A word for the year: Worship

  It has become a popular thing to pick a word for the year and focus on that word all year long. One of my favorite authors posted hers yesterday and asked what others were picking. I jokingly replied "chocolate", but have been thinking about this picking a word for the year ever since.....with a serious frame of mind.

 Maybe this is a woman thing...... I have only seen woman do it,  but I have never tried to be like other guys. And I did find this site by a guy talking about doing it, and the why of doing it - MyOneWord.com.

  Regardless if it is a woman thing or not, I have decided to try it. And the word that has been on my mind a lot lately, is worship..... so that shall be my word. I even have a devotional on a year of worship titled "The One Year Worship the King Devotional", which also helped me pick this word for the year.

  I have alluded to it before, but I find myself worshiping the best outside of the four walls of the church. I think there are a few reasons for that:

1) I don't like going to church all that well. Yeah, I sound like a heathen, but I assure you I am not.

2) I don't feel comfortable in corporate worship. When I am driving it isn't unusual for me to have my hand up as the words of a song minister to me - I keep one hand one the wheel - but I don't feel comfortable doing that in church. I cry, and express myself in other worshipful ways that I'd never do in church. I can be myself outside of the church.

3) Church seems so routine. I have no answers, but it is the same over and over: opening prayer, 2 songs, offering, another song, prayer, testimonies, sermon, benediction. I guess I don't feel I am there to worship, but just to sing and hear a sermon.

  And no, I am not advocating not going to church..... we need to be around other believers of similar faith and beliefs....... but what if that isn't enough? I get it that we aren't supposed to go to church with the attitude of what can we get out of the service. That isn't what I am getting at...... I am just saying the worship service for me just doesn't seem like a worship service.

 So I will continue to fill my pew at church, but I am going to focus more on private and personal worship. That is what gets me through.

 In the last several years, I have gotten my most spiritual growth and help at home. No, I am not saying sermons don't help and encourage, for they do. It is just I got to the place long ago that I felt I couldn't be myself in church. Well meaning evangelists said things that made me walk away from the idea of going to the altar for help, and instead doing it at home. I never felt I could ask for prayer when I needed it for my very tough and personal struggle.

 It hasn't helped that I have felt like an outsider at my church for a long time.

 So I started doing more at home. If I needed prayer, I'd stand through the altar call and pray at home. If I needed someone to pray for me, I'd ask people who have been where I am and who don't give off the idea that they have never struggled with anything.

 True worship involves complete honesty, authenticity, and openness...... and I feel I can't have that at church.

 So my goal this year is not to skip out on church, but to focus more on worship in my personal life, and even if I don't feel like I am doing it at church, to do more of it at home in my personal devotions, Bible studies, while I am driving my car and listening to Christian music.

 We were made to worship, and in this year of 2017, I want to focus more on that, and to do it in the right way.

God can do new things using whatever He wants to use, a reponse to Karl Vaters

   Sometimes you don't have to read an article to know you aren't going to agree with it..... such was the case with one that came up on my Facebook feed this morning: "Why God has never done a new thing using old songs." Too often people just respond to an article or blog title without actually reading it (happens to me all the time with my anti-Trump posts), so I decided to actually read the article first before commenting.....and it bothered me more after I read it. I commented a short comment saying why I disagreed, and now I am going to further comment via this blog post about why this article bothers me and why I feel this guy has it wrong:

1) The title. It makes a very wide and sweeping statement that the author has no way of proving or backing up with facts. Saying that God has never done new things using old songs is egotistical on Mr. Vater's part. Never? Really? Just how does he know this?

2) It limits God. God can use anything to accomplish His plan and purpose. He can bring about these nebulous "new things" Mr. Vater refers to, however He wants, using methods or songs as old as He wants. He is God, after all, and His ways are limitless.

3) To God there is no old or new songs. God is eternal. He sees the past, present, and future.....I don't totally understand that, but I have read and heard many people explain it in ways I cannot....... but if that is true, then He sees all songs in the same time frame.....not as old or new.

4) Worship isn't about us. Mr. Vater makes a big case for needing to have newer worship music for our youth, that we can't use yesterday's worship methods. we are losing the youth, and so forth.

  We aren't losing our youth because of our worship and music style or the songs we use. It is far more than that, and I don't believe it has much at all, if anything, to do with music.

