Defining "worship" - a worthy pursuit?

Is it a worthy pursuit to encourage Christian leaders and educators, who use "worship" to reference an event, service, or gathering, and who teach others the same, to examine the Biblical use and understanding of "worship" and compare it with their own?

Kyle is fresh out of college and recently, Sara, his friend and long time church attender, has asked Kyle to join her for church on Sunday.  Kyle wasn't brought up in a Christin home and hasn't been familiar with any sort of Christian culture.  Considering that Kyle is new to the scene, he hesitantly texts Sara, "I'm not religious or anything but I guess going to church couldn't hurt anything." 

      

Sara is also fresh out of college be she has been raised in a loving Christian family who saturated themselves in church culture.  More so, she has always heard the pastor and music leader encourage the congregation to "invite people to worship."  More so, because of the language used within his church, she's come to refer to Sunday mornings as "worship" among her family and other church attendees. 

      

The Sunday Kyle visited church with Sara, Sara was trying to be as calm and hospitable as she knew how - even though she was incredibly excited inside.  Regardless, Sara held her emotion and didn't bring it up that day.  Being unable to contain herself any longer, the following Monday morning, Sara decided to follow up with an iMessage to Kyle and asked, "What did you think of worship yesterday?"

      

Kyle was curious; the following Sunday provided Sara with a tangible answer as Kyle decided to join she and her family for church again.  That morning, the pastor and the music leader referred to the church gathering as "worship" several times.  More so, Kyle was greeted many times with, "Thanks for being at worship with us today."  That afternoon, Kyle joined Sara's family for lunch.  The language used around the dinner table seemed to center around the phrase, "Worship was so powerful today!"

      

Is Kyle being "equipped for works of service (Eph. 4:12)" or is he being "equipped to come back for the next service?"  Although the loose use of "worship" is a simple issue of semantics, is it being used and taught appropriately to nurture the growth of Kyle's faith?  When "worship" is used in this way, how may it affect the spiritual formation of a new, non-, or long-time believer?  And although these questions are interesting in light of this scenario, there's a deeper question to ask: 

Is it a worthy pursuit to encourage Christian leaders and educators, who use "worship" to reference an event, service, or gathering, and who teach others the same, to examine the Biblical use and understanding of "worship" and compare it with their own?

Towards a theology/philosophy of worship

In drafting a theology/philosophy of worship, it's important to me for it to be broad enough to incorporate both individual worship as well as corporate worship.  It's also important to me that it considers the whole sweep of scripture's use of worship and considers verses that explicitly explain or define worship.  Such a task cannot adequately be attempted here, but below I'd like to share what approach I'd take in light of my heuristic understanding of worship.

Overall and most often, worship seems to be an action word that is translated into "bow down."  Sometimes it's used in a literal way, other times it's used in a figurative way, and yet other times it is grouped with the words "serve" or "follow."  Another way I like to communicate this is by saying that worship is the submission to a particular creation narrative.  When worship is used in regards to an individual's (or community's) loyalty to the LORD and His work in Christ, it is Christian worship.  Contrastingly, when worship is used in regards to an individual's (or community's) loyalty to something finite, such as the self or it's own prestige or existence, it is sin (Jones, 1986).  Such ideas about worship as an allegiance to the LORD permeate the Old Testament.  More so, Jesus uses the language to describe worship as an action taken that links both "Spirit and Truth."  Later in Romans (12:1), Paul pens "In view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship" (NIV).  Such language from both Paul and Jesus parallel the Hebrew words of worship that often translate into "bowing down."  I also tend to think of bowing in a figurative sense in which a worshiper aligns their heart, their actions, their words, their attitudes to the LORD's redemptive narrative as epitomized in Christ Jesus.

There's a characteristic about bowing down that is important to recognize.  Bowing down is a repercussion of something else.  Bowing is a secondary consequence of a primary action.  We learn that Paul teaches the church in Rome how worship is a repercussion of an individual's (or community's) "view of God's mercy."  More so, what Paul was referring to throughout his Roman letter was the mercy of God revealed through the atonement of Christ (Romans 3:25).  It's important that every time we talk about worship, it's with the understanding that worship is reactionary.  Worship is a reaction to the knowledge and acceptance of what Christ has done through the cross; this has incredibly personal implications for every worshiper.

I think this initial conception of worship is broad enough to include many different Christian traditions, but it is also precise enough as to attain accuracy to the Hebrew and Greek words of worship found in scripture and ancient culture.  Personally, within church tradition's different perspectives, I like "The Proclamation Model" when it says, "God proclaims and we respond.  Jesus Christ is God's perfect proclamation and our perfect response.  it is the Word of God which creates the church and makes present the saving event of Christ" (Webber, 1994).  I also appreciate "The Process Model" and it's focus on the concept of "becoming," which I think is a great descriptive word for worship (Webber, p. 265).  Then again, I resonated with the way "Liberation Model" communicated worship when it said it's the "place where one's affections and emotions are to be transformed so that imaginative ways can be found to bring about this restructuring of society and the conversion" of people (Webber, p. 266).

