CONNECTED WORSHIP

Frank Darabont’s 2001 film, The Majestic, stars Jim Carrey and follows his character, Peter Appleton, a blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter in the early 1950s. He gets into a car accident, loses his memory and stumbles across a small town where he is mistakenly identified as a long-lost war hero. If you like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, you may like this installment from Darabont. Check out the trailer.

Much of the film centers around the old movie palace in the small town, The Majestic.  It was a place of beauty and enchantment before the second world war. When Appleton arrives, it is in disrepair. The owner tries to enlist Appleton to help him rehab the dilapidated structure and breath life back into it. In doing so, the owner describes the theater in its heyday as a structure of great detail and beauty. When people came in, they could leave their problems outside. They could come together and collectively enjoy a magical experience.

Unfortunately, today most of the magic of the movie theater experience is lost to home theaters and television, however, I think we all know what its like to walk into an air-conditioned, surround sound, 10 story, 3D refuge from your problems.

As I was watching this film a couple days ago, it occurred to me that the owner’s description of his movie palace is, to a degree, what church is kinda like?

Imagine going to a place with 20, 300 or even 2000 people, all there for the same thing. Once you are there, you leave your problems at the door. As you enter, you walk into a “magical” experience that can completely carry you to another place. Before it starts, there is a buzz of anticipation. The event begins, you are inspired by the power behind the sights and sounds. The message conveys themes, symbolism and ideas in a new and different way. As it ends, you greet those around you, excitedly sharing in the experience you just had.

The difference between movies and church, though, is huge. At the movies you generally don’t come in contact with the creator of the universe. And when its over, your problems are waiting for you outside. Many people use movies as an escape and such escapism is never the answer. Only meeting with the real and true God of heaven and Earth will leave you changed.

So, think about church. You enter the building with your brothers and sister in Christ. There is a sense of expectancy filling the air. As worship begins, God’s presence transforms your heart and takes you to a deeper place of connecting with Him. The preacher teaches God’s Word, conveying truths and insights for Godly living. As you leave, you fellowship with those around you. Most likely when you leave church your problems are still there waiting for you. But now you are so much more equipped and charged up to face them head on. You are ready to face whatever comes at you.

I believe God commanded us to get together for good reasons (Hebrews 10:25). I think he understands that meeting with a group is different than by yourself. People charge each other up, the atmosphere is electric. Its obvious whether you are at a movie, a baseball stadium or in a church service that groups act differently than individuals. The Bible even tells us that where two or three gather, He is there with them (Matthew 18:20). God knows that we need to be built up by others. Alone, we can feel abandoned, discouraged and overwhelmed. We also need a place where we can get a power boost for the week. A boost for our own personal devotional times as well as a general kick up of our spirit.

I know it may sound like I am sensationalizing church, I am not trying to at all. It doesn’t matter if you meet in a basement, coffee shop, middle school auditorium or a mega church. I am simply saying that the experience described by the owner of The Majestic in the film is striking similar to that of our church experience. We are called to have a deep relationship with a God that wants to meet with us collectively. And where the movie experience leaves us empty and alone, God never forsakes or abandons His children. He fills us to overflowing.