Sanctuary

As I have mentioned many times here, I was raised in what I now call the "A Capella Church of Christ" and over the last 5 years (really, more than that) I have followed God, opened my eyes and my life to a bigger world. I doubt that I could go back...

During this continuing journey I've had to face a number personal hangups about things (big and small) that I have had to decide if they were real issues or just another step towards that "bigger world". Things like "do you have to be baptized to participate in the Lord's Supper?" and other much more trivial things...

When I first started attending my new Church (Pinedale Christian Church) I was confronted with a term that I was very familiar with being used in a new way - for me. When people at Pinedale referred to the "auditorium" they often called it the "Sanctuary"...my first thought was..."how odd". I mean here is what is basically an "Instrumental-Progressive-Church of Christ-that changed their name", a Church that under the stuff that gave many of my former "pew-mates" the willies was the same - but calling thier auditorium a SANCTUARY?!? I was confused...

Why would such a little thing as a word make such a big deal to me? Well, first of all, it wasn't that big of a deal, just...confusing... Wikipedia states that a Sanctuary is "the consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar" - which is exactly how I understood the term. Some of you may be scratching your head right now and asking yourself what the problem is...well it's simple. All of my life, including this moment, I stongly believe that a Church building is just that...a building that a body of believers has decided to use for God's work, to promote community and regularly worship in. That building could just as easily be an old warehouse, a tent, a home, a theater or town's square. Putting any holy designation at all to the building is giving it a higher designation that it does not deserve.

When Christ came, died and rose again he brought with Him a new covenant:

For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 2 Corinthians 3:10,11

This new covenant discarded the old covenant that had God at a distance from us and brought Him to our homes, our streets, workplaces, parks and yes, our Church buildings, but none of these places are more holy than another. The "alter" we refer to when coming forward during our time of public worship is a place between God and His child - it can happen anywhere!

So, yes, I give a Church auditorium no special, holy distinction because it has none.

However...

An alternate definition of "sanctuary" is "place of refuge" or "a reserved area in which birds and other animals, especially wild animals, are protected from hunting or molestation". When I think of my Church being a "sanctuary", this is what I think of..."my safe place". As a teenager and young adult, my Church family saved my life...they looked after me, loved me for me, cared for me and protected me...so, my "sanctuary" IS the Church and when I am with my brothers and sisters, especially in the building we worship in, I feel safe, protected and loved. It's the place where the rest of the world vanishes for a time and I can feel safe and closer to God.

That is MY SANCTUARY...

Reluctant Glorification?

Is it possible to take something that was crafted to be used in a way that was not for God's glory and use it for His Glory? In other words, is it possible to use something that goes against God's teaching and use it as if it doesn't?

I guess the question is does it matter to God if I use something that is messed up in regards to His commandments and teachings in my worship to Him? Or, is God only interested in my heart while I am worshipping Him?

When you put the question that way it almost seems silly to ask it. God IS concerned about my heart when I worship Him. Jesus told us through the gospel of Matthew that we have to come to Him without resentment in our heart

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember
that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23,24

However, he also said in John 4:24 "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." So now I wonder since He wants me to worship Him with my spirit and to come to him in truth then does that mean that if I know I use something that was originally conceived in error can I use it to worship Him?

This debate in my mind came while I was listening to one of my favorite CD's - "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Much of his music speaks of God, Jesus, Zion, and "Jah". I just started listening to the words a bit closer and I thought...wow this makes sense! So I did a bit of research and it turns out that "Zion" is not the Zion I know of and that "Jah" is not a different name for Jehovah. (if you want to find out about what they mean look up "Rastafari Movement")

But if I speak these words and use them to refer to my God and for His glory does it diminish my worship to Him (even though I know where they came from)? If the earthly "audience" doesn't know that they were originally used in error does it matter?

I don't know.

P.S. Now I'm even more confused, since the Christian group Acappella did a song some years ago called "Talk to Jah" and grouped that name in with Jehovah. Yep, color me confused...

State of the Onion - Clapping

OK, so things are different now... As I look back on past blog entries and think back on how I used to think and feel things just feel different, look different...ARE...different.