As a millennial, I enjoy incorporating and communicating God's mercy (in Christ) from various perspectives.  First and foremost in regards to the church's weekly gathering, I think it's necessary to communicate the good news of God's mercy, made available through the Cross.  How can the repercussion of worship be accomplished if we, as church leaders, don't communicate the reality of redemption in some way, shape, or form?  Because I'm a millennial and because we're part of a church plant consisting of people who come from a variety of faith backgrounds, I do my best to incorporate liturgy from a variety of backgrounds.  Overall, I think our church's theology of worship is in tune with Wesley's "all of life" philosophy, but we also incorporate other's into our gathering arrangement.  We use Catholocism's "life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ," we use Orthodox's "infusion of Christ into the life of the believer," we use the Reformed emphasis on the proclamation of the Word, we use (my personal favorite) the Anglican's view of the church's gathering being the incarnation of Christ in the world, and although there's more we probably incorporate without knowing it, we probably incorporate a Restoration Theology of Worship because we don't steadily hold to one consistent creed or theology other than "Jesus is Lord."  Honestly, we celebrate the faith of those who have gone before us and we participate in their understandings to broaden and deepen our own "view."

We don't refer to our Sunday gatherings as "worship."  Rather, we continually use language that invites people to worship through different forms (singing, giving, praying, serving, and the sacraments).  Our gatherings are understood to be the current physical presence of Christ in the world - the gathering of the "body."  More so, we pray that we're able to respond in worship, but we place more emphasis on worship as something that applies to "all of life."

References

Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (pp. 316–317). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Webber, Robert E. (1994).  The Complete Library of Christian Worship. Volume 2 "Twenty Centuries of Christian Worship". Peabody, MA. Hendrickson

We are all worship leaders.

We are all worship leaders.

"In view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1, NIV) 

Although we absolutely LOVE the worship that happens in the midst of our Sunday morning gatherings, worship has very little to do with the genre of music sung during a church gathering. It has little to do with the new middle school space that the Bridge Church meets in. Worship has little to do with the sound system, the lighting, the seating arrangements, the media, the coffee, or any of the other things it's often mistaken for. It has little to do with the particular Christian denomination, the style, the pastor, or the quality/quantity of ministry programming.

Worship is a response to God's mercy and it can take on many, many forms. Some of us respond to God's mercy by showing mercy to someone who has hurt us. Some of us respond by serving in a ministry area (e.g. KidZone, Frontline, Tech Team, Clean Crew, Music Team, …). Some of us respond through art. Some of us respond through prayer or solitude. Some of us respond through financial giving. Worship takes on many forms, but true worship is always a direct response to the mercy we've received through Christ.

I'm excited to see the souls of our church engage worship in the every moments of their lives! I'm excited to see a faith community respond to God's immeasurable mercy by serving mercy to one another, serving mercy to the community, and serving mercy to those in need. I'm excited to see worship embodied in grounded and practical ways. I'm excited to see a worship movement; not just a worship service.

Father in Heaven! You have loved us first, help us never to forget that You are love, so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment. But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom You have commanded us to love as we love ourselves. ~ Soren Kierkegaard

We are all worship leaders.
How do you lead worship?

Living in First Person

I don't know if this is going to sound strange, but I'd like to share something that's been on my mind over the summer. 

I have to continually remind myself to exist in first-person.  I am me.  Life is currently happening, unfolding, and blooming into each moment.  As it does, I have thoughts, feelings, opinions, experiences, hopes, ambitions, and tastes.  As weird as it sounds, sometimes I have to remind myself that I am living and experiencing the present. 

This morning is wonderful.  I currently have music playing and I'm enjoying songs from Death Cab for Cutie.  Next to my computer is a cup of coffee flavored with the new girl scout cookie creamer that I've come to really enjoy.  I'm breathing by inhaling and exhaling through my nose but the air I'm breathing is incredible humid due to this warm and rainy summer morning.  My 18 month old (Calvin) is in the room next to my office sleeping - I'm trying to be quiet and keep my music low.  My desk is a mess; filled with books and papers that seem to accumulate out of thin air. 

I am alive.  I am me.

