More on Music

Follow up to my previous post . . . although I disagree that the NT is completely silent about instrumental praise, it is silent about its use in the worship assembly. Both the pro-instrument and anti-instrument side like to quote Eph 5:19 and Col 3:16, but when read in context, neither passage really addresses the issue. The bottom line is that the NT neither authorizes nor condemns the use of instrumental praise. That's why every debate over music goes in circles. One argues that they don't want to allow something that God has never authorized. The other argues that they don't want to forbid something that God has never condemned.

So what does God want? We don't know. He was silent. Does that mean He only wants acappella praise or are instruments permitted? We don't know. He was silent. When will we figure out that silence is silence and stop making commands where God made none? It's difficult, if not impossible, to establish any doctrinal position based on something God has not said. So why do we keep trying?

I'm confident there's a better way. We can stop arguing about the things that are unclear and simply start doing the things that are (i.e. stop debating his silence and start obeying his word). The Bible tells us to "sing with grace in your hearts to God" and "sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord." At Maury Hills we've chosen to do that acappella. That doesn't mean we're right and everyone else is wrong. It simply means that we've made a choice. And I'm convinced that whether or not its the right one depends more on the direction of our hearts than the style of our singing.

Preaching Without Notes

This Sunday someone complimented me for preaching without notes. As he was going on about what a great memory I have, my mind kept drifting back to the part of my notes I'd left out! I was preaching on worship style and in the middle of answering the question of why we sing acappella, I completely blanked. It was only a 5 second blank and probably not obvious to everyone, but I knew I'd missed something important. After I sat down I figured it out.

I'd left out part of my explanation for why I don't buy the "rule of silence" argument as reasoning for acappella praise. I do think we have some good reasons for acappella praise but this isn't one of them. The silence argument goes something like this . . . "The NT is silent on the issue of instruments; therefore, instrumental praise is unauthorized and sinful in the eyes of God." Aside from the fact that the Bible itself never says that and the fact that those who do say it often apply it inconsistently, there's another problem. The NT is not completely silent on the issue of instrumental praise. Its mentioned in the book of Revelation when it describes praise in heaven and, ironically, its mentioned in the two passages often used to refute it (Eph 5:19, Col 3:16). Both of these passages instruct us to sing Psalms. Have you ever read the Psalms? Not only do some of them mention instruments, several of them actually contain instructions concerning which instruments are to accompany them.

So that's what I left out. If you're interested in what I left in you can listen here.

Striving to Be Like Who?

The last couple of weeks a church in town had this phrase on their sign . . . "A church striving to be like the one you read about in the Bible." I appreciate the sentiment and understand exactly what they are trying to say. I've even said it myself a few times. But then I started thinking what if a non-believer drives by, reads the sign, actually goes home and reads about the church in the Bible? Say he picked up the book of 1st Corinthians . . .

there are quarrels among you (1:11)

you are still worldly (3:3)

some of you have become arrogant (4:18)

it is reported that there is sexual immorality among you (5:1)

your boasting is not good (5:6)

your meetings do more harm that good (11:17)

when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you (11:18)

Would he then want to attend a church like the one he read about? It's a tough predicament for Restoration Churches. We're striving to restore the NT church in today's world, but the fact remains that often the NT church was just as messed up as the church of today. Perhaps we should shift our restoration efforts to another area . . . the restoration of people to a right relationship with God.

To Kiss A Fish

A few weeks ago I shared a big fish story and told that I gave the fish a kiss before release. Some thought I was crazy, including my wife & daughters. But this week...vindication. Field & Stream surveyed the top bass fishing professionals in the country and found that 71% admitted to kissing a big bass before release. See, I'm normal. Right? Of course you know I would never kiss a catfish. Too many whiskers.

