Double-O 24

Reflecting His Light

2010-12-26T05:38:00.000-08:00

I was watching a TED video‡ last night, and a guy (John Lloyd) was talking about invisibility. Not like Harry Potter's magic cloak, just real things that we cannot see. For example, he said "we can see matter, but we can't see what's the matter." Mostly this was a funny 10 minutes of quips and word plays that just make you think and smile. Another interesting one was that we can't see what we don't know. Hmmm. This was culminated with him rhetorically asking the crowd: "What's the point?" ("of this lecture" was implied, but not spoken).

OK, speaking of the point, what's my point? One of Lloyd's interesting notes was about light. Light is invisible until it hits something. In complete darkness, you can shine a flashlight across a room, and you will not see the beam except where it impacts the far wall. (If you can see the beam midair, it is dust, so clean your house and then try it again ;-)

Jesus offered some important ideas about Himself, ourselves, and light. In John 8:12 Jesus said “I am the light of the world.” Bringing this into our flashlight discussion, it is interesting that this light will not be seen unless it reflects off something. What will it reflect off, you ask? People, of course. Followers of Jesus. We are the ones who illuminate the way for others. We don't do it alone, of course, since we are not the Source of the light. Yet as God has constructed this world, we are a necessary part of the cycle. Jesus→Light→Believers→The World, then from the world there are more believers.

Jesus had more instructions using light as a metaphor. In Matthew 5:14 he went so far as to say "You are the light of the world ... let your light shine before others." Wow, so now believers are even the source of the light themselves. I'm not willing to say we are the ultimate source, but let's say a local source for our area of influence in the world. More than just the source though, we are the actual light that illuminates the way for others. Without us, the world will remain in darkness. Maybe you have a really bright family room or kitchen table, but it cannot stop there. There are so many dark places in the world, some of them right under our noses. Not everyone is cut out for third world mission trips:

Your workplace might need your light
Your local supermarket might need your light
Your church might need your light
Your kids' sports team, scout troop, or other secular organization might need your light

All of these start with "Your" because these are place you already go on a regular basis. Make sure that you bring your light, and shine you light every time you are there.

Shalom.

‡ TED shows very cool short videos by amazing people on all kinds of topics. You won't be disappointed: www.ted.com

Help out Ross

2010-10-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

So, my Texas friend Ross King has a Christmas album out. Just in time for the holidays. You can have a listen and even buy it during the pre-release sale now. What a bargain!

Visit his website for all the details.

Wandering of Late

2010-03-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

So Calming the Psalms has proved a remarkable journey, even if it is still in its infancy. It's using up a lot of my usual study and thinking time, so there won't me much posted over here for the time being.

Together in the Bible is also taking up some time. This Bible study is working through the Gospel of Mark. The readings are set up such that we will be reading about the final week of Jesus' life during Holy Week. It is also proving to be a very rewarding study.

Last, like I need another web site, the BAC2U pages are starting to fill out.

This reads like a "where I've been" page that lots of folks post on occasional Fridays. Except they are all at least partly my work. Oh well.

Calming the Psalms

2010-03-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

This is a head up that I have started a new project called Calming the Psalms. A description is over there in the first post. Basically I plan to put the entire book of Psalms into my own words. My goal is 2 or 3 postings per week. Check it out, and let me know what you think.

Shalom.

When is disliking not really disliking?

2009-11-10T10:20:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we are encouraged by friends in ways that surprise us. In past postings I have shared about my morning coffee days with my two very traditional friends. These two are very much into the traditional music scene in the Methodist church: choirs, robes, organs, the works. One of these friends will attend a contemporary worship service when the chance arises, but the other generally would not. He makes no bones about this: "I just don't like the music!" Given that I have been intimately involved with that music at that church for most of the last decade, I very much appreciated his honesty, if not his taste in music.

So, the other day, I heard that he had changed his position. He now liked praise music. He still didn't want to listen to it, but he liked it.

Huh?

Well, it turns out he had a discussion with a mutual friend at church, a wonderful 60-something grandmother. He found out several things: first, that she really liked the music. Not a surprise there, since she had been attending the contemporary service for years. More importantly, she explained how the music facilitated and encouraged her worship. This is what struck my traditional friend. The last thing he thinks about while experiencing contemporary Christian music is enjoyment, much less worship. So this was quite a revelation.

So now we have a convert. Someone who values praise music as highly as traditional music. Values, but not enjoys. I love that! How many of us can claim to accept things in our lives that really get on our nerves, but we know are important to others. How much love for our fellow Christians that shows!

Can you name anything in this category? Specific examples?

I'd like to think of myself as tolerant and accepting, but there are definitely things that bug me. For me, when there is song playing behind the spoken pastoral prayer, I have a hard time focusing on the prayer. I've been told by others that such songs really help. I'm sure there are aspects of the worship service that don't do anything for me, yet I know are important to others. It's hard to just ignore things but I believe it is important and a very fundamental part of "Do unto others." I hope you agree.

Shalom.

Bibliolatry

2009-11-05T11:31:00.001-08:00

Literally, bibliolatry is the worship of a book. There a short but interesting Wikipedia article available. It touches on the bits related specifically to Christianity, where one worships the Holy Bible as opposed the the Holy One. I've witnessed the process of Bible study and Bible inerrancy leading to Bibliolatry. (I'll use upper case Bibliolatry to indicate the specific worship of the Christian Bible.) How does this happen? What would Jesus think about it?

So, this is a tricky road to walk. Yes, we want to fall back on the Bible as a guide and blueprint for this earthly life. But, strong the temptation is to quote scripture instead of prayer to consult the one who inspired the scripture. After all, much of the Bible requires interpretation. Putting things in historical context is one great service that trained pastors and teachers can do for the rest of us. Without this background and context, the road to Bibliolatry gets more slippery. This is when we risk quoting things, and potentially modifying our behavior in ways that the scripture was simply never intended. Nothing is worse than thinking you are on the path to salvation when Jesus just watches and shakes his head in sadness.

Can we spend too much time in the Bible? The obvious answer is no, but then to what level do we exclude other Biblically-mandated activities such as prayer and fellowship? Can we not learn as much about God from these activities as we can by academically studying the scripture?

I don't have the answer, but I am frequently frustrated. It is hard to hear very knowledgeable folks - with literal knowledge of Bible contents - quote scripture without even considering the meaning, or the specific application at hand. Even the Truth, when misapplied, does no service to the King.

Shalom.

On With the Show

2009-10-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

So at yesterday's coffee ** we got onto the topic of worship and leading worship. All three of us have spent plenty of time on the platform making music for various congregations. Their experience has been primarily in a traditional setting as choir members working for very classically-minded choir directors. You may have figured out I'm mostly into rock and roll church. The discussion was in principle a simple one: should those leading worship necessarily be worshiping?

Now, anyone who has ever done anything like this knows that some days you are just distracted, but I'm not talking about your bad days, I want to focus on the best case, when circumstances are ideal.

The conclusion from my traditional friends was that they virtually never worship during their musical presentation. They are too concerned with any number of things, such as the complexity of the piece (will they hit that difficult note in the 27th measure?) or their appearance (is their robe on straight?). Believe me, I wish I was making these up. But that sounds like a put-down, which it is not my goal. These are real, honest revelations of what goes on in their heads on Sunday morning.

All worship leaders (including those leading via music, speaking, or prayer) balance the need to be connected with God, to appear to be connected with God, and to facilitate the connection of others to God. My choir friends weight these in reverse order: the facilitation is most important, followed by the appearance. Actual personal connection is not on their radar Sunday morning. (To be fair, they will describe times of real worship, but they are not in the corporate setting Sundays.)