What I've realized over the summer is that I don't make these observations enough.  Instead of living in first person, I think about what needs to happen at church.  I think about the 14 books I need to read in the next month.  I think of the conversations I need to have with those people.  I think of how I need to Biblically defend and support a point in the sermon that I preached a few Sundays back.  I wonder what people are thinking.  I'm concerned about other's faith, family, and finances.  My heart celebrates with the joy of some people and grieves with the despair of others.  And while I'm thinking all these thoughts, I find myself living more in third person or living as the narrator.  I don't stop often enough to enjoy the taste of my coffee.

This summer, I realized that much of my life has become reactive.  When I get a glimpse of someones expectation for me, I try and meet it.  When someone offers me advice, I feel like I need to honor that advice by listening to it.  When someone wants me to preach that way, I feel like I need to listen to them in order to make them happy.  When someone is disgruntled, I feel like I need to bend over backwards in order to make things better.  And when much of my life is spent working for other people, I've come to realize that I've actually stopped working for God.  Somewhere in the mix of everything, I've stopped pursuing the call that He gave me.  Instead, I've met the call of everyone else.  I think it's a good thing to meet people's needs, support them, and love them, but sometimes the enemy of the best is the good.

I need to be proactive in my approach to life.  The best thing in my life, or perhaps you could call it my sweet spot, is when I slow down and quiet myself with God.  When I do that, I'm excited and passionate about life.  When I'm in my sweet spot, I can energetically minister, support, and encourage people.  In fact, I'm able to truly love others when I'm proactive in this way.  When I tune out the background noise and quiet myself with God, I'm am me.  When I can soak in the moment, I'm able to live in first person.  That's exactly where I want to be.  I want to be able to enjoy life as it comes.

Living in third person or as a narrator is exhausting.  These are the times when I try and control people or situations.  These are the times when I live based on what everone else wants me to do.  To be honest, I never feel like I'm free to be me in these moments.  It's more about what "I have to do" rather than "what I want to do."  Even in writing this, someone is going to criticize me for not including a Bible verse - as to somehow legitimize my thoughts or feelings.  And if I were to live in third person, I would add a verse to make people happy.  Living that way is exhausting.  Sometimes, when I'm living that way, I forget to taste my coffee.  I forget to hug my family.  I forget to pray.  I forget to soak in God's words.  When I'm living this way, weeks will go by in a blur and for some reason, I can't remember the last time I felt joyful.

I have to continually remind myself to exist in first person.  I am me.  I have thoughts, ambitions, opinions, feelings, tastes, preferences, and dreams.  Some people simply tell me to "let go and let God."  That's great they have it all figured out, but for me, that sounds like nothing more than a trite Facebook quote that's used as opium for the masses.  Living in first person is easiest for me when I find my center in Christ.  When I allow God to be my narrator, I'm able to enjoy the first person perspective of life and participate in the story that He is telling.  When I see what He is doing in the world I'm able to surrender my life to His mission, that's when I get excited, that's when I'm in my sweet spot.  When I center my heart, mind, and soul in Christ, I'm able to feel joy again.  When I slow down and allow the breath of God to fill me, I'm able to know freedom and peace.  It's in these times that I'm able to sit quietly under an oak tree and enjoy the August buzz that comes from the cicada's song.  It's in these times that ice cream seems to taste better.  It's in these times that I love people for who they are.  It's in these times that I can have the unspeakable and unexplainable gratitude for my life and everyone in it.

I am me.  I am a child of God.  I am Joel.

I can taste my coffee again.  I can feel my heart beat.  I can go fishing.  I can rest.  I can stick my hand out of the car window and be kiddishly amused as I pretend it's an airplane in the wind.  I can laugh until I cry.  I can feel.  I can hug my family and enjoy the moment.

I am me and I'm continually reminding myself to live in first person.

word choices

I don't realize how powerful my words are.

I should realize this because other people's words are incredibly powerful to me.

Recently I was around a 70-year-old man who (I assume) found Christ in the past five years. I listened as he passionately talked about Jesus and the power of forgiveness. I could hear it in his voice, see it in his body language, and understand it through his words. I left our talk somehow a better man.  Inspiring!

Words influence reality.

Not long after, I was having a conversation with some family about our favorite places to eat out. Prior to this conversation I wasn't hungry but after about 10 minutes, I realized I was starving. That conversation did something to me.

Words define reality.

If people's words influence me, my words influence other people.

The problem? I don't consider this when I find myself complaining to my wife or my friends or my family or my kids. I find myself defining a reality that I don't want to define. I don't want my loved ones to be negative. I don't want my loved ones to be critical. I don't want my loved ones to complain. But with my words, I define reality to people I talk to.

My words are incredibly powerful.

I believe I have a choice. I can speak life and hope and joy and peace into the people I'm around, or the opposites. I can build people up or tear them down; all with my words. And the choice is mine.

Something about God I find extremely fascinating - He created the universe by speaking it into existence. Check out the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible. And if I am created in the image of God, I must assume that my words carry more weight than I realize.