 There are young people all across the globe who are meeting in secret to worship God. There is no hip worship leader with spiked hair, there are no loud drums, guitars, and keyboards to accompany a worship band that more performs for the congregation than actually leads worship.

 The answer is not to be more hip with cooler new songs and make our shallow Christianity even more shallow.

 If we are in church for the right reasons and worshiping God for the right reasons, the music won't matter..We have somehow gotten the idea that worship is about how we feel... passing that idea on to our youth is not the answer. More of God and a true relationship with Jesus is the answer.......not newer and cooler music and worship styles.

5) Jesus never repeats what He did years ago........really?! My Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.....so to say He never repeats what He did years ago doesn't go with the Bible.

6) While claiming to not hate the old hymns, Mr. Vater does a good job of making it sound like he does. If the newer songs are so much better than the old hymns, then why don't the new songs hang around? The hymns have been sung for years....... some of them a few centuries or more. The new songs don't last. There aren't many songs written in my 47 years that are used as much and have done as much as the old hymns. I can't think of many songs even 10 years old in any Christian music genre' that we still sing. They are written, used a lot, then fade into obscurity.

  One hundred years from now, the modern worship songs people are singing will have been largely forgotten..... but the hymns will still be sung. Disagree? That is OK, but let me throw something out there:

Seek Ye First, As the Deer, Majesty, This Is the Day. These are all praise and worship choruses written in the 70's and 80's.....around 40 years or so old. Occasionally a CD will come out of classic praise songs that have them on it, but most churches don't use them anymore. I doubt most teenagers have even heard them. They have already faded into the past and have been shelved to make room for newer and more modern sounding music.

  Twenty years from now, churches won't be singing the current Chris Tomlin or Matt Redman songs..... but Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, etc will still be sung. And that isn't to say these new songs are bad..... it is just the majority of them lack the depth that the hymns have..... and I believe it is because most Christians today - myself included - lack the depth and spiritual walk that the hymn writers had.... and the songs are being written to fill a CD, get another #1, and other reasons than to have music for the church to sing.


7) The "worship Jesus in any situation argument." This section really bothered me, so I will put the whole paragraph here:

"We sometimes use the term "mature believers," when we're referring to older Christians. But if we really are mature believers, we should be able to worship Jesus in any situation, no matter what the style of music is. Like the Apostle Paul, we should learn to be "content whatever the circumstances ." Or, as I once heard an older pastor say, "I've learned to worship Jesus in a style of music I don't like." Now that's a mature believer.

The styles and methods of outward-reaching churches cannot and should not be directed toward the long-time members. If we really are mature in our faith, we shouldn't need things to be done our way.
So who should our methods and musical styles be geared toward? How about new and not-yet believers? Especially the young ones. Those are the ones who are at risk and are leaving the church in record numbers."


   He seems to ignore his own advice.....while saying we need newer music and God can't use the old music, he is then saying we should be able to worship God in any situation.......unless that situation is old hymns, and especially if the audience is youth.

   I also take issue with the last part about our methods and musical styles should be geared towards any group.....again, he is missing the point that worship isn't about us and how we feel... it is about God. The methods and music shouldn't be tailored to reach a certain part of the congregation to make them feel good.

8) Old doesn't mean bad, new doesn't mean good.....or vice versa. I have heard some old songs that I wish I had never heard, but have been helped and encouraged by many others. I have heard some new songs that I wished I'd never heard and are more shallow than a mud puddle, but I have also heard some very meaningful ones.

  If a song is written to glorify God, there should be no time limit put on it, and there should be no specific audience for it to reach.

     Overall, this article showcases the shallow selfishness of we modern day American Christians, and our inability to address the real issues. We aren't losing young people because of our worship styles or music....and we won't keep them by changing those things. If a person of any age is in this to serve God with everything they have, and if they go to church for the right reasons.....music and worship styles will be far removed from why they are there.

Do we love animals too much?

 

I love to blog. I don't even care if people read it. It is just enjoyable to write. My biggest hindrance to writing blog posts is lack of ideas.  I actually Googled "ideas of things to blog about" the other day, and got nothing...... except for ideas of where to get blog post ideas -i.e. news stories, Facebook posts, etc. There was also a list of general things, and one was a rant.

