.
These phenomena happen every week, but I pay particular notice this morning because of one verse in our text. Paul describes what happens when a person hears the Word of God being taught: "The secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you.'" (14:25) As I unpack God's prophetic truths, minds are being unlocked and secrets of the heart are indeed laid bare.
One woman has arrived to worship with us for the very first time. She comes quietly into the room and takes the first seat she can find- a pew on the very back row. As worship unfolds, her eyes become moist. Soon tears well up. By the end of the service, she is weeping quietly as she jots down notes on a small sheet of paper. People check on her near the end of the service. She is fine. God is good. She hasn't been in a worship service in a long, long time. She remains there in her seat for 10 minutes after worship concludes, dealing with secrets suddenly exposed inside her heart.
Like most people, our critics get angry when they realize their arguments are weak. Meanwhile, the worship of Jesus Christ advances in the 21st Century for the very same reason the Bible remains the most potent and talked about book in the world. These are the very words of God. Humor can alter my mood for a few moments, and pop psychology can soothe for a time, but the Bible is the voice of God. Men and women who listen carefully can hear an affirmation that reaches all the way from Eternity. It is the wisdom of their Heavenly Father probing secrets long buried in their hearts. They had thought no one else knew; that nobody really cares. They had supposed there is no other way. Hearing the very words of God, they discover they were wrong.
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