OK my turn. So i just finished chapter 8. Labberton talked all about exodus and exile, but i wasn't completely getting it at first. not until the last 2 pages.
EXODUS
So, if we are living in exodus, we praise God because of His grace and mercy He has on us and because He has saved us from eternal death. We are ensured a spot in heaven and that is our joy. If we do anything good, our motive is probably our promised reward in heaven. We'll just view ourselves as foreigners on the Earth, awaiting to go to our real home and be with Christ. What's wrong with that?
EXILE
If we're living in exile, of course we know we're saved and have eternal life. But while we are on this Earth, we're gonna live our lives to the full. We're gonna live Micah 6:8 lives. We don't just love other's as a religious duty to God, but because we truly care for them and are compassionate for them. We want to make a difference in the world while we are here and have a chance, and showing others that there is no object or person worthy of praise other than our Heavenly Father and Savior.
This really was a good reminder and eye-opener to me because I definitely used to live in Exodus and have that mindset. But I would say that is a selfish perspective to be living from our whole lives, as opposed to truly picking up our cross and loving God and loving others self-sacrificially.
It would be great to see this team leading our church by living in exile. Let's do it!
~Thanks for reading, and if you would like to give your input on the subject please post a blog on it so Craig's not the only one blogging!! : )
Showing posts with label dangerous act of worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dangerous act of worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
False Danger Number Six
the final post on "false dangers" - from The Dangerous Act of Worship, by mark labberton
6) worship that's unfamiliar
The unfamiliar spells danger. It might mean reexamining our faith. It might takes us into areas of feeling that can be awkward, or it might disrupt the statis of our community. The unfamiliar might mean having to cope with a more complex reality than we really want. It might cause us to be critical of where we have been and what we have believed or experienced. It is a danger, because it can be alluring, yet it can realign things in ways that that may be painful or disorienting."
"...we often leave our services with what we came for, which sadly and ironically means we have little more than when we arrived."
"...worshiper mostly already know what they want to know - they just want to hear it again. Many don't venture into unexplored or untested territory.
what would be considered "unfamiliar" in our context?
i think we might all agree that our services our pretty familiar. what "unfamiliar" revelations should we be giving consideration?
i'd be interested in hearing about any experience you've had when some "unfamiliar" revelation or event has enabled a unique worship experience...
6) worship that's unfamiliar
The unfamiliar spells danger. It might mean reexamining our faith. It might takes us into areas of feeling that can be awkward, or it might disrupt the statis of our community. The unfamiliar might mean having to cope with a more complex reality than we really want. It might cause us to be critical of where we have been and what we have believed or experienced. It is a danger, because it can be alluring, yet it can realign things in ways that that may be painful or disorienting."
"...we often leave our services with what we came for, which sadly and ironically means we have little more than when we arrived."
"...worshiper mostly already know what they want to know - they just want to hear it again. Many don't venture into unexplored or untested territory.
what would be considered "unfamiliar" in our context?
i think we might all agree that our services our pretty familiar. what "unfamiliar" revelations should we be giving consideration?
i'd be interested in hearing about any experience you've had when some "unfamiliar" revelation or event has enabled a unique worship experience...
Friday, February 22, 2008
False Danger Number Five
post five on "false dangers" - from The Dangerous Act of Worship, by mark labberton
5) worship that isn't comfortable
"Traditional churches and seeker churches alike have made an art form of figuring out how to make unchurched people feel comfortable."
hospitality is biblical, but where do we draw the line in our church?
when do we become nothing more than coddlers who do nothing but make the unchurched feel warm and fuzzy!
ok. I am sitting in Dayton, Ohio right now listening to author and theologian alan hirsch. check this out. he gives us this formula that I think fits very well with this danger:
Xty - x = religion
Xty is Christianity. x is Christ and the whole story of His life (including the tough teachings). religion is our general expression of church in America.
his premise is that most churches spend plenty of time on the cross and resurrection of Christ to secure people's salvation, but seldom spend time on the teachings and life of Christ that would cause us to reevaluate and realign our lives to be more like Him.
