Truth is best communicated as it is lived out in the life of the body of Christ and out of its (his)story and its stories, not one-on-one combat via evidentiary apologetics. Instead, the church itself becomes the apologetic...Evangelicals often preach that what the culture needs is absolute truth, but what the culture (actually ) needs is a church that believes the truth so absolutely it actually lives it out. Living traditions of depth that tell stories of wonder provide the basis for Christian claims of Christ's lordship to make sense in the postmodern world. - David Fitch (The Great Giveaway, p. 57)
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Worship Experiences
Over the last few years I have grown more and more leery with how many Christian congregations are openly marketing their gathered worship times as "experiences." While I am fine with new words and labels for new expressions of worship (see new wine skins - Matthew 9), I can't help but dig in on changes that miss the point. This is such a point. Not all changes in life - and church/worship - are for the better. Some change is necessary and good. Probably most changes in style are helpful and for the good. Yet, some are confusing and others are sadly misguided.
I will admit that it is possible that in some cases the word or concept of "experiences" has been borrowed from a larger, seemingly more hip or successful church or leader. Experience has been a huge deal to the modern world and specifically the boomer generation. It is not true in the church that the biggest church is the best church, or the most spiritual or even the right church. Nor is it true that the leader or pastor is the best that is available or that her/his words and thoughts should be mimicked, copied or borrowed. Many seemingly successful people in all phases of life are wrong about a lot of things. Don't hear me say they are sinful or stupid or even shallow. They just might be wrong and before we pick up their sayings, doings or labels, we should consider how deep and wide their faith and faithful practices really are.
To speak of worship as an experience is to suggest to the wider audience and so called "unchurched" that we are a people who put on a good show and they should be a people who are interested or intrigued by good shows. A good show will entertain us, inspire us and pump us up. A good show is a place to be seen, a place to relax and unwind, a place to get autographs and take home product to get us by to the next good or big show. No doubt a good show will draw more interest and collect more resources from a bad show or smaller show. Americans believe with all of their heart that the bigger the show- the bigger and better the experience. (Do we really believe that to our core?)
Experiences are created and are usually dependant upon the skill and charisma of the people leading them. Experiences are packaged, purposed and pointed towards a goal that is targeted towards one particular group of people and what they enjoy doing in their free time. Experience is about people and what they want and perhaps what they demand if their time, money and attention is going to be attached to it. Experience is a consumer word and smacks with a consumer mentality all the way through.
Worship is the opposite of almost everything I have just described. It is not about man/woman/people, but about God. It is not about entertainment or inspiration, but about sacrifice and transformation. Worship does not begin with the human problem and hop around for a Godly sign for help, but begins and ends with the God who created us and walks faithfully with us through life. Worship is not about meeting God at a particular place and time, but is about remembering the God who promises to never leave us or forsake us. Worship is not about making a gathered service interesting enough for people to attend, but is about calling the people who attend to be real enough before God that the life they lead away from the gathering will be so rich in worship ("a living sacrifice" - Romans 12) that others will follow us towards a life in Christ. Worship is not about making a gathering or a church for a particular group that speaks a certain language, drives a certain car or looks a certain way, but is about opening our hearts wide enough to embrace all creatures great and small. In other words, experience is about the last word we might use if we are describing or designing Christian Worship.
There are better words/images for worship if we feel that we must offer a new description. These are words/images that will shape us toward Christ and not toward culture or toward self. (All of course staring with "E"!)
Expectations - Don't we expect to hear from God when we worshipping? If we don't expect Him to speak, then...well you know. Warning: If we enter into worship expecting renewal and direction from God, we might actually receive it and will then be subject to living with it.
Expressions - While we may have varied styles of music and multiple elements of liturgical traditions (or none at all!) what we are doing should be an expression of adoration of praise towards God. Remember though, this is a plural word -not singular - because your expression might vary from mine and yet somehow God will be praised by either.
Encountering - Probably the best antonym for experiences. We may enter into and out of experiences without any change at all. We will pick and choose what we like about something and leave the undesirable. This is how consumerism works. An encounter with God though means change. It means transformation and calls for an embracing of Him fully. It means that we are paying the price before sampling the product because we sense a worthiness in God that awaits our sacrifice and surrender.
Engaging - To be engaged is to be committed. This is true of our relationships, to academic study and even to watching TV (I am engaged to watching "Parenthood" with my true love). To engage in worship with God is to enter into a commitment - a covenant in which He is the worshipped and we are the worshipper. It is not the other way around. God did good in creating the world, but He did not reverse the order of existence. Remember this when we talk about what happened in worship and what did or did not entertain us or keep us awake. Our frustration usually means that the topic and focus is not on us anymore, but has turned way too theological for modern and post modern taste. ( Bad preacher! )
Whenever and however we worship, let us direct our actions towards God and let us do so through faith in Christ. When our focus is off of us and on God - something usually happens in us. And this happening is better than any experience that is created or conjured up for it is eternal and wholesome. If we are creating or controlling God in our worship, He is not God (Omnipotent). If we are entering into and out of His presence when we worship, He is still not God (Omnipresent). Anytime we think and market a domesticated God we are missing the point and are copying the practices of a secular culture who will spend everything on experiences and will spend very little for humility and the sacrifice of self.