And so I'm left with this choice. When I open my mouth, what will I choose?

If my words define reality, let me say a few things…

-I will speak about the great things I see in people.
-I will tell my wife how wonderful and beautiful she is.
-I will tell my kids how I love them and I'll cherish our moments together.
-I will see the beauty in life.
-I will enjoy the sunny hot summer days.
-I will try to love this new puppy our family just got when it destroys our shoes, watches, and pees on our carpet.
-I will speak life into people's experiences.
-I will allow God to shape my heart.
-I will never take a day for granted.
-I will forgive as Christ forgave me.
-I will put others before myself.
-I will surrender control.
-I will never stop growing.
-I will acknowledge the power of my words.
-I will choose to speak life.



Our words are powerful.

I believe in the Gospel again!

I believe in the Gospel again.  Yep, again.  It's weird to say and I don't really know how to explain it, but in the past couple weeks, the Gospel has come to life in my heart once again.  It's as if I believe it for the first time.  I know I believed in the Gospel before, as it was very real to me, but God opened my heart in a new way.  It happened while my wife and I were in Florida.  We were having dinner and I realized that our waitress needed Jesus.  In the midst of this thought, I looked at the tables surrounding us and I realized that every person sitting around us needed Jesus.  I thought about my life and about how Christ literally changed the person I was into a new person.  I thought about grace, love, joy, and peace that I know.  So in the midst of all these thoughts, I asked my wife, "Do you really believe in the Gospel?"  She looked up with a strange look on her face trying to anticipate what I meant.  After she asked what I meant, I said, "Sometimes I live my life as if I don't truly believe the Gospel, but I do!"  I believe in the Gospel again.

People need the Gospel.  Regardless of what they think it is, where they come from, or how they've dismissed it, they need it more than they can ever know.  The crazy thing is, I know something that they desperately need to know.  Whether it's our waitress or the people sitting at the table next to us or perhaps is the person sitting next to us on the airplane; people need the Gospel.  So many times in the past, I knew this deep down, but I was too insecure to say anything or even have it on the forefront of my mind.  But, if I truly believe the Gospel, it's going to be on the forefront of my thoughts.  It's not going to hide in the back corner of my mind waiting to come out during my next sermon; it's going to saturate every word and every action - that is my hope and my aim.  People need Christ.  I have Christ.  I need to learn how to share what I have!  People need the Gospel.

If I believe the Gospel and people need it, I need to go where people are.  Isn't this the idea behind the incarnation?  Tonight, on my way home from the store, I saw a bunch of people playing basketball in the park.  After dinner and after the kids were bathed, I asked my wife (for permission) if I could go down and play basketball.  After arriving, I played a couple games before some of the guys had to leave.  Then, Dylan, who is finsihing his 8th grade year, came down and we began playing some shooting competitions.  After we were warmed up, we played a couple games of one on one.  I won, but that's not the point.  The point is, now I have an acquaintance with Dylan.  As I was leaving, he asked me to come to the park tomorrow and play at 5pm.  I think this is true evangelism.  After I get to know him a little better, I'll begin asking him some life questions and talking to him about my faith.  Dylan needs the Gospel.  Perhaps some of his friends will join in on the conversation as well.  I pray that the LORD opens doors in this whole situation.  But whatever the case, I believe the Gospel again, I believe people need the Gospel, and I need to go where people are.

I praise God for opening my eyes and my heart again.  Even if it feels like I believe in Christ for the very first time, I'm grateful for the way He's worked in my life for the past eight years since I devoted my heart to Him.  I pray that I can continue to worship Him in the way I relate with people, in the way I relate with my family, myself, and in every situation I have the grace and opportunity to live. 

Starting Point - five years in the making

Tomorrow I get to share something that I have been talking and dreaming about for five years. I can't wait! It'll be unique because I'll be sharing not only "what if" conversations and hypotheticals; I'll be sharing actualities that continue to unfold right in front of our eyes. For the past five years, it seems as if that's what I've been doing - talking about my dreams and passions and ambitions for a church that didn't yet exist. In the past year, something has changed.

A church is in the midst of being planted - the Bridge. This actuality includes people, passions, hearts, families - it's a beautiful community of Christ followers. Never did I dream that I would be part of such an amazing calling.

Tomorrow we will share the meaning behind our church's name, our vision and mission, and the values that will mark our church's purpose.

In a way, tomorrow is a climactic time in my life, yet in another way, it's nothing but a mere starting point.

Point of Origin

Regardless of who you are, isn't there a side of you that is still affected by peer pressure?  Perhaps you're a bit older and you think that such talk no longer applies to you.  Well, I encourage you to think again.  Peer pressure doesn't just apply towards young people, it's saturated in every aspect of culture.  There's a part of you that can't escape the social pressures and expectations of life.

