Repost: Challenged By Expressions of Faith

The thought of worship music, testimonies, scripture readings, and reflections as a form of spiritual service to put it bluntly, makes my skin crawl. I always saw those “Jesus Freaks” as aggressive and in-your-face. Yes, I am a Theology major. But to me religion should not be pervasive, but something intimate that comes to an individual when they feel called or connected. I’ve always feared forcing faith on someone who was not comfortable or ready for such a subject matter and worship services were those avenues.

The iPraise service, unlike other similar events, did not make my skin crawl. It was fun and energetic, but also reflective and personal. There was balance between music and reflection; just when I felt the goosebumps beginning to rise, we settled down to hear personal talks by fellow students.

I connected worship music to conservative Christianity, the Christianity that can be seen in Religulous…