The Gospel According to Red Bull

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting corporate worship to be a feel good experience. There is so much bad news in the world all the time, that having at least one hour a week to be a feel good place with no "bad thoughts" or "negativity" sounds like a fine idea. I hope that we all have that respite from the pain of the world.

However, if that one hour is the same one hour every week, we then expect the medium of that hour to always be happy, slappy and clappy. This is what has happened in much of our Christian worship. Because worship is the one hour for most people of to hear the good news, then no bad news can come into the place. And if there is never any bad news in the place, then there is a lack of authenticity. You know like when you look at Facebook. Everyone is always happy and sharing good news, which gives the impression that everyone's life is awesome and yours kinda sucks. 

There are a lot of pressures to make corporate worship like Facebook. Share only good news, happy things, talk positive and smile. If you have to talk about 'icky' things like confession or crucifixion, do that some other time other than Sunday. You know like Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.

I have also heard that Sunday worship is where some people come to be "fed" (you can read more about my thoughts on this metaphor here, here, here and here.). Even if Sunday worship is the place to get fed, we seem to want to eat something that gives us energy and zest rather than food that just satisfies our hunger. We seem to desire a gospel of Red Bull over the gospel of a rice bowl.

So before we get too far into the greatness of the resurrection and new life, let us remember what Judy Cannato says:

Death is the prerequisite for the experience of resurrection and the new freedom it brings. At some level, in some way, perhaps far beyond our conscious awareness, we must first assent to dying. Resurrection—the emergence of new consciousness—is an awakening to the unknown, and just as with any other experience of life that is unknown, it can be frightening. We intuitively know that everything has changed, and if we are the kind of person who is attached to safety and comfort, we will feel overwhelmed.
— Judy Cannato - Field of Compassion