Think again.
As much as you’d like to think that the election of a black man to the Presidency of the United States, would change (White) people’s minds about race in the US, think again.
I’m afraid that, if anything, it’s allowed hatred and fear to become even more entrenched in people’s lives. The legitimate victory of a presidential candidate is being questioned in more and more irrational ways. Why? Because fear is irrational.
People’s world view is crumbling, and rather than embrace the emerging frontier, they are clinging to it by any means necessary. I think this is a historical and biblical mistake. God is a god of new things. Period. He is a God of creation and imagination. Throw your boxes away, or be rejected by God. That’s what Israel had to deal with, and what has constantly happened anytime people tried to put God into a box of their making.
Am I equating the election of Mr. Obama to a movement of God?
No, no no. I am merely making a point: The people of God should be a people who embrace the new and revolutionary. A see of faces, young and old; black, white, brown is new. It’s about time that it’s recognized.
John McCain gave an amazing concession speech, but you can see and hear the seeds of it there, in the monochromatic faces in the crowd.
Today, “Conservative Political Action” Conference decided to not invite Mr. McCain to next year’s event.
I wonder if he realizes how close he came to “dancing with the devil” of hatred, intolerance and fear.
Folks, there’s still work to do.
Let justice roll on.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Who is Caesar?
Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
“The early church refused [the] claim of the overlordship of Caesar; they refused to see Jesus as a mere part of the pantheon of the gods in Rome. In fact, the confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ became in their mouths and in this context a deeply suversive claim that effectively undermined the rule of Caesar.” (Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways)
As Alan Hirsch highlights in the above-mentioned book, the claim that “Jesus is Lord” (a new testament continuation of Israel’s shema) is central to the life of a believer. In the Roman empire, the claim refuted Caesar’s divinity and centrality to life in the empire, and instead affirmed the suffering Christ, the man of sorrows who suffered for the world.
I think this proclamation is necessary to our life; it reorients us to the primacy of God, it corrects our allegiance and reminds us who lays claim to our souls. But I was struck this morning with the question, “Who, now, is Caesar?” In the US, our nation demands our allegiance, but not our affirmation of the divinity of the president. A gentle pluralism doesn’t demand our ascent to the “overlordship of Caesar,” at least in the national leader sense of the world.
So where is our Caesar?
I think we find our Caesar in Best Buy, in the mall, in the advertising agencies of Madison avenue. You can live in the west and dissent from the government; dissenting from consumerism, however, is a much riskier venture. It seems you’re more likely to be branded a heathen and radical by refusing to conspicuously consume than you are by burning a flag. Moreover, we are more apt to find our salvation in our bank accounts and wardrobes, rather than the military might of our empire.
This Caesar is by degrees more subtle, seductive and pervasive than Rome’s. First-century Caesar said, “Join the legions”, twenty-first century Caesar says, “Join the nation’s fastest 3G network.” Augustus said, “bow down”, Madison Avenue says, “just enter your debit card pin”.
The institutional church in the US remains strangely silent in the face of our new Caesar. After all, it’s dangerous to condemn conspicuous consumption when you’re building a brand new auditorium. Unfortunately, we have become part of the new Caesar’s empire. How often do we preach about healthy spending habits? How often do we challenge our congregants on their newest iPhone or big screen? Somehow, the “stuff” of our people has become sacred and off-limits to us as pastors. Caesar demanded their allegiance, they gave it, and we lacked the courage to oppose it. By our silence we affirm his power.
“The early church refused [the] claim of the overlordship of Caesar; they refused to see Jesus as a mere part of the pantheon of the gods in Rome. In fact, the confession ‘Jesus is Lord’ became in their mouths and in this context a deeply suversive claim that effectively undermined the rule of Caesar.” (Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways)
As Alan Hirsch highlights in the above-mentioned book, the claim that “Jesus is Lord” (a new testament continuation of Israel’s shema) is central to the life of a believer. In the Roman empire, the claim refuted Caesar’s divinity and centrality to life in the empire, and instead affirmed the suffering Christ, the man of sorrows who suffered for the world.