Temporary Christian

For the past four weeks our kids have been practicing the song Get Down for KidStuf. They had no idea it was a big hit for Audio Adrenaline several years ago. For all they knew their Mom wrote it and KidStuf was the first time it was ever performed publicly. That's why they came tearing down the steps Saturday when the song came on their Hello Kitty radio. They couldn't believe that a radio station was actually playing their song! In trying to explain things I told them the song was contemporary Christian. Lilly looked a little confused and asked "Dad, what's a temporary Christian?"

What is Orange?

Orange is not a program or a curriculum. Rather its the focus that you bring to programs or curriculums. It's the lenses through which you view ministry. Here's the five principles of "thinking orange."

1. Integrate Strategy-plan with the end in mind (where do we want students to be spiritually when they leave our church?)

2. Refine Your Message-teach with the end in mind (what Biblical truths do we want our students to carry with them?) One nugget I got out of this segment is that all truth is equally inspired, but not all truth is equally important. We're not trying to teach them everything in the Bible, just the important things. If we give them those things they'll have the tools they need to learn the other.

3. Elevate Community-students need a place to belong and people who believe in them (where do we want them to go for peer/community support?)

4. Reactivate the Family-partner with parents, don't replace them (who has the most potential to influence the faith of our students?) This was a big one for me. I wish someone would have told it to me before I began my youth ministry career. I fear I did too much "replacing" and not enough "partnering." In this regard they said parents are seeking three things from the church as it relates to raising faithful children: 1) Give me a plan. 2) Tell me what to say. 3) Give me community (someone saying the same thing as me)

5. Leverage Influence-being verses going & doing (when the busyness of children/youth ministry is over what happens to the spirituality of our students?) Another one I wish someone would have shared with me. Being a Christian is more than bowling alleys, skating rinks, devos, VBS, classes, retreats, etc. Our job is not to keep kids busy, its to pass on our faith. The busyness approach to ministry works for the short-term, but after the ride is over most students check out of the church. We have to teach them how to "be" Christians not just "do" the things that Christians do.

Thinking Orange

Ok, here's my first attempt to reduce 10 hours of teaching into a couple of paragraphs...

What does it mean to "think orange?" It means thinking about church in a whole new way. A way that combines the influence of the church with the influence of the family and thus creates a bigger impact. The color yellow represents the light of the church. The color red represents the warmth of the family. Both colors are important in their own right, but when you combine them you get a more vibrant and visible result. That's the idea of orange. Churches and families working together to pass on values and morals to the next generation.

To give an official definition . . . "Family ministry synchronizes church leaders and parents around a master plan to build faith and character in their sons and daughters." But isn't that what the church has always done? Not necessarily. In my lifetime the church has focused more on teaching children and adults separately. We've created the "drop-off" mentality where parents drop off their kids at Sunday School, VBS, Youth Group, etc. This creates disconnect in the family because parents often have no clue what their kids are learning at church or how to reinforce it. That's significant because parents have more influence on faith decisions than anyone else!

The church shouldn't be the primary place where kids learn Biblical values, it should be the family. The church is there to partner with parents, not supplant them. The church is the bridge between family and faith. We serve to equip the family with the knowledge, tools, and strategy they need to pass on their faith. Think about this . . . The avg church has about 50 hours a year to teach kids. The avg family has more than 500 hours a year to teach kids. Who has the best opportunity to influence the next generation? That's thinking orange. The church (yellow) partners with the parents (red) and together we create a better result (orange).

More later...

Are We Asking the Right Questions?

Donald Miller says that "we aren't asking the questions the Bible is answering." Read that sentence again. What he means is that we're more concerned with the "how" questions. How to be saved? How to do church? How to be happy? How to trust God? But the Bible is more concerned with the "why" questions. Why get saved? Why do church? Why be happy? Why trust God? He claims we've reduced most Biblical stories to 3 principles or 5 steps or 7 habits and, in the process, we're missing the true power of God's Word.

Re-Thinking Church

One of the greatest things about the conference so far is hearing from people who are seriously re-thinking the way we do church. I'll try to share some of their thoughts when I have more time to think through what they're rethinking, but for now, this tidbit . . .

