Interesting (and cogent) observation on the Advent Season

John was a friend in college. A few years my junior, he sang next to me in the Samford A Cappella Choir (I did my undergrad on the 6-year plan). With a quick mind and a ready wit, I thoroughly enjoyed his friendship. Thanks to the internet, I have reconnected with him in the past couple of years and have again enjoyed the humor and the deep thoughts (he's a deeper thinker than I, but I'm still older and better looking). A few days ago he posted a thought-provoking riff on the better way to celebrate Advent. Understanding that our home Christmas trees are already up (because that was when we had available in our overcommitted calendar to do it), I acknowledge that he makes some very valid points. Enjoy!

http://knowtea.com/?p=625

That's enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

All Thy Gifts of Love

Last week I said I was going to write more about how my thought processes are changing concerning the whole idea of “blended” or “convergence” or “combined” worship. I really had hoped to have some quiet time to ponder these issues between then and now, but life continues to go way too fast for that to happen. It’s my own fault, I know, but it’s where my tent happens to be pitched right now. I’m trying to figure out how to move it to calmer pastures (to follow God leading me to still waters), but December looms on the horizon.

Sunday morning is Response Sunday, which means that the order of worship will (again) be a little different … hoping to allow room for some different kinds of interaction in worship. The Young Musicians Choir will lead part of the service with a wonderful piece called “All Thy Gifts of Love.” You will hear it Sunday, but I wanted you to read the text beforehand as we prepare for a season (short though it may be) of Thanksgiving. The first stanza is by the Diocese of Huron, the rest is by the composer David L. Brunner.

For food in a world where many walk in hunger,
For peace in a world where many walk in fear,
For friends in a world where many walk alone,
We give You thanks, O God.

For health in a world where many walk in sickness,
For joy in a world where many walk in grief.
For friends in a world where many walk alone,
We give You thanks, O God.

For love in a world where many walk in anger,
For light in a world where many walk in darkness,
Friends in a world where many walk alone,
We give You thanks, O God.

For these and all the many things unspoken,
For gifts unknown or as of yet unseen.
For these and all Thy gifts of love,
We give Thee thanks, O God.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Together Worship ... I Learned Something

I was a nervous wreck last week preparing for our combined worship service. What got me wound so tightly was that I so desperately wanted the service to be as connection-friendly to as many members of our congregation as possible. We all too easily divide along the lines of musical style preference in worship, or screens, or furniture … and last Sunday's combined service was supposed to be all about together. We've not been hugely successful at combining our services in the past, but this past Sunday was a welcome exception for which I am extremely grateful to God. I learned things in the service, but I also learned in the planning ... or rather, I should say that I learned in the aftermath of the planning. I learned more than I’m writing about here, and given a little more time I could say it better, but …

Here’s the deal with me: I have long been frustrated when I have heard my Christian brothers and sisters criticize styles of worship that may be different from their own personal preference. We are prone to limit ourselves by saying that we “can’t” worship if everything is not just so, whether that means that drums are used … or not; that the organ is played … or not; the screens are used … or not; and … here it is: the right songs are sung by the right people in the right key in the right order at the right time in the right tempo at the right volume with the right transitions between … etc. As I agonized over that very thing, trying desperately to select the right songs with all the other right stuff happening, I was in many ways enabling a continuation of that same erroneous mindset. If it seems a little too much like the other service, then up go the obstacles. I wanted so badly for there to be as few obstacles for both congregations worshiping together that I couldn’t focus on the fact that God desires for us to connect with Him and with each other even more than I do. Harold Best says:

… worshippers, along with those who work so hard trying to tell us how to worship, … should be relieved of the temptation to believe that if the music is just right, if the order of worship is just so, and the styles all patty-cake and blessing, faith will be bettered, more souls might be saved, or worship would be more “meaningful.” … We should never confuse the power of faith and the power of work. Remember, worship is full of works and can therefore degenerate into a self-consciousness about the earning power of works. The expressive power of music and art, as well as any sequence of liturgical events should never be mistaken for the presence of God or the increase of faith.

Now, does that mean that I don’t think long and hard about what we sing and how and why? Of course not. I will always be very intentional about those aspects of worship planning. But I also must learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and trust God’s transcendent power to reveal Himself to His people within the context of any worship style.

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.

Together Worship

This Sunday morning, First Baptist Church is all about together. It is the culmination of our 40 Days of Community campaign. Your church staff decided that it would be silly for us to celebrate the completion of the study that’s all about “together” by worshiping separately. One of the main reasons we are combining the services is that we will be sharing with each other what we have learned in the studies. We didn’t want people in one service to miss what someone shared in the other service, so we are worshiping together Sunday morning. One service. One congregation. United. Diverse in personal preferences? Yes. Diverse in how we look? Yes. United in Christ. By all means, yes, yes, YES, YES, YES!

Although there will be elements of the service that will look and feel traditional, and that will look and feel contemporary, the service will be unlike either of our usual Sunday morning services. That is by design. We have put a lot of thought, prayer, and mental effort into the plans for Sunday morning. Every aspect of the worship service has a definite purpose. The main reason we’re doing one service is that we will be sharing with each other what we have learned during the campaign. We everyone to hear what anyone has to share about what God has taught them through this process. We feel very strongly that God has something important to say to us through each other.

A few weeks ago I bumped into a quote by a theologian that addresses the very thing we have been trying to wrap our collective minds and hearts around during this 40 Days of Community endeavor (something about me still doesn’t like the word “campaign.” Sounds too military … or political … or something). Marva J. Dawn writes:

We have turned our churches into ‘vendors of religious services and goods’ where people shop for worship, instead of ‘a body of people on a mission.’ People choose a church by what makes them feel good, instead of belonging to a community in which God will kill us, and then raise us up into the new life of obedience. (Living in the Lamblight)

That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.