Christ and Culture

Today I was reminded of a class I had at APU. In this class we read Christ and Culture by Niebuhr. This book goes through many different ways to view culture and engage with it. In another post I will go through these varying ways to think about culture, but today I want to focus on the view of Christ against Culture.

One thing I picked up in youth ministry is that I need to be a student of culture and know what is going on for the youth, families, parents, and children. To do this I will talk with parents and kids, ask questions, watch media, and read about things that are impacting these groups online. Today I looked into what youth workers were saying about culture. I was a little shocked with what I saw.

I went on to a youth ministry site (youth specialties I believe) and started reading some posts about what is going on in culture. I quickly noticed a theme. They were constantly condemning, complaining, and chastising. Everything was an outrage. Everything was too sexual. Everything demanded a talk with "your" students in the youth group.

Yes, I would agree that there are issues out there right now. Many that the teens that youth workers engage with on a daily basis are facing; from cheating, sexting, to music lyrics, and movie messages. If that is all we focus on this generation we are just creating an us v.s. them. Instead, I think all of us need to be asking the questions of why are these things important to teens. Why are these becoming their values? Address the deeper issues instead of the surface symptoms. Now the problem here is that we have to get to know the teens better and actually practice this thing called relational ministry. It takes more time, energy, and effort, but can actually change students lives. One condemning group talk is going to achieve nothing. Instead we must get involved and change the culture.

How do we do that? That will have to wait for another part 2 :)

Performance at Church part 2

So after reading my other post my wife talked to me about it. She told me she liked it (good wife), but wanted to see me try and think about solutions and not just observe issues (great wife!). I am going to attempt to rise to her challenge today as I clean the apartment for her birthday party tomorrow. 

To recap: the issue I was centering on was the issue of when worship (music) becomes a show or performance rather than a bridge to connect people to God. Often it is the personality that leads the worship (college example) or the attitude of the followers (catholic example) or over zealous parents (children's choir example). I pointed out that this happens in youth ministry when the minister makes it about them and their needs rather than the students and families. Now, my attempt at an exciting conclusion to the previous post!

Just now I had a "God moment". This week I celebrated communion with the youth. As we were talking about Maunday Thursday the pastor asked a question to the youth. What things do you notice that have the death and rebirth that we are celebrating this week? The youth pondered (we hope) in silence and then started to respond. When this issue crops up in a church it calls for death and rebirth. We have to do this to break habits, addictions, and even traditions that lead us astray. 

There is a song called "Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. I found an article discussing this issue on crosswalk.com: The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.

“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.” http://www.crosswalk.com/1253122/

They cut the issue out so that they could reform the way the looked at music. This does not need to be taken this drastic in each situation. One thing APU would do is to change up music worship a few times each semester. They might not have any one time, or another they would change the styles or have a different leader. After each chapel that was different I would usually hear either great praise for the new way or complaining. Sadly enough it was usually the latter. Even this though would get people to realize why they liked the old way and how it stirred them more. 

When a leader might be going astray then there are many different things that can help them "die to self" and focus more on God. One is just being removed from the stage for a while. Another is having a trusted person point out how things are coming across and what can be changed. It can be hard to change or address these things with a stray worship leader, but well worth it in the long run. 

Other changes can be more structural. One example is how some churches have moved their musicians to the back of church so no one can see them when worshiping. This allows all the members to not see a leader but to focus on the cross, altar, or words of a song. Others have adjusted to not have a single leader, but instead the leaders are the members of church. 

By using the dying and rebirth idea we can see how to change issues like our Children's Choir example. The choir first needs to go on break. There should be some discussion on why we are having the children sing in service. This can be a long and painful discussion. The demeanor of the parents and congregation needs to change. When the focus changes from the performance to worship (or student initiated) then the discussion should continue on. In the mean time it is important to not deprive the students of opportunities to worship through music. 

We have to trust God's perfect timing. It may take months or even years in many of these cases. I believe though that God will stir their hearts to come around and realize that its not about performing or being in front of the congregation, or about an individuals needs, but that the heart of worship really is Jesus. 

Performance at Church

College helped expose me to many different ideas, concepts, and possibilities. One that I never thought I would come across is the idea of church/worship becoming a performance. Growing up in the Catholic church there was never an issue with this. The church had a steady way of doing Mass no matter where you are. This eliminated the "personality" from the Mass and allowed it to rest more on the actual worshiping of God. Once at Azusa Pacific this changed. 