Different ME, same God.

I have come a long way and thank God for that. I have held on to his hand as he has guided me through landmines and fields full of sunflowers. Over the course of just a couple of years time (actually less) I have taken some gigantic steps in how I view a lot of things, I just want to talk about one of them today...actually just one part of one of them.

I love worshipping at our new Church, as I have mentioned before, I never look at my watch, I often get goosebumps, I usually walk out hoarse and I almost always feel better afterward than I did before. Some of the things I have had to "get used to" are (in no particular order):

• A full band...actually much easier to do than I thought.
• Crazy lights...still warming up to those, but no harm no foul.
• Being distracted by people near my jumping up and down from excitement...that's one of those things that sometimes bothers me and sometimes does not.
• Trying to figure out the fine line between "performance" and worship...it is a fine line and it's one of those things I'm still working on. It has a lot to do with the heart and since there is no "heart indicator light" on people it can be difficult to know where they are coming from (other times it's really easy - both ways).
  

However, there is one little thing...and let me make this clear, it is a little thing...that I don't think I'm going to get over for awhile...if ever.

The need people feel to "applaude" after every song. To me, it's almost like, "hey we did a great job with that song, let's give ourselves a hand!". The other thing I hear is "let's give God a hand!"

Let's deal with each of these one at a time, because, although I think they are closely related, they are not entirely the same. The thing where we interrupt a great worshipful moment by automatically applauding is just not doing it for me. I guess I just don't get it, if we go to great lengths to make sure everyone understands that our worship time is not "entertainment time" (although it CAN be fun!) why do we resort to clapping between each song as though it was performed beautifully? I mean we just got through telling God that he is an awesome God, that we love him, that he is everything to us and we said it through a beautiful song (the way he asked us to) and now we have to clap? I just don't get it. Can't the song just stand on it's own? For me, the clapping cheapens it.

The other thing about "let's give God a hand...", well I honestly, can't say there's anything wrong with that. It's just another way to praise God...it still feels a bit weird. I seems to me that newer Christians and visitors may not see the difference between the two since we seem to clap between all the songs, the part where the worship leader says "let's give God a hand..." gets lost in the shuffle. However, out of the two, this one has some "teeth"...

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.
How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!
Psalms 47:1,2

The thing that's hard for me is to stand there NOT clapping while everyone else does... That's MY problem...not theirs.

Church Music VI - "How do those words taste?"

Excuse me while I eat and type, I find the Veranda font somewhat bitter compared to Tahoma, but meatier...harder to swallow.

Part of the fun of writing a blog is going back and reading what you wrote before. I started this blog as a way to chronicle my journey and it's..interesting (excuse me while I wipe my mouth, the words can sometimes be messy) to look at the journey and be reminded of where it started, where it took me and where I am now.

I wonder where I will be 3 months from now or next year? God is my "tour guide" so the answer is ANYWHERE!

So, I was reading my blog Church Music V - "Corrective Lenses" and the other 4 parts to that "series" and I have to start eating. Eating my words. (excuse me again, while I take a drink of Mt. Dew to wash some more down)

Looking back at what I said then is like looking at myself through a telescope. It's not so much that I disagree with what I said, it's more about the way I said it. However, there is that phrase (gulp) "I believe in ACapella music for corporate worship." (gulp) that came from my fingers and my mind. Since I now weekly participate in corporate worship with every conceivable instrument in them was I wrong then, wrong now, have I had an epiphany, or does it really matter?

I don't have all the answers yet, but I know this. I am truly enjoying where God has led me and I am doing all I can to hang on to his hand as he leads me through the crowded path ahead. My other hand is stuffing my mouth with words and wiping the mess on my sleeve...

Lightbulb! (or "Church of Christ Glasses")

In cartoons, when someone has an idea they get a lightbulb over their head shining with inspiration or revelation. That happened to me Sunday morning during Bible class...I just wish I could say that it was inspiration that prompted the light.

In this case, it was revelation...