This post is one I have had on my mind a long time... and could be classified as a rant -  and I have actually started writing on this a few times, but deleted it for fear people would get angry....... but then that hasn't stopped me before, and it is a sad world if I can't voice my opinion on my own blog.....  It is sad that even Christians want you to shut up if your opinion or views are contrary to theirs or the majority of the country, but that is where we are..... but I won't be silenced, so here I go. Animal lovers.  beware

  I am not an animal lover, well other than fried chicken, pork, ham, venison, steak, etc.... Seriously, I am not that crazy about animals. I still think kittens and puppies are cute, and don't mind cats as long as they are outside. But to be honest, animals are kind of gross.

Here are some thoughts I have on animals:

1) I don't like animals in the house, and can't imagine any house with an animal being truly clean (and for the record, we have had animals in our house before.... so I would know) :)

2) I think it is gross to sleep with an animal or let them on furniture... or worse on counters and tables. (my niece and my best friend sleep with animals...gross!)

3) It is doubly gross to eat after an animal or let them eat off of plates humans use.

4) I feel like throwing up every time I hear someone refer to themselves as an animal's "mommy or daddy". It is an animal, not a child. You did NOT give birth to it.

5) And you did not "adopt" it. You own animals, you adopt humans.

6) You just think your dog isn't peeing all over your house. My dad has been laying carpet in people's homes for at least 30-some years, and he has told me more than once that many people that have had dogs in their house have said their dog never goes to the bathroom in the house..... but then he takes up the carpet and padding and the truth is there to be seen...... yes, their dog went to the bathroom in the house, and more than a few times.

7) It looks gross to see people wearing clothes covered with cat or dog hair

8) Animals do not go to Heaven. God put a soul in humans, so we go to Heaven or Hell. He did not put a soul in animals, and where would He draw the line? If dogs do, do snakes? Spiders? Flies? Chickens? Will I meet all of the chickens I have made a meal out of here on earth?

9) A dog is not man's best friend....... Jesus is man's best friend.

10) In India, they worship cows. Ancient Egyptians worshiped cats. Modern Americans worship cats, dogs, birds, and anything else that can be a pet.

11) Any time someone shares a post about animals from some kind of pro-animal group, I click the button to not show posts from that group anymore.

12) Why do people take animals shopping with them where they have to leave them in the car? Just leave them at home!

13) That same tongue your pet is licking your face and lips with, and that is licking your ice cream cone..... that same tongue was used when he was cleaning his whole body, including his rear......

   A former pastor of mine preached a message from Colossians 3:5 several years ago that I have never forgotten, and we are talking at least 20 years. That verse in the King James version, THE version of the church I attended and the one I currently attend, says this "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

  He focused on the two words in that verse: inordinate affection. Inordinate means excessive or unrestrained. His whole sermon didn't focus on animals, but he did talk about how people are with their animals as part of this inordinate affection....... and from what I have seen and heard, I believe he had a point.

  I am observant. The same people who are always posting things about animal cruelty, puppy mills, bear hunts, etc, never or rarely post anything about abortion or human trafficking. Do I believe people shouldn't post about animals? No, and I am against animal cruelty even though I am not an animal lover. I do think it is indicative of our country's loss of respect for human life and our screwed up priorities. Human lives matter - all races and colors - a million times more than a kitten of puppy or a bear. And it does say something about priorities and what is important to you by what you are constantly posting.

  One has to look only as far as PETA, a very extreme organization that cares much more about animals than babies or human trafficking. They have actually wished death on people for daring to eat meat and chain or cage animals, and have the most bizarre ads and campaigns to draw attention to their extreme views. And it does seem the more pro-animal people get, the less they care about issues like abortion and human trafficking.

  I stated this before, and believe with all of my heart that it is true:

If a politician ran for office and advocated cruelty to animals, or even aborting puppies or kittens, they would never win. They would receive tons of hate mail, and the country would be incensed. But that same politician can cheer on, support, and have as one of their main platforms the "right" of a woman to murder her baby in her womb, and they are called a champion, and are voted by even many who claim to be a Christian.

  Think about that for a minute. Have we lost our respect for human life so much that many people care more about the plight of animals than humans?

  Now imagine another scenario: Imagine a politican advocating that if an animal is born and is struggling to live, that you just let it lie there and die without trying to save it. Now imagine the outrage, and imagine the chances of that politician winning any office,

  Yet - and this is the honest to goodness truth: While senator, Obama voted AGAINST a bill that in cases when an aborted baby survives the abortion that medical treatment would be used to save the baby. He voted to let the baby lie there and die..... but no one would advocate that for an animal.

