Protect the Sabbath

I started thinking about some things in recent days. I hit a snag in my thoughts about how to treat people on sunday while in church. Some find it hard to recognize people on stage when trying to worship God. I can't make up my mind on the standing ovations. Sure, I am there to worship God, that is primary, but am I not part of a community of worship? And if so, am I not to show gratitude when someone blesses. I really thought about it today. We went to see Jim Caviesel, the guy who played Jesus in the Passion movie. I started thinking about how some people were looking at the situation. I decided to not stand and applaud him, but what was I doing in my approaching this worship service. I was very excited in seeing him as a hero of our faith (yes, he's a christian). I even was excited about sitting closer to the front (I was only four rows from the front). Was I not giving him the same praise? Take note that I usually sit in the back seating of the sanctuary. I found myself after the service quite a contradiction. Maybe I have in this turned away from being gracious and loving, even if a little stupid. I am starting to wonder if I would rather be humbly and lovingly stupid, rather than being the prick who thinks that he has to defend the Sabbath based on his knowledge on Scripture.

Don't get me wrong, there are aspects of worship that should be protected. But I don't think that this is it anymore. I mean, why focus on this when half our praise and worship songs are not even directed towards God. That honestly seems more important (if you have noticed, this usually effects which songs I lift my hands and close my eyes and which songs I simply sing with normal attitude). I think it is out of place and very innapropriate. Sometimes inconsistent, just like the people who say they are adamant against certain things in a service, but later you see them doing those very things (coffee drinking for example).

My point is that I'm done with my agenda. I'm gonna try to focus on God's agenda. Don't lose sight of God being holy, because he is holy, but remember that you are in a community of God, and God looks at these very people with grace and even, dare I say, praise. Just read some of the bible and you will see that God in some way praises certain people. Some sense of honor, thanks, or lifting up is given to them.

And let's also think of how much of this "applause" we give to the people of the bible. Are they more important than us? Are you not giving them that same status, if not more, as God? According to the no applause logic, we might be doing just that.

I can't help but think of the Pharisees who wanted so bad to lift up their nation and be holy and blessed by God, but in seeking blessing, they cursed others. We should not do this. Let's love on others instead of being people who seek to just exclusive. Set yourself apart, but don't push people away. Be different, but stop being distant. I think I might be guilty of this, so I think I'm going to be more gracious. Like I hinted at earlier, you practically applaud Abraham, David, Peter, and Paul, so do the same to the man who is next to you or near you. That is scriptural.

Now vs. Then

I am at a very peculiar point in my stance on a worship issue at this point in my life. I am speaking on a very touchy issue. Some of you know of the debate between contemporary and traditional worship. I have been a victim to this aspect of Christianity ever since I was in middle school. I must say that it has not been until the last 2 years that both have left quite a bitter taste in my mouth. I can not see how Jesus meant this in getting the bigger picture. Is the good news of salvation singing songs that make me feel good or finding heaven in the here or the hereafter? Or is it somehow both?

I'll start with the guys who I like to call the Nows. These guys are cool. They love to move forward and exlore the grounds that the previous generations have not tried. Not that they are new grounds, but that it has been abandoned due to various factors. I'll consider myself partially a Now at the moment, because I see such great potential. They get it when it comes to creativity.

I love that.

Creativity...

Imagination...

Cleverness...

but should I include a little selfishness as well?

I use strong words on myself as a progressive type. I love some of the new songs towards God (the keyword here is some; a lot of popular Christian based music is quite a joke). Let's face it though, we progressive get really selfish and disoriented sometimes. We have a tendency to demand feel good services. We also tend to abandon the point of religion, find reunion to God. You are probably asking, "Is not feeling 'God' true spirituality, or religion?" It depends. The Pharisees were great religious guys, even had some great aspects of there lives that we should follow, but their biggest hang up was there focus that they feel God instead of praising Him and experiencing Him. There is a huge difference between feeling something and experiencing something. Guys who are going to have a heart attack probably can feel healthy, but the truth is they are experiencing the path towards death. They have no experience of responsibility to do what they need to do, which is a very naive understanding of God.