I guess I just don't see it that way, but maybe there are folks in the pews who need this. Since we can't read others' thoughts and hearts, I can't say what's really going on. Still it is difficult to hear words like "I couldn't worship this morning because they forgot to move that speaker to the side." Again, I wish I was making this up. Are the connections between people and God so tenuous that something so trivial (to me anyway) can interrupt the divine praise that is genuine worship? Or is there ever real corporate worship going on for these folks?

I have a lot more thinking to do on this one.

Shalom.

** you might have read past posts about morning coffee conversations. While most posts have related conversations with my very progressive pastor friend, this coffee was with two good friends who are from a church point of view very traditional.

Worship vs Outreach

2009-09-07T05:15:00.000-07:00

Along the lines of the previous post, I do have a bunch of songs written, and up until now most of these have been worship songs. Lately I have been learning the difference, and more importantly, the value of the outreach song. Consider these two snippets of popular Christian songs:

"I Love You Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship you, oh my soul rejoice" (I Love You Lord)
"Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing" (Mighty to Save)

For a non-believer, which is more likely to get you to stick around and hear the whole song? It's not hard if you can put yourself in their shoes. Which is really where outreach has to start and end. If you aren't meeting the people where they are, physically and emotionally, how are you going to get them to pay any attention to you?

Now don't go thinking I want to sell the message of the outreach songs short here. There's no reason that the lyrics can't have a Christian message and retain the attention of a non-believer. In a recent Rob Bell message he described the philosophy of the Jewish story teller, where it was often their goal to embed multiple stories and themes within a single piece. This was done by careful and clever use of language and metaphor.

Please remember, I'm talking about outreach events here, like secular coffee shops and other public events not at a church building. There will always be a place for worship songs singing praise and love for God. Furthermore, there are outreach songs that are simply inappropriate for a worship setting, although that is less common than the other way around.

Shalom.

Statements from the Heart

2009-08-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I have been blessed with with a handful of songs. At least a few of which people other than me have said they like. I guess I'd have to say I wrote them, but it is actually a little more surreal than that. Most of the time they just come out of me. Melody, verse, everything. I have been to some song writing seminars (at CMS and KingdomBound, among others) and the lessons sound like this: don't be disappointed with a good verse without a chorus; don't refuse to edit songs; keep all the fragments around, they might fit together someday; etc.

This advice has come from the top of the heap in Christian song writing circles, such as Paul Baloche. It turns out this is really very hard for me. When I get the whole song at one time as a unified chunk, it doesn't feel right to break it up. On the less frequent occasion that I do sit down and work hard to put lyrics together for a specific thought or message, I can do some erasing. More often, since I see these as gifts from God, I have this irrational need to leave them untouched. If they aren't suitable for recording, or even sharing with others, then so be it. I always learn something from every one of my songs.

It sounds strange, but there are several that have been around for years and no one, not even wifey, has heard them but me and God. It's not that I don't want to share, it's more like they are just personal statements that me and God share. Sometimes after months these surface into public view, sometimes they never do.

That's all for today. Shalom.

Kingdom Bound 09

2009-08-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

One mid-summer highlight for the last several years has been Kingdom Bound. This is a large festival of Christian music at Darien Lake, an amusement park western New York. There are tons of bands of all sorts, workshops, great fellowship, and of course, roller coasters. Now that the kids are old enough to send into the park unattended, wifey and I get some time to choose our own activities for the week. Not a surprise that sometimes our musical interests differ from the 13 year old's.

So, we're off there for a few days. Stop by and get say hello.

Shalom.

Coffee Conversations

2009-07-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

A couple mornings a week I get together for coffee with friends. We rarely plan an agenda of topics, and yet the 60-90 minutes always seems to fly by without pause. Often these conversations wind around to church, since in one way or another this set of friends are connected by faith. Today we ended up discussing some hard questions, and what people's reasonable reactions to those hard questions should be.

I have experienced an unfortunate response from folks in church leadership to tough questions: silence. I don't mean they beat around the bush and never get to actually answering the question. I mean no response whatsoever. Silence. Now, there are a few situation for which this is reasonable. "When did you stop beating your wife?" comes to mind. We zeroed in one this: "To what extent should a pastor bow to the wishes of big donors?"

OK, admit it: all of you have considered this before. Of course, the initial answer is something along the lines of "it depends." Ouch. Well, at least it is not silence. As is often the case, the first steps towards reconciling this issue is a discussion. I have a simple, and some would say naive, answer: remove the connection between the church budget and the pastor's salary. Or better yet, have pastors that do not draw a salary at all. I could go on all day about this one. When you start with the premise of a fully paid pastoral staff, and the goal being to foster Christian community in and out of the church walls, the pastoral salary assumption can quickly get you to places that will never continue on to Christian community. This is especially true when moving outside the walls, but still true even when we stay home.

You see, when we pay money, we have this expectation of getting something in return. I recognize this is not Christian giving, but a very earthly approach. Yet what can you say when folks withhold tithes (sometimes publicly) on the grounds that they disagree with some particular pastoral decision or leadership policy? If there was no connection between the tithing and the pastor, folks would not expect there to to have that particular type of control.

I guess it all comes down to this: is there any pastor who has the guts to say "no thanks" to the money that comes with strings attached? Even at the risk of their own livelihood? Not that I blame a pastor for this, yet this is their chosen field (God appointed field, most are quick to remind me) but they will often not have the faith to stick to their beliefs when pressed between Jesus and a car payment.

Next week's question for parishioners: what if you had to choose between Jesus and your local church?

Shalom.

Revisiting Cussing...

2009-07-22T10:19:00.001-07:00

OK, I have some more thoughts on cussing in church. Since the last post on the topic, I've had a few conversations with Tracy and others on this. The clarification I need to make is about being offensive. That was not the right word. Every preacher knows you can't talk on any subject for 30 minutes and not offend someone. So offending people by cussing is not really the issue.

What is the issue? Glad you asked. It comes down to what image you project, and what image is received. I can't say I never utter four letter words, but it is rare, and always in an appropriate context and setting. When I talk to someone who cannot get through a single sentence without an f-bomb, all I can think of is that this person is either really lazy or just plain ignorant. Too lazy to think of a reasonable English word, so they just toss in the universal noun, adjective, adverb, whatever, thinking they communicated. Or ignorant, because they don't seem to understand the message that our language choices send about ourselves.

In either case, is this really the message that we want people to receive? Not me. Now I know, some of you will say that you don't feel this way about folks who cuss all the time, or even for those who cuss some of the time. OK, but I refuse to believe that my opinion here is unique. I'd rather err on the side of civility and let them learn who I am by all the words I say rather than the chosen few of the four-letter variety.

Here's another take on the matter.

That's it for now. This is probably not dead yet.

Shalom.

Another outdoor festival

2009-07-22T09:58:00.001-07:00

Last week was the second outdoor music festival, this time in North Syracuse. Given the long drive, and the fact that I was in charge of stage wiring, I spent the whole day there. A very good day indeed. The reports are just trickling in now, but the message was delivered, lives were touched, and hearts were changed.

Perhaps the best part of the day was when Light Blue, the final band, finished their sound check. First, some background. Light Blue warned us that whenever they play out it rains. At the last outdoor jam, they actually lost some of their equipment to water damage. No last week, weather.com called for rain, but we were spared for the whole day. Big puffy clouds, blue sky, and lots of sun. Until Light Blue started their first song. Even with white clouds and blue sky, the rain came down for just a minute or two. It was just a little joke between God and the band, but it was very funny.