  There have been a few news stories lately that are worth mentioning:

Cecil the lion. The country was in an uproar because an American dentist killed a lion on a hunt in another country, and that lion had a name. People were calling for his arrest and death. Wow.

  Then the videos started coming out giving proof that Planned Parenthood sells baby body parts from aborted babies, and there was silence from the people who were upset about a lion being killed.

  And now, the newest uproar: Due to problems with bears in Florida, the governor.... horror of horrors - had a bear hunt to thin down the amount of bears, Cue the outrage from the same crowd who is silent about abortion and human trafficking.

  I know of a couple who loves cats. They REALLY love cats. They do everything but bow down and actively worship this cat.... well, maybe they do that too. The cat has its own bedroom. They buy cat DVDs for it to watch. They have an urn with the ashes of their previous cat inside of it. Their world revolves around a cat.

  People put hundreds and thousands of dollars into something that will live an average of 10-12 years, possibly a little longer... and for what? I get that animals can provide companionship and fun, but they should never take the place of people in our lives.

   Anything can become an idol to us. Sports, reading, hunting, eating, cell phones, computers, animals......  Anything we are more devoted to than God can be an idol.

  And don't get me wrong. I am not faulting people for having animals as pets or being fond of them.... I just think we as a country love animals too much and give them a place that no animal should ever have, and that the attitude is almost worship of some people toward animals. So go ahead and post pro-animal stuff, but show once in a while that human issues are important to you also.

  Now excuse me while I go eat a piece of leftover fried chicken from lunch. All this talk of animals has made me hungry.

Why go to church? part 2

  From what I can see of the early church, here are some reasons we should go to church:

1) To worship God. That actually is reason enough. Sure, we can do that anywhere, but what better place to do it than His house. And church is His house.

2) To be spiritually fed. As good of a man my pastor is and as good as his sermons are, there are times I'd be happy to skip the sermon, but we need them..... and if you read much in the New Testament at all, you see they had sermons. And sometimes they were long enough to put people to sleep.

3) Fellowship. That is one big reason we shouldn't just NOT go to church. We need to be around other Christians of similar faith and beliefs. But it shouldn't be the sole reason for going to church, and should not be what we skip from church to church to find the right kind of fellowship we are seeking. We are there to worship God and learn more of Him, not to party.

  The Bible gives the idea that the early Christian church had a lot of community. Nowadays, we only see most of our Christian brothers and sisters at church and any church function. In the days of the early church, they were together a lot and their lives revolved around the church and their Christian brothers and sisters. They had all things in common, and I get the idea that a lot of them lived close to each other and with each other. It sounds like they had a lot of contact with each other on a daily basis... without phones, emails, and Facebook. And without coffee shops and dining areas in the church.

  I wish my church was different in some ways. I like a lot about it, and there are things I'd like to change, but the question comes to me, "why do I go to church?" It is easy for a single guy to get lost in the shuffle, especially n a church where there is so much focus on youth and children's ministries, and there is nothing for singles or even enough singles to have a singles group or ministry.

  But do I need special groups for me? Do I need attention and activities to make me feel I am part of the church? That all is nice, but it isn't what church is about. My reason for going should be to go and worship God, get spiritually fed, and fellowship with other believers. Anything else is just extra.

  A while back, the wife of a celebrity pastor made the following statement:

"I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we're not doing it for God—I mean, that's one way to look at it—we're doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we're happy," she said in the 36-second clip posted on YouTube, with her husband smiling at her side in approval. "That's the thing that gives Him the greatest joy…"

"So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy," she continued. "When you come to church, when you worship Him, you're not doing it for God really. You're doing it for yourself, because that's what makes God happy. Amen?"

   She got a lot of criticism over it, and I got criticism from a few people and un-friended by one person on Facebook for daring to criticize her husband and her, but I am afraid too many of us have this attitude. It isn't about us. It is about us going and learning more about God, worshiping Him, and being around others of like-mind faith,

  Too many churches are trying to make the church and Jesus more user friendly. We try to make the music sound like the music kids listen to in the world, get programs built around fun, throw in lots of sports, and whatever we can do to interest people in staying around. But shouldn't Jesus be enough? Do we need all the glitter and amusements to make us interested in being in church, whether we are an adult or young person?

