I Really Want To Sing...

Author's Note:  I don't write on this blog as often as I used to. You can find more current entries on my Foundation Christian Ministries blog over at Wordpress. I will use this particular blog as a more personal outlet and the Wordpress site for most of my ministry posts.

I Really Want To Sing...

By the look of the photo composite prior to this sentence, my readers will know the focus of this post.

Sacred music is a huge part of my life. It always has been. My family is a ministry family. I grew up in a household of faith. We traveled all over the West Coast singing and preaching in churches and ministering to all who would listen. My father shepherded various congregations throughout his life, and my mom, brother, and I worked alongside him, filling just about every imaginable role within those churches.

When I got a bit older, I yielded to the call of God on my life and pursued a life of writing, singing, and preaching. It is truly my passion. As an adult, I have functioned as a worship leader, a youth pastor, and an associate pastor. I received my ordination years ago, and was wisely told, "It isn't man who ordains ministers. It is God."

I have taught series and seminars on worship, written countless articles, and studied deeply on the subject. I have a hunger to be a better worshiper. I have a desire to please God by worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, and to teach others what that means.

All that being said, I'm struggling. It's 2016, and I'm struggling with a few worship-related things. Let me explain.

Walk into almost any modern church on a Sunday morning, and you'll see people who resemble those in the above image. They're playing their instruments, singing, and presenting their music to the congregation. The congregation, in turn, usually stands and sings, at least around fifty percent of them. Some raise their hands, some sway back and forth, the more dramatic ones close their eyes and do both.  That's what they've seen modeled for them in youth group, after all.

Anyway, I really want to join them. I want to sing. I want to sing my heart out to the Maker of the Universe. I want to spill myself out and honor the One who created the gift of music. I want to shout my love and adoration to the King who saw fit to descend to earth and clothe Himself in human flesh so that He could face the same struggles I do and show me how to overcome them.

I really want to sing in your church... but you make it impossible.

Everything about your "worship service" makes it impossible for me to concentrate on Christ. Seriously. I'll break down a few reasons:

You've turned off the lights...

I know, it's 2016 and you have a fancy light board in your sound booth. I get it. It looks cool. And your intention may truly be to draw people's attention to the worship leader... to focus the mind... to enhance the mood... to block out the rest of the congregation. I get it. I really do. The problem is, it works.

By turning the lights down, we block out the congregation (sort of). Our eyes are automatically drawn toward the brighter areas in the room... usually the singers and the band. We are led to believe that we should not acknowledge those who stand with us in this congregation. We obediently close our eyes or stare straight ahead at the "worship team" or the giant screen with the lyrics of the songs. 

We try to forget we're in a congregation. We personalize the experience. Therein lies a serious problem. You see, our personal time of worship should, no, must be throughout the rest of our week, and must consist of much more than mere music. True worshipers live a lifestyle of worship on an individual basis. We come together for a time of corporate worship... a time of uniting with those of like faith to corporately lift up the name of the Lord in worship. The purpose of our worship time in a church service is to worship together as one.

There is something very powerful about corporate worship. Unitedly lifting up our voices in honor of our King is exhilarating, liberating, endearing and unifying. It tells the Lord that we as a united body choose to serve Him. When we use the isolation technique of darkening the room to eliminate the "distraction" of those around us, we get into our own heads. We basically spend that time as an individual, worshiping individually, which is what we should be doing all week long. We fail to worship in unity with our fellow believers, because we have made ourselves believe that we shouldn't even acknowledge their presence. In essence, our worship becomes us centered. Egocentric, to use a fancier term.  It's all about us and our experience.

You've turned on the spotlight...

At the same time that you've turned off the lights above the congregation, you've turned a white-hot spotlight on the person/people on the stage. Again, your motives are nice... draw the attention of the congregants away from the sanctuary and onto the platform where they can be guided and led. I get it. 

The problem with this approach is that the leaders and/or the band become the focus. We segregate them from the congregation, elevating them to a position of prominence above their fellow worshipers. We pay a lot of lip-service to the concept that leaders are co-worshipers, not putting on a show, humble, and a part of the congregation, yet we spotlight them like they're the stars of the show. By creating the lighting contrast between the congregation and the leaders, we are inadvertently defeating all of the concepts we work so hard to convince ourselves are real.

And, for the record and from experience, it's really hard for a leader to practice humility when there's a blazing spotlight on him. If it isn't a show, then why are we lighting it like one?

You focus on the "Worship Experience."

