Let Us Worship

Our worship of God is not limited by our location - we certainly can go to our church worship centers and participate with our fellow believers, or we can enter into the presence of the Father wherever we 
are - in the moment. Psalm 95 states:
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.

The invitation has been extended - we are granted access to come before the Father, to worship Him and to express our adoration to Him.  We can draw strength as we enter into that Most Holy Place, the place where God dwells - but we also know that He dwells in our hearts, meaning that we can fellowship with Him, to commune with Him and to draw strength and comfort from being in His presence. We can enjoy the nearness of our Father.

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Jesus taught about the nature of true worship in the 4th chapter of John, when he said:
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

You may be familiar with the worship leader Sean Feucht, who has traveled the country with his Let Us Worship events, which are relatively spontaneous worship gatherings that he has described as "worship protests."  He has gone into areas, such as Seattle and Portland, where protests during the summer had reached a peak.  He recently organized a gathering in the nation's capital as well as other cities.  The gathering, while extremely passionate, have been criticized for lack of COVID protection and some have reportedly been carried out without a permit.

Feucht is planning to go into the Skid Row section of Los Angeles tonight and tomorrow night for special events, according to ReligionNews.com, which says:

Feucht’s Dec. 30-31 events in Echo Park and Skid Row, a 54-block area of downtown, are part of his national “Let Us Worship” tour that protests COVID-19 restrictions. The two days of outreach will culminate with a New Year’s Eve celebration from 9 p.m. to midnight at the parking lot of Higher Vision Church in the city of Valencia, more than 30 miles away.

One of the ministers who serves the homeless community in Skid Row is none too pleased that Feucht is coming to their territory. Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie, founder of The Row, or “The Church Without Walls,” which operates in Skid Row. Jn-Marie said, “Skid Row is one of the most vulnerable communities in the nation,” adding, “It’s also a community with housed folks as well as gatekeepers.” Recently, he announced plans for a "car rally" that would keep people without masks from entering the area.

Feucht has also been in the center of a controversy in New Orleans, which is reportedly one of the sites for this year's "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" event. It was reported that musical artist Lauren Daigle would be involved in the New Year's Eve event, which, according to Christian Headlines.com,  set off New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, "who criticized the inclusion of Daigle, which saying the singer had placed the city’s residents at risk of COVID-19 by performing at an outdoor worship protest with worship leader Sean Feucht. The worship service in the French Quarter was conducted without a permit, Cantrell said in a letter to Dick Clark Productions."  Cantrell is quoted as saying:

“She harmed our people, she risked the lives of our residents, and she strained our first responders in a way that is unconscionable – in the midst of a public health crisis,” the Dec. 9 letter said. “This is not who we are, and she cannot be allowed to represent New Orleans or the people she willfully endangered.”

The article says: 

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry defended Daigle, saying he was “shocked and dismayed” by Cantrell’s comments. Landry said Daigle had “encountered the protesters” while riding her bike and agreed to “sing one song with them.” Daigle is a Louisiana native.

“The Louisiana Legislature reinforced the rights of individuals to worship freely by adopting the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act,” Landry wrote in a letter to Daigle. “... State and federal law protect your right to assemble in a public square to worship and protest. United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch has recently explained that the ‘Government is not free to disregard the First Amendment in times of crisis.’ ... Additionally, you are entitled to protection from tortious interference with your private contractual relationships.”

So, the irony here is that Lauren Daigle, since she has received attention due to her blockbuster crossover hit, You Say, has distanced herself from the Christian music space, having told a radio host that she was unsure whether or not homosexuality is a sin, and stating that she does not wish to be known as a Christian music artist. CBN.com had reported:

In an interview with 104.3 FM, the host asked Daigle if she considered herself a Christian artist, even though her music is becoming more and more mainstream.

“I feel like those labels get put on you by other people,” Daigle said. “I was reading articles, I read them here in there, and one of them said Christian artist and the other ones said just artist. But I think part of me is just an artist because it encompasses everything. That’s kind of how I see myself.”

Now, she is involved in a fight for religious freedom.  But she apparently doesn't want to be.  Compare that previous quote with this portion of her statement regarding the Sean Feucht/Let Us Worship row, published at the WDSU Television website:

"...I was asked to sing. To me, that is the very moment when music serves its higher purpose. It’s what gives people encouragement, hope for a better future, and it’s what can usher joy into their hearts. My involvement was focused on lifting spirits, providing hope, and encouragement, during these polarizing times.

"I’m disappointed that my spontaneous participation has become part of the political discourse and I’m saddened by the divisive agendas of these times. I would have been, and still would be, honored to represent our city on New Year’s Eve and although I was aware of discussions regarding my involvement, an offer was never made. I have wept, pleading for this chaos to dissipate and for harmony to return. We need unity when people are desperate, suffering, starving or out of work.

I agree, there are divisive agendas, but I believe this was a one-way street; I guess Ms. Daigle did not want to be critical of the Mayor of New Orleans, even though I think she may have been more prone to placate the mayor than be associated with Feucht.  And, just so you'll know, she also said, "To be clear, I had no part in creating or planning the event that took place in the French Quarter last month. I was not scheduled to perform, and I was not a part of its promotion."

What the Attorney General saw as a religious freedom issue, Lauren saw as a source of division.

There are complicated issues here - following public health regulations, trying to be a source of healing and unity, and trying to do what is in the best interest of one's career and ministry.  While you and I may disagree regarding Feucht's worship protests in response to unrest in America's cities and perhaps do not agree on Daigle's response.  We can be reminded of how spontaneous worship can be a part of our Christian life and discipline.  We can certainly worship in the corporate setting, even though it has looked different over the past few months, but wherever we are, wherever God is, we can know we can come into His presence.  

Music can certainly be a tool in order to bring us into God's holy presence, and when we surround ourselves with good Christian music, such as what you'll hear in excess of 15 hours per day on Faith Radio, we can be drawn to verbally express our love for the Lord - He promises to inhabit our praises and that can provide strength as we experience His nearness to us.