Holy By Association

In almost every church I’ve been a part of since birth, there has been one constant: the organ. That beautiful instrument that for some reason is holier than any other instrument. It took me a long time, but I finally figured out why the organ is so special. It’s become holy by association.

For most people who grew up in church, they also grew up with an organ in church (until the advent of sound systems, it was the only instrument that could be amplified). And for most people, at some point in their life they had an experience with God at church. A service that moved them, a song that spoke to them, something that made them feel closer to God, to understand He was real and want to keep coming back.

But for many, they don’t know what caused that holy experience. All they know is what happened when they experienced it, so they hold on to things associated with the experience. Maybe it’s a place: the Sanctuary, a speaker: the pastor, or an instrument: the organ.

The problem is that we start to believe we need that “thing” for God to move. There will never be a sermon that is as good as our pastor tells it. True worship experiences cannot happen outside this room. And we are trapped in a rut of trying to recreate that experience so God can show up again.

This can happen in our student ministries too. It may not be the organ, but what about a specific worship song that we need to sing every week? I went to one church that had to serve pizza at every student meeting. If the pizza wasn’t there, would God not show up?

We as student leaders have to be careful of not creating these ruts. Promoting that there is only one way to worship, one style, one thing that is necessary at all times. I love letting students experience worship as many ways as possible. Prayer stations in silence, a lone acoustic and a speaker at a workcamp, a rock worship band at a conference, even an organ at a traditional service. By giving them a wide variety of worship experiences and encounters with God, God becomes more about their heart and less about what is in the room when he shows up.