When you think of peer pressure, what mental images come to your mind?

I think of a classroom.  You know what I'm talking about, don't you?  There's that student that isn't really paying attention to the teacher's lecture.  Suddenly, the teacher asks a question to the class and all the students hands go up, including that student.  When the teacher calls on that student, he draws a blank and can't answer the question because he didn't hear it.  He then tells the teacher to repeat the question.  When the teacher asks why his hand was raised in the first place, he responds by saying, "Because everyone else raised their hands."

Peer pressure.  

Doing what you're "supposed to do" is a powerful motivation.  This kind of idea is entrenched in the way we think about our place in society.  

I'm always amused when I see the new styles emerge in clothing retail stores.  As soon as the mannequins are fashionably dressed in the store front windows, flocks of people rush to purchase similarly new wardrobes.  Remember when tattered jeans first came out?  How about those T-shirts that have the brand-name stitched into the front of the shirt with big, bold letters?  

Last years trends are out and this years trends are in.  

I even had a guy at Fossil (a watch store in the mall) tell me to hold off in getting a watch until the spring colors were in.

That's what fashion is, isn't it?
Trends, pressures, expectations…

Peer pressure is a broad topic that's not only applied to middle school kids; it's a motivation that continues to affect the clothes we wear, the watches we buy, the books we read, the food we eat, and the sports we watch. 

Fashion isn't the same as faith but sometimes this motivation affects the way we act as Christians.  

My wife and I attended a church awhile back that stressed the idea of "looking your Sunday best."  We weren't used to wearing our best clothes to church, but because we were in an environment where people wore their best, we did as well.  We wanted to fit in and do what we were "supposed to do."  Not to brag, but my family looked so good, we could have taken family photos every Sunday morning.  P.S.  My wife is smokin' (just sayin).

Doesn't this kind of thing carry over in Christian circles?  

You're supposed to do this…

You're supposed to do that…

Make sure you look, dress, talk, laugh, give, and drive a certain way…

Because that's what good Christians do, isn't it?

I imagine Jesus' disciples asking, "Lord, just tell us what we're supposed to do."  In response, I picture Jesus telling His disciples, "Look, there's people doing what they're supposed to do, but I don't recognize them because they're not doing the right things for the right reasons."  (If you want to read it yourself, check out the situation by clicking here: Matthew 7: 15-23)

In every church I've ever been a part of, there are people who have stumbled upon this reality.  At one point, they found themselves raising their hands like everyone else in the classroom.  They didn't know why they were raising their hands, they just did because that's what they saw everyone else doing.  But sometimes, a new and deeper reality is presented to these people.  They discover a better reason for doing the right thing and it fundamentally has nothing to do with peer pressure.  This new and larger reason often stems from something deep inside - an encounter of sorts.  And when people come to this point in their faith, they feel free and liberated and released like never before.  

Some of us have spent years doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.  We've found ourselves worn out, frustrated, depleted, depressed, and unfulfilled.  And I say this from personal experience.  It's exhausting to put energy towards something you have no passion for.  Sometimes it's humiliating to get called on when you don't know why you raised your hand in the first place.  

I believe that Jesus wants us to know why we're raising our hands.   

Why are we raising our hands?

Why are we doing what we're "supposed to do?"

Is it peer pressure?

Or is it something much, much more…

Because when we do the right things for the right reasons, we'll know what Jesus meant when he talked about having "life to the full."  

I don't know about you but,

I don't want to just know Jesus,

I want Jesus to know me.

[Check out the story: Matthew 7:15-23]

[Another text to consider: John 6:40]

The Stray

The night began next to the fireplace with a steaming cup of tea.  You know - the kind of tea that you put a little slice of lemon into.  Arvo Part was playing in the background and his Fur Alina flooded each room with a sound of piano that makes you want to think deeply.  Record lows were supposed to be reached - it was going to be cold.  Regardless, the house was warm and clean, the kids were asleep, the stars were bright and besides the music, it was peacefully quiet.

With it hitting my face and freezing my cheeks, I knew I was in for a long night.  I didn't think it was going to be this cold, but it was as I found out a little too late.  My coat was too light and I even forgot my hat.  What was I thinking?  It was a Michigan January, and on this night, it was nearing sub zero temperatures.  A walk?  Tonight?  Never again.

Walking up Rich St., I couldn't wait to be home.  Would this hill ever end?  Each step seemed heavier than the last as I pushed myself up the iced-over pavement.  What did warmth feel like?  I couldn't remember.  Although it was only twenty minutes, I couldn't even remember what my tea tasted like.  The sound of Fur Alina had been crowded out by the sound of the cold and violent wind.  I was alone.

