Worship and the responsibility of the communicator Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about a quote by A.W. Tozer that really wrecked me. Here's the quote,

"The church that can't worship must be entertained. And men who can't lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment."

It still wrecks me!

So part 1 was all about worship. For me, the bottom line was that worship is food for the soul. Entertainment will never be able to truly satisfy the deep need for worship. Today, I want to tackle the responsibility of the communicator.

I'd be lying if I didn't say there have been times I've been more of an entertainer rather than leading others in worship. It's pretty easy to fall prey to an easy laugh or a catchy statement. If you love a witty acronym or can't wait to get to a set-up punch line, you know what I'm talking about. We all want to be loved and liked and thought well of, so I confess I've taken the easy road and thrown something in to the message that really didn't need to be there. But I'm not alone!

Think about those that are in the news regularly because of the shocking things they've said, done or written. Somebody came to your mind right now, didn't they? If you're really honest, is there any envy that they're in the spotlight right now and perhaps you're not?

We live in a weird christian sub-culture that kind of has a thing for hero worship and celebrity, so who wouldn't want to be affirmed by the praise or criticism of the general public? That stuff sells a lot of the time. And I have favorites too, by the way. Friends tease me all the time for man-crushes I have on specific preachers. But truth be told I think it's much harder to be yourself and to be faithful for your part to play in the bigger story. We're so consumed by the outcome that we forget the true measurement of success: faithfulness.

Let me be clear: it is the responsibility of the communicator to be as creative and engaging as possible. I firmly believe the Holy Spirit works powerfully through his word AND through his children. I owe my best to the One who made me and saved me every time I speak, so if that means I have a funny story to help people remember a biblical truth, I should use it. But at the end of the day, the messenger must make the message priority. There's a difference between being engaging and entertaining. Engagement makes for a better experience. Entertainment makes for a greater need later. Teachers, preachers, priests and communicators must make Christ the hero. He must be the point and we must proclaim him and him alone. Otherwise, without the power of the Holy Spirit, I'm just speaking words. Bottom line: Communicators must do everything they can to ensure the message is clear and leads people to worship.