So creative is good,

but selfish is bad.

We'll get to the responsibilities later.

What about those old honkies I like to call the Thens. Represent some old school, will ya'. Thens are to Nows like Tupac and Biggy are to B.E.P. and Kanye. I love these guys, and at times I definitely have to call myself a traditionalist, or a Then. There are two kinds of these people. One is quite ancient and follows a solid liturgy, like Lutherans or Catholics. The others are American traditional. You know, the backwoods, country gospel piano, and maybe an organ if you're lucky kind of people. And it is good. They experience God just as much as the Now people. And to be honest, they are sometimes smarter if they have been around for awhile. If they do what they are called to do, they can do it VERY EFFICIENTLY!

Solid,

grounded,

experienced,

wise.

And of course selfish like everyone else.

If your this kind of man, you're yelling just as loudly as the first group, but here me out. I am talking about change. I am not saying that every young pup that thinks he gets it should bully you into changing, but you should try to give something new a try. You are not getting rid of God, your just changing your perception of Him. You have some much potential to be leaders in sharing this community of God. Teach us what sharing the experience of God is like.

Have your traditions,

and share the experience.

And everyone can dialogue about this. If a young person comes wanting to try something, give him your best offering of opportunity. But if someone cannot experience God in these new songs, then be understanding. Do not be the first to yell that they can leave if they don't like. If paths are split, then split in goodwill, which is part of the idea of peace. If you created a service that is one or another, the only thing you should come with is openness towards God, with little concern of music, and that applies to both parties. If you blend, then you'll need the openness to God even more, because there will be bigger disaggreements. If you created two separate services, then come with the same mentality, and find ways to connect the two. The worst thing to do is to create two services and then let it be a wall between two groups, that's not the unity of the church. It is actually called division, and it is a sin, an opposition to God's desire for His people.

One statistic that surprised me is the church that grew the most in recent years. While the majority of churches are on the decline, this denomination was on the rise. You might want to sit down for this one. You ready? The denomination that grew the most was the Eastern Orthodox. Now as you come back into conscious and realize the implications this has for worship, move further with me. I have heard of someone who said the reason she went there was that she experienced a service that expected God's presence instead of just talking about God (the more surprising thingis that she used to be Methodist; sorry Hank.) But this has implications for the rest of us. We need to come ready to experience a loving yet powerful God. A God who cares deeper than any other about your life, but in doing so can wreck your current life to the extreme.

Better yet, think of the book of Acts. There are amazing stories in here, but the majority and most intriguing of them are people who lived the idea of the sabbath. The idea of the sabbath is that there is a separate existence that is set apart to show people how it can be, and that it does not have to be the way it is. Funny, sounds like the original intent of the Holiness movement (and that movement is in desperate need of a paint job).

As far as the two styles of worship are concerned...

NEITHER ARE INCARNATIONAL!!!

The only ones who come close are those uber-traditionals, like Catholics, or better yet, Eastern Orthodox.

God comes to people who need Him, not to music. A good aspect of God's personality is that He comes to those who are in desperate need, hence, he comes to those who call to Him, and hurt itself causes the Spirit to cry and moan to God. This means that true sabbath living is meeting need. Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty puts it close to perfect by saying that if you want to see a miracle, then be the miracle. I like to say, if you want to reflect God as Jesus did, then be Jesus. Which means be more focused on relationship with God, people, and nature instead of being emotionally deranged by demanding that you feel good about yourself. Just because you are saved does not mean you have no responsibility. God secures your right, so that you can be focused on the acts down here. In other words, quit focusing so much on afterlife theology. God wants us to live here, He'll come back and pick us up like He said, so be trusting in that and live out your faith here.