Heading out into the world

2009-06-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, tomorrow is my debut in world the outdoor Christian music festivals. At least from the sensitive end of the microphone. BAC2U will be one of eight bands playing at the Village Square Park in Lyons (NY). There is a short Craiglist posting with more details.

So, if you are the praying type, here's an opportunity. If you stumble here after June 20, don't worry, we are doing this every month until September, so whenever you are here, the prayer will be great. The further out into the world you get, the more opposition you will face. That's what I need your prayer for.

Shalom.

Cussin' in Church

2009-06-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

So, one of the things we pride ourselves on at 168 is authenticity. So where do you go when authenticity is also offensive, at least to some? I've been thinking about this for a while, but as usual someone beat me to the punch. The gang over at Out of Ur posted a blog entry thing morning: Preach Dirty to Me. I have a similar conundrum, in that Pastor Tracy has a tendency to occasionally use language I would not normally hear in my living room.

I'm trying really hard to not place a double standard here, in that I don't want to say that church has a higher threshold of acceptability than any place else for me. I mean, if cussin' is wrong, then it is wrong, right?

So I don't know where to head. I like the idea of Tracy being who he is. And that person, the one who preaches every week in my church, will sometimes use language that I don't. I want him to be authentic, and be who he is, but apparently on my terms.

If you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them. Talking to Tracy is not out of the question, and I will be doing that soon. Yet, I don't want to approach this as a demand, since I truly value the authenticity, in him and in me. Oh well.

Shalom.

Godly enough...

2009-05-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

So, today is Pentecost. At 168 we heard about some history behind the day, in particular the connection between Acts 2 and the Exodus 19 story when the Jews were on Mount Sinai after the escape from Egypt. Much of this came from Rob Bell's message of May 10. (If that link is stale, start here.) The Exodus story has a lot of similarities to Acts 2: fire, wind, and more. There is actually an even stronger connection than the similar events, in that Pentecost is actually celebrated on the same day as the Jewish holiday called Shavuot or the Festival of the Giving of the Torah. When did that holiday start? Yup, on the foot of Mout Sinai the day the winds came. The "Pente" (five) came from the fact that the trip from Egypt to Sinai took 49 days, and Shavuot was therefore the 50th day.

So, back to 168. At the end of the message/discussion, Tracy set out some bread, partly for communion elements, and partly because the celebration of Shavuot is tied to the beginning of the Jewish summer wheat season. There was also some juice to complete the elements. We put on a video of Revelation Song, by Kari Jobe. The idea was that we would get up and take communion when we felt so moved. What kind of spontaneously happened was folks started serving communion to each other. Very powerful stuff. We were pretty much all done as the song came to its dénouement. We've all had more and less meaningful communions in our times. This was most definitely a Good One.

Once that was completed, Steve lead us in In the Secret. And then I spontaneously played Meet With Me. I don't know why it didn't hit me Friday when I was putting the music together, but Meet With Me is about perfect for Pentecost. New and Old Testament connections, it's all there.

So, what about Godly enough...

That came about because this was another week when I ask Steve to play a song and it was already on his list of things to play. His email response started out "Oddly enough I already pulled that one." My response was "No, it was Godly enough." It is alway great to have confirmation that the song is the correct one for Him to hear.

That's all. I hope you have a Blessed Week. Shalom.

Coincident Paths

2009-05-30T05:43:00.000-07:00

Last night wifey and I went out with another couple for a few hours without children. A rare opportunity for both families to find good alternatives simultaneously. We went to a nearby pub, mostly populated by much younger folks, and had some beer and bar food. We know these folks quite well, which means we can often have meaningful conversations without the risk of offense. Good thing, since I am not always known for social graces in lieu of honesty.

The conversation wandered through recent kids' sports activities, and ended up, as it often does, discussing theology and church. Specifically the acceptance of practicing homosexuals into the church body. It was interesting because one of those at the table took a very traditional approach, along the lines of "love the sinner hate the sin" although without actually using that tired - and nearly meaningless - cliche. Underneath though, there was the implication that this person was less than comfortable with the local church openly welcoming practicing homosexuals.** The idea, I think, was that by accepting these folks, loving these folks, we put an explicit stamp of approval on their behavior.

I'll admit, I'm not debating the correctness (or sinfulness) of homosexuality here. What I am hoping to point out is that until we can openly love everyone, openly accept everyone, we don't need to worry about what to do with them. What we are commanded to do is love our neighbors. If you really believe homosexuality is a sin, then what better way to convince a homosexual of this than to bring them to Christ, and let the Holy Spirit do the work? Leaving them outside until they change themselves is simply not an option.

In a recent Leadership Journal, John Ortberg wrote a great piece titled "The Sin Tamer." Here's a snippet:

The problem with what might be called the "victorious Christian living" mindset is not that it takes sin too seriously. The problem is it inevitably becomes selective about which sins God hates the most, and they always end up being somebody else's sin.

That quote kind of says it all. Unless you are going to preach against gluttony or sloth and reject the participation of overweight or lazy people, they why the major focus on homosexuality? I can imagine some reasons, for one, it's easy. (The same reason why we in New York continue to increase taxes on tobacco and alcohol. Who's going to argue?) We all know that we are not to judge, but this in practice is extremely difficult. Ditto for loving others, especially those unlike ourselves.

So, what's up with the title? My point on Coincident Paths is that regardless of what you or your church believes regarding homosexuality, we have many, many, struggles to overcome together before we need to nitpick about how bad a sin it is, or if it is a choice, or how fast they'll catch fire in hell. Wait until you can turn to the gay person in the pew next to you, look them in the eye and say "I love you." When together we get there, I think we will all find that the options and possibilities open to us will be quite different. Quite different indeed.

That's all for today. I could probably go on for hours, but the sun is shining.

Shalom.

** I keep saying "practicing homosexuals" because even most conservative sects have generally accepted the membership, and in some cases the leadership, of openly gay people committed to celibacy.

Hit the Road, Jack?

2009-05-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone faces changes in life, including moving to a new church. So, how do you know when it is time to say goodbye? I can imagine a few indicators that may or may not work for you:

You feel that your skills are not needed anymore. Maybe there are adequate replacements, or maybe you are just not being asked to help out in ways that you were before. In either case, perhaps there are other places where you can apply yourself productively.
You feel your help is not as needed as in the past. Times change, and so does the utility of any given person within any given organization. Maybe the organization has evolved in ways that no longer suit what you successfully did before.
Maybe your skills are no longer up to standards. Have you let yourself drift away, perhaps focusing on other things, and now what used to be easy is not so easy?
What if you just know that God is calling you elsewhere? You can argue all you want, and all that does is cause real stress. And in the end He will win anyway.

There are different options for approaching each of the above. For #1 and #2, you can either stay in the organization and do something else, of find somewhere else to do your thing. For #3, you have some soul searching to do. Why did you let your skills deteriorate? Is something else more important now? Assuming you have developed other ways to have an impact, does your organization need this new you?

#4 is the tough one. What are you going to do?

Last, I guess you can just suck it up and hang around anyways. Assuming you're not fighting God on this one. We all go through phases of life, friends come and go, as do interests and abilities. To face these inevitable life changes is hard enough, to throw your life into an uproar every time can make things very difficult.

So after typing this, I'm back where I started. THanks for visiting.

Shalom.

168, Church, and The Chapel

2009-05-26T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well, again I've been away for a while. Things have been going well on Sundays at the 168 celebration times. Steve and I have been playing a tag-team with music since we are having such a hard time getting together for practice times. So far though it has been working. We have somewhat different styles, nothing better or worse here, just different. So, the practice thing will be really required before we can play together to any great degree of cohesiveness.

