13
Sep
I Haven’t done much commenting on the current US political miasma because even if the Dems suffer the November bloodbath the media is predicting the current Republican party isn’t any better so there hasn’t been much to say about this either way. However there are a couple of non-government semi-political things I want to get my thoughts out on…
Some group is planning to build an Islamic center, that includes a mosque, on a site mere blocks from Ground Zero in a building that was, in fact, damaged during the 9/11 attacks. I am wholly opposed to this being built. I highly approve the union workers who have said they won’t build it, I approve of a lot of the folks speaking out against it. I think that building any Islamic center, of any sort, on that site is a show of complete disrespect for the pain this nation endured on that horrific day. I don’t care if the center is built by forward thinking imams or liberal Muslims it is what it is and a majority of people in this country would really like them to stop pushing the issue. If you ignore the fact the folks who want to build the mosque may not have enough of a stake in the property to do so and ignore that they have been involved in shady real estate deals before it looks like this could go ahead and that is painful for me to think about. However with all that said if the government tried to stop them by passing laws or underhanded tricks I would stand shoulder to shoulder with the Muslims and draw a bead on the government for violating their freedom of religion. I hate the fact they want to build this center where they want to build it but the fact is that if they have all their ducks in a row, and it looks like they might not, then they have every right to do so and all I and others who feel like me can do is plead with them not to do it. The government has no right to step in here and should they choose to do so the people should rise up against the government and resist. In short: Please don’t build it there but if the government tells you that you can’t give me a call and you’ll have my hands for your defense.
On that same front some pastor, and I use that term loosely, down in Florida is threatening to burn Qurans unless the imam involved in building this center changes its location. And again we have much the same situation. I am ashamed that this pastor claims to follow the same God I follow. I am horrified by his lack of understanding of scriptures that command us to turn the other cheek, to do good to those that harm us, pray for those that hate us, love our enemies and so many more that completely say to do the opposite of what this so called pastor is doing. This man in Florida is a total fool and I don’t mind saying it. His congregation should rise up and tell him that he’s insane. If we look to Paul’s example he preached to non-believers using their literature as well as their God’s in his “sermons” and this pastor is doing nothing more than trying to incite hatred on both sides of the issue. It appears, if you believe the hype, that his actions here on US soil may even endanger our troops overseas and that alone should be enough for a sane person to stay their hand. This man is obviously not sane and that’s easily seen by his ties to the Westboro Baptist church, who are also threatening to burn Qurans but considering no-one really takes them seriously I don’t know how much their threat endangers anyone. However the situation is the same as above in that if the government passed laws forbidding this pastor to carry out his threats or acted against the laws we have in place and tried to stop him from doing so I would defend him until the last cinder of the Quran had gone out and would do so with my life.
That’s about it for the current quasi-political/pseudo-religious goings on in the US at the moment. I wish they would all just friggin’ stop but, much like our current political miasma, there are idiots and morons everywhere you look and it ain’t getting any better. So instead of concentrating on the idiocy being foisted on us why not just watch the videos I took at a recent concert: http://www.youtube.com/user/mobilersv
2
Jan
I used to attend Lakewood Church when John Osteen was pastor. While I walked away from that church, and the whole of the Word of Faith movement, I carried with me some of the things I learned. One of the things I have always carried with me, and leaned on when I was walking with God, was the way John opened his sermons and Bible studies.
This is my Bible. I am what it says I am…
and I can do what is says I can do.
Today I will be taught the word of God.
I boldly confess:
My mind is alert.
My heart is receptive.
I am about to receive the incorruptible, everlasting seed of the WORD of the living GOD!!!
I will never be the same!
Never, never, never.
I will never be the same in JESUS’ name!
In the WOF movement it means something different than what it means to me today. John and other WOF preachers would, after a confession like that, teach us how we could get cool stuff from God. How we could operate God like a vending machine to get our Cadillac and house in River Oaks. I reject that idea outright. However the confession should be true for every follower of Christ.
So I recently had a bit of a clue-by-four applied my rather thick skull. I combined the idea behind that confession and realized quite a few things. The first conclusion I came to was that we, the visible Church, don’t worship enough and in general don’t place enough emphasis on worship. We see the evidence of our being created to worship throughout the Bible. It is not a concept that you find by digging in to scripture and grabbing your Greek lexicon. It is plain as day.
