By NEIL DUMAS

Minister of Music, First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Tex.

(Published in Baptist Progress, April 19, 2006)

We have discussed messages that we send in our worship services that we may not realize we are sending. The topic for this issue is also one of those messages. It is very important that we remain true to our goal in worship.

I have dreaded bringing this topic up for fear someone may believe I am against patriotic songs and/or veterans & military recognition. We all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who have served in our country’s military to protect the freedoms we hold so dear. My father served in our armed services. Our country’s founding fathers wrote that our Creator endowed us with unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many have fought for those rights. Many have died for those rights.

This is not an article set to undermine the value of nationalism. America is the greatest country in the entire world and our children should be taught the truth of her history.

All that being said, our worship should be exclusive to our Lord. The first four commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai deal with our worship. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20: 3-8).

Sometimes we get so wrapped up “in the moment” we forget what we are saying by our actions. Our Lord is worthy of our full attention in worship. Believe me, I am all for asking God to guide our great nation and her leaders. When we celebrate our Independence Day (think about that term), should we not include our dependence on our Heavenly Father? When we boast of our military might, should we not include a prayer for His bountiful mercy and grace? When singing our patriotic hymns, call attention to God’s handiwork in our country’s history. The writers of these hymns certainly did. Moments like these are very important especially to younger children and younger Christians. Do not assume our children have been taught what you were taught in history class.
While we are on the subject of speaking about our nation during worship let me ask you another question. Why do we send the message to our children that they cannot pray in school? To hear some talk, you would think we would be arrested if we bowed our head during school hours. I have heard people say, “They took prayer out of public school!” Ha! LOL (that means, laugh out loud)! Tell me another good one. That is like saying, “You can’t breathe our air, you must go somewhere else.” No one can stop you from praying. First Thessalonians 5:17 instructs us to, “Pray without ceasing.”

Alright, they did take away that opening prayer over the intercom each day but you know I did a whole lot of praying while I was in school. There are no prayer police in schools. Rather than tell our children how they took prayer out of schools, why not teach our children that it is perfectly fine to bow and say a blessing for their lunch. How about bowing your head and asking a blessing at the beginning of the school day? I used to pray while walking to all of my psyche and physical science courses. Even our Supreme Court has ruled that an individual rights do not stop at the school yard gate.

Be careful to pay close attention to the messages you send in worship services during holidays. Of course we can recognize our military men & women. We can honor our veterans. Let us just make sure our focus and attention in worship services are exclusively our Lord’s. We would want nothing to be placed ahead of Him.

I want to leave you with a wonderful story. When I first moved to a new town and ministry, one of the first young men I met happened to be the senior class president. That has been many years ago and today this man has grown to be a first class husband and father. I am convinced it had a lot to do with his parents’ training and his own personal convictions of standing up for his beliefs. Anyway, at the end of the school year it came time for the graduation ceremony but he was told that he could not lead his class in prayer during the class president’s address. So, when he got to the end of his address he simply told the class and guests that he was instructed not to lead in prayer although if he had done so he would have bowed his head and would have said the following words.......

He sent a great message that day. Acts 5:27-29 says, “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”