Do We Worship Corporately . . . Corporately?

My first real ministry opportunity came in worship settings. I led worship for a community group and ultimately for a church plant out in California. I often think about what goes into a corporate worship experience and what will help those in attendance experience with God what he intends.

Spending time in Colossians, I continue to find myself provoked to fresh thoughts by Paul’s words (given him by the Spirit). And although I had read the passage many times before, when I was in the third chapter of Colossians I realized that Paul had something to say about a corporate worship experience.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:15-16)

I think I have heard these verses explained in a very personal way–as if Paul has in view you, the individual follower of Jesus, and what God desires for you.

You should have Jesus’ peace in your heart so that you and God are on good terms. You shouldn’t be anxious about what is going on in your life; you can have God’s peace. You should have a heart of thankfulness and should sing praises to God for all he has done for you.

Now all that is true–I think I can anchor those thoughts in other passages of Scripture. But in this passage there is a great corporate accent–it’s less about “me and Jesus” and more about “us and Jesus.” We are the one body of Christ; not just me. We are to have Jesus’ word richly dwelling in us; not just me.

And although in our worship God is supremely the one in view, the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, the singing in thankfulness in our hearts, is supposed to have a “one another” dimension to it. We are to worship corporately (with others) corporately (for their benefit as well).

This idea challenges what I hear from others (and what I hear in my own heart at times!)

Rather than, “I just didn’t like that song” maybe we should be thinking more in terms of “I wonder what the Lord was doing in us through that song.”

Rather than, “I’m not getting much out of this service” maybe we should be thinking more in terms of “I wonder how we could respond to God in worship together.”

Rather than thinking that the corporate worship opportunity is the chance that I have to personally get close to God (regardless of what is going on in the lives of those around me!), maybe the corporate worship opportunity could be more about us and less just about me.