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The Dangerous Act of Worship
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The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God’s Call to Justice by Mark Labberton
review by Shaun Harr
From the opening paragraph of The Dangerous Act of Worship, it is obvious that Mr. Labberton is not going to be discussing the importance of music and liturgy to our Living OUT Loud in our worship of God. Rather he endeavors to show that true worship is exemplified by our living out Micah 6:8: “…what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
For Labberton, this true worship frees us from ourselves and “draws us into the heart of God and sends us out to embody it, especially toward the poor, the forgotten, and the oppressed” (11). We can no longer say that we truly worship God when all that we do for God is attend a church service and the occasional Bible Study. “Our worship should lead us to greater mercy. Our worship should lead us to costly acts of justice, especially for those who are the least seen, the least remembered, the least desired” (38).
He calls us to worship God with our entire lives, to willingly engage in actions on our faith journey for God which will make us uncomfortable and out of control and most of all with our eyes wide open to God’s purpose in the world: “wanting to see what truly is, whether or not it is appealing, attractive, desirable or comfortable” (174). The Dangerous Act of Worship is our call to action, to stop warming our pews, go into the world and impact the lives of those whom the rest of society neglects and ignores. The Pharisees would probably call that eating with tax collectors and sinners … at St. John’s MCC we prefer to call it “Living OUT Loud in our Worship.”
– Shaun Harr
Also see: “St. John’s MCC Book of the Quarter” and “Are You Ready to “Read” OUT Loud in 2010?”
We are asking each member, regular attendee, and friend of St. John’s MCC to prayerfully consider your individual level of participation in this drive and make your gift by the end of March 2012. Please click here for more information.
Thank you, and may God add a blessing to your gift … your intentional act of generosity to our community of faith.
We invite you to share your thoughts and impressions of your favorite spiritual books. In particular, we’d like to know why they meant so much to you and how you think others could benefit from them.
When you have your review/reflection written, send it to Sandra Whittington or Shaun Harr. Please be sure to note in your message if we can put your name with the review on our website.