At APU we had chapel three times a week. There were several locations that you could go to chapel. Each place would start out with a different style of music and then the speaker. If you were not at the location of the speaker then you would see video of the speaker. The music was always live at each location. I tried out different locations as time went on. After my freshman year one of the leaders changed and thus the style. 

By senior year I found my self going to one chapel location only because of the music leader. This leader, Brian, was very calm, relaxed and flexible with the worship. There was one thing that he would say that helped me. It was along the lines of: "Stand if you want, sit if you want, just listen if thats better, just do what helps you connect with God best." It was through that that I was released from the pressure to raise my hands, stand up, or any other cliche. I would then not think about the music, but about God and do what my heart was asking for that day. Brian did his job. He got out of the way and served as a bridge to connect people to God. 

There was another chapel that I avoided at all cost. The leader there would start off worship with "Everyone please stand." Coming from a Catholic back ground you would think this would not bother me but it did. It infuriated me. I looked around and saw people in wheel chairs! What are they supposed to do? That started me and the worship leader off on the wrong foot. What made things worse was the feeling I would get as he would seem to love the lime light. I know it can be awkward on stage, not knowing what to do with your body, but in his case everything seemed to be in the same tone as the opening statement. Everyone stand to honor us. Do what we do. This is about the stage and not about being a bridge. I talked to a few people and found I was not alone in this sentiment. 

Since leaving APU I have found this performance side in worship much more often. I saw many individuals in at Mary, Queen of Peace who ended up worshiping the singers and not God. After Mass or trips they would not focus on how they connected with God, but the musician. The worship leader had failed their job in that individuals case. They had not connected others to God, but to themselves. 

I bring this all up because where I am at right now "performance" seems to be a large part of the congregation. They want to see the children's choir "preform". They want to have music preformed for them so they can listen. The music can be very beautiful, but I can not help but wonder if they are helping lead people to worship God or to the choir. Now there is not just one person doing or leading this. From my understanding it has developed as a culture in the church. Point in case is that they have a history of paying outside people to come in and preform for them instead of relying on the gifts God gave them. 

As I was talking to a friend the other day she pointed out that some people end up connecting with God better through just listening. This is very true. The question though is where is that line where it becomes more of a show than worship? I have found that participation is what leads me into worship. When I am disconnected, or not allowed to participate, then it almost becomes static on the line with me to God. 

In youth ministry classes one of the main focuses was for it to not be about "you" the youth leader. We are to represent Christ in their lives. There is a delicate balance for us to relate to the kids, but to make sure that it is not about us but about leading them to God. This can mean sometimes being unpopular or the bad guy. For worship leaders how does this look? They have the same responsibility to lead others to Christ. I think the gauge for me as well as a worship leader is in the statements the church makes. You can hear it and see it in their tone if you are helping them to grow or helping them to honor and revere you. 

Father Abraham

There are so many stories that we have that revolve around Abram (or later known as Abraham) I will try and write my thoughts on as many of these as I can over the next few days as I have a few days "off".  The first story that I came to after Job was the story of Abraham moving to Canaan. 

Abraham goes with his father to a new area. In this place he marries Sarai. We also meet the nephew Lot in this new land of Haran. Then Abrams father dies. It is then that Abram moves to a new land at God's direction. Interestingly enough the land that they were actually going to at this time was not Haran but Canaan. The settled in Haran. The text does not say why. We could speculate that the trip was too difficult for Abram's father Terah. We could also guess that maybe it was because they ran out of money or thought the land there was well worth it. Almost reminds me of the many apartments that when you are driving you see have a sign out reading "If you lived here you would be home by now." Maybe they just wanted to be home by now. 

After his father dies he continues to Canaan. This lends a lot to the theory that it was his father's decision to settle there. Once that barrier is gone then the journey can continue. On the way God shows Abram where he will be given land. Unfortunately they can not stop there because there is too much famine. Again Abram must wait. He heads to Egypt to live a while. It is here that Abram pretends Sarai is his sister and gets the Pharaoh in trouble with God. 

The thing that I notice here is the theme of waiting. Just like Moses the land was not freely given. There was a journey to get there. In that journey we may see the goal and be taken elsewhere along the way. That is usually when we get the most frustrated. We know where it is to end. We can taste it. Instead we are taken on a long journey elsewhere in the mean time. 