Worship Experience. Listen to the way we teach about worship. Read some books that have been written for worship leaders. The worship experience phrase is heavily used in modern congregations. Many churches even talk about the worship experience in their bulletins or websites. The problem here is that you're focusing on the experience...

Whose experience? The experience of the One to Whom the worship is supposed to be directed? The One to Whom the songs are supposed to be sung? The One to Whom our hearts are to be lifted?

Not even close. 

The use of the phrase worship experience is one of the most blatant signs of your misunderstanding of the meaning of, Object of, and purpose of true worship.

We advertise our churches based upon the style of worship experience we offer. If we don't like the worship experience at First Church of the Believer on 5th Street, we leave and go to Church of the Redeemer on Main Street to see if we enjoy that worship experience more.

Our talk of the worship experience proves that we have no concept of real worship... and in focusing on the experience, we've done the unthinkable: We've placed ourselves as the object of our worship. We are, in essence, replacing Christ in favor of ourselves. We worship because we enjoy it, not because He deserves it. We offer up what is, at the very least, a tainted offering of praise and, at worst, pure idolatry.

Our human arrogance is on full display when we relegate the concept of worship to an experience rather than service to our Creator.

Oh yes, our emotions are stirred when we praise the Lord. It's natural. It's the way He designed it. But our emotional response must not be the reason we participate or we are guilty of worshiping our emotions rather than God Who created us.

On a side-note, I was reading a literal translation of the Third Commandment: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." The literal translation was: "You shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God for nothingness." Just a thought.

Your "worship team" acts bored and self-absorbed...

It's a very common thing. The bass player stares blankly at the floor as he plays. The drummer is in his own little world. The acoustic guitar player fiddles with his in-ear monitor and never changes his expression. The electric guitar player frowns and grimaces like the rock stars he's seen on television. The singers either stare with blank expressions at the sheet music on the stand before them or they close their eyes and tune out.

They look bored. They look disinterested. They sometimes even look annoyed.

I know, there's a cultural thing here. What I used to refer to (in my youth pastor days) as the "studied look of disinterest." It's intentional. Even the most animated individuals tend to become mannequins when standing in front of the congregation singing worship tunes.

But, don't you see that as a problem? Seriously! You are trying to lead me in songs where I am acknowledging the majesty and greatness of the Creator of the universe. Your songs are speaking of One who laid down His life, had the flesh ripped from His bones, and bled for me... and you look completely unmoved.

I don't know about you, but God gave me emotions. Those emotions are stirred when I watch my children play, when my daughter sings a nursery rhyme, when I think of my father preaching the gospel. I am moved. Sometimes I weep. Sometimes I smile. Sometimes I laugh. Sometimes I move with excitement. But I am moved.

Does it not give us pause to ponder when those who are charged with leading us in the most intimate worship of our Savior show no outward emotion? Why do they look so bored? Could it be that "worship" has become routine to them? Could it be that they aren't really thinking about Him, but about how they look and sound?

Your "worship team" looks like they just rolled out of bed...

Okay, I know I'm going to alienate a lot of you with this. Just hear me out for a moment. I know styles change, and I'm fine with that. I don't expect everyone to dress like I do. 

However, just like the studied look of disinterest is an intentional demeanor many of us adopt, so is slovenly dress. The overly casual culture of our time is really a sign of lack of respect.

If the Queen of England sent you a telegram, requesting your presence in Buckingham Palace for a face-to-face encounter, or the President of the United States invited you to the Oval Office for a meeting, you would present yourself at your best. Most ladies would frantically search for a new dress to wear and the gentlemen would be completely spit and polished. Why? Because it's a sign of respect to go to the effort it takes to wear your finest garments in those situations.

I know what you're thinking. God accepts me regardless of my clothes, and He doesn't care if I'm wearing jeans, shorts, a dress, or if my hair is messed up. On that, you'd be correct.

But... God does care about your heart and your motives. We tend to put more effort into how we present ourselves when we know we're going to see people who are important to us. To pick up a wrinkled t-shirt off the bedroom floor and throw it on with a pair of cargo shorts doesn't take a lot of effort... Nor does it show much respect.

Just a point for you to ponder. If the God of all creation wants to visit with me, I'm going to present myself in a way that shows complete respect for Him. That means I'm going to give a second, and even third thought to what I wear. Might even put in a little extra effort. Don't you think?