  There are people meeting across the world secretly in churches. Many of them have to have church in homes. If they sing, it has to be quiet. There are no loud screaming guitars, no praise band dancing around and screaming lyrics, no speakers maxed out so loud they can't hear themselves think. Many don't have a Bible. If they are caught, it means prison, torture, and sometimes death. They have no fun programs, no padded pews, no basketball courts, no fellowship hall or kitchen to get together and eat. It is just them and God.

I like my church, but it seems like a rut sometimes. Sunday morning:
Sunday School
Dismiss Sunday School
Sing a chorus while people loiter noisily in the foyer
Pray to start the worship service
Sing two hymns with maybe a chorus thrown in
Take up an offering
Sing another song. Sometimes two, if the one song leader is up who can't limit himself to 3 hymns
Pray
Have testimonies if anyone has any
Sermon
Dismissal.

  Sometimes it seems so cut and dried. I wouldn't call my church formal, but we rarely depart from the regular format. Once in a while, God will come on the service and there is no preaching, just worship and singing, etc.

  In two weeks, I will be attending a conference in North Carolina. I went last year and enjoyed it and got a lot of help from it, but there was one part I didn't really enjoy: the worship time. The music was too loud, the singers gyrated as they sang, I didn't know most of the songs - they were on a screen, but that didn't help me know them - and most of the tunes sounded like a Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga tune. I found myself wishing they'd turn down the volume, or just stop singing. I didn't get much out of it. But yet, I will get a lot of out of the sessions and workshops, so I will go as many years as I am able.

  There are people who regularly attend church where they have this kind of worship. They would say my church is dead, and I'd say theirs is too focused on loud rock-like music.

  But it isn't about the music. If people are meeting secretly and worshiping God while softly singing so they cannot be heard, it cannot be about the music. If we took away the singing and music entirely, could we still worship God? Would we still feel we had been in church?

  If we have to make our worship music like the world, if we have to have programs and special things instead of a sermon, we are not going to church to worship God and learn more about Him. We are going to be entertained.

  From what I see of the early church, they meant business when they met. There was no fun an games, no carnival set up in the church parking lot, no Christian comedian, no loud music.....it was just them and God. And sometimes apostles preaching so long they put people to sleep. Most of modern American Christians would be bored in a service run by Paul, Peter, John, etc. They weren't out to entertain or make Jesus more user-friendly for those listening to them. They were there to tell people about Jesus. 

  I look at my church, and I look at other churches different than mine... and wonder if any of us are doing church right. If we aren't doing church right, maybe that is why so many of us aren't going to church for the right reasons.

  And maybe we have this idea of worship wrong. Just going through in my mind what I have read about church in the New Testament, there doesn't seem to be much emphasis put on worshiping God as they met. I could be wrong, but the emphasis seemed to be on gathering together to hear about Jesus. Worship isn't a feeling we get while gyrating to loud worship songs and music, nor is it something we feel as we sing a familiar hymn that arouses feelings in us. Worship is a way of life. Something we should do everywhere, not just at church as they sing and play music to bring our feelings into the worship zone. 

  Church - and worship - are not about how it makes us feel. Granted, it is nice to not have a boring and long-winded pastor, and to have music that doesn't put you to sleep nor give you a headache.... but if the reason we are going to church revolve around the pastor, the music, or whether they have coffee and donuts before the service.... we may as well stay home. We have made church all about us, our comfort, and what makes us feel good.

  We should not attend churches where we dread going, where the music is not something we can handle, but we do need to be careful in picking a church and trying to find one that is too user-friendly. It isn't about us. It is about God and worshiping Him and learning more about Him.

  I have kind of rambled on part 2, not helped by the fact that I lost internet halfway through and finished it offline, then pasted the rest with what I had done already.... I may have even repeated myself. I don't mean to knock others or belittle others for their methods of worship....... but I just wonder if any of us are doing church right, and if we go for the right reasons.

  In closing, I want to put the story here of how one of my favorite newer worship songs got written, The Heart of Worship:

The senior pastor at Redman’s home church in Watford, England, believed that the congregation had lost its way, even though the church, with its innovative weekend services and elaborate worship arts production, had become a pace setter for many throughout Europe. He sensed that many in the church had become spectators rather than participants in the journey of faith, so he did a bold thing. He decided to eliminate the sound system, all musical accompaniment, and multimedia. He announced to the church that they would be going through a season of simplicity in which they would use nothing but the unamplifed human voice during their weekend services.

