Sarah Benibo, a worship pastor at Embassy City Church and insightful author, discusses the vital but often overlooked topic of lament in the church. She emphasizes how lamenting serves as an honest expression of sorrow while maintaining faith in God’s goodness. The conversation reveals the need for churches to embrace grief in worship, helping believers find strength and deeper connections with God. Through personal anecdotes, Sarah advocates for a balance between joy and sorrow in worship music, arguing that lament can lead to profound spiritual growth.
The podcast highlights the church's discomfort with lamentation, emphasizing its biblical significance and the need for authentic emotional expression in worship.
Listeners are encouraged to acknowledge suffering as an integral part of the human experience, which can lead to personal growth and a deeper relationship with God.
The importance of community support during grief is underscored, advocating for vulnerability among congregants to foster healing and connection within the church.
Deep dives
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The Importance of Lament in Worship
The discussion highlights the lack of lamentation in modern worship music, despite its significant presence in biblical texts. Lament is defined as a passionate expression of sorrow, and understanding this can deepen the worship experience. The church's historical discomfort with sorrow prevents the acknowledgment and expression of genuine emotional struggles, which can lead to a disconnect between worship practices and the real-life experiences of believers. By opening space for lament, worship leaders can create a more balanced and authentic expression of faith that resonates with the congregation's challenges.
Understanding Suffering in Context
The podcast addresses the nuanced conversation around suffering, emphasizing that experiencing hardship can foster personal growth and deepen one's relationship with God. It distinguishes between pre-fall and post-fall suffering, where even before sin entered the world, humans faced challenges like work and interpersonal dependence. The discussion stresses that acknowledging suffering as a part of the human condition can lead to understanding God's design and intentions. Ultimately, recognizing suffering can help believers approach their emotional state with authenticity rather than avoidance.
The Role of Community in Healing
The conversation underscores the necessity of community in navigating personal grief and struggles, likening the healing process to how children rely on their parents. Just as children run to their parents for comfort amid sadness, adults are encouraged to rely on their faith community for support. Acknowledging emotions and articulating them within a community can create a healing atmosphere where individuals feel connected and understood. The reflection emphasizes that the church should actively model this interdependence, fostering vulnerability and support among its members.
The Balance of Worship Experiences
The podcast reveals a desire for balance in worship services that often lean heavily on celebratory praise while neglecting the emotional realities of congregants. It highlights the conflict when individuals experiencing grief are surrounded by high-energy worship that fails to recognize their pain. This imbalance can alienate those who are hurting and highlights the vital need for a more comprehensive worship culture that includes elements of lament. By embracing both jubilant praise and solemn lament, congregations can support a fuller spectrum of human experience, creating a more inclusive and compassionate worship environment.
Today’s podcast guest, Sarah Benibo, joins Jackie and Preston to discuss the church’s relationship with lament – or lack thereof – and the reality that we can still worship God through our expression of sorrow and grief. She explains how we are to lament by pointing to N.T. Wright’s quote that says “Lament is an appeal to God based on confidence in His character.” Our lament says “God, you are good, that I know. This circumstance I’m facing is not. Help!”
