cardboard testimony.

Great video my friend Doug passed along this week:

worship

One of my classes this semester is entitled, "Music and Worship." I am trying very hard to be objective about the worship experiences I have had in churches during the past few years, and put them through the filters of effective, Biblical worship that we have examined in class.

During an entire year in college, my friend, Mike, and I traveled to churches around the city each Sunday, including all denominations in our search. There was no specific goal in mind, but we wanted to see the numerous traditions in the city. Aside from a few stylistic elements in each church, all of the "contemporary" and all of the "classic" services looked and felt the same. I guess in the quest to follow the inspiration of God, it is good to know that many are on the same page. However, I have still not seen a worship service where I think I would be drawn into a worshipful experience.

I have never listened to myself lead worship, but perhaps I lead the same way as all of the other contemporary worship leaders. What I have seen in this contemporary worship movement is a move toward fun, happy, joyful, entertaining music. Many times, the contemporary band is comprised of middle-aged adults who struggle to appeal to younger generations. Often, I have seen the music be

Occasionally, I have seen youth worship gatherings that touch on my ideal worship setting, but they are only weekend-long, or week-long experiences. Here are the pieces I see as being necessary:

Organically-created music leadership: the service need not be dominated by an electronic keyboard, electric guitar and synthesized drumset. Make it real, make it authentic. Our worship should be real and authentic, and the instrumention should indicate that.

Create a living room environment: So many churches have worked to make the music "comfortable" to non-churched people; or they bring in food, coffee and other creature comforts. Why not make it feel like a living room? [ok, a family room. Living room situations don't tend to be that comfortable!]. What do I mean by living room setting? Lay out a rug where the worship leader and pastor are standing, turn down the lights and create an environment of closeness. We know we are part of a large gathering because we hear the voices. By turning down the lights, we allow ourselves to be drawn into a closeness with God, yet remain a part of the larger gathering. For me, leaving the lights on gives me a sense that someone is watching me at all times. This also does not mean flashy lights, or a lot of high-impact media. I have some media on my TV, but I don't have a high-tech light show, and certainly not a disco ball!

Use Scripture, traditions of hymns, litanies: I heard a story of a church that tried to be anti-traditional with their new worship service. The traditions of the Church can make a worship experience much richer. Our people, the younger generations especially, are looking for a challenge. A watered-down faith does not challenge them. Raising the bar high, knowing the expectations of living a Christ-like life and understanding what worship has looked like for centuries incorporates that challenge into the worship setting.

I don't know that the list stops there, but that's enough for my first outline. Kim and I had a conversation Monday night about our desire for a worship gathering where we connected, and a church family that included people our age. It is incredibly difficult to find, and is made more difficult in that I will inevitably be working in a church after we get married. I trust that we will find a place to be, a place to serve, a place to worship and a place to commune.

remedy.

I didn't have to be as stealthy as Marko to get an early copy of "Remedy," I just had to know the right person, and he loaned it to me. Crowder has always had a way with worship, and "Remedy" is no different.

"Remedy" begins with "The Glory Of It All," a simple, yet powerful song that draws in the complete power and glory of God, from Creation to the end of time, and drawing on the whole Gospel story. It sets the stage for an experience of awe in worship that is incredibly powerful.

The rest of the CD? It continues on, almost as its own, complete worship experience. I'm ready to put a video background behind it with moving images, highlighting certain words (a la iWorship) and using it as a worship service sometime.

"...neverending..." features the hottest piece of Crowder's summer tour, the now-famous use of the Guitar Hero guitar. Who turns something so simple (it only has three chords) into something so powerful? Well, other than Crowder... [side note: google "david crowder guitar hero" for a wide selection of YouTube/Google videos]

As usual, DC*B has innovated their use of music, they bring diverse styles to this album and yet remain so simple. The words are powerful, but not complex. They draw the listener in and share a hope for so much more.

On a personal note, this has been a really long week. When my friend handed me the CD Tuesday, he said, "I think you might need this more than I do right now." It has been on repeat ever since. At some point, I usually get tired of listening to the CD in the same order, so I'll let it shuffle. This one I have made sure to leave going in order. The song progression will lead you into a time of worship, and is quite remarkable. And now I'll echo Marko's sentiments:

"ok, i’m gushing, i realize. for me, this is why god invented music. sorry you have to wait a [week]. pre-order, i tell you."

story time.

This is such a great story. While I did not take it lightly as it occurred, I did not let it drag me down. This episode happened in early 2007. I did not feel comfortable posting the story then, due to my employment at the church. Now, we have all moved on so I feel as though I can write and share this story. I suppose that if I write each of these magnificent stories that occur in my ministry, I will have quite a collection by the time I retire!

In April, the pastor met with the Deacons as they do each month. The pastor was anticipating his upcoming vacation at the beginning of June, so he mentioned it to the Deacons. I would be preaching each of the 2 Sundays he would be away, one being the first Sunday -- when Baptists traditionally serve Communion.

The Deacons did not offer much opposition to me being the one to serve Communion. The issue: I'm not ordained. Two Deacons did have a problem with me not being ordained, but did not discuss the issue to any great extent. The following Wednesday, myself still oblivious to this situation taking place, one of those Deacons confronted one of the church's trustees in the hallway prior to the Wednesday night dinner. A crowd had gathered for dinner, and [Deacon A] started quite a show. When I asked the trustee later about the conversation, he said, "Aaron, you have just as high of a calling as anybody else in this church -- deacon or no, ordained or not ordained. I don't see any problem with you serving Communion, and I told [Deacon A] that exact thing."