Can you imagine? No microphones. No guitars. Not even a keyboard.

In various interviews, Redman has recounted that the weeks following his pastor’s unconventional decision were filled with plenty of awkward silences. Attendance declined steadily, but the staff did not flinch. They were committed to a church-wide rediscovery of true worship. Eventually, unaccompanied prayers became transparent, beautiful in their honesty, and undecorated music became more heartfelt than ever. Gradually the sound system, multimedia, and instrumentation were reintroduced, but the fast made a lasting impression on Redman and many others in the church.

Redman wrote Heart of Worship to express the changes God made in his own heart during this unusual season. At first he had no plans to share it, but he did so at his pastor’s urging, and it went on to be recorded and sung by many.

When the music fades
and all is stripped away

and I simply come.

Longing just to bring

something that's of worth

that will bless Your heart.

I'll bring You more than a song,

for a song in itself

is not what You have required.

You search much deeper within,

through the way things appear,

You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

and it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

when it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

King of endless worth,

no one could express

how much you deserve.

Though I'm weak and poor,

all I have is Yours,

every single breath!

I'll bring You more than a song,

for a song in itself

is not what You have required.

You search much deeper within,

through the way things appear,

You're looking into my heart.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

and it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it

when it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus.

Why go to church? part 1

   

A couple came home from church, and as they were eating lunch, the wife goes to her husband, "Did you see that awful dress Catherine had on today?" He replied that he hadn't noticed. "Did you notice how much that Jones kid was squirming around during the sermon?" Again he hadn't noticed. "Did you see how close that young Smith couple were sitting? They were all over each other!" Her husband yet again replied with a "no." His wife looked irritated. "Why do you even go to church if you don't notice anything going on?!"

  That is a bit extreme, but I have been thinking about this lately. Why do we go to church? Many churches have become not much more than entertainment centers. You can find churches that have bookstores, coffee shops, snack shops, even tattoo parlors. Is that why we go to church? To browse a bookstore, grab a cup of coffee, get a tattoo? Pews have been replaced with chairs that can be removed and the worship centers look more like a gym and the platform more like a stage.

  There are churches that have big screens scattered throughout, and you can watch the service while you have a sandwich and some soup, or sit in an easy chair and chat with a friend. 

  Song leaders have been replaced with worship leaders and praise bands. Hymnals with screens on the wall with the newest worship choruses, whether they have any "meat" in them or not.

Maybe I am too old fashioned, but I find the idea of snack shops, bookstores,and coffee shops in the church a bit much. And tattoo parlors... there are no words. Though I only know of one church that has that.

 I still like hymnals and prefer hymns over most praise choruses. I like a pew, though I prefer it to be padded. 

  There is a church that tries to appeal more to men by having their worship area set up like a camp. There are camp type benches or chairs, a minnow bucket for the offering, and the walls are decorated with stuffed heads of various animals.

  I've known of people who spend their lives skipping from church to church. They try to find one with the perfect pastor, one that has all of the programs they like and want to be involved in, one that is friendly, one that has the right size of congregation, one that has the right kind of music..... and they just keep searching.

  Most people will never find the right church. There are a few factors:
1) The perfect church does not exist

2) They are searching for the wrong things in a church

3) They are the problem and will never be satisfied.

  And people quit churches for the wrong reasons:

1) They don't get used enough. That one always gets me. Most people who say that want jobs where people can see them and they can pull their righteous robes around them and say "look at me!" If it is just a matter of being used, all they need to do is ask the pastor what they can do to help around the church. He will find something, but it may not be where they can be seen of men.

2) The church isn't friendly. Even my church has cliques. I have had people say our church is very friendly, and I have had people say it is not. So who is correct?

My church has 3 sections of seating in our worship sanctuary. People who regularly attend there tend to sit in the same seat or area. Maybe the people saying the church isn't friendly needs to move around a bit. And it isn't up to first time visitors to reach out to people, but if you have been attending a church for a while and still think it is unfriendly, try being friendly and reach out to people.

3) The church is too big. Of the church is too small. Well, if it is too small, your leaving will make it worse. Try getting more people to come. Too big? If that is your only reason to leave, it just isn't a good one.

4) The style of music isn't your thing.