Love

be kind

lift others up

speak wholesome language

focus on God and not music

live incarnationally

LIVE OUT THE SABBATH MENTALITY

I'm going to end with my take on salvation. I am going to start with personal salvation. We are not saved by works, I'll admit that up front. Salvation is God's gift. We don't earn that. But Jesus and even Paul were adamant about responsibility. It is a two sided coin. You are saved by God by Christ's death. If you have accepted His forgiveness, then you are bound for the redeemed and united Heaven and Earth. But if you believe the God is a redeeming God, then you must reflect your master. Live with redemption in mind. In other words,

feed the hungry,

give to the needy,

shelter the homeless,

parent the orphan,

weep for the sad,

rejoice with the glad,

and never forget to LOVE EACH OTHER.

So drop the music card and get with the program. Jesus wanted us to get it, but in the end, do we really get it?

Humbled Thoughts (My apology)

For years, I have thought that I might understand something about life, only to learn that there is always something that I do not understand. Philip Yancey opened up some thoughts in my mind as I finished What's So Amazing About Grace. At times I have thought that I am right, and I have later learned that I was not the only one that was right, as a matter of fact, I was wrong. It is so humorous looking back on my past mistakes, and sobering to learn of ones today. You may be wondering what has made me reflect in such a manner. Well, let's begin this sumerized journey.

I have to say that I have been on a pendulum when comes to liberal and conservative. It doesn't really matter what issue. It could be religion, politics, economics, ecology, etc, I just cannot seem to make up my mind. In some things I have been a mix. I end up looking conservative, but I attack conservatives at the same time. The same goes for the liberal side. I must say that I have been surprised though at the people I disagree with. I have so many opinions the I wish to be true, yet so does everyone else. Someone once told me that everyone's opinions are like buttholes. Everyone has one, and they all stink. It was funny, I admit. The guy was obviously in a joking mood as well. But in the reality that this faith I am in tries to make, we all have equal opportunity to be right. I have come to know that I am very wrong sometimes, whether it be in theology, politics, or lifestyle preferences. I know that I am prone to mistakes. But my issue was that I thought everyone else's opinions stank, and that mine were the sweet rose bushes everyone needed. In recent times, the ones I have been up against have been the older ones of our faith. I have thought that their preferences to traditional style and music have held back the church, and although I still think we should pay attention to the progressive movements, I know that I have missed the point in making this a primary goal. I have thought that their theological understandings are what have caused the pain in the world. I have thought that they hate the young and unsaved. My disagreements had become a grievance in my own eyes.

I must first say that those who were like me in saying that we should fight tooth and nail for progressive worship services as the primary ministry of the church, YOU ARE WRONG!!! I have to say that you are becoming exactly what you have been against the whole time. Yes, I agree that there are those who are stuck in there ways. They are militant in their understanding that how they experience God is how everyone should experience God. But how many of us younger folks are acting the same way by being militant in the same understanding. Maybe we seek to let everyone experience God in their way and show some patience with them. And to move things closer to God's will, should we experience God more in being fed in a worship service, or in the fields of ministry. The way I see it, ministry fills a true need, and most needs are usually not met in a worship service. We may feel better about ourselves, and we might even talk about the need to fill a need, but most needs that are of an urgent matter are met in the soup kitchens and in the streets 6 days a week while a church service usually fills a small portion that would not make one day a week. So open your own hearts in order to lead the people of God in opening theirs.

And that is one way I have been wrong. Progressive worship isn't the realization of God's Kingdom, and neither is traditional worship. God's Kingdom is something more. When we understand that, we begin to unite and learn from each other. How many of you pastors plan service projects for people who are in TRUE need. Or do you plan for more fund raisers and outings (this goes for youth pastors as well). I understand your need to bring in the numbers, but believe me, long term numbers from being served far outweigh the short term numbers from being amuzed and entertained. So open your hearts to matters the truly make a difference and learn that the traditional worshippers have just as much to say as the contemporary worshippers.

