The Wounded Worshiper

Christianity Today recently posted a great interview with Michael Card.

Excerpts:

Twenty-five years of composing music, writing books, creating Bible study material and garnering awards haven't given Michael Card immunity from sorrow. After he watched his 18-year-old nephew and two infant nieces die, Card embarked on a journey to learn how grief brings us closer to God. His new album, The Hidden Face of God, follows his book, A Sacred Sorrow. Card shared with us about why both projects are devoted to the topic of grief, about the church in America and about true worship.


Job's friends blamed him for his suffering. Christians often tend to do the same thing to other Christians. Why is that?

Card: Other people's suffering is threatening to people because it goes against their formula where if you're good, God blesses you, and if you're bad, God punishes you. When people see others suffering, they can't understand it. They come up with easy answers because they feel threatened that it could happen to them. My sister and brother had people telling them if they just had enough faith, their children wouldn't have died.

How does someone "worship God with their wounds," like you sing in "Come Lift up Your Sorrows"?

Card: We can't worship God without recognizing our woundedness. We have a worship revolution going on in the U.S., but we're not worshiping. There is no woundedness in it. True worship celebrates God's worth, and without experiencing woundedness, you don't know his worth. You don't have that experience of God's presence over God's provision. You experience his worth in the wilderness, not in the picnic grounds. "Amazing Grace" says, "I once was lost, but now am found." Without that acknowledgment of loss, what do you have to worship him for, unless you're just worshiping feeling good? Lament is the lost language of worship.

Read the whole thing here.