[Deacon A], it seemed, was in this for selfish reasons: if the Pastor, an ordained minister, is not present to serve Communion, [Deacon A] is the only other ordained minister in the church. He truly hoped for a church to minister in, but for numerous reasons, he had not had that opportunity recently. The story gets more interesting...

Apparently [Deacon A] called numerous people in the church beyond that first Trustee. He called and talked to the Pastor again and again. Yet he never mentioned the issue to me.

The Sunday before Communion Sunday, I walked into the Deacon's Prayer Time before Sunday worship and Bible study. [Deacon A] informed the Deacons that he would be out of town for much of August, and needed to switch his duty as "Deacon of the Month" to June, the upcoming month. Deacon of the Month is on call for any special needs; greets people on the way out of the Sanctuary on Sunday morning; and prepares the elements of Communion. [Deacon A] was now responsible for preparing Communion the following Sunday.

On the way out of church that morning, [Deacon A] stopped and told me that he would prepare Communion for the following Sunday, but would not be in worship for "personal reasons." Imagine my surprise the next Sunday morning before worship as I am reading through my sermon when I hear his voice from the back. Why the change of heart? I still do not know.

That morning, I changed the order of worship. Immediately following the sermon, we collected the offering. Five deacons came forward, but not [Deacon A]. But we need 6 to cover the entire Sanctuary. Another man in the congregation jumped up to assist. Following the offering, we moved into Communion. That man turned around to [Deacon A] because he knew a deacon should be assisting with Communion; he was ignored by [Deacon A]. Not only was I serving Communion, but so was an unordained man from the congregation!

We distributed the bread (the Body of Christ) to the deacons/servers who passed it throughout the congregation. When they returned to the front, this is what I said: On the night that Jesus ate with His disciples in the Upper Room, He welcomed them to that place by washing their feet, a sign of his servanthood. Just as Christ served others, may we now serve others. Offer your piece of bread to the person sitting next to you, saying, 'This is Christ's body, broken for you.' Everyone in the congregation turned to their neighbor. A woman sitting behind [Deacon A] turned to him but was brushed off: [Deacon A] could not participate because he had not taken the bread!

The Chairman of the Deacons offered the prayer for the juice (the Blood of Christ) and the deacons distributed the juice around the Sanctuary. [Deacon A] took the juice. There is one of two possibilities: he was simply boycotting the bread because I had offered the prayer for that element (this is the most likely possibility; in fact, the truth, I believe); or he was so embarrassed by the first experience of not having bread to share that he now wanted to make sure he would not be embarrassed again.

[Deacon B] took a different approach. He remained quiet, yet opposed, and simply did not come to church that morning, saying he and his wife would be away visiting family that weekend. Although I didn't agree with his perspective, I certainly respect him for how he handled the situation -- quietly, to himself.

Baptists believe in the "priesthood of all believers," which signifies the right of each and every person to pray and hear from God. It does not make sense, then, that only some people are eligible to serve. Ordination itself is a strange concept to me, but will be a part of my work in the church.

I left that church soon after, but this experience was not at all a part of my decision to leave. It was simply God's call, and I had been sensing that nudging for close to a year.

stories.

A friend of mine told two stories at lunch today. First...

Last year at a big 4-day youth worship experience in our community, he noticed one of his youth texting during worship. He asked her what she was doing figuring she was just goofing around. She said back to him, "I'm inviting somebody." My friend was thinking "he better show up, or I'll show her!"

About ten minutes later a guy walks in, sits down behind the girl and leans back, seemingly counting the ceiling tiles. My friend asked the girl what the deal was with this guy. She said, "He's my best friend's boyfriend, and we can't stand each other." My friend said, "Then why'd you invite him?" She said, "Cause he needs to hear about God too." Later that night this guy decided he needed to follow God with his life. His life changed in one night cause a girl he didn't like, who didn't like him, got him to come.


Story 2:

The same friend was worshiping in a big city arena a few years ago when two girls and their boyfriends walked in and sat down behind him. The girls worshipped while their boyfriends sat behind them, cussing, obviously hating being there. By the end of the night, they were worshipping too.

Why is it that we feel like an "outreach" or "evangelism" event has to be fun and entertaining? If we're connecting with God through worship, people outside the church will see that, and hopefully understand that. Or at the very least they'll ask questions about why we do what we do. Why can't we put as much energy into worship experiences and connecting with God as we put into the "fun" stuff?

Oxymoron: Christian Worship Music Awards

My friend sent me this link today. what is the world coming to? Awards for best worship song/album of the year? my response...

"Here, I’ve got an idea...let’s get people to make a CD of themselves worshipping God. then we’ll open up a store, just for Christians, and we’ll sell those CD’s, and books like 'em. and after we make a lot of money, then we’ll make awards for the CD’s, to see who’s best at worshipping God. and after that, we’ll forget all about why we really want to worship God and kids will just buy the CD because it’s cool music that won an award. sweet!

Now I need to write this disclaimer:I am good friends with a Nashville-based, Christian worship artist and I fully support him and what he does. He will be one of the first to admit to you that there’s something wrong with the whole concept. Still, I felt a need to rant...but now I’ll go back to listening to David Crowder and Chris Tomlin. Chris won an award, by the way...