Reality Check

The lovely hubby and I went to see The Prestige last night which is one of those films that doesn't conform to the standard filmography of the Blockbuster so well worth a look for people who like to see something intriguing, engaging and also visually amazing. We both agreed it wasn't quite the film we thought it was from the trailer but nevertheless we did enjoy it ever so much. If you like the MIchael Shamalamamam Night films you'll love this one.

It led us in to some interesting discussions about what REALLY happened in it because it is a film about illusion which leads you down some interesting paths and sometimes you can't remember which bits were "true" and which bits were not. Of course it is ONLY A FILM but within the internal reality of the film we still couldn't agree about which bits REALLY happened.

The whole concept of illusions and how they work made me think a lot about how we do worship - I know maybe I need to get out more! -

For those of us leading worship there's the lesson to remember that when we lead worship it's not actually all about us and not matter what we put into it we DON'T get the glory we give it. One of the characters asks of another who has performed a fabulous trick that invovles disappearing through thee floor:

"Does he enjoy taking his bows under the stage? "

For us that is what we must do; humbly accept thanks for worship we've led but do so not front and centre but under the stage.

Even more amazing was the connection between worship and illusion by the way they're structured as in both cases there is still always the basic structure:

Michael Caine's character Cutter sums this up:
"Every great magic trick consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; The magician shows you something ordinary, but of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn"; The magician makes his ordinary some thing do something extraordinary. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before."

Now I know when we're leading worship we're not trying to deceive people but engage them in worship and commmunication with God but what Cutter is saying is that the basic parts of illussion or for us the basic parts of worship are the SAME but the way you dress it up is different. We all KNOW how to worship God. We all seek that connection with the one who loves us and yet we feel the need to dress it up in different ways all the time; either with long-inherited traditions, loud worship songs, emergent innovations or just lots of words.

"Every great act of worship consists of three acts. The first act is called "The Pledge"; The worship leader invites you to come in from the ordinary world. The second act is called "The Turn"; The worship leader asks you to set aside the ordinary world for something extraordinary in turning away from sin and turning towards God. Now if you're looking for the secret... you won't find it, that's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige"; this is the part with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance, and you see something shocking you've never seen before - a God filled with GRACE waiting for you to encounter that GRACE."