Instead of trying to convince people that we are created for worship I am approaching the topic from the perspective that is understood. I thought about studying out all of the scriptures proving this and posting a treatise proving that point. In beginning to do so I realized many better men than me have already done so and my own treatment of the subject would rely on their words as much as my own. Instead of doing that I felt led to try and start a discussion on how we worship corporately. We know why we worship: simply because we were created to do so but what do we understand about our worship as a community? How much emphasis should we place on worship in our Sunday morning services? Can we replace a lack of corporate worship with individual worship? These things are the nagging questions that tug and my mind. I don’t know that I can answer all of them but I do know we need to address them as a community.
First and foremost I want to talk about those who lead our worship. The lead worshiper or worship leader, as they are commonly called, and what their place in the congregation might be is important to start the discussion on worship. Let me state, clearly and strongly, that there is no single right way to lead worship. The leading of worship should vary from congregation to congregation and even from time of day to time of day. The lead worshiper, maybe even more so than the preacher, should know the congregation and their collective place in the road that is following Christ and plan worship accordingly. In a young church, or a church young in its dedication to worship, it may be appropriate to do concert style worship with dim lights so people can feel more anonymous and being to open up and let worship flow from them. At an intimate gathering it may be that even an acoustic guitar is too much and a few voices raised in worship is the most humbling and honest experience. It is the job of the lead worshiper to take us to the place where our hearts can beat together in a manner such that we worship with all of our ability and love for God.
In leading us to a place where we can worship as body there is a fine line that our lead worshipers must walk. To lead a congregation to worship, pure worship, a lead worshiper must take people out of their comfort zone. This is no easy task and must be gone gingerly in a lot of circumstances. It is possible, in my opinion, to move people too far out of their comfort zone and they shut down. At the same time as the less experienced are moved out of their comfort zone the more experienced must be fed as well. I do not envy the position of the lead worshiper at all. It may well be one of the most difficult jobs in the church. I am not arrogant enough to dictate how these things should be accomplished. I do claim to know that, based on the fact we were created to worship, that the job of the lead worshiper is to lead us to supplication. If that is not happening then the worship in our church should be examined.
Supplication can happen two ways that I see. It can be a learned experience in which we are taught by a lead worshiper or the Holy Ghost (I prefer the old school term to the whole new school Holy Spirit) to a place where we fully submit and allow worship to flow freely through us. It can also be a spontaneous, unlearned event like we see sometimes in scripture and is seemingly commonplace in the WOF movement. I would posit that the goal of our worship, both corporate and solo, should be pure supplication. A place where we have no choice but to allow worship to flow from us in a manner in which we lose our sense of self and submit completely to the awesomeness of God.
The true awesomeness of God is my next point in my exploration of worship. In Matt Redman’s Face Down (The Worship Series) he speaks of how we have taken a mighty and awesome God and degraded him in our worship. We do not feel the real glory of God on Sunday morning, or in a more general sense, we miss this in our daily lives. We take God and simply anthopormize Him so that we can feel like we understand Him. This has two very negative effects on us as Christ Followers. The first effect is that we we start to feel that we undestand God when scripture is very clear that we do not and can not understand Him. In fact the minute we think we do he is likley to smack us around a bit! Also in this anthropomorphization that we see in worship (as an aside I mostly refer to modern worship and not the hymns of yesteryear) we also deprive ourselves from experiencing the glory of God. This glory is such that people fell to the ground in the slightest presence all through scripture. To worship and not feel a sense of awe and wonder is to not worship at all. God’s glory, in worship, should flow over us and invoke submission and release in a manner that nothing else on earth can measure up to. If we are not experiencing this thing that is worship then there is a good chance we are doing it wrong.
The mechanics of worship is a much discussed topic and my thoughts on the manner is that there are many methods, positions, and mannerisms that are completely valid for us to give ourselves over in worship, Matt Redman, mentioned earlier, advocates checking out getting face down in our worship. I find this a laudable goal as that position is physical representation of the position our hearts and minds should be in for worship. But there are many other ways we can physically participate in worship. There are folks who raise their arms towards heaven in a standing position of surrender and there are those for who letting go means something as base a singing out loud. There is no single right mechanic for worship, especially in a corporate setting, but we should be encouraged by those leading us to supplication to participate in worship in a manner that is the most humbling and freeing for us. In fact were I ever to find myself in the position of leading worship, God forbid as I don’t think I could handle that responsibility, I would even encourage a shy person to hide their eyes and let loose in privacy even while in public. In fact if the only way, for whatever reason, for someone to find the freedom to worship was to stand against the back wall and pretend no-one could see them then they should be encouraged to do so.
