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?
Monday, February 18, 2008
Pagan Christianity
here's a sidetrack rabbit trail for you...this comes directly from the barna.org website concerning research guru george barna's latest book:
Issues with the Origins of Church Practices
The research parallels the findings of a controversial new book co-authored by researcher George Barna, entitled Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Christian Practices . In that book, Barna and co-author Frank Viola explain the origins of many common routines widely used in conventional churches, ranging from preaching to communion. The early Christians met almost exclusively in homes and had few of the trappings that characterize 21st-century churches and services. Many of the church habits in place today were not apostolic or biblical practices but are vestiges of pagan practices adopted by Christians in the third century or later.
Pagan Christianity? contends that most of today’s church practices have no biblical foundation, and in some cases, hinder people from having a genuine experience with God. With extensive footnotes and documentation, the book shows that the following church practices had little to do with scriptural mandate or apostolic application:
* Church buildings were initially constructed under the Roman emperor Constantine, around 327. The early Christian church met in homes.
* The pulpit was a piece of stagecraft borrowed from Greek culture in which professional speakers delivered monologues in public debates. There is no evidence that Jesus, the apostles, or other leaders in the early Church used a pulpit; it seems to have been introduced into Christian circles in the mid-third century.
* The order of worship originated in the Roman Catholic Mass under the leadership of Pope Gregory in the sixth century.
* Preaching a sermon to an audience was ushered into the church world late in the second century. Sermons were an extension of the activity of the Greek sophists, who had mastered the art of rhetorical oratory.
* There were no pastors, as an official or director of a group of believers, until sometime in the second century. That was eventually furthered by the practice of ordination, which was based upon the prevailing Roman custom of appointing men to public office.
* The biblical approach to "communion" or the "Lord’s Supper," was truncated late in the second century from a full, festive communal meal without clergy officiating to the presently common habit of having a sip of wine and morsel of bread (or juice and a wafer) under the guidance of a recognized clergyman.
Pagan Christianity? also addresses a myriad of other practices, including tax-exempt status for churches, pews, stained glass windows, altar calls, the pastoral prayer, church bulletins, bishops, clergy attire, choirs, tithing, the collection plate, seminary training, infant baptism, the "sinner’s prayer," and funeral processions, among others.
To find out more about Pagan Christianity? , or to order a copy of the book,
click here.
George Barna commented that the objective of the book is not to criticize churches, but to give people the freedom to re-think many modern church practices. "Often, people feel as if their worship and ministry are confined to what is routinely done because those patterns have a biblical basis or mandate," explained the author of more than three dozen books about faith and culture. "But when you research the origins of church practices, and study the practices of the early church, you discover that most of our current church practices have ancient cultural origins, with no biblical basis. As people seek a deeper relationship with God and other believers, the book encourages them to do so with the knowledge that the Bible describes a spiritual experience that relatively few Americans have known - a model that is more organic and in which every person functions as a priest of the living God."
hmmmmmmm...what to do with this information?
Issues with the Origins of Church Practices
The research parallels the findings of a controversial new book co-authored by researcher George Barna, entitled Pagan Christianity? Exploring the Roots of Our Christian Practices . In that book, Barna and co-author Frank Viola explain the origins of many common routines widely used in conventional churches, ranging from preaching to communion. The early Christians met almost exclusively in homes and had few of the trappings that characterize 21st-century churches and services. Many of the church habits in place today were not apostolic or biblical practices but are vestiges of pagan practices adopted by Christians in the third century or later.
Pagan Christianity? contends that most of today’s church practices have no biblical foundation, and in some cases, hinder people from having a genuine experience with God. With extensive footnotes and documentation, the book shows that the following church practices had little to do with scriptural mandate or apostolic application:
* Church buildings were initially constructed under the Roman emperor Constantine, around 327. The early Christian church met in homes.