You know those times when taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound become extra sensitive?  It was one of those nights.  Every car that drove by seemed like a big event.  The motion sensors that turned on as I passed by startled me.  The cat I spotted out of the corner of my eye made me want to run and scream.  My own shadow could have scared me.  Paranoia was taking its toll.  The cold was taking its toll.

Are they out here or am I alone?  They could be peering around each corner watching my every move.  They could be anticipating what I would do next.  They could think I'm up to something.  They could think...  What are they thinking?  I worry about that.  Where do they think I'm going?  Do they think they have me all figured out?  Or, perhaps I'm alone.  Are these thoughts merely in my head?  Perhaps they're inside staying warm - drinking tea and listening to their own music.  Maybe they're completely oblivious to me being out here.  What if they saw me?  What would they think I'm doing?  Would they think I'm stalking them?  But I'm not.  I'm just taking a walk.  I'm just passing by.  I'm cold.  I want to be home.

And this isn't new.  I keep leaving the warmth of light for the chill of darkness.  Perhaps I'd prefer to be alone.  Why did I put my tea down?  I shouldn't have walked through that door.  I should have stayed.  But I didn't, I wandered and this is where wandering gets me - alone and cold and scared.

I can't wait to be back home.

Merry Christmas Saranac

Merry Christmas!  

I've felt it on my heart these past few days to write all of you and express my gratitude and thanksgiving.  

We're part of a "nativity scene church."  As Christians, we have the freedom to decide which church body we want to be a part of.  There are literally thousands of churches around that you could attend and participate in, but you chose our body Saranac.  Our church in Saranac doesn't produce the most glamourous productions, we don't have the highest steeple, the pastor doesn't have a vast bank of experience and sometimes it may seem as if we're functioning on a week to week basis.  Instead of choosing a church that does everything for you, you chose a church that needs you to be hands-on.  This is exactly how God chose to introduce Christ into the world.  Christ wasn't born in a palace with nurses or servants, Mary didn't have the luxuries of comfort, and for Christ sake, she had donkeys watching her give birth.  Did somebody say "uncomfortable?"  This is how God chose to work.  He used a rough and humble beginning to initiate his powerful movement of love.  Likewise for Saranac, God is using a small band of Christ-followers who are full of His Spirit to accomplish His work.  He's using a hodge-podge of people that are dependent on His Spirit for strength, guidance, and longevity.  We are a "nativity scene church" because God is initiating his powerful movement of love through meek and humble beginnings.  

Historically speaking, the church never referred to a service or a production; the church was in reference to a group of people who were filled with God's Spirit and centered on becoming more like Christ (being disciples/students).  My hope is that our church would remain consistent with this understanding of church.  I pray that we would focus our attention more on developing people rather than producing services.  I pray that our LifeGroups would be ministry and community hubs that challenge and teach and heal people who are on a journey with Christ.  I pray that we could continue to be the church in a manner worthy of God's favor.

If being a "nativity scene church" means that we're consistent with the church of the Bible, then write my name down and sign me up!  And although our beginnings are humble, this is what and who I believe we are.  This is why I'm thankful.  This is a long awaited answer to prayer for Kelly and I.  I hope you all know how thankful I am to be the church alongside you.  From the deepest place in my heart, I want to express our families gratitude for the blessing that you've brought us in this church.  

May Christ continue to be glorified, exemplified, embodied, reflected, and shared by our church body in Saranac and beyond.  May the celebration of His birth pour an abundance of joy into your hearts this season.  May your families be enriched and may you remember the words of the LORD when he says, "Be still, and know that I am God."

Have a truly Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Affecting Waves

      The Christian life mimics the patterns we see in nature.  This is the way I've always understood and experienced my relationship with the LORD.  I think in these terms because I believe God is consistent with Himself.  The God that created the moon and stars and light and sound is also the God that created me.  The God that is revealed in the written Word is also revealed in the rhythms of creation.  And although sin has restricted and distressed creation, I believe there are undeniable patterns that remain consistent.  Therefore, I believe that the patterns God created in nature will be found in all of nature, not just its parts. 

      In relation to Christian growth, I've always understood and experienced its pattern to follow that of light, of sound, of the waves of the sea or the blowing of the wind.  Light and sound come in the form of waves.  Likewise, the waves of the sea or the blowing of the wind follow a pattern of regularity.  The intensity comes and goes.  The beach experiences this kind of pattern constantly.  The waves rush in and then recede to prepare for the next.  This rhythm has always been how I've understood and experienced my Christian growth.  Waves come and go.  They intensify and diminish.  The thing about waves - they always leave their effects.  Waves of sea and wind and light and sound affect and transform that which they contact. 