The second hardest job of the worship leader, from my perspective, is creating an environment where each and every person feels comfortable in their worship. However this is not the sole job of lead worshiper. Creating this environment is not simply saying the right things, having the lights at the right level, having the right style of music, and being someone able to lead on Sunday morning. Though all of those things come in to play in creating the environment they are the final pieces and create the physcial environment. The rest of the environment is the whole of the congregation and their attitude towards worship. This is set up from the ground up. The elders should be sheparding their congregation towards their hearts being in the right place, the minister (pastor, preacher, priest, etc) should be leading us to where we have a burning desire to feel worship flow through us. The lead worshiper then puts those pieces together for us and we can come together as a group and let worship flow through us. I can imagine a scenario in which God moves with such glory through a congegation that it creates this atmosphere but I think this is the exception and not the rule. As such we need to have the right leaders creating the right mindset for our worship.
Outside of corporate worship we should be worshipping in our daily lives. This should come across to the world as St. Fancis of Assisi stated: “Preach the Gospel at times, when necessary use words”. Our witness, our method of bringing people to God should be as simple as them seeing us live our lives. There are times when a more direct method is necessary but I cannot think of a better form of worship than to live a life that people see and know that following Christ is the center of your world. I have spoken of the way we end up appearing in the media in my other pieces and I assert that we can change public perception simply by living our lives in worship to the Un-created Creator. People will want what you’ve got if you live your life in this manner. It is the most pious form of public worship. Living a life in servitude to Christ will cause worship to flow from you no matter where you are.
Our private worship is another matter. How do we worship God when alone? Do we sing praises to him as David did in Psalms? Do we simply talk to him and glorify His work in our lives? The answer is that if you are living a life with Christ as the center you should be led to worship and however you are led is right for you. This is not a similar idea to relativism but a simple recognition that we are all created as individuals and as such will have different ways of worshipping. The point is not the method by which we worship but rather that we do it all. We should make the time, regardless of how busy, to worship God in private on a daily basis. I heard a song some years back that prompted me to try something and it was a humbling experience. In fact so much so that I highly recommend giving it a shot. Pray naked! It’s obvious why we can’t do this in our corporate worship but in our private worship the humbling experience of stripping off our clothes and submitting to God in our most vulnerable state is freeing in such a way that I can’t even begin to use words to describe it.
We don’t worship enough. That is clear to me. However it is also clear that we do worship because the rocks are still silent! I will tell you that we can worship more and better. I will also tell you that worship will lead us to places that are accessible in no other way. It is what we were created to do after all. So challenge your friends, challenge your church, don’t let people remain comfortable in their lack of awe and three song Sunday worship, get up and take charge of your worship. Cry out in awe, fall to the floor in submission, raise your arms in surrender. Ignore the atmosphere around you and let the worship flow from your every pore. Do this regardless of the level of worship in your church. Make people uncomfortable when they see you surrender to God. Let it be known that your worship will happen regardless of what’s going around you. Live for your created purpose and help others to do the same. The church is ours and it’s time to take it back! Take it back through unashamed worship, take it back through surrender to God. Show the pew warmers and lukewarm around us what it’s all about!
I did something a little different and linked scriptures throughout the article. I think it works well. Let me know if you’d like it done differently.
If you look at the history of the punk rock movement, not the modern drivel, but the real punks you will find that it was a rejection of many things going on at the time: flower power, political idealism, the royal class in England, pop music, and much more. This led to a stated belief in anarchy and a lot of DIY emphasis. Today the movement is pretty much dead. It has gone the way of Christmas and is commercialized and sterilized and packaged for mass consumption and worse yet embracing the same political idealism rejected by the first punks. I don’t even mean the prevailing liberal idealism present in punk but even the right wing punks. Both sides have embraced an idealism that was soundly rejected in the beginning. That’s all the information we need to move forward. While I love the music this isn’t about the state of the punk scene…
So how do I reconcile being a punk with being a Christian? Punk is and was about rebellion. Most people, ministers included, will tell you that rebellion is a bad thing and it’s not very Godly. I say that while rebellion in many circumstances is wrong that those who say it is always wrong are short sighted and have forgotten things like a certain set of theses nailed to certain door. I also firmly believe that all of our emotions are still intact after the fall but they have become corrupted. It is through God’s guidance and wisdom that we use these corrupted emotions for his good. We know, for a fact, that God is a jealous God and yet in most cases while we are still trapped in this mortal coil it is not good for us. I don’t want to get too deep into the theology of emotions but I did feel a need to explain my position before going further. So to sum up: Every emotion we have, rebellion included, was created for a purpose and has a Godly purpose.