* The pulpit was a piece of stagecraft borrowed from Greek culture in which professional speakers delivered monologues in public debates. There is no evidence that Jesus, the apostles, or other leaders in the early Church used a pulpit; it seems to have been introduced into Christian circles in the mid-third century.
* The order of worship originated in the Roman Catholic Mass under the leadership of Pope Gregory in the sixth century.
* Preaching a sermon to an audience was ushered into the church world late in the second century. Sermons were an extension of the activity of the Greek sophists, who had mastered the art of rhetorical oratory.
* There were no pastors, as an official or director of a group of believers, until sometime in the second century. That was eventually furthered by the practice of ordination, which was based upon the prevailing Roman custom of appointing men to public office.
* The biblical approach to "communion" or the "Lord’s Supper," was truncated late in the second century from a full, festive communal meal without clergy officiating to the presently common habit of having a sip of wine and morsel of bread (or juice and a wafer) under the guidance of a recognized clergyman.
Pagan Christianity? also addresses a myriad of other practices, including tax-exempt status for churches, pews, stained glass windows, altar calls, the pastoral prayer, church bulletins, bishops, clergy attire, choirs, tithing, the collection plate, seminary training, infant baptism, the "sinner’s prayer," and funeral processions, among others.
To find out more about Pagan Christianity? , or to order a copy of the book,
click here.
George Barna commented that the objective of the book is not to criticize churches, but to give people the freedom to re-think many modern church practices. "Often, people feel as if their worship and ministry are confined to what is routinely done because those patterns have a biblical basis or mandate," explained the author of more than three dozen books about faith and culture. "But when you research the origins of church practices, and study the practices of the early church, you discover that most of our current church practices have ancient cultural origins, with no biblical basis. As people seek a deeper relationship with God and other believers, the book encourages them to do so with the knowledge that the Bible describes a spiritual experience that relatively few Americans have known - a model that is more organic and in which every person functions as a priest of the living God."
hmmmmmmm...what to do with this information?
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."
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
The Eyes of a Worship Leader
i've been reading a lot lately...a variety of stuff really - blogs, newspaper, magazine articles, books on a variety of topics, my kids' homework, science fair stuff, cereal boxes, amazon.com, etc...
side note: i just looked back through my history in firefox...i think you can tell so much about what is going on in someone's heart by viewing their history in their web browser...hmmm
today i was just researching what others think about what it means to be a worshipper and how that relates to leading worship in a house church setting...there are many views out there, many of which involve music - yet again...i love music! don't get me wrong. i also believe it is a God-given medium by which worship can take place. music can move our hearts and emotions like no other medium...plus, it's also biblical, so how can your argue with that? but we have pushed music to dangerous heights, such that i really believe most church attenders (or even believers in general) think they cannot worship without musical accompanyment...is that right?
but, isn't transformation necessary in worship? shouldn't worship involve a certain amount of awe?
i read a quote last sunday morning (i have no idea where i read it - sorry if you wrote it) that said
"many are those who know all the words and sing all the notes, and yet never quite learned the song."
the latest article i've been affected by was one that claims that a worshiper sees things through different eyes...worshippers notice things that others don't...worshippers are in awe over the simplest to most complex things in creation, because He created them.
for example, the author writes:
"...you are always looking for the things that magnify and glorify God. You look at somebody’s hair and you contemplate the fact that a strand of hair is a string of proteins, and by some bizarre process, the hair on their head can grow a long way, but fortunately the hair on their arm doesn’t. How does that work exactly? How does that dead protein string know that it’s in your arm instead of in your head? How does it know how long it is, since it’s dead? How does it know when to stop growing? If you pull that strand of hair out, it will grow back to about the same length. How does it know when to stop, when it is dead anyway?"
i love this! and the great thing is anyone can learn to do this - without musical accompanyment! the key is slowing down enough to notice - refocusing in the everyday.