True and transforming worship always targets the people towards God, but is returned very quickly by Him to us to affirm us and strengthen our faith. Thanks be to God!
I will admit that it is possible that in some cases the word or concept of "experiences" has been borrowed from a larger, seemingly more hip or successful church or leader. Experience has been a huge deal to the modern world and specifically the boomer generation. It is not true in the church that the biggest church is the best church, or the most spiritual or even the right church. Nor is it true that the leader or pastor is the best that is available or that her/his words and thoughts should be mimicked, copied or borrowed. Many seemingly successful people in all phases of life are wrong about a lot of things. Don't hear me say they are sinful or stupid or even shallow. They just might be wrong and before we pick up their sayings, doings or labels, we should consider how deep and wide their faith and faithful practices really are.
To speak of worship as an experience is to suggest to the wider audience and so called "unchurched" that we are a people who put on a good show and they should be a people who are interested or intrigued by good shows. A good show will entertain us, inspire us and pump us up. A good show is a place to be seen, a place to relax and unwind, a place to get autographs and take home product to get us by to the next good or big show. No doubt a good show will draw more interest and collect more resources from a bad show or smaller show. Americans believe with all of their heart that the bigger the show- the bigger and better the experience. (Do we really believe that to our core?)
Experiences are created and are usually dependant upon the skill and charisma of the people leading them. Experiences are packaged, purposed and pointed towards a goal that is targeted towards one particular group of people and what they enjoy doing in their free time. Experience is about people and what they want and perhaps what they demand if their time, money and attention is going to be attached to it. Experience is a consumer word and smacks with a consumer mentality all the way through.
Worship is the opposite of almost everything I have just described. It is not about man/woman/people, but about God. It is not about entertainment or inspiration, but about sacrifice and transformation. Worship does not begin with the human problem and hop around for a Godly sign for help, but begins and ends with the God who created us and walks faithfully with us through life. Worship is not about meeting God at a particular place and time, but is about remembering the God who promises to never leave us or forsake us. Worship is not about making a gathered service interesting enough for people to attend, but is about calling the people who attend to be real enough before God that the life they lead away from the gathering will be so rich in worship ("a living sacrifice" - Romans 12) that others will follow us towards a life in Christ. Worship is not about making a gathering or a church for a particular group that speaks a certain language, drives a certain car or looks a certain way, but is about opening our hearts wide enough to embrace all creatures great and small. In other words, experience is about the last word we might use if we are describing or designing Christian Worship.
There are better words/images for worship if we feel that we must offer a new description. These are words/images that will shape us toward Christ and not toward culture or toward self. (All of course staring with "E"!)
Expectations - Don't we expect to hear from God when we worshipping? If we don't expect Him to speak, then...well you know. Warning: If we enter into worship expecting renewal and direction from God, we might actually receive it and will then be subject to living with it.
Expressions - While we may have varied styles of music and multiple elements of liturgical traditions (or none at all!) what we are doing should be an expression of adoration of praise towards God. Remember though, this is a plural word -not singular - because your expression might vary from mine and yet somehow God will be praised by either.
Encountering - Probably the best antonym for experiences. We may enter into and out of experiences without any change at all. We will pick and choose what we like about something and leave the undesirable. This is how consumerism works. An encounter with God though means change. It means transformation and calls for an embracing of Him fully. It means that we are paying the price before sampling the product because we sense a worthiness in God that awaits our sacrifice and surrender.
Engaging - To be engaged is to be committed. This is true of our relationships, to academic study and even to watching TV (I am engaged to watching "Parenthood" with my true love). To engage in worship with God is to enter into a commitment - a covenant in which He is the worshipped and we are the worshipper. It is not the other way around. God did good in creating the world, but He did not reverse the order of existence. Remember this when we talk about what happened in worship and what did or did not entertain us or keep us awake. Our frustration usually means that the topic and focus is not on us anymore, but has turned way too theological for modern and post modern taste. ( Bad preacher! )
Whenever and however we worship, let us direct our actions towards God and let us do so through faith in Christ. When our focus is off of us and on God - something usually happens in us. And this happening is better than any experience that is created or conjured up for it is eternal and wholesome. If we are creating or controlling God in our worship, He is not God (Omnipotent). If we are entering into and out of His presence when we worship, He is still not God (Omnipresent). Anytime we think and market a domesticated God we are missing the point and are copying the practices of a secular culture who will spend everything on experiences and will spend very little for humility and the sacrifice of self.
