Posts Tagged With: worship

Faith in the West

Posted on April 16, 2025 by Pieter Stok

There are times, many times, when I become despondent about the Christian faith in the west.  From its “me” centred  individualism and rampant selfish lifestyle, to glib culturally hip media presentations replacing authentic worship, and onto its lack of cutting edge into the 21stC mindset, there is much to depress me.

On Sunday we had a breath of life. A glimpse of the past and a possibility for the future. We attended a Lutheran church in Brønnøysund on the west coast of Norway – exactly halfway between the north and south. It was Palm Sunday and the children were incorporated into the service with palm branches. They presented the congregation with songs they had learnt for the occasion. There was also a baptism. Both mother and baby were dressed in traditional costumes. The church was full and there was a clear “buzz” of joy in the congregation. There was not a data projector to be seen. Psalters were handed out. Grandchildren hugged grandparents, friends greeted each other warmly and overall, there was a warm conviviality. It was clear that Jesus was present in the songs, words and attitudes.

It was an environment that a neighbour could be invited to. When an old man using a walker came in, a person vacated their seat, another got a cushion and a still another made sure he sat down safely. “Pastoral” care was obvious.

What have we lost with the obsession for mega churches, CEO’s and business teams running churches with smooth efficiency and ice cold hearts. It is difficult in these environments to share the highs and lows of life’s journeys and to celebrate and grieve together as the family we should be.

Am I just being a grumpy old man, or have we lost something, something precious, in our modern worship practices?

Categories: Children, christian, Church | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Internet Worship – Observations

Posted on July 15, 2024 by Pieter Stok

During “lockdown” my wife and I attended a variety of church services around the globe via the internet. For example, we valiantly slogged through 1&2 Samuel with Alistair Begg. Since then, we have regularly visited churches to explore how the family of God is worshipping Him. It is encouraging to see people continuing to encounter and praise God, and give thanks for His son 2000 years after his death and resurrection. There is much to be thankful for.

Saint Pierre Cathedral, Geneva

However, there are a few reflections I wish to make:

It surprises me that many worship services do not have an obvious “Call to Worship” – the idea that it is God who calls his children to gather. A Call to Worship reminds His children that they are responding faithfully to their God and that He is the centre and focus of worship. We are giving Him the “Worth” (from the old English worth-ship) he is due. He commences a dialogue to which we respond with hymns of praise and confession, and prayer. However, too often I see services that commence with “I” songs – songs about our experience and feelings.  These are appropriate in the right place, but they don’t clearly focus our attention upon God. Even the corporate “we” is often missing – the songs indicate a lot of individuals in one place, rather than the family of God.

Another observation is that most services have difficulty incorporating children. Family worship is, if we are truthful, adult worship with a few poorly timed nods at the children, at best. Often, the children are disregarded altogether. All age family worship which includes the sermon, is a hill too high to climb for the vast majority of churches. Children are often hived off to “age appropriate” worship. That children should be taught is not the issue. If worship is the gathering of God’s family before God, then children should be included and involved too. Age and maturity appropriate teaching can occur at other times for every age in the congregation in whatever way you want to dice and slice the congregation.

My third observation is there is often an emphasis on personal salvation but not the Kingdom of God. There is little emphasis on proclaiming, revealing, living in and expecting the Kingdom. The “already” (revealed in Christ)  and “not yet” (not fully realised until his return)  Kingdom seems sadly irrelevant to most preachers. The reason this bothers me is that a lack of Kingdom preaching empowers a continued dualism in Christians. Life is divided between the religious and the secular and we are subtly encouraged to live this schizophrenic life.

If you have encountered churches where these issues have been addressed, I would love to hear about them and “visit” them.

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I am excited!

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Pieter Stok

Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would ever assist in the publication of a book. However, my wife’s book, “Wells for Shepherds” has been an exciting publishing adventure. Even more thrilling have been the responses we have been getting. These show that people have read the book, reflected on its serious intention and have been challenged and encouraged by it.

Below is some of the feedback we have been getting:

I really appreciate the style and design of Wells for Shepherds. I realise that it might seem odd to start with that, but I also have come to recognise how important it is – and how much effort it takes – to get this part right. I also appreciate the first few pages of framing. Again, this might not be what people usually comment on, but I think it does a great job in prompting people toward a healthier understanding of the way children can engage with the Bible – which then will, hopefully, inform their practice as adults engaging with children around the text. In terms of the content itself, I appreciate the clarity and brevity of the individual elements. My observation is that good story-telling – including the use of puppets – is in danger of becoming a lost art in the context of children’s ministry. Through these stories that can be used intergenerationally, I hope people can be encouraged in the re-discovery of the value of such story-telling for all ages. Chris Barnett, Intergen Victoria

If I had to sum it up in one word it would be captivating. I had to limit myself to one or two a night, so I could make sure to really process the stories, but I wanted to read, and read, and read. I really enjoy that it takes me inside a Bible story, a different view, without distorting or disturbing the truth. I loved the way the puppet play style stories were succinct and effectual in delivering a really concise and convincing way. They seem geared towards younger audiences, but I definitely found myself thinking about ways I could use it, in church and Sunday school etc. The hard part for some, I think more old-school and traditional folks, is the idea that there are Bible stories “re-imagined”, but I think that once people open and start to read, those hesitations will melt away. Thanks Hetty for a wonderful book! Luke

My kinda book! LOVE reading with kids and engaging them in stories about Jesus. M.A.