I think this proclamation is necessary to our life; it reorients us to the primacy of God, it corrects our allegiance and reminds us who lays claim to our souls. But I was struck this morning with the question, “Who, now, is Caesar?” In the US, our nation demands our allegiance, but not our affirmation of the divinity of the president. A gentle pluralism doesn’t demand our ascent to the “overlordship of Caesar,” at least in the national leader sense of the world.
So where is our Caesar?
I think we find our Caesar in Best Buy, in the mall, in the advertising agencies of Madison avenue. You can live in the west and dissent from the government; dissenting from consumerism, however, is a much riskier venture. It seems you’re more likely to be branded a heathen and radical by refusing to conspicuously consume than you are by burning a flag. Moreover, we are more apt to find our salvation in our bank accounts and wardrobes, rather than the military might of our empire.
This Caesar is by degrees more subtle, seductive and pervasive than Rome’s. First-century Caesar said, “Join the legions”, twenty-first century Caesar says, “Join the nation’s fastest 3G network.” Augustus said, “bow down”, Madison Avenue says, “just enter your debit card pin”.
The institutional church in the US remains strangely silent in the face of our new Caesar. After all, it’s dangerous to condemn conspicuous consumption when you’re building a brand new auditorium. Unfortunately, we have become part of the new Caesar’s empire. How often do we preach about healthy spending habits? How often do we challenge our congregants on their newest iPhone or big screen? Somehow, the “stuff” of our people has become sacred and off-limits to us as pastors. Caesar demanded their allegiance, they gave it, and we lacked the courage to oppose it. By our silence we affirm his power.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Open Letter to a Worship Leader 1.0
Dear Worship Leader,
The clock on you, my friend is ticking. According to statistics, the average length of your stay in a job is 3 years. Thirty-six months.
Is that crazy or what? You're sitting there, buying guitar strings and trying to find the next great Hillsong tune and then -- you're burnt out, toast, finished. The tank is empty, and you don't know where to turn.
I've been at it now for about 10 years, and it occurred to me that maybe -- just maybe -- I have something to add to this situation. You want to last? Want to make it more than 3 years? There are plenty of obvious (I hope), internal disciplines and activities that we can do to preserve our internal life. Here's a list that I found in about 3 seconds.
But I want to touch on an attitude that is subtle and seductive, that pulls in on every "7th day", and that I believe will inevitably dry you up inside. The attitude is betrayed by our comments to our pastoral colleagues and friends: " They just weren't 'getting it' today." "I wish our people would be more into it." "I wish people would be more excited about worship. They just need to wake up!"
I understand these statements; I've made them repeatedly myself. Simultaneously, however, I want to say clearly that these statements are poison and they betray a wrong attitude about the stewardship that we are entrusted with on Sunday.
Said another way, I believe that we are absolutely NOT to gauge our worship leading effectiveness by what we see in our congregants' faces. The reasons why are myriad, but here's a breakdown.
1. To think that we can gauge the inner state of someone's heart (God's real measure for "worship") by the expression on their face is presumptuous. Paul says clearly that we walk "by faith and not by sight." Why should leading worship be any different? Unfortunately, whether it's because of broken egos or faulty theology, we fall for this desire to think that we can measure our job performance.
2. Assuming that God moves visibly in your church gathering, you must guard your heart about trying to make this happen repeatedly. If you do not, one of two things are going to happen:
- You will find yourself trying desperately (but subtly) trying to manipulate moments, which will undoubtedly make you feel like a giant, duplicitous ass. And who wants to feel like that while you're doing God's work?
- You will be unsuccessful at recreating that which God intended to happen only once. And you'll get really discouraged. A really wise man once said to me that if you look at scripture, you see many more examples of things that God did ONLY ONE TIME. Christ didn't turn water into wine, and then instantly send the disciples out for more jugs for next week's performance. Accept the fact that, more often than not, our Father likes to do singular things.