The rest of life is busy and sometimes confusing. I still have a foot in two churches, which is fine by me, but some folks still have a problem with it. I mean, if I or my family have to do certain activities elsewhere because they are simply not offered at a church, it wouldn't seem to be an issue, right? Apparently, wrong. Hence, I straddle organizations.

On a more positive note, the 168 music team went to the Christian Musician's Summit May 14 & 15 at The Chapel at Crosspoint. What an amazing experience, with amazing people, in an amazing facility. If you are involved in a modern worship team at any level (team leader, instrumentalist, vocalist, audio engineer, song writer) you will benefit from this conference. Lots of small breakout sessions where you get to pick the brains of experts in each respective field. Did I mention it was amazing? I sat in a room for about 90 minutes with 25 other folks asking Paul Baloche questions about song writing. Where are you going from there? And there are plenty of opportunities for plain old worship (with 1000 of your closest friends, lead by Paul Baloche & band every morning for an hour) or others worship leaders in the afternoon. And Friday closed with about two hours of Lincoln Brewster.

I'm still trying to process all the information.

That's all for now. Back to work.

Shalom.

Live 168 week 2

2009-02-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

So, Live168 met at the new facility for the second time last Sunday. Patty and I had some time to rehearse during the week. Steve opened the service with "Glorified" and "Breathe" and I played along. After that Patty and I lead "Great is Your Love" and "Prepare the Way." These were very well received. It was more amazing than I ever imagined.

Tracy's message was continuing through Malachi, this week on 2:17-3:5. "That's not fair!" seemed to be the words of the day. Tracy lead us through an impromptu skit based on the parable of the workers in the field, when they all got paid the same amount even though some worked less than a full day. (That's not fair!) In the middle of the message Patty and I lead "Refiner's Fire." Also very well received.

After the message Steve lead "Built for Glory Made to Last" which is a very cool song, and right on message for the day.

I am so looking forward to growing into this position, and giving all I have for the group, and His glory! It is so humbling and frightening and fascinating and challenging and all kinds of other thoughts and emotions I cannot begin to type.

Bridges or Barriers

2008-08-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

I was camping for the last several days with some old friends from my previous employer. I go to the Adirondacks every August with this gang and we hike mountains together. This was our 24^th year, and in this time we have grown to know each other quite well, in spite of the fact that to a large part we only see each other once a year.

So one conversation I wanted to talk about was with a friend who is a Buddhist. He married a Japanese woman, but I don't know if his conversion was before or after meeting her. I guess for today it doesn't matter.

I was prompted by a radio story about the meeting Rick Warren had with Barack Obama and John McCain. This well-publicized meeting took place at Saddleback Church on August 16^th. I heard Rick Warren and his wife Kay talking about their faith, and their approach to social change. The part I liked was regarding the spread of AIDS. They talked about three approaches to limit the spread of this terrible disease: save sex for marriage, remain faithful once married, and the use of condoms. They were not going to budge on their personal morality that requires them to preach that premarital sex and adultery are wrong. But, they also recognize that many many people are suffering from AIDS, and the distribution of condoms would seriously effect the spread. Reducing suffering is, to them, much more important that sitting in their Ivory Tower and preaching morality. I was very impressed and happy that these very influential evangelical Christians were placing the teachings of Jesus above their personal political agendas.

So, back to the conversation with my Buddhist friend. After discussing the Warrens story and its implications, we were able to conclude that the overall goals of these very distinct religions overlap significantly. Just like Rick and Kay Warren, why can't Christians work with Buddhists or Muslims, or anyone really, who wants the same goals? Why do we have to always beat them over the head with the Bible, and refuse cooperation until they accept Jesus as Lord and Savior?

OK, before you get too upset, I understand that ultimately we need to do our best to share the Gospel. But does this have to preclude working with unsaved individuals, especially those of different faiths? And can we please separate our political agendas from the work to help those in need? I just can't see Jesus saying to a little child with AIDS "I can't help you since your mother engaged in sex outside of marriage."

Thanks for listening. Probably there will more on this later.

Shalom.

Offsite again

2008-08-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our annual offsite service. We trek about 25 minutes to some property owned by some longtime church members, who graciously invite us in for the service. It makes for a very busy weekend for yours truly, since I mostly coordinate the audio setup. This year went particularly smooth, especially with respect to the great sound we maintained between Saturday rehearsal and Sunday worship. But I am skipping ahead.

The event starts about 9AM at church, when we load up the equipment. Fortunately, we do not have to dip into the Sunday equipment for this project. (Excepting personal stuff, like drums, guitars, etc, and easy stuff like microphones). This takes the pressure off for getting everything back to church and setup.

Next comes the fun part, and I mean that. The setup. There is no electrical power on site, so we start with generators, and lots of industrial-strength extension cords. The mixing board, and all the wiring comes next. Lots of signal paths, wireless devices, and monitors to straighten out. After all the channels are working, we bring in the musicians for a sound check and rehearsal. This is a little frustrating as it always takes a while to nail down the monitor mix. Singers react differently to hearing too much or too little of themselves or others. It is actually an interesting personality test, but that's another essay.

We spent a fair bit of time hanging the signal lines and the main snake around the edges of the tents, above the poles, just inside the rain flap. This kept the wiring off the ground, and completely avoided the dew that is always an issue. Dew creeps into everything, no matter how hard you try. I attribute the lack of Sunday morning crackling to this new wiring procedure. (Thanks for the brainstorm Dickie.)

As for the actual service, it went fairly smoothly. There are the usual issues, such as outside musicians who do not arrive for a sound check or rehearsal, and then stand up to sing. The soloist did a great job, but she would have been even better if we could have talked a few minutes about microphones, monitors, etc.

Off course there was often last minute pastor debugging the computer audio output during out opening music. For some reason this did not happen Saturday, so that setup was completed at about 10:25, after we started our first few welcome songs. And someone forgot to tell the praise team that they were responsible for the doxology after the offering. All in all the worship itself went very well in spite of the leadership shortfalls. I should be used to it by now, but I guess I am not.

Encouragement and Gratitude

2008-08-11T04:23:00.001-07:00

So we all probably read a lot about encouragement. We are told to say a kind word, or jut give a smile, to anyone when they seem to need it. Or even if they don't. This is a philosophy I adopted many years ago, after my first coaching experience when my son was in first grade. (He recently celebrated the big 21.) After the final game of the season, parents and kids came up with really sincere thanks. I felt awash in gratitude in a way I had never experienced. Now I would call it the Holy Spirit. Then I was just very happy. From that point on, I have tried to express gratitude whenever possible, especially at larger type events (eg: church dinner) when I always seek out whoever was in charge and leave them with a kindness. This has often shown amazing results.

There are other ways to give encouragement besides gratitude. Mostly people just want to be noticed. An easy way to encourage is to simply not criticize, especially when you know the person is aware of their issues. Stopping to help someone, even for a moment, can be huge; it means that you noticed them, and also that their efforts are important enough to join. These are very important messages.

So, we can all agree that giving encouragement is a Good Thing. What about when we need it ourselves? Is that a weakness? I don't think so. Given my approach to gratitude, I sometimes have a difficult time when others do not reciprocate. Does that make me selfish? I don't know, I think it just makes me human. In the volunteer world of Christ-centered giving, it would seem to be a fundamental part of everyone's approach.

But it isn't.

Why is that? I don't think that people are taking me for granted, but that is an easy assumption to make when you get little other feedback. I don't think people are unkind, when I see all the other wonderful things they do. So what is it?

