Worship for Vital Congregations (Arnold, Talitha)

I appreciated many aspects of this book, but what stood out the most for me was the charge to get the Word in me by getting myself in the Word. It seems simple, but yet, this is something that I struggle with often. Arnold was right on target when stating how we can often take for granted the scriptures because they are not new and we have heard them before many times over. But Arnold says they were new once.

This is so true, and the Word continues to renew itself taking on new meanings in new contexts as the world we live in change; as we change and so on. This perhaps is also why Arnold goes on to add, "Get into the world and the get the world into you."

Sometimes when I am preparing for a service, I find myself struggling to focus and struggling to pray. Then when the time comes for me to speak, I am overwhelmed with feelings of not being adequate and question my authority on the subject matter. I suspect it is rooted in not fully immersing myself in the Word so that I could speak with assurance in the Word that is rooted within. Arnold is right. Preaching takes courage and maybe I can nurture this courage by Word Immersion.

Arnold inspires me and reminds me that worship involves the whole self, but first and foremost, it starts by inviting God to be present. Yes, I must have the Word in me. I must invite the Holy Spirit to be present and I must invite the presence to dwell above and below, on both sides and within. I must see the presence of the Holy Spirit in all things and welcome "Beauty Attacks" to occur and not pass them by when God reveals God's self through these attacks. This is the heart of vital worship.

Vital worship for me is being in the moment and giving and receiving the gifts and blessings of God. It is using the gifts and blessings that God has given to the congregants. It is using the gifts and blessings of nature and the world around us. It is trusting and believing that as we offer ourselves and our gifts to God and to one another--we are worshipping the Lord.

-Waltrina N. Middleton