I recently read two articles that have been conversing with each other in my head over the past few weeks. The first comes from the local Greensboro paper about the use of social media and technology in worship. The second argues that we have "ruined" worship by making it about us instead of God. While these two articles do not overtly contradict each other, there is a clear difference in the theologies of worship that is operative in each.
Is worship supposed to be easy? Do we need technology to "facilitate" it? If you worship at St. Francis, you'll know that I use my Nexus 7 to follow and lead the liturgy. Does it matter if you're just using a digital version of the bulletin or also looking up Scripture or tweeting favorite lines from the sermon or hymns?
What is the point of worship? Do the phrases "you get what out what you put in?" or "I was fed/was not fed through that service" make sense? Well, that depends on how you define worship. Our own Prayer Book says that "In corporate worship, we unite ourselves with others to acknowledge the holiness of God, to hear God's Word, to offer prayer, and to celebrate the sacraments." It also claims that the mission of the Church is fulfilled "as it prays and worships, proclaims the Gospel, and promotes justice, peace, and love." Worship, then, is about an orientation towards God for the glorification of God and promotion of the Divine Will.
I have always defined a "good" liturgy as one that is not noticeable and that allows our focus to be on worshiping God with all of soul and mind. Furthermore, "liturgy" comes from the Greek roots meaning "the work of the people." So liturgy that is well done allows people to do their good and holy work of worship. So the question then is, does technology help us to do this work, or does it distract us?
As Anglicans, we often place an emphasis on the ideas of embodiment and Incarnation. Presence is important. When we are in the worlds of Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, we are not present in worship. And our attention is not on God, but on ourselves (the image of ourselves we want to the world to see, such as "Look at me, I'm at church," or even a well-intention "I love Jesus") or those whom we are communicating with. Furthermore, as we all know, technology is a great tool, but it is very difficult to use it simply for one thing. You go to your homescreen to launch Twitter to post a moving song lyric that you hope inspires others, and next thing you know, you're reading other tweets. Not to mention, despite what you may think, humans aren't the best multi-taskers out there, so while you're on social media, or even looking up Scripture, your mind is no longer present to the worship happening, and presence with God is at the heart of worship.
There is a time and a place for evangelism, there is a time for telling people about Jesus and inviting them to church, or sharing the inspiration you found in worship, but I'm not sure that during worship is the best time and place for those actions. Worship is the stark reminder that we are not the focus.
We begin our worship with a wonderful prayer:
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
It is a prayer of presence, and a reminder that we bring all of ourselves to worship. Technology can sometimes facilitate this (e-bulletins that allow you to focus on the liturgy instead of finding where you are in the liturgy, and being easier to read for some, and saving paper/printing resources), but it can also take us away from the very heart of worship.