Encouragement involves two sides: one person gives, and the other person gets. Without both functioning properly, the encouragement cannot happen. Are there people who are simply difficult to encourage? Absolutely! How well we accept encouragement will greatly affect how much we get. I have found that the best response to "Thank You" is simply "You're welcome." Wow, it turns out my mother was right all along! But those we try to encourage often make it more difficult. Have you ever heard (or said) any of these:

"It was nothing."
"I had to be here anyway."
"I had nothing else to do tonight."

These send the message that my thanks was unnecessary because the help they gave me was unimportant, or in some other way not worthy of gratitude. How about these:

"I was glad to help."
"Thank you for noticing."
"You're welcome." (As I said, my personal favorite.)
"You would do the same for me." (A great way to accept it, and turn some right back too!)

I think you get the idea. Don't let giving encouragement become a chore for the giver. Be glad for them, since they took the time to say something nice.

I will close with something I learned from an old Boy Scout mentor. He said this: "The best thing you can do when someone offers you a kindness is to accept it."

Shalom.

KB 2008

2008-08-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

OK, so here we are at Kingdom Bound, a giant music festival at Darien Lakes campground and amusement park. This is a great setting of fun for the kids and inspiration for the adults. Hopefully the kids get a little inspiration too. There are seminars and music all day every day, and the theme park is open for when you need to get wet or ride a roller coaster.

Yesterday I heard a few great music groups, both leading worship and performing on the big stage. One leader made some comments that I need to respond to. Who he was doesn’t matter. If you have been around contemporary Christian music for any time at all, I am 100% certain you have played or heard some of his wonderful tunes.

The venue was the worship tent, which has groups that are a little less performance oriented than those in the big arena. (I’m not going to debate performance vs worship here. We all know the issues, and every Christian musician is a little of both no matter what they admit to themselves.) After leading God’s people in several songs, this particular leader went into the evolution debate. I felt immediately offended, and it was very condescending to anyone outside a 100% creationist position, and even bordering on a young earth creationism.

First, as you might know, I do science for a living. I think I have a pretty good idea of the position taken by many secular scientists, and it does not make me proud to be among their ranks when they belittle those whose position is based on faith. When scientists do that, they are inappropriate, impolite, and generally just plain wrong. You don’t hold faith-based beliefs to scientific scrutiny just like you don’t evaluate science with faith. This is not complicated folks.

Note importantly that this is not a creationist vs evolution posting!

Back to Kingdom Bound. This worship leader started making comments like “if I leave a piece of bread in the backyard, it does not evolve into a Boeing 747.” (As direct a quote as I recall, along with a few other similar statements.) Guess what? This is just as ignorant as the scientist who belittles the Christian for their beliefs. Yes, there are a few ignorant and pompous scientists out there who behave this way, regularly and in public. Yet, while we are called to stand firm in our beliefs, I do not think this includes stooping to their level, and making outrageous statements like the Boeing 747 thing. It is just wrong, and only serves to inflame the scientific folks, while perpetuating the ignorance among the Christian believers.

This is getting long, so to wrap up, the idea here is to bring folks together. That doesn’t mean convince them how right you are. It means love them. And then love them some more. If you goal is based on the Great Commission, then how can inflammatory statements such as Boeing 747 serve to change any hearts? Respect, connect, and love. That will lead to community and changed hearts.

Today's Reading

2008-08-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

I started a Max Lucado book this morning, No Wonder They Call Him Savior. Max has an amazing ability to hit the nail right on the head so often. Maybe I should say he can really drive the nail right through the hands. Either way, the comfortable writing style always grabs me and brings me right in.

The first few chapters focus on the Cross. We notice Peter's writing of the virulent insults hurled at Jesus on the cross by the Romans and Jews. And we notice Jesus' defense. That's right, there was no defense. There was "Forgive Them." Even the criminal next to Him threw insults. "Forgive him too." The other criminal, the new believer, was promised a place in heaven.

How unlike our typical behavior in society. We love to quote "eye for an eye" but we are less likely to bring up "turn the other cheek" when in the heat of battle. Retribution. Retaliation. Revenge. These are our thoughts. Give them what they have coming. That's what justice is, isn't it?

Nope. Sorry, but nothing too Jesus-like in those words.

In a very moving part of these early chapters, Max discusses the time before his father's death. He died of Lou Gehrig's Disease. A terrible degenerative muscular condition. Max kept coming back to this line: "It's much easier to die like Jesus if you have lived like him for a lifetime." What a quote. That's how we are supposed to do it. Just like Jesus. (Not coincidentally, the title of another Max Lucado book!)

Well, that's the thought for today. Not easy, but definitely worth it.

Shalom.

Joe Jackson

2008-07-28T03:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday the local Assembly of God church had an outdoor service with guest evangelist and former NFL Vikings star Joe Jackson. The music was top notch. It turned out I knew two of the musicians through Boy Scouts. There were also a few friends in the congregation.

Joe preached a few hard topics. Probably the most difficult was based on Zechariah 3. This is where Joshua stands before God and Satan, and Satan is there to accuse Joshua. The message here is that Joshua's defense was left to God. He did not speak, God did. When we rely on ourselves to defend against Satan we will always lose. That's God's job, not ours. If we speak up, it is our own arrogance speaking, and the only thing we serve to do is drown out the voice of the Lord, our One True Advocate.

The point is not that we should never to anything to defend against Satan. We can control our behaviors and our situations to the best of our abilities, and not leave openings for Satan into our hearts and lives. Still though, when the moment arrives - and no matter what we do it will arrive - we are to call on the name of the Lord. His name does more damage to Satan than any defense we could conjure.

Another interesting idea is how Satan attacks. If you have never had a drug or alcohol problem, then Satan will not tempt you with a free bag of pot. If you find it straightforward to maintain a marriage with fidelity, then he will not tempt you with the young and pretty wife of your neighbor. If you have no challenge with gambling, then he will not tempt you with Las Vegas. So what will Satan use to attack you? I surely don't know, but I know who does. That person's face is in your mirror.

Of course, knowing (or hoping to know) where Satan will attack means that you have to be honest enough with yourself to admit you have some shortfalls. If you are so arrogant and blind that you cannot even name a few of your own faults, I'd say you should fall on your knees right now and thank God for your perfection. Whether or not you acknowledge your weaknesses, know that these are the places where Satan has an opening. And he knows it just like you know it. These are the times and situations that we most need the Lord. Just open your heart enough, and invite Him in.

Shalom.

Social Life

2008-07-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

One of the main struggles wifey and I have had is separating our social events from the small group that Praise Team has evolved into. That separation means consciously engaging folks, and making new friends, that are outside the Praise Team. Last night was one of those events, and it was a great evening for all.

We have been trying to hold regular campfires in the backyard this summer. There have been several, and last night was the latest installment. Present were Tracy (of Thursdays With Tracy fame) and family, and our friends Shawn and Erika & family. These families had never met, but both wifey and I had the feeling that it would work, and it really did. Throughout the evening there were several connections between the two that no one expected. We had great discussions, and lots of laughter.

For me the recent revelation was the importance of spreading out our social connections. When we face changes in life, such as moving on from the current musical engagement at church, we have to be prepared for the social implications that will come along with the decision. For the last few years, our social lives have not only been almost exclusively with friends from our church, but specifically with friends from Praise Team. This adds considerably to the stress of making changes. Since some of the folks will ever understand or accept our reasons for moving on, we do not expect the social connection to remain so strong after we leave. Therefore if we are unprepared in advance for this gaping hole of social activities, the decision becomes all the harder.

So, I will fall back to the Boy Scout in me, and just Be Prepared all the time. We never know what God will hand us, and we never know the reaction of our friends will have to those events. Make sure that you always have a circle of true friends, and you will be immune to the ebb and flow that will naturally occur in life as we progress through this Earthly Vale of Tears.

