Have a Seat...and Make a Joyful Noise

A long time ago, worship involved only sitting (which, for some, can lead to snoozing).
Then, some churches insisted on “standing for the last verse.” You would sit for the first 2 verses and then stand on the last (any verses between 2 and “last” were basically ignored!)

Of course, some churches have a lot of ritual that demands standing, sitting, and kneeling during certain segments that only the initiated know about. Visitors must pay attention to know what they are supposed to do.

However, many churches today have people standing and sitting and standing and sitting so much that you’re so worn out you need a nap as soon as you get home.

Stand for this chorus, now sit while someone on stage sings a part, now let’s all stand and sing the chorus again. Now sit down to watch this video, now stand up and clap because the video was really moving. Now sit down while we take up an offering to pay for the video. Now stand up while we sing two more songs. Now sit down while we welcome the guests. Now stand up and go hug the guests. Now sit down while we sing “Stand Up For Jesus.” Okay, half-way through the hymn we all collectively realize we got stuck in the wrong position and spontaneously stand up.

If you’re 15 years old, you enjoy all this standing and sitting because every change is a change to turn to your friend and say something. Transitions always require conversation.

If you’re 55, your knees hurt. Tradition said that the Apostle James spent so much time in prayer that his knees “became as the knees of a camel.” Today, our knees swell because of our
hyper-active-worship-posture-changes (bet you can’t say that 5 times real fast!).

There’s a video on 2pointhome.com of how to make an organ chair. Yep, when you sit on the chair, you actually sit on a bellow that forces air through reeds and pipes under the chair and you make music as you sit. I am not making this up. http://2pointhome.com/diys/steps/46129

Imagine if the congregants you worship with all sat in such a chair. Every time we all sat down, we would be making a beautiful noise to the Lord (and put a smile on a lot of faces down here!)

What a great idea. You could please those who complain that the organ was stuffed in a closet 5 years ago, you could involve those who can’t sing in making music, and you could cut down on all those trips to the bathroom during the sermon. Well, they might still leave, but they sure won’t want to come back.