Reasonable Worship Hype

This is Super Bowl hype week. I’ve been thinking about that. Some of this has a sort of uneasy but real connection with how we think about worship.

What is hype anyway? Hype is mostly about style. It is an overt attempt to promote, and maybe it does so at the expense of truth. So and so’s team is gonna do such and such. In reality, maybe they will; maybe they won’t. The Super Bowl game itself has a way of countering all the hype. At some point, a team has to produce. If it doesn’t, it loses, no matter what the hype said. Hype without substance is empty and meaningless. Style without substance is like hearing about an earthquake without experiencing one. You hear a lot about power, about damage, about the fear an earthquake causes. But until you actually experience one, simply hearing about an earthquake is nothing but words.

However, hype says something about style, and there is something to be said for style. Style can be an attractive, if it is not overworked. Substance without style can be uninteresting, even boring. It seems that there is a necessary connection between style and substance, but the horse and cart need to be in the right relationship if the energy of style is going to get to the substance of meaning.

Great worship is energetic, joyful, and intensely interesting. It builds up everyone who shares it, because it is substantial. After all, the Creator of the universe joins in great worship. Creating great worship is a joint venture between God who calls and people who respond. Its style is free, joyful, and satisfying. Its substance is rich, meaningful, and challenging. Great worship has both style and substance, and the source for it all is God who calls for worship, God who is worshipped, God who showers grace upon worshippers who in turn respond with praise and thanks, with worship.

Great worship has substance and provides meaning, motivation, and memorable moments. Great worship is all about style and substance. Great worship is something to get excited about – to get hyped about –to tell others about and to experience wholeheartedly. Great worship makes a Sunday worship gathering super. And that is no hype.