How are you going to try to tell me you're communing with the Most High God, the Holy Father, the King of Kings when you didn't even care to put socks on? Look at it this way: God gave His absolute best when He sent His Son to die for me. The very least I can do is show Him a little respect in how I present myself when I'm leading people into His presence.

I really want to sing with you. I really want to worship. I really want to join together with fellow believers and honor my Lord. But I can't at your church, because I am distracted by all the attempts to modernize and make it "culturally relevant."

Here's the most culturally relevant thing you need to know: I once was lost, but now am found. I was blind, but now I see. Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.  I've presented several negatives in this post. Perhaps you're wondering, "If this is what worship is not supposed to be, what should we do?" Easy. Simply focus on Who Christ is, what He's done, and how we can best honor Him. Lead with that passion that comes from the knowledge of Who He is and what He's done. Let that passion radiate out from you for all to see. Join together with others to present our praise in a unified voice.

Honor Him. He deserves it.

My House Shall Be Called... on Superbowl Sunday?

Okay, I know I am the black sheep of the Christian Conservative family. I know that I'm a bit of a wildman and take things to extremes.  If you don't realize it yet, this post will probably put me on lists with the FBI and CIA, as well as ostracizing me from the circle of the Righteous and Popular Christians of America (a group I just made up in my head, but I'm sure they're out there somewhere).

You see, it's un-American to not be a football fan.  I am a member of several of the minority groups it's politically correct to ridicule at will: Caucasian, Male, Christian, Straight, Intellectual, Thin, and... Football-Non-Fans. I hate the sport.  I hate watching it, hearing about it, listening to the sub-linguistic blather that passes for articulate commentary on the subject.  I hate it.

But it's not just the sport. It's the insidious nature of the sport. It's the idolatry that seems to come along with it. It's the stupid arguments that come from the mouths of the cheese-whiz swilling hoards about which team is better, why, and why you're an idiot if you disagree with their opinion.  It's the very fact that the average football apologist can barely articulate a sentence of more than eight syllables while his bean-dip spittle froths at the corners of his mouth as he brands anyone who disagrees with him a moron. And the female fanatics are even worse! I have a theory that the female football nuts are, in large part, simply trying not to be ignored by the men in their lives.

All that divisive hyperbole aside, there is a very real bit of logic I'm going to drop on you. Football has become one of the biggest forms of idolatry in Western Society. I'm not just talking about the hundreds of hours of television and radio time dedicated to it or even the fact that 75.8% of American adults plan on watching the game, 79.8% of those plan on purchasing special food and drinks for the celebration, and nearly 9% of American adults plan on splurging for a new television for the occasion. I'm actually going to boil my evidence down to a single question. If you don't believe football has become a form of idolatry, follow along with the next few lines of this blog entry:

1. In Matthew 21, Jesus said "It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer..."
2. We go to church to pray, study, and worship together...
3. Is your church rearranging its schedule to celebrate the Superbowl?

More evidence of the deterioration of Christianity and the degradation of biblical Christianity in the hearts and minds of those who call themselves Christ-followers.  

I said "one question." I was wrong. Ask yourself how much energy you put into convincing others that your football-related opinions are true versus how much time and energy you spend trying to convince someone to turn to Christ.

What To Remember When The Flames Close In...

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12

 

 

 

When I arrived home this evening I logged into my Facebook page and saw a link to a news article that talked about a fire at the church my uncle pastors in Mesa, Arizona. Reading the article, I was able to find out that no one was hurt in the fire, but that there was extensive damage.  This is an obviously devastating loss to my uncle and his congregation, and my heart goes out to them as I lift them up in prayer.  I reached out to my cousin to make sure everyone was alright, and I'll contact my uncle in a day or so, when the shock of the event has settled some. 

 

As I sat and absorbed the thought of the fire and the overwhelming stress that must be engulfing my uncle and his wife, my heart broke.  I grieve inside because of the anguish I know they must feel along with the faithful parishioners at their church.

 

And then one word came to mind.

 

Sovereignty.

 

If you've ever experienced a great loss, you will understand this next statement:  When you're in great distress, the last thing you want to hear is that God has a plan.  I know when my father died I became angry when people told me He had a purpose in my loss.  When you're nursing deep wounds, you don't much care what the ultimate purpose is.  You only know you're hurting.  Well-meaning people say things to us that, while true, often sound clichéd and trite.  To have someone say "all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose," can come across as callous and unfeeling.

 

And yet, the Word of the Lord stands true.  Regardless of the sensitivity and timing of people, the Word of the Lord stands true. 