Jesus, friend of sinners and tax collectors, went where they were, met them where they were, spoke to them where they were, but never compromised His message or shied away from confronting people with their sin. "go and sin no more."
wow! more on this later.
craig
5) worship that isn't comfortable
"Traditional churches and seeker churches alike have made an art form of figuring out how to make unchurched people feel comfortable."
hospitality is biblical, but where do we draw the line in our church?
when do we become nothing more than coddlers who do nothing but make the unchurched feel warm and fuzzy!
ok. I am sitting in Dayton, Ohio right now listening to author and theologian alan hirsch. check this out. he gives us this formula that I think fits very well with this danger:
Xty - x = religion
Xty is Christianity. x is Christ and the whole story of His life (including the tough teachings). religion is our general expression of church in America.
his premise is that most churches spend plenty of time on the cross and resurrection of Christ to secure people's salvation, but seldom spend time on the teachings and life of Christ that would cause us to reevaluate and realign our lives to be more like Him.
Jesus, friend of sinners and tax collectors, went where they were, met them where they were, spoke to them where they were, but never compromised His message or shied away from confronting people with their sin. "go and sin no more."
wow! more on this later.
craig
Thursday, February 21, 2008
False Danger Number Four
post four on "false dangers" - from The Dangerous Act of Worship, by mark labberton
4) worship that isn't popular
"Popular worship services...up the stakes of congregational approval by regularly surpassing expectations and becoming the place with 'the buzz'."
wow! i've been there...i am so glad that "buzz" is not what we have to be about...
i mentioned earlier that people often approach me after a worship event and express how "great" worship was...well, another remark that often confuses me is when people approach me after i've taken a weekend off and say something like, "we missed you last sunday...so and so was good, but we miss it when you aren't up there leading us." how do you deal with that nicely? again, i shrug my stupid shoulders and say, "thanks," but what i want to do is shake them and say, "YOU DON"T GET IT! DO YOU?" i know they mean well, but...AAARGH!
hopefully you all know me well enough by now to know that i mention this not boast, but to point out that i know it's NOT ABOUT ME, YOU, or ANYONE ELSE ON THE TEAM...it's about where each individual worshiper's heart is in relation to God...why do people tend to rely on any one person to "provide" them with a worship experience?
how can we, individually and as a team, be excellent in what we do and not draw attention to ourselves?
how can we avoid leading people toward "needing" any one of us in order for them to "worship?"
what is it going to take from us to help people realize they are responsible for the worship they give?
Several favorite quotes in this short section:
"Jesus' ministry drew large crowds, but that never determined what He said or did."
"Justice is not popular. Mercy is not a hot topic...Yet both absorb the heart of God."
i love Labberton's explanation of Jesus' motivation on page 55:
"What he [Jesus] did drew attention to himself, sometimes for dramatic and spectacular reasons. But the expectations that he fulfilled were the Father's."
4) worship that isn't popular
"Popular worship services...up the stakes of congregational approval by regularly surpassing expectations and becoming the place with 'the buzz'."
wow! i've been there...i am so glad that "buzz" is not what we have to be about...
i mentioned earlier that people often approach me after a worship event and express how "great" worship was...well, another remark that often confuses me is when people approach me after i've taken a weekend off and say something like, "we missed you last sunday...so and so was good, but we miss it when you aren't up there leading us." how do you deal with that nicely? again, i shrug my stupid shoulders and say, "thanks," but what i want to do is shake them and say, "YOU DON"T GET IT! DO YOU?" i know they mean well, but...AAARGH!
hopefully you all know me well enough by now to know that i mention this not boast, but to point out that i know it's NOT ABOUT ME, YOU, or ANYONE ELSE ON THE TEAM...it's about where each individual worshiper's heart is in relation to God...why do people tend to rely on any one person to "provide" them with a worship experience?
how can we, individually and as a team, be excellent in what we do and not draw attention to ourselves?
how can we avoid leading people toward "needing" any one of us in order for them to "worship?"
what is it going to take from us to help people realize they are responsible for the worship they give?
Several favorite quotes in this short section:
"Jesus' ministry drew large crowds, but that never determined what He said or did."
"Justice is not popular. Mercy is not a hot topic...Yet both absorb the heart of God."
i love Labberton's explanation of Jesus' motivation on page 55:
"What he [Jesus] did drew attention to himself, sometimes for dramatic and spectacular reasons. But the expectations that he fulfilled were the Father's."