I consider myself a punk when it comes to the church. I am not ready to accept the status quo and be a good little pew warmer. In fact I would like to see the status quo torn down and replaced. I am not speaking of any single church specifically but of the visible church as a whole. Denominations dividing us. Preachers spewing hate against other Christians. Congregrants whose entire ability to talk about God consists of bumper sticker witicisms. These things are what the world see of the visible church. I could blame the media because they decide what to show the world but better yet I lay the blame at the feet of the visible church for ever giving these things to show. If we did as we should, if we practiced unity in any real fashion, not the lip service payed to unity today, then the media wouldn’t have the freakshow that they get to choose from today.
So yes I am a Christian Punk. I am rebelling against a church that has allowed the name “Christian” to be drug through the mud. To be slandered by the likes of Fred Phelps. To be shown in the worst possible light. Furthermore I am sickened that around Christmas time we make a big play to “keep Christ in Christmas” and then we allow ourselves to participate in the commercialization of the date chose the celebrate Christ’s birth. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am no longer content to watch people sit comfortably in the pews on Sunday and go back to their daily lives with no change. If what we believe is true then it changes people. I know there will always be some folks who don’t change but when the majority of people I meet are Christian zombies then something is wrong.
So yeah I am a punk. I am punk in the truest sense of punk. I intend to make a lot noise and make people think. Christianity, by definition, should not be comfortable. The Bible tells us that we will be persecuted for His name and if we aren’t being persecuted, and trust me not getting put up a nativity scene at city hall isn’t persecution, then we may well be doing something wrong. If we are only getting noticed for the crazies and not denouncing them so loud that the media can’t help but pay attention then we are most assuredly doing something wrong. If it takes bikers, who may or may not be Christians, to drown out Fred Phelps at a serviceman’s funeral then my question is WHERE IS THE CHURCH?
So I am not rebelling against God. I am rebelling for God. I am rebelling against a visible church that has become more concerned with feeling God than with saving souls or leading people beyong the initial salvation experience. I am rebelling for God. I am a punk with a purpose. I will be this punk until God wants me to do something different but until then I don’t intend to make to make the church comfortable.
When starting down this path I got to wondering what one man could do. I was answered by history and a look at Martin Luther, John Calvin, Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, and many others. While I don’t agree with all of the theology those names invoke they were single men with a mission and they affected change for better or worse. I feel the church needs a good shake up. So I am gathering like minded people and am setting out to make it happen.
I pretty much concentrate on the aspects visible to the world in this little piece but the reality is the changes need to start well before the media ever sees anything. There are many essays on those things in my head. They span the denominations, congregations, and so on. There is too much to cover in one article. There may be too much to cover in bookshelf full of books. I only know what I feel God has called me to point out. I am sure there is much more than needs to the brought to light and that others have been and will be called to point those things out. Suffice to say I will be silent no more.
I had to add the qualifier “aside from pray” into the title after I had already planned to write this post. Thanks Eli! I am not concerned with addressing any doctrinal shortcomings in this post and might not ever really get in depth into that here. I do want to point out some things we, Christians, brothers and sisters could do a little better. Before I get into the meat of this post, so to speak, I would like to say that this is not a time where I am going to complain about something and not be willing to be the one to make it happen.
Eat. That’s my answer to the above question. When we get together with family we usually eat. When we go out friends we usually eat. When we invite people to our home there is usually food involved. When we celebrate someone’s marriage there is food. When we mourn their death there is usually food. And yet when we come together weekly to worship, minister to each other, fellowship and so we usually don’t eat and when we do we break off into small cliques and go our separate ways to do so. We don’t make breaking bread part of our communal fellowship. A better man than I might research when we left this tradition behind but I am not concerned about the when and why.
Our new pastor recently spoke on the topic of sharing meals. He pointed out that around a table we let our gaurd down. We share more than we do simply standing around. On some level the sharing of food opens up for the sharing of our lives. I think this is an important concept that has been neglected by many churches. If we look to scripture we see the Apostles eating pretty constantly. When Peter was shown that God intended salvation for everyone the first thing he did was go eat with a non-Jewish family. When the prison walls fell and Paul walked out prison to find the gaoler about to fall on his sword he ministered to the man and then went and ate with him. We see the Apostles gathered for meals in Acts. And yet, even in the Restoration Movement, the communal meal seems to be lost.
I see no reason why we shouldn’t give the whole idea a shot. I think we would learn more about each other, our needs, our desires, our fears, and so on. Apparently some folks think this is a radical idea. Something new. So instead of trying to convince any board of elders, or a minister, that something should be done I am doing it myself. Right now the whole idea is in the planning stages but I have made some contacts and there is intrest from some of the people I want to have on board. I am not sure this needs more than a rough draft to get off the ground but the simple overview is a fellowship on an evening that won’t interfere with anyone going to their own church. A meal of some kind (no catered or fast food but that’s personal preference). Worship, communion, fellowship, food, and discussion and not necessarily in that order. I envision an evironment where there is someone to organize the big picture and some folks to help set it up and that core group would hold each other accountable for their commitments. On of that group would have something to speak on prepared but the hope would be that it wouldn’t be needed as the vision is a place where anyone can share what they have learned, been shown, or just found cool.
