For some reason I have found myself reading a lot, in a variety of forms of media, about worship. It seems like the church has almost moved from one battle over "worship" to the next. Do we sing the Psalms or the hymns? Do we sing hymns or choruses? Do we sing hymns again? It almost feels like in the midst of contending for our own preferences, the church has lost sight of what worship is really supposed to be - a declaration of the worthiness of our God. It has become a means of putting rear ends in the seats to hear the truth. Two common questoins have become: Is it relevant? Is it excellent? While these are valid questions, we need to remember to add a qualifier to them - "to God."
But why do most arguments seem to come back to the idea of worship? I wonder if its because Satan knows that it is the central battleground in our lives. We are what we worship - whether artist, preacher, or possession - we can be defined by our object of worship. Has our enemy crafted a scheme where what we worship, and where our worth is, is no longer God, but the idea of worship itself? Have we become so concerned with its form that we've forgotten its function. If we lose sight of the object of our worship in our debate over its form, my friends, we have sorely missed the mark.
Does it need to be done to the best of our abilities and relevant (if we define relevant as being in the heart language) to the participant - yes, because in failing either of these two, it ceases to be worship and becomes mere words. But in discussing form and style, we must not forget that God is worshipped in every way. So let the discussion on emerging vs. contemporary vs. traditional/liturgical rage, but let us remain vigilent that in the discussion our worship does not shift from the ONE worthy of our worship to the form in which we do so.
In His Grace.
I read Mark Driscoll's blog tonight where he begins a discussion on sins of omission vs commission and it got me thinking... do we often promote a sinful lifestyle because of our fear of approaching the subject and topic?
We really have created a unique culture in church life... remember the pastor that encouraged us to dress up to church by saying "if the president of the US was coming to visit, wouldn't you wear your best?" -- as if we can only meet with the Lord in a building erected in His Name. I can think of several faux-pas' within our churches today that didn't seem to have quite as much difficulty rising to the surface of the Biblical text. So, my question is... Do we lack discipline and risk because we are nervous to mention that the Chrisitan life is not about a comfortable life? Do we see sexual sins and addictions more prevalent within the body of Christ because of our fear to talk openly about it as the Bible often has? (likewise, does this often cause shame when the word is mentioned, when it should cause joy in something God has created for good?) Does the body of Christ often lack effectiveness and unity because we are too afraid to approach morons (ok, strong word... maybe stupid-heads work) who twist and abandon good Biblical truth to accomodate their own personal views, causing the body to suffer and disessemble?
i just do wonder if the things we create as "no-no's" within our services are often the things that need to be spoken about the most (outside of the Gospel being preached) for our body to live their lives with more glory to the Father.
I have always been amazed at how much Jesus' message seems to have gotten twisted, and we argue over interpretation... but its never questioned what Jesus looked like. Of course -- we've all seen the pictures. You can find them all over; in malls, christian bookstores, pastors offices... right next to the Kincaids. Jesus has perfect hair (no split ends), a nice groomed beard, He is usually thin and very clean looking. I'm not quite sure where this picture of Jesus started from, but i do find it interesting that it is hardly even questioned. In fact, i'm surprised franchised churches and other coffee-houses... er, churches haven't picked up on this. Why not show a picture of Jesus as we would know him? Short haircut, maybe a cool goatee, some designer jeans, and maybe a really nice preppy polo. (oh i can see the mailer now)
As much as the visual of the thin-bearded Jesus has really made over at least the last 1,000 years; i'm quite sure we've lost much of our understanding on who Jesus really was. What we have here today is... an American Jesus. When we hear stories from the Bible, we immediately begin to associate and identify in a way that is common to us -- not in a way that was common to them. This can be difficult when understanding a passage, because we are immediately infusing a concept that may have never meant to be implied. What should our goal be? i assume our goal would be to unlearn our Western thoughts, and begin to attempt to think with an Eastern mind. Yes, Jesus was not American... He was in fact Eastern, Middle Eastern to be exact.
I think Jesus was in fact not a thin, clean cut, groomed person we picture him as. I've got a feelilng He had rough hands, a frame that made you hope He was friendly, and a sweet ZZ-Top beard... ok, maybe not the super-long beard, but i doubt it was nicely groomed and wearing new balance's. We can never fully adapt a completely new mindset, but we sure do need to try.
Here's a link to Walt Mueller's blog on his CPYU.org website. He raises some interesting questions - albeit not new ones - regarding how and why we do church.
I know this gets into really deep water... and will likely offend a bunch, but who cares? What is a proper financial theology? The modern church is putting a large emphasis on helping the poor, and things of that nature, but also on being culturally relevant technologically (in both mission and personal aspects). Where is the line? When does it become too much money spent on our personal comfort and technological savvy? Should we all be driving used cars and listening to non-Ipod mp3 players? Is it wrong to eat lobster and steak and live in houses with more rooms for more of our stuff? Is it enough to simply say, "honor God with your earnings"? What is the line that denotes "your heart is right" and the one that denotes "you're focused too much on self"? I know this is just a lot of questions, but is there even an answer?
I'm not sure how long this will last, but we figured we'd give it a go.
YTS is a group of young guys who like to sit around and discuss theology. We have a heart to see the Church contextualize their ministry and spread the Gospel. Simply put, we love Jesus and want to see others do the same...
and talking about what old dead guys wrote is kind of a hobby.