The story is told of a pastor preaching a sermon and telling about an Easter Sunrise service held on the rim of the Grand Canyon. He told how as the first rays of light break forth, Matthew would be read, "An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone." At that moment an enormous boulder would be pushed over the edge of the canyon, and as the giant stone thundered down the canyon side thousands of feet below a 2000 voice choir would burst into Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus".
One might say a little over done, a bit too dramatic. However, as expressed by the pastor, "We live in an Easter, not a Good Friday world." When looking at the dramatic in worship - has worship become too theatrical, too performance-oriented? Some theologians of today are calling the church to a drama and excitement which grow out of a deep sense of God's presence, rather than drama for the sake of drama. Some congregations are more interested in entertaining an audience than in praising God. "Entertaining" worship is deadly to an authentic expression of God's people.
However, there is a profound sense in which true authentic Christ-filled worship is theater. But the dramatic in worship must grow directly out of the dramatic in the Gospel itself. Robert Webber said "that Christian worship is drama in the sense that it is both a dramatic retelling and a dramatic reenactment of the Biblical story. When we move into the sanctuary and prepare to worship, our whole body, soul, and spirit become engaged in rehearsing the work of Christ which gives shape and form to my life"... and worship. So, as another has put it, "worship is the celebration and dramatization of God's story." So, born out of that there is a sense of drama inherent in Christian worship. Actually, it is already there; we just have to bring it to the surface. mjm