My church uses a piano and organ. In the evening service, we actually have an orchestra. I think the only reason it doesn't play in the mornings also is because they have a hard enough time getting people to play in the evening. People play flutes, violins, clarinets, guitars, and occasionally a trumpet will show up. The music is very low key and is an accompaniment for the singing. And we sing hymns with an occasional worship chorus thrown in.

I have been in churches and services where the music was so loud that I could hardly hear  myself think. The louder the music got, the more people got worked up. And I have wondered... if you took away the music, would the people still be as excited? Would they still feel something? And is the something they feel with that kind of music God, or just emotion and the beat?

We have a great song leader at my church, but he does one thing I don't care for. He often has us sing a chorus or the last verse of a song acapella. He feels it is more worshipful. I disagree 100%, but I dislike acapella. But yet, I don't consider loud crash-bangy music worshipful at all, and when I am in that, I can't wait til the time of singing is done so I can think again and my headache will go away.

  Maybe it all comes down to personal taste, but if the church is a good church and you are getting spiritually fed there, I would be careful to change churches just because of the music and worship style. That isn't why we are in church, just to sing.

  (This post is getting too long, so I am continuing it in another post)

Serving God in a box: Prayer

 

 I was walking this evening, listening to my iPod, and thinking. Some of the thinking was related to songs that played through my Panasonic ear buds. One such song was "How Many Ways Can We Praise?" The chorus asks "how many ways can we praise Him? Count all the stars in the sky.....". I listened to it, and thought.

  I thought about praising God, worshiping God, praying to God, and some other "God" stuff, and came to the realization I have been serving God in a box.

  I have heard many people say you can't put God in a box. He operates outside of our expectations and what we are used to. And that is true. Yet I have attempted to serve Him inside of a box. And I seriously doubt I am the only one. Among other areas, these come to mind:

1) Prayer. I used to hear preachers and others say you needed to pray "until you prayed through". I never could figure out exactly what that meant, but I was pretty sure I wasn't doing it right.

  I'd go to church and hear people pray eloquently and like a house on fire. If you don't know what it means to pray like a house on fire, then you have never heard anyone pray like that. I'd listen, and pray myself.... pray that they wouldn't call on me, for I could never pray like that.

  One should never compare oneself with others, and the area of prayer is no different. It doesn't matter if we can pray like Paul or John. That isn't what it is about. But we have our prayer box that we try to stay in:

Prayers must be a certain length
Eyes must be closed, head bowed
You must kneel, stand, bow on one knee......depending on your church
You must be able to say God in several syllables.

  I can never measure up to the praying I hear from some of the people at my church. I think public prayer is just like anything else in life. Some people are better at it and have a gift for it. Others..... not so much.

  But prayer isn't about doing it in public. Prayer is talking to God. When Jesus talked about prayer, He talked about going into your closet and doing it in private. Does that mean public prayer is wrong? Absolutely not, unless we are doing it to be seen and heard. But we should be more concerned about our private prayer life, than our public prayer life.

  Prayer is talking to God, and it really isn't normal to just go high speed. non-stop when you're talking to someone, so why do we have to do it with God? I don't do that when I am praying in bed. Yeah, that's where I pray. I break all of the "rules" of prayer. I blew that box up long ago.

I pray lying down in bed. (99% of the time I have no problem staying awake)

I pray with my eyes open most of the time (hey, the room is dark anyway). I actually feel closer to God if I pray with my eyes open.

I ramble. No concise, well thought out prayers that are worth printing in a book of prayers. I jump from topic to topic, often with long pauses in between.

They aren't long. Sometimes they are. I think its just as wrong to go on and on just so we can feel we prayed long enough, as it is to toss out a quick prayer with no effort or thought. This is talking to the God of the universe. Our Father in Heaven. And if you look at the model for prayer that Jesus gave, it is pretty short. Actually, it is VERY short, compared to most prayers.

  And I get that it is a model for praying and that it doesn't mean we have to keep them that short, but it does bring up a good point: with that as the model for prayer, where did we get the idea that prayers have to be long?

  In no way am I knocking people who do pray long - except for food and in church. Kind of kidding on that last. Don't catch up on your devotions when called on to pray in church. I have heard people I wondered silently if they were doing just that. We need people who are prayer warriors. And as we mature as Christians, we are going to pray longer most of the time. We just shouldn't feel bound to a time frame, nor should we do it so we can mark it off of our mental checklist.