As far as theology, I have my own journey that I am traveling. I say certain things that many disagree with and I admit, I might be wrong, that's why I say do not listen to me blindly, as many of you do, thank God. But I have been trying to teach myself to not listen to myself blindly, a lesson we must all learn. Just because I am on a journey to the place God wants me to be does not mean I never get lost. I can mishear God sometimes. We all can. We have this funny tendency to attach experience to everything. The tragedy is that we make our understanding of it all absolute. Maybe we are wrong to do so. Let's say for expample the judgement of God in the end times (which I am changing my views on everyday). I tend to stick to the understanding of scripture that we will be flabbergasted at who enters heaven. People usually take that to mean that the people who say they love God might be kept from God's kingdom, but I tend to wonder and throw out the idea that maybe it could include people who live in light of the law of the heart and yet do not exist in our faith. But maybe I am wrong. It is my understanding of the story Jesus told of the sheep and the goats being separated on the day of Judgement. Read and decide it for yourself, and I am sure we will be in different ballparks in the end. I must say that people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson would strongly disagree with me. But I look at Pat Robertson's credentials as a humanitarian and realize that he has done more with his resources for the needy than I have. As far as Jerry Falwell is concerned, well read about his later views that even though he disagrees with homosexual lifestyle, he wants to give them rights as well.

Funny things happen when you open up for being taught. Many people have many things to say, and sometimes, maybe they are right. Just focus on what is truth and everything else tends not to matter anymore. So to all the liberals, conservatives, evangelicals, fundamentals, traditionalists, and conservatives that I have outright bashed and covertly teased, I am sorry. We have much to teach each other. I hope we all are willing to learn.

The Golden Compass

Alright guys, I'm about to rant about something so hold onto your hats. I'm about to talk about the movie the Golden Compass. As you know, I tend to be in the middle, so if you are on one side or the other, get ready to disagree somewhere.

There has been much said about the author Philip Pullman and his Dark Materials series. Quite honestly, I am disgusted at the conservative Christian side for trying to violently defend there theology by attacking something that is pure imagination and completely missing the point of the book. I went on a few websites: one was Plugged In's website (plugged in is unfairly biased) and the other was a news website.

Plugged In painted a picture by focusing on Pullman's agnosticism and atheism. I do not deny this. Of course, if someone does not know if God exists, it would make sense that he would think that God does not exist, but we'll save that for another entry. I want these people to understand literary facts. The fact is that this whole story is FICTION!!! In the world of fiction the rules of reality do not apply. A witch is not a witch that we think of; a troll is not a troll. Laws of what is right and wrong change. What does not change is the ideas of good and evil. Things that are truly good and evil are separate from what the law might say is right and wrong, although the law can express what is good at the core. Good is deeper than the law. Just read Romans and you will come to the same conclusion. Why do you think that God desires mercy over sacrifices. Instead of just following the rules of worship and religion and theology, seek those who need mercy and give it to them.

The news painted a different picture. In a counter-interview, Pullman expressed his true opinion which would make most say, "Oh, I guess that makes sense." I am not going to go into detail on the interview. I think that those who are disagreeing with me at this point should read to at least understand where he is coming from. Why not ask questions too? Why is he an agnostic and an atheist? Why did he right this story? What is the TRUE point of the book? Why did the Catholics put out negative reports about Pullman and his book? Why are we so quick to accept what is said by other Christians when they could be wrong in their assumption? Have you asked these questions yet? Maybe you should. Instead of focusing on just right and wrong, let's focus on what right and wrong were meant to do in this world.

As far as Pullman's religious beliefs, I think they are wrong. His attacks on institutionalized religion are, however, very solid in history. Maybe we should accept the criticism of a non-believer. You might be surprised where revelation can come from. I also have to ask if his agnosticism is a direct result of experiencing Christianity. Maybe instead him experiencing Christianity, he needs to experience God and His true kingdom. Christianity can fail, and miserably so. Maybe what he needs is a community to minister to him and his needs. Make sure he is loved, clothed, fed, and befriended. Maybe the reason is that in experiencing Christianity, he has not experienced such grace.

In a nutshell, I say think, ask, understand, be fair, and be merciful. Do not be so quick to assume, or at least go see the movie before you publicly state your assumptions. Christians think, and understand that sometimes the most prophetic statements sometimes come from those who strongly disagree and run from Christianity.