Struggles

2008-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

Well, again I have to crawl back here and try to figure out why it is so long between posts. It's easy to say I am too busy, or maybe I lack inspiration and don't know what to type about. Both are not outright lies, but they are not the whole truth.

Sometimes I guess I am afraid of what I might say. I'm afraid of what these fingers will produce in the form of ideas and controversy.

So today here I am considering my place in the Church, and my place in the church. While I am not sure of the former, I am at least confident. But I am very shaky in the latter. Can I let the Praise Team go without a guitar player? Is it God's will, or mine? Are the problems I see in my church real to God, or are they just pet peeves on my part? There are plenty of pat Christian answers to the question "How do I know God's will?" Everyone seems to be so sure of themselves, which is disturbing enough. But when they are so sure of God's will in my life, then I have to say I am ready to turn and run.

What is the church? Can you participate in the church when you are not on board with the pastor? In my church, plenty of people are headed in the right direction, and could use help and encouragement to get where they are going. Can I continue along that road as a helper and worker without allowing myself to be drawn further down and away from Jesus by the pastor? Can anyone be expected to do that? I just don't know. I know it doesn't not feel right to be on the platform every week as a worship leader and know in my heart that the church leadership is out of touch with reality. Often it is hard to convince myself that Jesus is the first thing on their minds when approaching a new challenge or problem. It seems that it is more about people and politics, personalities and money, ego and self promotion. Ouch. The truth hurts, but that is another post.

I guess I have some serious thinking and praying to do. Mostly I know it is an uphill battle. Many thanks to you for listening.

Shalom.

- Dave

Light of the World

2007-10-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've talked about Ross King yet here. Wifey just bought his latest and I will have to admit I am smitten by one of the songs: Light of the World. The lyrics are here, and no, this is not Matt Redmond's Here I am to Worship. (Also a great song, just not the one Ross recorded.) The CD is called Perhaps I've Said Too Much.

Only after wifey observed did I fully realize how much the song describes my past and current approaches to life, God, and everything, really. Go have a listen. At one time this song was available as a free download. I'm not sure Ross left them online, but poke around his blog to find out.

Thank Two Million Ross! (It's in the song.)

And to you for reading. Shalom.

- Dave

Cat's out of the bag

2007-09-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, this blog quite possibly took a new turn this evening. Anonymity is a cool thing, but it can't last forever. More on that later.

I'll be back soon with some new thoughts and challenges for you

Shalom.

- Dave

Back at it

2007-08-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

So, my summer vacation has ended. I was back playing at church last week. During the summer we have a single service, which means that it is guaranteed that half those in attendance are not in tune with the music. My defense the this sometimes abrasive and always unChristian attitude is to avoid looking out at the pews. This sounds harsh for a worship leader, but the reality is that I have to stay focused on the music, and if I am distracted by - sorry to say it - a scowl, then everybody loses.

So, I watch my fellow praise team people, and venture a very occasional glance at a few known folks on the congregation. Safe people. Worshiping people. Christian people, in thought word, and deed.

More to the point, I had a really great time at rehearsal, and I felt that I really contributed to the music on Sunday.

During the summer I visited another local church every week I was in town. More on that later. The short of it is that we will probably attend the Bible study there Wednesday nights since adult groups at my church are nearly non-existent.

T minus one week

2007-06-11T04:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good service. The pastors were away, so the music leader delivered a short message and a few other folks shared a little testimony about what music does for their worship. Some very cool thoughts. Interestingly, some commented on how important the words were to them, and others said that while good, words are not necessarily needed to get us to a point of worship. I was glad to hear that people don't always think the words are required, since I often can't focus due to other pressing matters, such as hitting the correct guitar chord. Also, the whole idea of extracting lyrics from a song has always been hard for me.

The best thing that happened came from the mouth of wifey. She noticed how real the message and the comments were. Sometimes well-scripted, and well-planned messages come across a little too scripted and planned. Why is that? Professionals have to create and deliver a message every week, and we can't expect them to hit a home run every week, can we? Well, yes we can, and we should.

What do I mean by this? Does every message have to be perfect? Of course not. But the delivery (and the deliverer) of every message must be real. Preach what you understand, and most importantly preach what you believe and what you live. Do that, and you have hit a home run. Again, pastors are not perfect, far from it as we all know. But it does me no good to hear a message that is not even real to the one preaching. It becomes an academic analysis of scripture, and possibly some suggestions for applying this analysis to our lives. But if it is not real, then how can you suggest how to apply it in my life? You don't even know what it means yourself! Those messages might be enough for some people, but for me it falls a little short of what I am hoping to hear in church. Maybe my standards are set too high.

Yesterday I heard real people, talking about real things happening in their hearts, and it was really cool.

Shalom.

Some peace

2007-06-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I relaxed a little watching the little one's softball game. There are a few dads who bring a bit of grounding to the discussion. They are not simple people by any means, but we can discuss simple problems with understandable solutions. It doesn't help my situation directly, but it is good to hear that other folks proceed through life and handle various issues without mental breakdown.

I talked to wifely last night about the music situation. Two more weeks and we are off until September. Our plan right now is to play together a lot over the summer. She needs to brush up on her guitar skills, and I might try my hand at bass. Who knows where this will end up. It would be nice to grow a little closer through the process. we have a good relationship, but I don't think you can know you wife too well. I'll report back on that.

Shalom.

Another day another way?

2007-06-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

So, this blog is going to turn more regular in terms of postings, and possibly less deep in terms of content. (If it was ever deep, that is.) I need some place to explore my thoughts and faith. It might sound strange, but I learned long ago that when I engage my fingers to a keyboard, different things come out than would had I spoken them, hand written them, or simply thought or prayed them. I guess I am just that weird. It's as though my fingers connect to a different communication location within my brain. My mouth is probably disconnected entirely (!) but it is surprising to me that even hand writing brings out different thoughts.

So, on to today's update. Yesterday I told the last of my music friends, those directly affected by my hiatus, that I would probably be taking the summer off. It felt good to share a little, and also to simply get this off my chest. None of them are happy, but as I told them, I feel it is a choice between letting them down a little now for the summer, or else letting them down a lot in the fall when the church season get rolling a lot. For me the choice is obvious.

Today driving in to work I felt a sense of peace surround me that I have not felt in quite some time. Possibly months. I don't know what that means yet, but for the first time in a while I may be getting comfortable with the idea of a change in my relationship with the church (the local church that is). I obviously have to dig a little deeper into this, but for now I am taking this as a sign that I am on track.

Shalom to you and, I pray, to me as well.

Back for Now

2007-06-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been way too long. And I have had to say that a few too many times. The fact is I'm having a lot of trouble lately. I'm not sure what is going on with my faith. I've always known that God rarely shouts, and often barely whispers. Yet sometimes we all probably need a little more than the whisper we get. It's easy to say "all in God's plan" or "God's time, not our time" and all that, but when you're in the thick of it that is just not too comforting.

One thing I did find comforting is to read over what I have recorded here for you over the last several months. It seems like I had something then. Where has it gone? I'll be doing my best to get here more often and letting you know what is happening. I hope it is not a sad story, but right now, the future is a cloudy one.

Shalom.

A belated post

2007-04-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since I have posted. So much has been going on. I have been very busy, but that is no excuse for not stopping in and sharing some thoughts. I did not say so then, but the last post came from a hotel room in Tokyo. I visited a university there, and also spent three days at a company in downtown Tokyo. It was a very productive visit, and part of the reason I have been so busy in the three weeks since. I came away with a lot of work, which is not always easy to accomplish during the 9-5 workday.

