The Dangerous Act of Worship: False Dangers

Where did we ever get the idea that worship should be safe? One hour, four songs, a sermon, a hug and then off to lunch. As Labberton confront us in The Dangerous Act of Worship, we try to domesticate God. His presence in our worship is more than welcome, so long as fits within our framework. When safety is the organizing theme of our worship, we become inured to be in awe of false dangers rather than being in awe of our God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…(Proverbs 1:7)

What are these false dangers? Mark lists six:

  • Worship that is not under control
  • Worship that doesn’t seem relevant
  • Worship that doesn’t meet expectations
  • Worship that isn’t popular
  • Worship that isn’t comfortable
  • Worship that’s unfamiliar
  • If you are involved in planning worship, leading worship,

If you lead worship, plan worship, or just show up at worship, you cannot help but read this list and see our guilt in pushing God’s dangerous presence out of the worship that is supposed to be directed at Him. I was humbled and convicted as I slowly read each section and realized how our worship services had become conformed to the wishes of man rather opened up to the arrival of God. The question we are forced to deal with then is what will happen within our churches if we rid ourselves of these false dangers and open up the worship to the awe of God? We can almost immediately picture in our minds those who will leave because things are not in control, they are not comfortable, the songs are oddly chosen, etc. I suppose the very fact that this is our thought points to how far away from true worship we gone. Shall we repent together?

 

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A Man Who Walks the Talk

grounds.jpgOne of the fondest memories I have of my time in the seminary were the encounters with Vernon Grounds. He regularly strolled about the campus talking to everyone. In the midst of wrestling with Greek, I remember walking with my head down to class when I felt a hand slip into mine. I turned to find Dr. Grounds alongside me. The conversation that followed inspired me for the years to come. As I was searching my files today, I found this column by Philip Yancey who was also seen on the campus visiting with Vernon. Be inspired.

 

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Not the SAME Old Story: Hope in the City

Check out this story about the SAME Cafe in Denver. Opened to provide a dignified and compassionate way of allowing everyone to eat regardless of circumstance, Brad and Libby Birky run their restaraunt using a unique pay what you can system. Though they will never get rich doing so, they are contributing the betterment of their little block on Colfax Avenue. What are we going to do today?

Find out more at www.soallmayeat.org

 

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Love, Acceptance & Forgiveness Unless You’re a…

Out of Ur publishes a dilemma faced by a congregation choosing to welcome a child molester into their body or banish him to the hinterlands.  The question that swirls around this instance and the countless others that the Church faces every day is just how far Christ expects us to extend our love, acceptance, and forgiveness. But then, if we have to ask it appears that we missed the point of His life and death and life.

A profound change came over the direction of my ministry when a young homeless man became a part of church that I belonged to. He was tolerated by some, shunned by others, and loved by few. It was hinted that I devoted a little too much effort to ministering to him. Love, accept, forgive became endure, tolerate, and watch. I can envision the reception that the child molester is facing in that body.

Did Jesus give us the option to turn away from repentant sinners? Is there a sliding scale on which our sins are judged, some being acceptable and others not? The answer to both of these is no. However distasteful we find the sin, our call is to view the sinner in his new light, pushing his previous sin as far away as the east is from the west. What are those who run away going to do when they encounter this man in heaven?

 

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Running from Race

I guess that I’m going to have to edit my previous posts about interracial marriage now that the Asian American Journalists Association has spoken. They are offended that the thug who massacred all of the innocents at Virginia Tech was referred to as Asian. If the racial divisions in our culture are ever going to be broken, it’s going to have to begin with recognizing that our race is a part of who we are. To say that you don’t see race not only makes you a liar but it diminishes the person on whom you are looking by not recognizing the fullness of their being.

 

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The Dangerous Act of Worship: The Real Battle

We’ve all heard of the ‘worship wars’ and maybe even participated in the battles. Often, the skirmishes have centered around guitars versus the organ, hymns over the praise chorus, or even robes being more godly than the polo shirt. All of this, Labberton continues in The Dangerous Act of Worship, serves as distraction from the real battle within the body, the ease with which we forget our neighbor. The fracas over our personal preferences becomes somnolent, inducing a deep sleep that avoids God’s call for His people to seek justice in the lives with which theirs intersect.

Mark laments the ease with which the Church has forgotten her vocation. We have fallen asleep to the needs of our neighbor and, as we have turned inward within our fortress sanctuaries, we have forgotten that “our suffering world longs for signs of God on the earth.” He puts this omission in sharp relief by reminding us that Jesus’ command in Mark 12:29-31

(These) commands set the agenda for lifestyles of worship. No allegiance of love is ever to be greater than our allegiance to God. In God’s being and purpose, these are not rival allegiances. Love for God comes first and leads us to love our neighbor. In fact, failing to love our neighbor throws serious doubt on whether we are loving God.

We are challenged to expand our notion of worship from that hour on Sunday morning to include every twenty four hour in which we draw breath. Worship that loves God includes love for all of His creation and Creations. If our worship is limited to the verses of How Great Thou Art without recognizing the human-greatness in God’s eyes of our neighbor, we are slumbering. Worship that experiences the heart of God feels the burden he carries for our fellow man and woman who are suffering injustice in the world He made. Only when we awaken to this, are we fully engaged in worship.

What do you think?

 

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Interracial Marriage is a Sin?

According to these guys and their horrible misappropriation of the Bible. Hey guys, can you turn to Galatians 3:26-28? What is it going to look like in heaven boys, especially at the gathering described in Revelation 7:9? Is everybody going to be separated by skin color?

Lord, forgive me a sinner….

 

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Interracial Marriages: A New Trend?

This Associated Press article was making the rounds of the net news over the past couple of days and appeared in the Denver papers Friday. It makes the case that, while interracial marriages were out of favor for much of the history of the U.S., the increasingly diverse population of the country has made these unions much more common.

While the trend toward racially mixed marriages is on the rise, they have not grown any easier. I have been married to my lovely Asian wife for twenty four years and it hasn’t always been easy. There can be familial difficulties and  challenges with entire groups who disapprove. The children of these marriages face an additional challenge in choosing how they will racially identify. Our son has decided to be Asian but could just as easily identify otherwise. I’m happy to see that he didn’t shy away from that choice and, in fact, takes great pride in his Korean heritage.

But, it’s here where the article falls short; why are we still labeling couples this way? My wife and I don’t wake up every morning and reflect on our interracial status any more than a caucasian couple looks at one another and says “Hey! We’re both white!” It appears to me that the author tipped their hand early on in the piece as to why he goes to such great lengths to highlight the difficulties that the couples face, he wants to support his early assertion that the racial divide is bigger than ever. The division of the races becomes a self-perpetuating issue guaranteed to make someone think twice before crossing any of these invisible racial lines as they think about the supposedly insurmountable challenges that an interracial relationship should bring their way. And the circle of dischord turns round again…

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