True and transforming worship always targets the people towards God, but is returned very quickly by Him to us to affirm us and strengthen our faith. Thanks be to God!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Minnesota - The Honest State
Every state has a motto. The Texas motto is "friendship." The Tennessee motto is "agriculture and commerce." The New York motto is "our pizza is good." The motto of Minnesota should be "all of our people are honest."
Here is why. Last week at a charity hockey game. A boy's name was called to come and attempt to hit a puck in a 3 1/2 inch hole for $50,000. The boy left the stands, went on the ice and hit the shot winning the money. The crowd went wild and the boy and his family went even wilder. What a shot! What a prize! What a pickle?
The problem is that the boy that made the shot was not the boy whose name was called. The name called was of a boy playing outside of the event. The boy who hit the shot was his twin brother. In the heat of the moment the father sent the son onto the ice to stand in for his twin. Truthfully, the father never thought the shot would be made and figured no harm would be done for someone else to take the shot. He never thought for a minute that the puck would go in the hole. Surely it was a set up.
Here is where it gets weird. The father told his sons that they had to tell the truth. The next day they called the event organizer and came clean. This was before any money had been given. Before they threw the money on the bed and jumped up and down yelling "show me the money!" The didn't even spend a dime on something frivolous and silly like most contestant and lottery winners. They owned up to their deception and forfeited the money.
What would you do? Sure, it is easy to be pious from a distance, but what if this was really an option. An opportunity to gain something by skirting the truth might be a blessing in disguise. After all, no one will get hurt and no one will know. Isn't this how all lies go? "No one will know." "No one will get hurt." "I deserve this." "I need this." "It is mine."
The next time you are tempted to tell a lie about who you are, what you have done, where you have been or what belongs to you , remember this story. Remember a father who could have gotten a great start on his kid's college fund. Remember a dad who could have had the best Disney family vacation ever. Remember a dad who could have bought his kids the best back to school clothes in his state. Remember two twin boys who will forever remember how important honesty was to their father. Remember that honesty is not only the best policy, it is the only policy for someone who follows Christ and lives to display his holiness in the world.
Here is why. Last week at a charity hockey game. A boy's name was called to come and attempt to hit a puck in a 3 1/2 inch hole for $50,000. The boy left the stands, went on the ice and hit the shot winning the money. The crowd went wild and the boy and his family went even wilder. What a shot! What a prize! What a pickle?
The problem is that the boy that made the shot was not the boy whose name was called. The name called was of a boy playing outside of the event. The boy who hit the shot was his twin brother. In the heat of the moment the father sent the son onto the ice to stand in for his twin. Truthfully, the father never thought the shot would be made and figured no harm would be done for someone else to take the shot. He never thought for a minute that the puck would go in the hole. Surely it was a set up.
Here is where it gets weird. The father told his sons that they had to tell the truth. The next day they called the event organizer and came clean. This was before any money had been given. Before they threw the money on the bed and jumped up and down yelling "show me the money!" The didn't even spend a dime on something frivolous and silly like most contestant and lottery winners. They owned up to their deception and forfeited the money.
What would you do? Sure, it is easy to be pious from a distance, but what if this was really an option. An opportunity to gain something by skirting the truth might be a blessing in disguise. After all, no one will get hurt and no one will know. Isn't this how all lies go? "No one will know." "No one will get hurt." "I deserve this." "I need this." "It is mine."
The next time you are tempted to tell a lie about who you are, what you have done, where you have been or what belongs to you , remember this story. Remember a father who could have gotten a great start on his kid's college fund. Remember a dad who could have had the best Disney family vacation ever. Remember a dad who could have bought his kids the best back to school clothes in his state. Remember two twin boys who will forever remember how important honesty was to their father. Remember that honesty is not only the best policy, it is the only policy for someone who follows Christ and lives to display his holiness in the world.
Now in the game...
1939 – Signed as rookie pitcher and short stop for the Johnson City Cardinals. 2011 – Called up to pitch in the big leagues for St. Louis at age 95. Don Ballard took the in between years with the Navy in service to his country and the Church of the Nazarene in service of the word. He is a veteran of both World War II and the Vietnam War retiring as a distinguished veteran at the rank of lieutenant junior grade. An ordained elder, he pastored churches in KY, AL, MS, TX, LA and TN before entering the field of evangelism and preaching holiness for the church in 38 states. In the past few years of ministry, he has served as pastor of a retirement center in Memphis, TN preaching at multiple campuses on Sunday mornings. His life has been filled with service and dedication to being an active and positive member of a team at every stage and stop.
On Friday, August 12, 2011, the St. Louis Cardinals honored him by calling him up to throw out the first pitch of the game against the Colorado Rockies. Previously, Rev. Ballard threw out the first pitch in Johnson City, TN and in Memphis, TN – both affiliate teams of the Cardinals. After throwing a strike down on the corner, Ballard retired to the stands to watch the Cardinals go on to win. A good night and a great memory that complete a story begun 72 years previous.
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