As an alternative, I suggest the following:
* If you want to be able to evaluate your leading from week-to-week, first know yourself. Be centered and aware of your values. Don't be "blown about"; just be satisfied that you have helped people sing God-songs, and be reminded of God's faithfulness and salvation. And then rest. Your job is not to whip people into a frenzy. Leave some room for God, okay?
* If you want some additional voices in your life, cultivate a short list of folks that can help you discern what was going on in the room. Listen to them, argue with them, but be prepared to ignore almost everyone else that is not on that list.
So there, dear worship leader. I know you want to be Bono or Chris Martin, or at least Martha Munizzi or Chris Tomlin. Unfortunately, God has called you to the church, and the church needs something different. What we need is faithful musical reminders of who God is and who we are. Avoid the seduction, go to work each week knowing that God WANTS people to worship him; in that sense, we don't need to do a whole heck of a lot. Don't fall for the seduction. You will get tastes; God will give you the encouragement you need. Beyond that, be satisfied.
The clock on you, my friend is ticking. According to statistics, the average length of your stay in a job is 3 years. Thirty-six months.
Is that crazy or what? You're sitting there, buying guitar strings and trying to find the next great Hillsong tune and then
I've been at it now for about 10 years, and it occurred to me that maybe -- just maybe -- I have something to add to this situation. You want to last? Want to make it more than 3 years? There are plenty of obvious (I hope), internal disciplines and activities that we can do to preserve our internal life. Here's a list that I found in about 3 seconds.
But I want to touch on an attitude that is subtle and seductive, that pulls in on every "7th day", and that I believe will inevitably dry you up inside. The attitude is betrayed by our comments to our pastoral colleagues and friends: "
I understand these statements; I've made them repeatedly myself. Simultaneously, however, I want to say clearly that these statements are poison and they betray a wrong attitude about the stewardship that we are entrusted with on Sunday.
Said another way, I believe that we are absolutely NOT to gauge our worship leading effectiveness by what we see in our congregants' faces. The reasons why are myriad, but here's a breakdown.
1. To think that we can gauge the inner state of someone's heart (God's real measure for "worship") by the expression on their face is presumptuous. Paul says clearly that we walk "by faith and not by sight." Why should leading worship be any different? Unfortunately, whether it's because of broken egos or faulty theology, we fall for this desire to think that we can measure our job performance.
2. Assuming that God moves visibly in your church gathering, you must guard your heart about trying to make this happen repeatedly. If you do not, one of two things are going to happen:
- You will find yourself trying desperately (but subtly) trying to manipulate moments, which will undoubtedly make you feel like a giant, duplicitous ass. And who wants to feel like that while you're doing God's work?
- You will be unsuccessful at recreating that which God intended to happen only once. And you'll get really discouraged. A really wise man once said to me that if you look at scripture, you see many more examples of things that God did ONLY ONE TIME. Christ didn't turn water into wine, and then instantly send the disciples out for more jugs for next week's performance. Accept the fact that, more often than not, our Father likes to do singular things.
As an alternative, I suggest the following:
* If you want to be able to evaluate your leading from week-to-week, first know yourself. Be centered and aware of your values. Don't be "blown about"; just be satisfied that you have helped people sing God-songs, and be reminded of God's faithfulness and salvation. And then rest. Your job is not to whip people into a frenzy. Leave some room for God, okay?
* If you want some additional voices in your life, cultivate a short list of folks that can help you discern what was going on in the room. Listen to them, argue with them, but be prepared to ignore almost everyone else that is not on that list.
So there, dear worship leader. I know you want to be Bono or Chris Martin, or at least Martha Munizzi or Chris Tomlin. Unfortunately, God has called you to the church, and the church needs something different. What we need is faithful musical reminders of who God is and who we are. Avoid the seduction, go to work each week knowing that God WANTS people to worship him; in that sense, we don't need to do a whole heck of a lot. Don't fall for the seduction. You will get tastes; God will give you the encouragement you need. Beyond that, be satisfied.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)