Friday night Monieca and I enjoyed a nice meal at Steven W’s Bistro in Newberry, SC and then attended a Loretta Lynn concert at the Newberry Opera House, one of my favorite venues for concerts. It’s small, seating about 500 people and there’s not a bad seat in the house.
At age 77, Lynn’s stamina and voice were much stronger I expected. It was an entertaining show as she sang several of her 26 number one hits and was her usual candid, funny self when telling stories from the past.
My mom is a big Loretta Lynn fan, so we called her before the show started to tell we had purchased her an autographed Loretta Lynn country cookin’ cookbook with all those old timey Kentucky mountain recipes, plus a few not old timey ones as well.
During the concert I noticed something I’ve noticed at every concert I’ve attended. The front rows were packed, even though the stage was elevated five feet above the floor. The ages of those packing the front rows were 50-80. It seems they were eager to get as close as possible to the action. They were excited to be there.
I’ve noticed something about myself. When I’ m excited to be somewhere, I usually sit close to the front. In school, I always sat toward the front. When I got saved and began attending church, I sat toward the front. When I go to a conference I’m excited about, I sit toward the front. Whenever I sit toward the back, it’s usually because I don’t want to be part of the action…I want to sneak in and out. I’m checking it out more than I’m participating. Sometimes it’s because I really don’t want to be there, but I have to be there for whatever reason.
I wonder what it says about worship when we fight over the back seats in the worship center, leaving the front rows open and empty. I can’t help but think it says something and what it says is not positive. While a few people in any church have responsibilities that require they sit toward the back, this is not true for the majority. Yet the majority of a congregation often fills the back seats first. Why?
I understand lost or backslidden people sitting away from the action when they’re checking things out and thinking about their relationship with God. But believers are to be excited about Jesus and worshiping Him. Why does it seem there is more excitement by people attending a concert than there often is by people who attend worship? I wonder how it makes our Lord feel. I know how it makes me as one of His called preachers feel.
Pastor Steve Hogg
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