I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. (2 Samuel 6:21-22) (NIV)
In West Africa they use a method of collecting offerings I call boogie for bucks. The worship band cuts loose with a beat that would make a Buckingham Palace guard tap his foot. Men, women, and children in bright Sunday finery form a Conga line and dance past the offering box, where they drop off the goods.
On a Sunday forever etched into my memory, I visited a church that added a twist to boogie for bucks. Eager to demonstrate my grasp of their culture, I joined the line, money in hand.
It was somewhere past the box, as I shook my bootie in place, that several observations stole over me. First, compared to the other worshipers, I was painfully rhythm challenged. Second, everyone watched me. Third, the men were still seated and only the women danced with me. There was nothing to do except boogie all the long way around the church and back to my chair, and enjoy my lesson in humility.
Whether it’s boogie for bucks or singing hymns, one of the richest gifts to earthbound saints is corporate worship. I may exalt God privately all week but I still love to gather with believers for celebration. It’s like a sip from the throne room in heaven.
What matters during group worship is not if our service is traditional or contemporary, but if it is genuine. Nothing is as boring as false liturgy or fake ecstasy. I’d rather be moved by the King of Kings until I transcend caring what others think. That’s dignified worship.
Prayer: Mighty God, help me lose myself in worship of you.