At church, the kids' vacations mean that we have had a few weeks with missing band members. This limits some of the music we can perform, but since performing is not really the goal, we get by. I know God hears the full complement of musicians every time we sing His praise.

Now that the update is finished, main reason for this post is to talk about Church. The Church that is. The Body of Christ. We the Believers. A very disturbing statistic was released in a Sunday Message on Easter Sunday no less. Of the 86 people joining our local church in the last four years, there were 82 transfers and 4 new confessions of faith. 4. Four! In four years! That's one per year. Thats pathetic. We are failing at the Prime Directive (No Captain Piccard, not that Prime Directive!) You might already know it:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

If you aren't familiar with this passage, it is often referred to as the Great Commission. This is the last thing Jesus said to the Disciples when He appeared to them after His death and resurrection. It is what most Christians point to as the fundamental mission of the Church. It is (or should be) the fundamental mission of the church too. The local church. My church. The church responsible for a whopping four new believers in the last four years.

Well, I don't have any answers now, except what we are doing now is clearly not getting it done. It is often said that the definition of insanity is to continue the same behavior and expect different results. I do know that the insanity is going to change soon. I don't know how, but I know that I will not experience much Shalom until I know in my heart that I am doing everything I can to fulfill the Mission.

Still, for you I hope for shalom.

Is that all you could find?

2007-03-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

The other day before our worship service began, I was having a conversation with an older member. By coincidence I was wearing blue jeans, as were a few other musicians on the worship team. This older member commented that it would never have been like that 20 years ago. His generation does, and always has, worn a white shirt, tie, and coat to church, every week. No exceptions.

So I said, what if I did not have any "nice" clothes (nice by his definition) Am I still welcome? Isn't it about presenting ourselves to God? And coming to the weekly communal worship?

"Oh, you would be welcome," he said, "but you would get more than a few looks."

Wow.

Does this attitude surprise me? Not at all. What really surprises me is that this gentleman, and in general his entire generation at my church, feel that appropriate dress is a reasonable prerequisite to attending worship in our sanctuary.

In the end, all I could do is pity this man and all of those like him. They are in their own little world of Christianity. It's a very private place, but it is all they have. They have no idea what they are missing, and so it is virtually impossible to convince them that there is so much more. Do I think this is unusual? Nope. And more so, it is probably the norm in most of the mainstream churches in the US. It is my sincere hope that church could be all about Jesus, but alas this earthly vale of tears makes it almost impossible.

Shalom.

May I Help You?

2007-03-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

OK, this falls into the Soapbox category. I have lots of very helpful friends. Of course, this is a huge blessing to me, my church, and my community. What do I need a soapbox for? Well, it's like this, I have found that often, the most helpful people are also those least likely to ask for help themselves. By now they have all heard my speech. It goes like this:

Me: "Do you enjoy helping your friends?"
My friend: "Of course."
Me: "Does it make you feel good when you help someone out?"
My friend: "Yes, very much so."
Me: "Then why to you refuse to allow your friends to share that feeling?"
My friend: ...silence...

So many people are too proud to ask for help. I understand this feeling, and I have certainly felt and acted this way in the past. But if you truly care about your friends, let them bear some of your burdens, as you have borne for them. Give them the opportunity to share the wonderful feeling you love so much. Our Christian teaching to love others means that sometimes, we can let others help us, even those we may not know. This might be very hard for some. After all, it means letting your guard down. Ouch.

I might be accused of being selfish for this. Of course, sharing the burden means that sometimes we bear it, and sometimes others bear it for us. You can not expect to hide behind this philosophy and never lift a finger. As I said above, this is speech is almost always given to people who are already the most helpful.

If you need any more convincing, how about this: letting your guard down, giving in just a little, admitting you need a little help, these are all just good practice at being Christian. If you can't give in just a little to an earthly friend, how are you going to give it all to your ultimate friend, Jesus, the King of Kings?

Shalom.

Special Delivery to You: Grace

2007-02-21T18:35:00.000-08:00

During advent last year, the messages in my church were about Grace. These all went very well, and were of course very Jesus-focused, being Christmas season and all that. One of the aspects discussed was how we treat one another being a part of Grace.

For me, it all came down to this: sure, the source of grace is God. But ultimately the delivery is up to us. Unless we rely on miracles - which I do not discount totally - the delivery of Grace depends on us. Some of you might disagree on that statement about miracles. You have to admit, tangible Old Testament miracles don't happen too frequently these days. Miracles do happen, but they are in our hearts. All the little bits of Christ we spread with each good deed, each smile, each supportive word, these are little miracles that DO happen every day, if we welcome the attitude and presence of Jesus into our every moment.

So it is us to perform the little bits of Grace that add up to the Body of Jesus, the Church. Are you up to the challenge?

As an aside, I just noticed that I capitalized "Grace" without even thinking about it! It makes sense - we always capitalize "Him" or "He" when we refer to God or Christ. Why not always use a capital G? Doesn't it always refer to Him?

Shalom.

Which side of the table are you on?

2007-02-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

A few years back, our church paid for a booth at the local village days. You've all seen this type of thing before: tee-shirt sales, little crafty things for the kids, junk jewelry, we had it all at this fair. The church booth had some pamphlets about our children's program, community stuff, and some church logo apparel for sale. The Sunday events started at 11AM, so it was up to a few early service folks to man the booth for the first few hours.

So, there I was. A long time church attender, a life-long resident of this town, a very new believer, now in the position of proclaiming this thing called church to the masses. Wow. To say I was intimidated would just be the beginning. Fortunately (for my fragile self, but not for the Kingdom) business was slow, and besides I had my faithful friend Kelly with me to answer all the hard questions. So we sat and waited and talked.

The conversation went various ways, but eventually I had to confess that only a few years before, I could not have possibly imagined myself sitting at a booth advertising a church. I could (and still can) vividly remember the old me, walking down the street, not even making eye contact with the church folks. "What could they have said to me?" I wondered to Kelly. "What could anyone have said to get me over to the table?" I didn't know then, and I'll admit I don't have any better answers now. Yet, here I am, behind the table. The guy with all the answers.

We have to convince people of is this: we have something you want. We have something you need. We have something you can't live without. I don't think you communicate this with words or pamphlets. You communicate this by living. We all know it, and most of us say it, but how many really do it? You probably know of this quote by Ghandi: "Oh, I don't reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ." That really says it all. It sounds kind of strange, but will you help me prove Ghandi wrong? How do we go about this? It's either a long list, or a very short one. I'll take the Nike way: "Just do it." Yes it is trite and overly simple. But that's the way I have to think about things.

Shalom.

More on the Purpose

2007-02-06T07:04:00.000-08:00

I have to add some to the previous posting about Soul Purpose. You can obviously take the name in many ways. I'd like to focus on purpose for now. I was away from the church for 20 years or so. Then, like now, many youth become idealistic and disillusioned with the corporate church, and stay away. Sometimes for too long. When I made it back in my late 30's, I remember my sister asking why I got so involved. All I could say was that I know it was exactly what I should be doing, at this point in time, to best serve God and my fellow man.

That's really how it still is with the band. I know more than anything that my current purpose on Earth is to participate in this group, this ensemble, this gathering of amateur musicians who somehow get lifted far beyond themselves to lead the people in worship.

I truly hope that you have a place that feels so right. I know I have not always had such a place, and I also know that this place will change someday. But for now, it is a good feeling to know that I am fulfilling my purpose the best I can, for God and church.

Shalom.

My Soul Purpose

2007-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

Soul Purpose is the name of the praise band I play with at church. We are probably not an unusual praise and worship band: 6 vocalists, piano, guitar, bass, drums. Also parts of the band: the person running the computer and the person running the sound board. It is important to remember that they are integral parts of the team. As a group, we try to keep the congregation worshiping each week, and also move them forward in their Christian Journey.

