I admit that many Christians in Eastern North Carolina regard revival as the event in the spring, or fall, or both when a special speaker comes to town for a few days of worship. We model these services after the evangelical services of Billy Sunday or Billy Graham. Most invite special music from other churches, and we sing the old standard “Revive Us Again.” Attendance to these services has dwindled through the years, and fewer congregations are adding revivals to their organizational calendar; for perhaps good reasons. However, I believe what we need is real spiritual worship and unwavering focus on the presence and preeminence of Christ.

For the Millennial generation, and perhaps for Baby Boomers alike, we need to know we are not the centre of the worship service. Pastors hear all the time, “I don’t get anything out of it.” I will admit, I’ve had those thoughts too. “We’re not being fed,” they claim. If the service doesn’t call us to eat the bread of life, we starve on the Little Debbie cakes of self-centeredness. Liturgy helps a congregation focus on the task and subject at hand—the worship of God.

Liturgy means “the work of the people.” I was reminded of a sermon by Dr. Burkett Raper at the First Free Will Baptist Church of Goldsboro when I was pastor. He reminded us the 11:00 am hour is a worship service. In other words, our Christian service for that Sabbath day is to work at worshipping the Lord. We cannot focus inwardly but must realize how broken we are and how desperately we need God in us, our church, and our community. Our heart must focus on (John 3:30) allowing Christ to increase, so that we may decrease. When our liturgy/worship points us to experience God, we can worship who God is revealed to be and think less of our self-importance.

My generation needs, as do all other generations, songs that affirm our Biblical theology. I like to sing “Victory in Jesus,” but not “I’ll Fly Away.” It the tune actually, but I also love lyrics of “It is Well With My Soul,” “The Love of God,” “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” and “I’d Rather Have Jesus.” Good worship songs help us form what we believe, and give words to feelings we cannot express. When we are grieving, we sing “Amazing Grace” or “In The Garden.” When we want to worship God we may find truth by singing “In Christ Alone,” but not so much in “Celebrate Jesus, Celebrate.” Our worship songs should avoid the superficial Jesus-is-my-boyfriend-warm-fuzzy sounding songs, in exchange for a deep, robust understanding of God and the Gospel. Our worship should reflect the Gospel and the fullness of God’s narrative in the world.

My generation needs to see the Body of Christ living in unity of the Spirit and of the Truth. The goal of real renewing worship is to produce a love for God and for each other. To paraphrase A.W. Tozer, if one hundred pianos are tuned to the same fork, then all are turned alike, but if they are turned to one another, they will be imperfect. Our worship unifies the church in doctrine, in song, and in practice—not of an individual, but on what God has done for us.

My generation, and all generations of believers need to be led to the Almighty God. Nonetheless, even the best-laid plans for worship will not lead a complacent heart to the Lord. You cannot be a passive spectator, but you must be an active participant in the focus and worship of God. Deeply moving worship services will engage us with the work of God and will lead us to Lord.