Spiritual Reflections
Worship is not what is around you
Pat Ozment Jr. IMB Missionary to Ghana
The name of the place was "Tudunkaya" or "Thorn Mountain." The church was packed with 90 believers. They did not speak English. The building was made of mud blocks. The rafters of rough-cut boards were visible against the tin roof. The windows and the doors were little more than holes in the walls. The walls have never been painted.

I felt a little out of place. Peggy and I were separated because the men sit on one side, and the women on the other. I felt out of place until I saw him, two rows in front of me. The back of his T-shirt bore a picture of a fire breathing dragon's head. Beneath the picture it said, "Full Moon Bar-BQue" "Where the Fun Begins" "The University of Alabama at Birmingham." On the front there was a picture of the dragon and it said, "Happy Birthday Blaze, January 28, 2006."

It has taken me a while to get to this place, but I am glad that I finally made it. I'm not speaking about "Tudunkaya" now. I'm talking about another place. It's a place where the wooden bench you sit on has no cushion and no back. It's a place where time is ignored. It's a place where you not only don't know the words to the songs, you don't know the language. It's a place where small children play unattended on the concrete floor, and the congregation may include a chicken or a dog. It's a place where I can't depend on the preacher to feed me, because he isn't speaking my language.

It's a place of worship.

I once thought that worship depended on the right music, the right sense of reverence, the right kind of preaching and the right kind of praying, and most importantly a feeling of belonging.

If that were true Peggy and I would never get to worship over here. Over here we have learned that worship is internal, and it had better not depend on externals.

Worship happens when you approach God with a humble, thankful spirit, an open heart, and a receptive mind.

Matthew 18:20, "For where two are three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Get ready for worship and I'll see you in church.

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