Over the weekend the student worship team and I led at Sunset’s high school spring retreat. I’ve only helped lead at 2 student ministry camps now so I’m not sure I have a good idea of what “success” is when it comes to camps, but if this one wasn’t successful, I don’t know what is.
Easily my favorite part of camp was seeing a group of students go from fairly disengaged during our worship times together, to fully engaged by our last session. All the time and effort felt completely worth it in the moments when it was a collective group worshiping, not just people on the stage playing some great music.
And really, that is the way it should be. That is the way church should be: a collective group effort. Not 6 people on stage doing their thing, with thousands watching. But thousands engaging with God together.
I think we’ve gotten our semantics all wrong. We use words like “church service” or “worship service” instead of a gathering of believers. We say that we “attend” church rather than join. We become members of a church, rather than champions for the gospel.
And in many subtle ways those words and phrases create a perception of us and them. Us being the people who are putting on the service, and them being those who consume it.
And let me tell you, this idea is not the way church should be. I don’t care if you prefer a missional or attractional model of church, church should never be us and them…it is only a “WE”.
What do you think? Is this just semantics or is it something more?
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