i am a worshipper! how many times have i noticed the moon and wondered how it hangs perfectly in space? the stars and how they could possible exist in their numbers virtually unchanged from my perspective, since i was born? my kids and how amazingly they were put together - even despite having half of my genetic code?
taking this farther, not only can everyone do this, but it is so easy to lead others in worship with this understanding.
with music? ok - let's look at what this song is really saying before we sing it...
no music? ok, here is a painting/photograph/piece of poetry/object in nature/personal experience or story, etc...where can we see/appreciate/experience awe/wonder for God's creativity through this and express our worship to Him?
how about seeing people differently - as those made in His image, those He is working on, in and through...putting yourself in someone else's place for a change and experiencing life through their eyes...we can't do this without humility...
AAAAAAH! there it is again - SEE WHAT I MEAN? it always comes back to this...
how can we truly worship without being completely humble...it's said that "humility isn't thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less!" read that again...
i cannot notice things and express my love for and to God for who He is and what He's done in all these things if i am consumed with me. i must be consumed with Him!
a life lived in worship of Him is amazingly simple, yet so complex...
c
side note: i just looked back through my history in firefox...i think you can tell so much about what is going on in someone's heart by viewing their history in their web browser...hmmm
today i was just researching what others think about what it means to be a worshipper and how that relates to leading worship in a house church setting...there are many views out there, many of which involve music - yet again...i love music! don't get me wrong. i also believe it is a God-given medium by which worship can take place. music can move our hearts and emotions like no other medium...plus, it's also biblical, so how can your argue with that? but we have pushed music to dangerous heights, such that i really believe most church attenders (or even believers in general) think they cannot worship without musical accompanyment...is that right?
but, isn't transformation necessary in worship? shouldn't worship involve a certain amount of awe?
i read a quote last sunday morning (i have no idea where i read it - sorry if you wrote it) that said
"many are those who know all the words and sing all the notes, and yet never quite learned the song."
the latest article i've been affected by was one that claims that a worshiper sees things through different eyes...worshippers notice things that others don't...worshippers are in awe over the simplest to most complex things in creation, because He created them.
for example, the author writes:
"...you are always looking for the things that magnify and glorify God. You look at somebody’s hair and you contemplate the fact that a strand of hair is a string of proteins, and by some bizarre process, the hair on their head can grow a long way, but fortunately the hair on their arm doesn’t. How does that work exactly? How does that dead protein string know that it’s in your arm instead of in your head? How does it know how long it is, since it’s dead? How does it know when to stop growing? If you pull that strand of hair out, it will grow back to about the same length. How does it know when to stop, when it is dead anyway?"
i love this! and the great thing is anyone can learn to do this - without musical accompanyment! the key is slowing down enough to notice - refocusing in the everyday.
i am a worshipper! how many times have i noticed the moon and wondered how it hangs perfectly in space? the stars and how they could possible exist in their numbers virtually unchanged from my perspective, since i was born? my kids and how amazingly they were put together - even despite having half of my genetic code?
taking this farther, not only can everyone do this, but it is so easy to lead others in worship with this understanding.
with music? ok - let's look at what this song is really saying before we sing it...
no music? ok, here is a painting/photograph/piece of poetry/object in nature/personal experience or story, etc...where can we see/appreciate/experience awe/wonder for God's creativity through this and express our worship to Him?
how about seeing people differently - as those made in His image, those He is working on, in and through...putting yourself in someone else's place for a change and experiencing life through their eyes...we can't do this without humility...
AAAAAAH! there it is again - SEE WHAT I MEAN? it always comes back to this...
how can we truly worship without being completely humble...it's said that "humility isn't thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less!" read that again...
i cannot notice things and express my love for and to God for who He is and what He's done in all these things if i am consumed with me. i must be consumed with Him!
a life lived in worship of Him is amazingly simple, yet so complex...
c
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
42/366 of 2008 down
almost halfway through the second month of 2008...how am i a better worshiper today than i was on dec 31, 2007?
c
c
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