Francis Chan is pastor of the Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. He said he's starting to read the Bible literally, especially passages like "love your neighbor as yourself." He explained that his church has always tried to love their neighbor, but not necessarily in the same way they love themselves. Case in point . . . the church is preparing to build a new $20 million dollar campus and they've never spent that much on their neighbors. So he's challenging them to scrap the plans and spend the $20 million on ministries outside of their church.

Where will they meet? He's proposing a huge outdoor amphitheater. He admitted that he's still trying to sell the elders on the concept, but they're leaning that way. The biggest concern so far . . . what if is rains?! His answer, "then you'll get wet." He offered this analogy. On Sundays in Green Bay 72,000 fans pack a stadium for more than 4 hours in the freezing cold and near blizzards. Why? They're crazy about the Green Bay Packers. Do you think that people who are crazy about Jesus could stand one hour each Sunday in the Southern California sun?

I like his thinking because it challenges me to think. And I like the idea of spending more money on others and less on ourselves. It seems like something Jesus would do. However, I get frustrated when I try to apply his idea across the board. For example, he was encouraging us not to spend our money on buildings and give it to others. Couldn't the same argument be made for not spending our money on conferences? Of course if we'd have done that, then none of us would have ever been challenged to do the other. I think I'll stop thinking now.

Student Ministry

A little taste of the Orange Conference from tonight's opening session . . .

Reggie Joiner says there are basically four styles of Student Ministry that churches employ:

#1. Keep them from going to hell.
#2. Stop them from raising hell.
#3. Scare the hell out of the them.
#4. Give them what they need to charge hell (i.e. influence the world for Christ)

Which of the four do you think engages and energizes students??

More later . . .

Hotlanta

Tomorrow I head to Atlanta for the Orange Conference. It's a children's ministry conference hosted by the ReThink Group. Why a children's ministry conference you ask? Or maybe you don't ask, but I'll tell you anyway.

I started looking for a conference to attend back in February. I've yet to attend one in my 2 and half years of preaching ministry. Back in my youth ministry days I attended the National Conference on Youth Ministry every year. It was great because it recharged me spiritually, gave me a lot of great ideas, and allowed me to meet some outstanding people. I stumbled across its website earlier this year and was reminded of how valuable conferences can be to ministry so I started looking for something.

My first choice was the Pepperdine Lectureships. I figured I'd give my church of Christ family the first shot but the dates didn't work out. Option two was the National Pastor's Convention. A great line-up of teachers but I was too late. Option three was Willow Creek's Preaching & Teaching. It looked outstanding but apparently its not offered in '07. So option four . . . children's ministry in Atlanta.

It's not as random as it sounds. My wife found out about the conference through some of her research on children's minstry and she was going with or without me. I was a little hesitant at first but after I took a look at the two tracks for senior pastors (leading people through change and becoming a better communicator) and some of the speakers (Donald Miller, Chap Clark, Nancy Beach, etc) I was ready to go! I'm actually looking forward to the worship times and main sessions more than anything else. I have a feeling they won't be quite as stiff as other pastor/preacher conferences. I'm expecting more energy and more hand motions.

I hope to write about some of what I learn, but I'm not sure if the blog will be active during the conference. Depends on time, internet access, and whether or not the Braves are in town.

Another Fish Story

Today I took the wife and kids to the same pond where I caught the big one last weekend. I was hoping to show off a few of my skills.

Here's what I caught . . .

Here's what she caught . . .

Slow Learner

New Jersey Governor John Corzine has been under a bit of fire lately for violating traffic laws prior to his wreck on the way to the Imus/Rutger's meeting. He was not wearing a seat belt and going 91 on the interstate. Yesterday he was released from the hospital and held a news conference outside its doors. He apologized to the state for setting a bad example and promised to "work very hard to set the right kind of example." Then he was clocked going 71 in 55 on the way home. I have a little sympathy for the Governor because we all get a heavy foot from time to time. But most of us slow down after we're caught (at least for a little while).