I just took Courtney to see "The end of the Spear"
If you are unfamiliar with the story it is based upon the actual real events written about in "Thru Gates of Splendor"
You should see it.
What struck me most about the story is that currently there is a huge amount of culture on our planet that is in the same cycle of violence.
The Muslim radicals striking out in desperation to please Allah.
The street gangs here in America striking out to "Jump the Great Boa" (a metaphor for overcoming death from the film) and prove their strength.
So what does a movie about missionaries and worship have in common?
Well I believe that we are created to worship.
Watch the crowds at a sporting event (the upcoming Superbowl comes to mind) or a rock concert and what you see is is an innate desire to be part of something much larger than yourself.
Have you ever thought about that from a purely biological perspective?
Ever see a fish try to be part of something bigger than itself?
How about a bird?
Creation is kinda settled on its own place, but mankind seems to be driven to expand, to conquer, to step outside of its current position and participate in a larger world.
This I believe is one of the main ingredients in mankinds worship mechanism.
We gotta get bigger...And we wanna worship something bigger than ourselves.
So worship starts with a vacuum...a vacuum for God.
Which is exactly where missions start.
You cannot evangelise the complacent.
You shouldn't even try. (I know this may get me scolded from the higher ups but its the truth)
When I was in New Covenant Commission the primary missions strategy was to find the most war-torn or disaster ridden country and go there...the miracles and results would follow because the hearts of that country had been "plowed up".
The Bible says that "God will not share His Glory with another"...meaning that He will not be room-mates with whatever else is living in our hearts.
And as Matt Redmond has said "Worship is the heart of missions flame"...
Our worship must put on a "missions-garment" to be complete.
Oh yeah I know we need to worship in the quiet of our own chamber, but the innate desire to be part of something larger is as much a part of our worship motor as what we do in private, hence the tandem emphasis on worship AND missions.
Every tribe should join as we humans worship...and what we worship should be powerful, larger than us, and glorious in all its expression...and only One can fit that description.
On a final note...you cannot force someone to worship God and you shouldn't even think about doing so (parents this especially applies to you), it violates the human/divine relational structure, it is something I believe God hates...and one of the primary tools of the adversary...we should instead be drawing people by our worship and our lives.
Lets think of ways that our worship experience can go beyond what we are part of now...Lets figure out a good "Go ye into all the world" expression that will truly touch the most desperate among us in our own little Jerusalem here in the mountains.
