What Oprah Can Teach Us About Worship

I’ll admit it: I give Oprah a hard time.  And I give people who watch Oprah a hard time.  But I’ll give the Great O this: she understands worship.

Nope, not true, biblical worship, but worship nonetheless.  She understands that worship is participatory, not performer-centered.

I’m not sure how I’ve missed this video that’s been floating around these here internets for a while, so if you’ve seen it, forgive me.  But take a moment…or six…and watch.

The setup is this: for the kickoff of her 24th season, Oprah threw a concert for all of Chicago featuring the Black Eyed Peas.  What she didn’t know is that her production staff brought in a choreographer to work with the crowd of thousands for hours before the concert.  In the front row is a lone girl, dancing herself silly.  All around her are people standing still.  And then…

…well, see for yourself:

Choreographer / director Michael Gracey said, “There’s something really special when you take an audience and instead of just being passive and watching, you invite them to participate.  That’s why it was so magical for both parties.  Two groups of people came together to create something that neither of them could have done alone.”

The takeaway for us churchy folk is obvious: worship is not a spectator sport.  And while we have to be careful with the “create something that neither of them could have done alone,” the fact is that when we come before a living God and worship him in a living way, life happens.  Majesty is recognized.  Sin is revealed.  Glory is known.  Awesome stuff happens.

This Sunday, worship like Oprah taught ya.