For my part, I am the guitarist and sometimes sing backing vocals. I'm also the chief sound technician, although obviously someone runs the board because I must be on the platform.

The group is very important to me for a number of reasons. First, I love music, and it is the perfect way for me to praise the name of Jesus a few times each week in a corporate setting. (Don't forget, rehearsal is also worship time, or at least it is for us.) Second, because of the pressures of schedules, this is really our small group as well. Rehearsal is not all music, but devotional, sharing, praying, and all the things that one expects from a small group. Third, it keeps me so busy that no one dares ask me to join administrative committees and the like. (Not that I haven't had my share of that - I'm a team player.)

One thing that leads to constant challenges is the fact that we play in a United Methodist church. Not that there's anything wrong with the UMC, but the local church as well as the national church tend to be a little more traditional and conservative. That sometimes puts us at odds with the some people, although I would say I am never at odds with The Church, the Body of Christ. Often though, we find ourselves up against tradition. Not traditional, as in the music style, but tradition: what we have always done, and how we have always done it. No big surprise here. In fact every church has to contend with tradition, whether or not they have multiple worship styles.

So, this was not intended to be a very profound post, just a little more information about me. Any blogger who claims it is never about ego is probably lying ;-)

I would love to hear from you about this, especially if you have experience working in a church with two very diverse music styles and the accompanying diverse attendees.

Shalom.

How to survive at work

2007-01-27T11:52:00.000-08:00

So like nearly everyone out there, I work in an organization that is not openly Christian. This includes pretty most all workplaces except churches, Christian schools, and the occasional bookstore. How do we make it through the day, hold fast to our faith, and yet maintain the impartiality that is required for our career?

I will admit to often having a hard time with this. Where I work we have a tight-knit group, folks that I really consider friends, not just co-workers. So, we tend to have some conversations that go well past the weather and the latest ludicrous decisions of those running our organization. (Although management bashing is a fun pastime, isn't it?) When the discussion gets to religion, as it often does, I am the token Christian in the group, and expected to provide many answers to some difficult questions. I work among scientists who tend towards atheism, although many are "practicing" Jews and Muslims. I say "practicing" because there is clearly no faith, only tradition and behaviors. (This they openly admit.) How do I explain faith to scientists? Faith is this thing you can never see, never prove, only sometimes feel, and yet you always have. Just typing that out almost confuses me.

I struggle the most with defending my beliefs when confronted by the strongest objectors to religion. Like when people make absolute claims such as "there is no God." They don't seem to understand that making such a statement requires as much or more faith in science than any Christian has in God.

Mostly I live by the overused motto that actions speak louder than words. It does no good to get angry or defensive. To scientists who need to see to believe, I try my best to show them what faith can do. I can't describe this very well other than to say that it is simply an attitude I try to exhibit every day, all the time, an attitude the I hope Jesus approves of. Peace (shalom, really). Turning the other cheek. Self-sacrifice. Genuine care and concern for others. It's all there in the Bible. Do I always succeed? It would be arrogant to say yes. Do I always try my best? Yes, it is the least I can do compared to Jesus who did so much for me and you.

Do you share some of these struggles? How do you overcome them?

Shalom.

Shalom

2007-01-14T19:28:00.001-08:00

Why "shalom" as a sign-off? Shalom is Hebrew for something like "peace unto you." But I think it is more than we typically mean when we would say that in English. (At least American English, apologies to my friends across the pond.)

In English, peace generally means an absence of war. The first three definitions of peace from www.thefreedictionary.com are:

1. The absence of war or other hostilities.

2. An agreement or a treaty to end hostilities.

3. Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations.

Shalom conveys a much deeper experience. Shalom is the peace of God that envelopes and surrounds you. It isn't that you are not at war with your neighbor, but rather that you are at peace with yourself and with God. I can't say it any better than this:

Saying shalom purposefully means to offer a peace treaty, a pledge to live for the other’s well-being, a covenant to desire and seek the good life of God’s favor together. (1)

So be at peace, and of course, Shalom!

(1) Metzler, James E. From Saigon to Shalom. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1985. Found in an article by Peter Kroeker on www.directionjournal.org

The Power of Media

2006-12-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

I just finished a book called "The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture" by Shane Hipps. The subtitle of this is How media shapes faith, the gospel, and church. The book relies heavily on the writings of a prolific philosopher-author name Marshall McCluhan. If you had to summarize the book in five words, it would be The Medium is the Message.

While this observation is hardly new, Hipps lays out the evolution of modern communication systems and constantly comes back to the Church whenever an application or example is useful. I use the capitalized "Church" on purpose here, because many of the issues need to be applied to we the Church, the body of Christ, as well as individual churches and congregations.

The fundamental risk we take when introducing technology into the Church, whether into the actual worship service or elsewhere, is this: it is extremely challenging to avoid changing the message - the Gospel - when presenting that message using new technology. Hipps is not a Luddite, so we shouldn't discount this as someone who simply objects to a projection screen in the sanctuary. But we should recognize that once we have the ability to project videos with high quality sound, we have to make sure that the message is not contradicted by the very technology we apply. The best (really the worst) example of this is on p 151. A pastor preaches on the importance of emphasizing character over talent. The well-rehearsed, dramatic, message was being broadcast live to satellite congregations at two "off campus" locations. The impersonal performance experienced by the remote groups precisely contradicted the message itself.

There are a few other fascinating tidbits in this book. One I have to highlight is the concept of church governance by consensus. The idea here is that big decisions are brought before the entire congregation and and a unanimous vote is required for passage. This has the remarkable effect of distributing the power to all the people and simultaneously concentrating all the power in every person. I can't convince you that this is every going to work without retyping several pages of the book, so this will have to do (p136):

The effect is a paradoxical one. Each person in the room is given the full power and authority to stop a decision or action being taken by the congregation. Because everyone in the room has all the power, no one is jockeying for power - they already have it. In an unexpected way this nurtures caution and humility in the people. It minimizes hidden agendas and breeds a deep commitment to unity.

There are examples that follow of some amazing consequences and results from this method.

Overall, this was a really good read. There are a lot of issues here that everyone in any modern church setting needs to consider - especially those involved in leading worship.

Thanks for stopping by. Shalom.

The Internet

2006-12-12T17:51:00.000-08:00

This is just for internet geeks. Here is a really cool map of the way that IP addresses are distributed both numerically and geographically. I'll admit I like maps, and just like all good maps, you can stare at this one anytime and learn something new about something. In this case, among other things, you will be reminded that the US has a lot of control of the internet, or at least we did in the beginning. A small handful of major US high-tech firms have more addressing capability the the entire third world combined.

I guess things are OK for now. That is, until I can't get an IP address for my toaster.

First Post

2006-12-12T15:49:00.000-08:00

OK, so what's up with OO24? First, 0024.blogspot.com was taken (you're on my short list Lacy Parker, of Johnson High School ;-) This was not a big surprise. So I settled for a couple of capital Os.

More to the point: two years ago when my church went through the 40 Days of Purpose, near the end we were offered the chance to fill out a form stating any change in heart you might have had over the last six weeks. Things like "given myself to Jesus Christ," "recommitted my life to J.C." and the like. We ended up with a small handful of new believers (cool!) and 23 people saying they were recommitting themselves to follow Jesus.

Not being one to fill out forms, I started referring to myself as the secret 24th. I figure it is not a secret to Jesus, and I believe He is more interested in the way I live my life than what I write on a form.

So, there you have it. Double-O 24. That's me. Shalom.