While I speak of the meal here the main focus of the whole fellowship would be worship, communion, and fellowship in that order. The food would be there simply because it should. No boundaries on who could come, who could share, or any creed to stop us from fellowshipping. That part is a little radical but to be honest I feel the truth will stand up to any false doctrine so I don’t want barriers to keep anyone out. I see an inclusive environment where worship is the key and people from all walks can come together and share a weekly meal.
Of course it’s still in the rough draft stages but it’s coming together so quickly that I am amazed. I am putting myself out there on this one because I am the one stepping up and trying to make it happen. I am committing myself to this idea and doing so in a very public manner. When we get this thing rockin’ , and I have no doubt we will, I will post times, dates and places.
There are three people in my life that have either inspired me, guided me, or supported me that have led to this being what it is and me actually committing to it. I am guessing you can figure out who you are. I want to thank those people. (Yes Mr. Stellhorn you are one them). I also want to thank my wife for her support as I try to figure out how to make this work.
Tony Woodlief is the subject of two of my posts today. It’s entirely uncommon that I post twice in a day, lately twice in a week, but I find myself having more and more to say. (I know this is techincally three posts but the first was a copy of one I posted on facebook days ago) I have a ton to talk about so there may be more posts forthcoming but I also have commitments I have to keep today so I may be limited to this post plus the previous.
Tony Woodlief published an article that presents a take on Christmas I had never considered. The article adresses a subject that has been near and dear to me since returning to the faith some seven years ago. He speaks of the blood of Christ in this piece and while not the focus it brought to mind the fact that I rarely post on my faith even though it is becoming a more central piece in my life. I plan to change that and do so starting today. The article linked above only served as the inspiration for this post but it is well worth a read and I think some of you may even find it inspiring. Now on to my main point.
When I walked away from the Word of Faith movement I also walked away from the faith as a whole. I wanted nothing to do with God or much of anything God related. Upon my return to the faith, not the WOF movement, I found myself mired in the Restoration Movement. Aside from sound doctrine I appreciated the ideals that spawned the movement even if the execution is lacking. I have remained there and likely will do so as long as they will have me. But I digress…I found that in our movement and indeed in many other churches I have attended over the years that there two things in the WOF movement that seem to not have enough emphasis. As I am not a church historian I do not know if this is historically a Protestant thing or if it something that has slowly happened to the church as a whole regardless of the schims. Actually there are three things but only one is my topic here. They are: Communion, Worship, and teaching on the blood of Christ.
All I want to delve into here is the blood of Christ. Tony’s piece mentions it and it is something that has been on mind a lot lately and even got discussed with Chris on Christmas! So I feel led to post about the lack. I am not going to go into some strange sermon mode here but rather try and simply state that I feel that simple things like talking about the blood of Christ is something that should be done more. Greek word studies are all well and good but if the basics are ignored then we have a bunch of book-smart and yet ignorant Christians who may be able to interpret Greek but miss the point.
Suffice to say that scripture backs my position on the importance of the blood of Christ. You can look for it yourself (and yes I am purposefully not posting the references as it makes people actually do the searches and more information seems to be retained that way). The hymn writers saw the importance as evidenced in the hymnbooks in the back of the pews at a lot of churches (neat segue into the worship topic but that’s Eli’s game and not mine right now). I firmly believe that the churches I have attended recently concern themselves more with actions than beliefs. An emphasis on actions is alright but if it’s the main focus your end up with the knowledge of what you should do and not why you should do it. If your beliefs are right then by necessity your actions will follow. (scripture backs that point as well, look it up!)
I challenge my friends to think about this and to take a good hard look at what you are being taught whilst warming the pews and see where the emphasis is in your church. Do your own study on the blood of Christ and its importance. Should you choose to accept my challenge I have a feeling your study will lead you in amazing directions! I don’t think any two of you will even be led down the same study path. God has this weird way of taking our study in a direction where we need it to go in spite of our intentions.
For those who have never noticed that I am a Christian. SURPISE! I am actually sorry if you never knew. I am still the same guy. Still the same music. Still the same favorite beer and small batch whiskey (maybe in smaller quantities these days). I am simply putting my faith out there. I will still go to a show and knock back a Lone Star with you any night I can get out of the house. 
I should have made this a more central piece of my life a long time ago.