 

As the years have gone by since my father's death, I've learned to differentiate the message from the messenger in situations like these.  I've learned that sometimes people simply want to feel helpful, so rather than remain silent, they speak the only words they can think of. 

 

So, as I was looking at photos of a fire that occurred today, some twelve hundred miles away, the word rang in my mind like a bell.  Sovereignty. 

 

You see, we've forgotten about sovereignty.  In our self-sufficient, Western culture, we hardly even understand the concept of sovereignty.  This crucial aspect of the very nature of the God we claim to serve is completely lost on us.  And, what little we do grasp of His sovereignty is often the object of our resentment.

 

Our culture teaches us that we must be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-important in order to be strong and at peace.  We're taught, even in churches sometimes, that we must fend for ourselves and rely on our intellect, strength, and common sense to navigate the storms of life.  If you're financially stable, emotionally balanced, and socially connected, you will have all the tools necessary to face any difficulty.

 

And then it happens.  Then the real difficulty hits.  Then the fire strikes.  Then a loved-one dies.  Then a major illness occurs.  And you're left to realize that all the social connection in the world is meaningless, all the financial stability upon which you once relied is gone, and your emotional stability lies crumbled at your feet.

 

As I watched the news footage of the Mesa fire today, I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that our Father is sovereign.  He answers to no one and His purposes are mysterious to us only because we often can't be trusted with the details.  He can do as He wishes, when He wishes, and for whatever purpose He chooses.

 

It sounds like a harsh truth.  One we don't want to hear.  But it shouldn't be.  It should come as a source of comfort!  Our God can do whatever He wishes!  He holds within His hand the power to create and to destroy.  He gives and He takes away.  He does so of His own accord and according to His own will.  He has chosen to never break a promise, and He's promised to carry us through our toughest times! Our God truly is magnificent and loving! 

 

As my uncle stands in the parking lot of the church he's pastored for the past fourteen years, the heavy scent of doused coals hanging thick in the air, I'm sure there are tears in his eyes.  I'm sure there's a deep ache in his heart.  I pray, though, that this same word will ring in his mind right now.

 

Sovereignty.

 

For, if we truly live in the faith we claim, we place our trust in a sovereign God.  He is faithful.  He is mighty.  He will never leave us, nor will He forsake us.  He always provides.  The God who was not created by anyone answers to no one.  Nothing can stop Him from accomplishing His will.

 

As my mind pictures Uncle David looking sadly upon the smoky debris of a burned out building, I picture a loving Father looking down, knowingly nodding. "I've got this all under control, son.  Trust in Me.  My love for you has never faltered and never will."

 

 

 

 

 

Please prayerfully consider contributing to this hurting congregation.

 

For those of you who have asked, there is now a PO Box address for financial donations regarding the church fire. If anyone would like to send in a financial donation/love gift of any amount (this would also be tax deductible) you can send it to the following: We appreciate your generosity, love and prayers during this difficult time.

NEW LIFE ASSEMBLY OF GOD
P.O. BOX 1325
MESA, AZ 85211

480-834-3312

www.mesanewlifeaog.org

 



"We Need To Teach Our Daughters..."

We've always heard that we live in a "male-dominated" society.  I suppose if you have an innate victim mentality that was, at one time, true.  Men held the highest paid jobs, and a hugely disparate percentage of the jobs in total.  Men had the purchasing power.  Men filled the governmental positions.

That was back in the early days of this country.  Largely, this started changing with World War I and World War II.  During those years, women were needed to fill the production positions left vacant by men who'd gone off to fight for their country.

Since then, women have slowly and steadily filled more and more positions in the workplace and in government.  In fact, some of the most powerful roles in our government are filled by women.  This is a day in which a woman who wants to achieve great things has all the opportunity she needs to do so.  We have a female Secretary of State, a female Surgeon General, Homeland Security Secretay, ninety Congressional posts, and the numbers are growing all the time.  Disparities in wages are often caused by faulty statistical schemes.  For example:  most surveys that claim a disparity in male/female incomes do not take into consideration maternity leave, the increased number of days off that women take as opposed to men, and so on.  

The fact is, we are all different.  We must be careful when we speak in generalities.  

One thing is obvious to the observant person:  over the past few decades, there has been a concerted effort in the media and in society to undermine masculinity in American society.  In almost every family portrayed in television or movies, the man is portrayed as clueless or tyrannical, or both.  The woman is always portrayed as the one with the common sense and intelligence.  Men are either the comical characters whose oafish blunders make us laugh uproariously at their expense, or as the morally depraved deviants whose inner corruption is rarely far from surfacing and destroying the poor female victim.