      If we look at a wave, we're able to identify things such as wavelengths, crests, troughs, wave frequency and wave effects.  I suggest that we experience these same patterns in our process of Christian growth. 

Crest
      A crest is the top of a wave.  In our context, a crest is a spiritual high.  Sometimes these crests come naturally in our lives and other times they come through a church gathering, a concert or conference, a prayer walk, a life-crisis, or through moments of transition.  Crests are moments where God feels closest.  It's thought of to be our "mountain top" experience.  They don't always depend on circumstance as much as they do perspective.  When Stephen was being stoned (Acts 7:54-60), I believe he experienced a crest despite his circumstance - his perspective was the glory of God and the presence of Christ. 

Trough
      Unlike a crest, a trough is the low point of a wave.  In our context, a trough is a spiritual low.  It's in these lows when God feels the furthest from us.  Perhaps it's a result of sin in one's life or perhaps it's when one feels stuck in a rut.  Sometimes we end up in a trough because we've tried to seek holiness or righteousness through our own efforts instead of through the power of God.  Troughs can come in many forms but the point is that at some point, the wave will recede.  Like Job's experience, God's presence will not always feel as close or intimate as it once did.  Sometimes the Christian will go through stages where God feels distant and far off.  This can be self-inflicted or this can be something that God allows us to go through.

Wavelength
      A wavelength is the distance between the crests of a wave.  In a wavelength, a Christian experiences a crest, goes through a time of trough and then again experiences a crest.  Again, we can look to Job.  He was once blameless, spotless, his integrity was unquestioned and he had everything the world offered - this was a crest.  God then allowed everything to be taken away from him - this was his trough.  After his perseverance and faithfulness, he again experienced God's presence as well as blessings.  The book of Job is a narrative about a wavelength. 

Wave Frequency
     A wave frequency describes the time period for a wavelength (crest to crest) to take place.  Some Christians experience higher wave frequencies and some lower.  The story of Job gives us a glimpse of a man with lower-type wave frequency.  His wavelength took place over a longer period of time.  Yet, there are some Christians who experience wavelengths on a weekly or daily basis.

"Crest to Trough" and "Trough to Crest"
      There are two other time periods I'd like to talk about.  One is a "Crest to Trough" and the other is a "Trough to Crest."  In a Crest to Trough, I've seen a tendency in myself to develop a spiritual pride of sorts.  Once I reach the crest, I feel pretty good about myself.  I say, "Hey, look at me.  I'm a serious and awesome follower of Christ."  Once this Crest is reached, I fool myself into thinking that I reached here on my own merits.  This prideful thinking leads me into a Crest to Trough period where my faith becomes arrogant and proud.  This isn't a pleasant time to go through.  It's a time that leads to darkness, rebellion, sin and selfish attitude/actions. 
      I consider the trough to be reached when I'm humbled, recognize and become aware of the Spirit's resounding conviction.  This conviction leads me to refocus my perspective in Christ as opposed to myself.  The Crest to Trough period ends in a bottoming out in the Trough.  The next stage that I enter is the Trough to Crest.  It's after I'm humbled and convicted of my sin that I reposition my heart to the Lord.  Instead of thinking of my Christian walk in terms of me, I think of it in terms of we.  Instead of thinking about my growth, I think of our growth; I think of Christ's growth in me.  This period is marked by a time of growing, excitement, creativity and passion.  It's a time fueled by a responsive love for God's beauty and glory.  This is the Trough to Crest and it's my favorite stage.

Wave Effect
      A wave effect is the result of the wave upon that which it interacts with.  In relation to the a light wave, the effect of a light wave on an object has a tendency to increase the objects temperature depending on the intensity of the light.  In relation to Christian growth, the wave effect will bring about maturity in the believer.
      When I first came to the LORD in Christ, my wave frequency was much more intense.  Some days I felt like I was going through a crest and the next, a trough.  I seemed to be spiritually bi-polar.  The longer I've known Christ, my wave frequency has become less intense.  By less intense, I mean that it has slowed down and has become more consistent.  Now, I experience an average wave frequency throughout a matter of months.  I believe that the wave effect in the life of a maturing Christian has a tendency to do a couple things.  First of all, as a believer experiences the wavelengths of life, he/she matures.  Once maturing takes place, the believer is less inclined to have high frequency wavelengths marked by daily spiritual crests and troughs.  When maturing takes place, a wavelength may be experienced throughout the course of a year or more.  Based on my own experience, I've noticed that my wave frequency has gone from a matter of days to weeks to months.  I'm aware of and had conversations with other older and much more mature Christians who continue to experience the crests and the troughs, but less frequent.  I attribute this to maturity in Christ. 
      Another wave effect I recognize is that in the troughs, I'm closer to God than the crests of previous years.  It's as if my spiritual lows are higher than my spiritual highs used to be.  If hindsight is 20/20, then anticipating what God will continue to do in my heart in the future is electrifying.  It excites me to continue a Christ-centered focus and know that through the troughs and the crests, I will continue to grow in him. 