Monday, February 18, 2008
False Danger Number Three
post three on "false dangers" - from The Dangerous Act of Worship, by mark labberton
3) worship that doesn't meet expectations
it is hard to avoid the fact that every person who walks through the doors of grace gathering (or a house church for that matter) has a unique set of expectations...i have been in too many settings where that fact alone drove everything we did, said, played, showed, etc...
how is this different from demonstrating compassion, hospitality, relevance, etc.?
i have always struggled when people approach me after a service with either 1) "worship was good today?" (i can't say it's happened since my family has been at grace, but what does that really mean?) or 2) giving me some sort of advice either about volume, song selections, musical style, etc. usually, i just say, "thanks," but what i want to say is little too colorful for the blog, here...am i just too cynical and angry?
if you can't tell, this is the danger that gets my blood pumping more than any other! i want to be sensitive the the uniqueness of the individual, but consumeristic, self-interested, entertainment seeking people i don't care to encourage.
how can we engage the congregation, take them where they need to go, and not enable them to latch onto anything with an unhealthy grasp?
other questions to consider:
do you think Jesus really considered every single person's "expectations" when he interacted with them?
where do we, as a team, wrestle in this area?
does grace gathering, or any of us individually, exist to please-people?
almost forgot - my favorite quote from this section:
"Pastors fill their own need to people-please, and they measure the 'unity of Spirit in the bond of peace' (Eph 4:3) with customer satisfaction. This again is an apparent danger, but clearly not one that bothered Jesus."
BOTTOM LINE: what are God's expectations for worship and how can we lead people (after going there ourself first) that direction?
3) worship that doesn't meet expectations
it is hard to avoid the fact that every person who walks through the doors of grace gathering (or a house church for that matter) has a unique set of expectations...i have been in too many settings where that fact alone drove everything we did, said, played, showed, etc...
how is this different from demonstrating compassion, hospitality, relevance, etc.?
i have always struggled when people approach me after a service with either 1) "worship was good today?" (i can't say it's happened since my family has been at grace, but what does that really mean?) or 2) giving me some sort of advice either about volume, song selections, musical style, etc. usually, i just say, "thanks," but what i want to say is little too colorful for the blog, here...am i just too cynical and angry?
if you can't tell, this is the danger that gets my blood pumping more than any other! i want to be sensitive the the uniqueness of the individual, but consumeristic, self-interested, entertainment seeking people i don't care to encourage.
how can we engage the congregation, take them where they need to go, and not enable them to latch onto anything with an unhealthy grasp?
other questions to consider:
do you think Jesus really considered every single person's "expectations" when he interacted with them?
where do we, as a team, wrestle in this area?
does grace gathering, or any of us individually, exist to please-people?
almost forgot - my favorite quote from this section:
"Pastors fill their own need to people-please, and they measure the 'unity of Spirit in the bond of peace' (Eph 4:3) with customer satisfaction. This again is an apparent danger, but clearly not one that bothered Jesus."
BOTTOM LINE: what are God's expectations for worship and how can we lead people (after going there ourself first) that direction?
Thursday, February 14, 2008
False Danger Number Two
post two on "false dangers" - from The Dangerous Act of Worship, by mark labberton
2) worship that doesn't seem relevant
is relevance = contemporary, great sound system, projection screens, imagery, video, etc?
is it wrong to do these things? or is it more in doing them to merely seek relevance?
wasn't Jesus coming to earth as a human the perfect example of relevance?
can we be relevant and impact the culture with Jesus?
and my favorite quote from this section:
"I can find lots of people in this town that are like me. What i need instead is to find some people who are like Jesus."
2) worship that doesn't seem relevant
is relevance = contemporary, great sound system, projection screens, imagery, video, etc?
is it wrong to do these things? or is it more in doing them to merely seek relevance?
wasn't Jesus coming to earth as a human the perfect example of relevance?
can we be relevant and impact the culture with Jesus?
and my favorite quote from this section:
"I can find lots of people in this town that are like me. What i need instead is to find some people who are like Jesus."
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
False Danger Number One
let's look at the first of mark labberton's "false dangers" (from The Dangerous Act of Worship) in planning our worship services...
1) worship that is not under control
do we over-plan the form of our worship?
in what ways do we "orchestrate intimacy without contact?"
how can we plan/prepare in such a way as to enable "worship that opens us to a genuine, transformative encounter with God, who is under no one's control?
and my favorite quote from this section:
"If relinquishing control to God is what truly happens as we gather in worship, then it ought to be producing lives that are being transformed to look like God's life."
1) worship that is not under control
do we over-plan the form of our worship?
in what ways do we "orchestrate intimacy without contact?"
how can we plan/prepare in such a way as to enable "worship that opens us to a genuine, transformative encounter with God, who is under no one's control?
and my favorite quote from this section:
"If relinquishing control to God is what truly happens as we gather in worship, then it ought to be producing lives that are being transformed to look like God's life."