Don't take my word for it.  Look at what you watch and read with open eyes.  Pay attention to what you're putting into your mind.

It has seeped into every part of our lives.  Read your Facebook news feed.  Watch how many women post things like "We Need To Teach Our Daughters..." or "A Real Man..."

How often do you read "A Real Woman..." ?  

When I moved to Missouri, the church my mother attended had an adult Sunday School class for people my age.  They were running a series of videos by a famed Christian author whose specialty seems to be in relationship counseling.  Throughout that series, I observed something that had disturbed me for several years prior to that.  Whenever the speaker addressed the men, he instructed them to change their approach to make room for the more emotional way many women interpret the world.  When he addressed the women, he instructed them to "understand that men just don't get it."

We now live in a time in which it's almost considered a bad thing to be masculine.  The church is one of the biggest offenders, too.  The church today is raising a generation of males who don't know what true masculinity is.  We see more and more who are so detached from their own gender that they even physically manifest signs of effeminacy.  It's an interesting and disturbing phenomenon.  They are not self-sufficient, strong, or effective leaders.  They cower to the politically correct rather than standing with a rigid spine in the face of popular opposition.  In my mind, it's vivid evidence of the emasculation of the Christian man.  (Read Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge for a much more skillful exposition on this subject.)

We also live in a time in which it's politically correct, and even applauded, when women make blanket statements about the cluelessness, ineptitude, lack of moral character, and spinelessness of men.  Yet, if a man were to say anything negative about a woman, he is branded a sexist.  The pendulum has swung so far that it's considered socially acceptable to hold up a man to public ridicule based upon his gender.  And it's become a part of the fabric of daily communication, to the point that it's unnoticeable unless one listens with new ears.

I'm writing to try to give you new ears.

Posts like the very popular "We Need To Teach Our Daughters..." make negative assumptions about men in general.  Posts like "A Real Man..." does or doesn't do certain things are a backhanded insult against men in general because they only address half of the equation.  We rarely see posts instructing women to be ladies.  We rarely hear teachers or preachers applauding true femininity instead of feminism.  We regularly hear messages instructing men to adjust to women, but rarely the opposite.  These messages criticize men for their less emotional approach to life, their lack of verbal communication and their tendency to spend too much time and effort on their careers.  We rarely hear sermons on how women can follow a truly scriptural approach to femininity.  We rarely hear a sermon that tells a woman to "suck it up and think logically" or to "stop talking so much."  

One problem is that these flawed sermons are often preached by men.  These men seem so afraid of being labeled as a sexist that they feel the need to apologize for their gender rather than educate women on how to adequately interact with men.  Just a clue, pastors, men are not the only ones who need to adjust their approach to the opposite sex.  

This morning, in the wake of the Aurora, Colorado shooting, I read an article that sparked a thought I wanted to share.  The article spoke of three young men who sacrificed their lives by shielding their girlfriends from the gunfire.  These men selflessly placed themselves between the attacker and their loved-ones.  Each one of them saved a woman.  Each one of them died in the process.  These are heroes.  These are valiant men.  These men deserve to be remembered.  These men demonstrated manhood.

What if we shifted our approach a bit?  What if, instead of focusing on the negatives that some men display, we focused on things like heroism, faithfulness, honor and integrity?  What if, instead of saying we need to teach our daughters to act like spoiled princesses in a world in which men exist only to meet her needs and make her happy, we taught our daughters to prove themselves worthy of a man such as these three men?  What if we teach  men how to be men and women how to be women?  What if we taught men to be gentlemen and women to be ladies?  You know, those archaic terms that have all but lost all meaning?

How about teaching your daughters how to be the best they can be?  Teach them the biblical definition of womanhood.  Teach your sons the biblical description of manhood.  You know, man and woman were created to complement one another, not compete against each other.  We were created as parts of a puzzle that becomes complete when we marry.  Stop teaching your little girl to dress like an eight year old prostitute who is so desperate for male attention that she'll lower herself to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Stop teaching your daughter that she's the most important person on the planet and that she deserves a man who will bow to her and give her everything that she wants.  Teach her that true love is self-sacrificing.

Teach your children, male and female, how to love sacrificially.

Teach your boys how to treat a lady.

Teach your daughter how to be worthy of that treatment.