Is this what worship should be?

Tonight at youth group we read 2 Samuel 6:-12-16 and talked about David's acts of worship and how his wife thought he was acting crazy dancing about. He basically said to heck with you and kept on dancing and praising God. Then we watched Sister Act 2 (looking for ways people worshipped and then ways they worshipped that others might not accept). Afterward we talked about ways they worship, and how any act can be an act of worship. They named their favorite things to do (dance, run, play sports) and we talked about how those can be acts of thanksgiving, praise, or adoration. Then they named things they hate doing (academic classes, dishes, cleaning their rooms) and we talked about how they might transform those acts into acts of worship. They really did a good job with the discussion--using each dish like a prayer bead and saying a prayer for someone, or turning on music while doing chores and praising God through singing or movement.

Knowing that I struggle with what our youth group is right now, my brother asked tonight over the phone how it went. I recounted it and he referred me to this site. She too is a pastor and had posted this video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122526581190505259&pr=goog-sl&hl=en)







Her follow up question was then: is this what worship should be?

Now, having just promoted Sister Act 2, it would be hypocritical to say "no". I do believe this is a perfectly legitimate form of worship. However, I WOULD NOT advocate that this is the only way we are to worship. I believe stillness and meditation are just as valuable as dancing and contemporary music. One of the things I have been encouraging one of my congregations to do is to embrace the fact that one of the things we have to offer is diversity of experience--we are bilingual, we are multi-cultural, we are multi-generational, and as we revamp worship, we don't have to trade in all of the "old" for all of the "new". We have the opportunity to do *fusion* worship. We can use the best of both worlds. We don't have to choose either or.

So in direct answer to Rev Abi's question (as a good Methodist)--yes & no. =) Yes, absolutely we can respect and utilize this style of worship, and no, this is not what all worship SHOULD be. But on a more general level, it is what worship could be (and should be) in that it: (1) is engaging (2) encourages people to participate (3) recognizes the importance of the whole body in worship (4) allows *fun* activities (like dancing) to be part of how we honor God (5) is relevant to those who are attending worship.