Monday, February 11, 2008
A "Dangerous" Worship Service
shadrach, meshach, and abednego!
what a great picture of guys who understood their God. faced with entering a fiery furnace or bowing to a man made statue (which everyone else was bowing to), they chose the lesser of the dangers - the furnace!
after re-reading chapter three, "false dangers," i am convicted that i do not want to fear the fire over the Maker of the fire...thus, to which if any are the "false dangers" do i give an unhealthy amount attention?
am i committed to safety in our worship such that "it allows us to fear or even bow down before the wrong dangers?" what are those dangers? labberton names a few: personal status, satisfaction, power, and happiness. what are others?
are we acting (being self-deceived even) as if it is more about us than about someone else - more about the lesser danger that the greater? iow, in what ways are we making worship in our own image rather than God's?
in the next several days we will look at each of labberton's "false dangers." join me...
craig
what a great picture of guys who understood their God. faced with entering a fiery furnace or bowing to a man made statue (which everyone else was bowing to), they chose the lesser of the dangers - the furnace!
after re-reading chapter three, "false dangers," i am convicted that i do not want to fear the fire over the Maker of the fire...thus, to which if any are the "false dangers" do i give an unhealthy amount attention?
am i committed to safety in our worship such that "it allows us to fear or even bow down before the wrong dangers?" what are those dangers? labberton names a few: personal status, satisfaction, power, and happiness. what are others?
are we acting (being self-deceived even) as if it is more about us than about someone else - more about the lesser danger that the greater? iow, in what ways are we making worship in our own image rather than God's?
in the next several days we will look at each of labberton's "false dangers." join me...
craig
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Dangerous Act of Worship - WAKE UP!
Ok! To quote Jessica's last comment:
"Where do I begin if I truly want to start living differently than the people who are lulled to sleep and just live comfortably every week?"
Let's put flesh on this. I think it will look differently for everyone, but what does it look like for you to wake up?
"Where do I begin if I truly want to start living differently than the people who are lulled to sleep and just live comfortably every week?"
Let's put flesh on this. I think it will look differently for everyone, but what does it look like for you to wake up?
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Dangerous Act of Worship--Dominant Paradigms
In "The Dangerous Act of Worship", Labberton states in Chapter 1, pg. 20 "Yes, true worship always questions the dominant paradigms, even those within the church. It asks whether we are bowing before reality or falsehood, before God or idols."
So, I ask, why does he say that true worship always questions dominant paradigms? Where in Scripture is he getting this from? (ie. Christ questioning the Pharisaical way?)
Secondly, as seekers of Christ then, what are the dominant paradigms within our church that we are struggling with--or should be questioning?
So, I ask, why does he say that true worship always questions dominant paradigms? Where in Scripture is he getting this from? (ie. Christ questioning the Pharisaical way?)
Secondly, as seekers of Christ then, what are the dominant paradigms within our church that we are struggling with--or should be questioning?
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Starving Jesus
ok, let's get this party started...
i just purchased and viewed a couple of videos under the "starving Jesus" title...a few short movies on the subject of which we will be discussion in 2008...
check em out here (especially "starving Jesus" and "where is the love"):
http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=producer&id=77
also, i am responsible for planning and teaching on december 30, 2007...i am really thinking of using the concepts in "the dangerous act of worship" as the focus that morning...anyone with any input as to what would help communicate the message of transformational worship - worship that leaves us changed - thus causing us to reorient our lives to reach for the lost, lonely, beaten, poor, widowed, downcast...please feel free to comment...what could a 60-70 minute service consist of that would really move people ahead in that direction? i know it takes much more than 60-70 minutes, but we've got a chance to say and do something...what is the best way to do that...help me in prayer there, please?
i just purchased and viewed a couple of videos under the "starving Jesus" title...a few short movies on the subject of which we will be discussion in 2008...
check em out here (especially "starving Jesus" and "where is the love"):
http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=producer&id=77
also, i am responsible for planning and teaching on december 30, 2007...i am really thinking of using the concepts in "the dangerous act of worship" as the focus that morning...anyone with any input as to what would help communicate the message of transformational worship - worship that leaves us changed - thus causing us to reorient our lives to reach for the lost, lonely, beaten, poor, widowed, downcast...please feel free to comment...what could a 60-70 minute service consist of that would really move people ahead in that direction? i know it takes much more than 60-70 minutes, but we've got a chance to say and do something...what is the best way to do that...help me in prayer there, please?
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