This anthology can be used in schools, church services, Sunday schools, at home or camps or home fellowship groups. Jo.

Thank you Hetty for creating a book that leads us back to the original text, and creates rich conversations and discussions. K.C.

A great concept! Well done. Jackie

Categories: Hetty's Devotions, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Children in the Church – specifically worship

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Pieter Stok

A few Sundays ago I was sitting in church counting the number of children aged under 14. The conclusion was, in my estimation, that about half the congregation on that Sunday were in that age bracket. A church with so many children is truly blessed. Sadly, the astounding thing was that at no point during the service were they acknowledged, whether in the language and illustrations of the sermon, in the liturgy, in the choice of songs, in the prayers – nowhere was there a place for their young voices, hearts and minds to be included in the worship of God. The adults were acknowledged through all those activities – but the children weren’t. It was as if they didn’t exist.

Sunday worship is to bring communal praise and glory to God, and I would humbly suggest that God desires the worship of children and infants as much as he does of adults. It could be argued that their worship is even more important. Psalm 8:2 declares, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise.” It follows that those who lead worship have the responsibility and privilege to enable and empower the worship of children as well. This, I would have thought, should be even more clearly seen in a Covenant community where we acknowledge God’s goodness from one generation to the next.

Some argue that we have children’s Sunday School for that purpose. No doubt, worship occurs there too, but it isn’t the whole community of God coming as one family before Him.

There is a more critical reason to reflect on this. Children need to grow in the wonderful idea that they are part of the family of God and that they are important to God. Too many young people leave the church in their teenage or university years believing that there is no real place for them in church. Including and involving them in worship is one central way to make that leaving more unlikely. Why would one leave a family in which one’s involvement and membership is key to its purpose and function?

To have worship that includes all ages may be difficult and challenging but this is no reason to push it aside. It is a reason to sit down and work together to find rich and genuine ways in which all God’s children, young and old, fit and frail, men and women have a voice in the praise of their God – together.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments

Some People Get It!

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Pieter Stok

photo 4

Excited by the view

It was a rainy day yesterday as we were walking around the Port of Echuca.  It is the home of the largest collection of working paddle steamers in the world. Daily they paddle up and down the Murray river. At one point along the dock you can walk onto a section that looks out over the river. There is a protective fence where the designers have simply, but cleverly, placed glass panels at “little children” height so that they can look out too.  We were there as two small boys, fresh from jumping in puddles, saw these windows, raced up, looked out, and were thrilled by the sights.

If only churches could see this wonderful metaphor. Too often in worship the fences are that high that only the adults can “see” or experience what is going on. For children the service is an hour and 30 minutes of tedium, or they are sent out to “jump in a few puddles” while the adults do the real thing.

Too many churches, in my experience, either ignore the fact that there are children in church or send them out to be entertained elsewhere. There are no “windows” to enable them to participate and adults are often unable or uwilling to hold them up to see over the fence. So the implied message children receive is that there is nothing here for you. In other words, the view, or real worship, is essentially for adults only.

Children are people of God too. Children are called by Jesus as well. Children are in fact a model for us to follow. “Unless you become like one of these …” Too often however, children are left behind a windowless fence and not included and left out of the worship dialogue altogether.  They are not given a position from where they can be part of, experience and participate in the worship of the whole family of God.

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The Port of Echuca on a sunnier day with some of its paddle steamers.

What can we do to give children kid high windows from which, they too, can be part of the worship by the people of God? What can we do as worshipping communities to reduce the walls which prevent children from being part of the singing, listening, praying, reading. giving and hearing that is our dialogue with God on a Sunday?

Churches are losing young people in droves.  What are we doing to make worship an unmissable part of their lives?  One part of the answer is to ensure that the child’s place in the community of worshippers is real and appreciated as well as age appropriate – that they can see through the fences. This does not mean that the worship service needs to be “dumbed down”, but it does mean that the worshipping community needs to think of genuine ways in which children, in fact all ages, have a meaningful encounter with their God when the community gathers for public worship.

I would even suggest that if we as adults are more intentional about including children, that is, giving them “windows” and holding them up, that we too will be enriched by the process. Moreover, and most importantly, God will be honoured and worshipped with greater integrity, as all His children gather before Him.

Categories: Child Theology, Children | Tags: , , | 3 Comments

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