On my own journey I have seen this. I have seen what it is I am to do, become, or live out for God. Although many times I have to wait. There are two examples in my life that stick out at me right now. The first is college. I knew what college I was to go to. God made that very clear for me. When I got there I had some fun, but I did not grow the way I thought I would. After 2 years I considered transferring because this was not the promise that I had when I started. I had seen my glimpse and now I was journeying to "Egypt". In my third year I finally started to realize the purpose of my being there. I started to grow in the ways that I had always felt I would at APU. In the 4th year I was rewarded with great friends and life changing classes. 

The other example I have is being in youth ministry. My first actual job in youth ministry was an amazing one. I was supported at Faith UMC and grew so much as their intern. I was challenged and knew this is what I was supposed to do. I then went on to several other jobs at a baptist church, Faith UMC again, and Mary Queen of Peace. These places where my "Egypt" or wandering through the desert. I needed to grow more, struggle, and stop trying to do things myself. Now I am at a church where I feel I have put those things together and God is rewarding me. 

The journey of Lent is almost over. We all might have had our plans changed over this time. We all might have gone to Egypt. Stay faithful and God will bring you back to where he showed you at the beginning. 

Book of Job

It has been a long while since I posted last. Since then Kessia and I have moved and we went without internet for many weeks. Not a bad thing to do but it did mean that I could not post here very easily. Now I am back and want to discuss some of the things that I have been reading about recently. We'll start with the book of Job.

In my lenten chronological reading I read the entire book of Job. Through the many days that this book spanned for me I went through quite a process in thinking about Job and his struggles and journey. I will do my best to recount that journey here. 

The book starts out with the discussion with the Devil and God. The Devil wants to use Job to prove a point to God. Satan then attacks everything God has given Job. At first Job seems ok. Then Satan takes so much that Job enters what seems to be a deep struggle. Job's own wife even asks him to curse God so that he can die. Then three of his "friends" come to comfort and sympathize with him. This conversation is the bulk of the book. 

I was shocked at some of the things Job says to these friends. Preceeding the conversation the Bible states that Job does not sin in what he says. Then a few lines later Job is cursing the day of his birth. This to me seems like he is rejecting God and the gift of life. These two statements did not seem to go together. 

It is clear from Job's language that he is depressed. He is suffering and questioning. I could not help but think of him as the Israelites walking in the desert, or a modern day teen. On a side note, one line that reminded me of much of the dark poetry that we fear from teens read as follows: "I will complain in the bitterness of my soul." Well, at least no one can fault Job for being forthright. 

 As the conversation goes on Job's language stays the same and begs for God to come and confront him. The friends ask questions and probe at what it is God is saying. They threw out some questions that got my mind racing to try and answer. "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you Probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens-what can you do? They are deeper than the depths of the grave- what can you know?" This last one really struck me. God's mysteries are definitely deeper than the depths of the grave. I loved how this seemed to almost hint at how it is only God in Jesus that can conquer the grave. This is a mystery to us that we are still trying to explain and realistically never will with any certainty. It is a humbling thought that was around thousands of years ago. These questions won me over to the friends side. I wanted Job to respond and think about the enlightening ideas and questions that they offered. Instead he continued.

Each response left me sorting through Job's poetic depression to try and figure out what he was saying. Day after day I listened to him. I saw the old image of God as a kid on an ant hill with a magnify glass. He complains about how the wicked have all these great things and God does not punish them. These common current day complaints and questions Job has thousands of years ago. What I could not shake though was the question of why is Job the good guy and the friends bad?

The final response it clicked in to me. I finally realized that because of Job's culture when things go wrong people believed that God was punishing the person for their sins. Misfortune meant misdeeds. So what the two groups were really arguing was that Job knew he had done know wrong and wanted to face his "judge". The friends wanted Job to admit the wrong in his life and come clean. By Job not coming clean they felt he was going against God and speaking blasphemy. Job knew this was not the case and tried to explain it several times, but the friends could not see it. 

In the end God comes into the story again and chastises Job for many of the things he was saying. To me God's responses seemed similar to the friends, but God can make those statements clearly and without question. The friends get the largest punishment, but are able to receive forgiveness if Job prays for them after they give him gifts.

Intriguing story. Very confusing with their poetry. A great reminder that we should not judge others because of what we assume the circumstances in their life might mean. God is the only judge who can know for sure. And what do we know of the mysteries of God?