  It shouldn't be work. It shouldn't be something we feel we have to do, but something we want to do.

  I am no expert on prayer. Books have been preached on it, sermons have been preached on it, but do we really have to read books on how to pray? Ironically, I am reading a book right now on prayer. But it is one that makes is simple.

  And that is how it should be: simple. We don't have to pray a certain way, in a certain position, or in a certain place. God wants us to talk to Him, and He wants us to want to talk to Him. Nothing fancy, just conversation between a child and his Father.

  Don't put God in a box, but don't put praying to Him in a box either.

We are all Victoria Olsteen

   

 No, this is not another blog post slamming Victoria Olsteen, though I still stand by my previous blog post and still have the same opinion of she and her toothpaste commercial husband.

  Victoria drew a lot of criticism for her comments at a church service recently:

“I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for God—I mean, that’s one way to look at it — we’re doing it for ourselves, because God takes pleasure when we’re happy. That’s the thing that gives Him the greatest joy.

“So, I want you to know this morning: Just do good for your own self. Do good because God wants you to be happy. When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy. Amen?”

  I do think she is wrong for a couple of reasons, , but do her words really differ from most Christian's feelings and ideas? Why do people go to church, and what do they expect from the service? If all of us were 100% honest about it, we want the service to make us feel good. We want to leave feeling......happy.

  And on one level, that may not be wrong. If you're feeling discouraged and depressed, often being in church around other Christians, singing the songs, worshiping, and hearing an encouraging sermon can lift our spirits, and I don't think God is against that. He doesn't want is miserable and discouraged. Does He want us happy? Not necessarily. He wants us holy.

  But too many of us go to church and make it all about us. We want to be used - and by used, we mean doing something that people will see us doing, not background stuff. So we move onto another church where they might use us. We want the right kind of music to make us feel good. We want programs, fun. We want, we want, we want....... I like the sermon to be no longer than 30 minutes, I like us to sing out of a certain hymnal. I don't like more than a certain amount of testimonies...... if you get right down to it, we are a bit self-centered, or maybe a lot self-centered in our worship.

  There's nothing wrong with wishing for certain things from church. I wish my church did Bible studies and fellowship things outside of the church, but those aren't necessary for worshiping God, and they are not good reasons to move on to another church.

  Why do we even go to church? To worship God should be the ultimate reason, and Scripture seems to indicate for fellowship with other believers. But are we doing what we criticized Victoria O for? Wanting the service to make us happy? Or are we going to worship God because of what He has done for us, and just because of who and what He is?

  The following story came to mind on how the song "The Heart of Worship" was written:

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.”

When the music fades, and all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus

Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.

But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.

Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”

The trademark tune soon became the title track for Matt Redman’s 1999 album, The Heart of Worship. The recording process was consistent with the artist’s sensitive approach to being in the studio.

“We decided to not get all complicated, and just let the song ‘breathe.’ We’re always trying to create more of a church atmosphere in the studio rather than just a technical musical gathering. Something happens when the people of God gather together and play out the praises of God in the presence of God. Hopefully something of that passion and purpose transcends beyond that studio room onto the recordings themselves.”

  If I am honest, and I try to be, too many Sundays I go to church because that's what I do on Sunday. Sunday School is barely over before I am thinking about what is for Sunday dinner, or worrying about something. If I like the songs we sing, I sing along. If not, I get lost in thought.

  But how often do I go to church with just the thought and intent to worship God? Not on what I am going to get out of the service, but what can I put into the service to worship God. I, and many others in my church and in churches across the world, don't vocalize what Victoria O said, we have made the worship service all about us and how we feel. 

  The early church didn't have programs, praise and worship choruses on a big screen, Veggie Tales for kids, and worship teams with all of the newest instruments, but they worshiped God and had fellowship...... and they added new Christians to the church daily.

  Vicki - can I call her Vicki? - Vicki isn't the only one to get it wrong. I think most of us get it wrong. Worship isn't at all about how we feel, or what it makes us feel. We are to worship no matter what, in whatever circumstances we are in. There are people worshiping God in prisons, worshiping God as they are tortured for their faith. I doubt they are HAPPY, but they still worship.

  And likewise, I, and you, need to worship God no matter how we feel. And if it makes us happy and makes us feel good, I guess that is just an added bonus, but that should never, ever be the focus or reason to worship God. We worship Him because He is holy, and for what He has done for us. Which is a lot.