      Life happens.  Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people.  I can't say that I can nail down a universal and systematic process for when and why a person grows, but I'm confident to say Christian growth comes in waves.  It's in both the good and bad circumstances of life that we have the opportunity to grow.  Its through the crests and the troughs that we "develop perseverance and out of perseverance character and out of character hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us" (Romans 5:4-5).

The Christian life mimics the patterns we seen in nature.  The God who created the rhythms of light and sound; the God who created the moon and the stars also created me.  I can expect that nature would be consistent with itself.  I can expect that Christian growth will come in waves.  I know that it's not only the crests that grow me; it's the troughs and stages in between as well.  I pray that I can continue rhythms of the Christian life in a way that matures me and, more so, glorifies God.

authentic church renewal

I entered full time ministry with the intentions of renewing the church.  The books I digested and conversations I had with my friends and family helped me realize the veneer piety among church and parish circles.  This sickened me.  Priests and sexual abuse disgusted me.  Pastors and money laundering vexed me.  And the hundreds of stories about moral failures among good Christians hurt me.  Because I saw the brokenness of the church, I entered full time ministry thinking that I would contribute to the church's rejuvenation.

Initially as a youth pastor, I thought rejuvenation could come merely through changing the church's format.  By changing the music, the time and type of the service, adding a coffee hour or dimming the lights; I thought the church would improve drastically.  Perhaps dressing "casual" would help us relate to different people.  Maybe if we put ads in the newspaper and on the radio, we could advertise to new people groups.  I felt a call to rejuvenate the church and I was serious about bringing change.  It wasn't long before a friend of mine pointed out my error.  He helped me realize that all I was doing was changing the keyboard, the mouse, the speakers, and the screen.  What I needed to do was change the operating system.  I quickly realized that I, too, had fallen into the trap of veneer piety by thinking I could change rejuvenate the church through such surface level changes.

The next method I thought rejuvenation would come to the church was by intellectualism.  I had seen enough "uneducated" pastors - it made me sick.  Uneducated passionate pastors who led the masses to believe that God would give them a nice house and fast car turned me and many peeps I know away from church.  Sure, a smile and personality could bring people into a building for a crafty sermon, but the Jesus that they taught wasn't the Jesus I read about in the Gospels.  I didn't want anything to do with this.  I began going through books like they were water.  I read every theological book I could get my hands on.  From Augustine to Wesley to Kierkegaard to Zacharias, I discovered intellectualism at a level I hadn't been exposed to before.  As I went on to seminary, I found myself exposed to a level of sophisticated logic and theology that I adored.  Systematic theology and hermeneutics and the process of exegesis and church history gave me a deep reverence for the Holy Scriptures like I had never known before.  As I continued my seminary studies, I realized that again, I had fallen into the constraints of veneer piety.  As my professors pointed out, intellectualism alone didn't hold the answers for rejuvenating the church.

Veneer piety is manifested when the church solely depends upon format or the latest intellectual buzz-word or anything other than Christ to vindicate itself.  Through the cross God's grace is poured out onto all humanity.  This foundation has always anchored the church.  Even the Apostle Paul wrote, " May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."  The cross of Christ is the source of our hope and our Life.

Richard Foster penned it well when he wrote this in an article for Christianity Today, "We have real difficulty here because everyone thinks of changing the world, but where, oh where, are those who think of changing themselves? People may genuinely want to be good, but seldom are they prepared to do what it takes to produce the inward life of goodness that can form the soul. Personal formation into the likeness of Christ is arduous and lifelong."

The church will never be rejuvenated if we never rejuvenate ourselves in Christ.  Veneer piety is manifested when the people of the church attempt to change the world yet nobody in the church attempts to change themselves.  We can change formats, we can learn a bunch of stuff and we can try a million different approaches, but if we're not willing to submit to Christ, we'll only add to the hypocrisy that exists in the church.

My intention for church renewal remains, but now more than ever, I realize that this is something that has to start in my heart.  This is what discipleship (continually learning and living the ways of Jesus) is all about.  This is a mustard seed idea.  In order to become the greatest, we must become the least.  It isn't about church format.  It isn't about mere intellectualism.  This is about allowing the power of Christ to work and heal my heart.  Furthermore, Christ's work in me will be legitimized through the love and character and integrity displayed in my life.  Changing the world must first start with changing me.  Renewing the church must first start with renewing Joel.

May the Spirit of God continually give me power and may the cross continually give me grace.

I strive on as Christ strives within me.