Orgasmic Worship - the topic few want to talk about, except me.

This post might strike some as disturbing. But before you judge me as full of lust, consider the obvious. Think before you respond.

A while ago I attended a friend's contemporary church. The worship was typically modern-evangelical with the emphasis on passion, high volume, and an up beat. I found it difficult to worship. Instead I observed.

As I watched the band play, something did not look right; the female singer looked like she was . . . experiencing sexual ecstasy. Now don't run around thinking me perverted. I found it awkward more than anything. I spoke with my wife about it (and not in confession of sin mode)and she agreed. This led to a further conversation about how we should appear during worship.

I think most folks don't given a second thought. Given the recent history of the church and our embrace of glamorous christian superstars, we just don't consider it. We should though. We should reconsider whether ecstasy is something we want expressed in public worship (private worship- great!).

I guess men are just supposed to ignore the attractive female singer who is flush faced, has her brow furrowed, and swooning?! Or how are men to respond when the "perfect" bodied young college and high school age girls dance around in tights? I can hear them now, "Stupid men, always thinking about sex. Why can't you be more like Jesus and just let us have our ecstasy? After all I do love Jesus and I worship from the HEART! Don't you?" My response: should the christian worship service be a place where men, and some women, have to protect themselves the same way they do when they walk past the magazine rack? The ancient church had this problem and Paul did not chastise the men! I anticipate that the feminized church goer will be critical (almost too the point of despising the male gender)of this post instead of recognizing that men need a degree of protection. I expect that most will see my questioning of this as my problem and not theirs.

One last thing to consider which might demonstrate the feminization of the church: could you imagine a male pastor saying, " I want the teenage girls to dance around in tights"? How would that pastor be viewed by other women in the church?

I've included some photos. Can you guess which one is from a Hindu worship ceremony? Does it look any different from the Christian images? That's a whole other discussion about how Christian worship has come to resemble paganism.

Look around this Sunday and let me know if it does not look like what I've suggested. I'm sure your comments will be passionate. If you've been unable to think about this topic, then let me quote an iconic movie character, "Luke, search your feelings."