The teacher (which happens to be one of our evangelists) was leading us in a study of 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

He read the scripture and then asked for comments. A man behind me said something to the effect of; women were new at this. They had not been able to participate in worship and Paul was instructing them on how to conduct themselves as they did it. I added that Paul, throughout his ministry, was a major advocate of freeing women of spirtual bondage. I also added that women of that time could be married or sell themselves, those were their options. They were not allowed to even speak to men in public. Women, unlike men, did not have experience in public worship, Paul was telling women the same thing that men of that time already knew.

The teacher quickly, (and politely) told me he did not agree with me. He re-read the scripture and just stated that women were supposed to be silent in public worship. He even agreed that the Bible tells us that women prayed and prophesied in the name of the Lord, but that this passage tells them to be quiet in worship.

At this point, if I were a cartoon character, the lightbulb would have appeared over my head.

All of my life, I have used the Bible to prove what I have been taught at Church. Whenever I opened it up I corrupted God's message by reading it through "Church of Christ Glasses". If I could read a passage and prove something that someone had told me in Bible Class or at Church then it must be true! The teacher was just doing the same thing. I shouldn't be upset (even though I was a little) or mad, but try to help him by influencing him over time. I was were he was for a long time.

It comes from years of practice and has been honed to a perfectly tuned machine.

It's Christmas!

As I have said before, I grew up attending the Church of Christ. This time of year has always been a bit...confusing as a Christian. What's so confusing about Christmas to a Christian? Well, "for the record" the Church of Christ does not celebrate Christmas.

Specifically, we do not celebrate Christmas as a "religious holiday". Momentarily going back to the basics for our beliefs, the phrase "speak where the Bible speaks and silent where the Bible is silent" is thrown around a lot. (Actually, there is some inconsistency in this phrase and how we use it, but that is for another time) Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us to celebrate Christ's birth. There are no examples of such a celebration in the first century Church, no references to such and no command. We are told to celebrate his death and we are given an example of such a celebration happening every first day of the week. So that's what we do.

There are the facts about how the Church of Christ (officially) sees Christmas. In practice, things get a bit wierd.

As a boy and a young adult, I was very adamant about Christmas. It was a man-made event, not authorized by God and therefore not to be acknowedged in our Church or our worship. The name "Christmas" comes from the term "Christ Mass" a special mass from the Catholic Church. My feelings about this bordered on irrational. How so? Let me give you a couple examples.

As a song leader I would never dream of leading songs relating to Christ's birth during the holiday season. Also, whenever (inevitably) someone else lead one of these songs, I would get up and leave. I felt that if we did what the "Catholics" did, then how would the "unchurched" differentiate us? I felt that we needed to be different from the rest of the world that gave lip service to praising God by going twice a year (Christmas and Easter). One ugly side of this is that songs about the birth of Christ are rarely ever sung in our services. Why would you want to sing "Silent Night" in July? The answer is that there is nothing wrong with it, in fact if songs about Christ's birth were standard fare in our Churches, then there would be no problem with singing them during the holiday season.

Also, even though we celebrated Christmas at home there was to be no religious symbolism. That means, no angels on the tree, or stars and especially no nativity scenes (I still don't like those).

So, why celebrate Christmas? The simple answer is because everyone else does, the ironic thing is that this same response answers the question of why we DON'T celebrate Christ's birth around Christmas. It wasn't until I started to stop and look around that this hit me in the face, and that's when I started asking questions...

Here's what I know (and what I don't). Christ was not born on December 25th. Yeah, so what. I don't really know of anyone that really and truly believes that. "Christmas" is a man-made holiday. I used to think that many religions saw it as a religious holiday, that's where I was wrong (even though there are some that do). "Christmas" as we know it is really different that it used to be. Now, it just one of many holidays during our "Holiday Season".

So, the big question for me is "what is so wrong about recognizing Christ's birth on December 25th?" Honestly, I'm having a hard time holding on to my old answers to that question. Yes, God did not command us to celebrate his birth, however...

HE sure made a big deal about it. Take a look at Matthew sometime and tell me he didn't want us to remember his birth. Every word in the Bible is God-breathed and there for a purpose. That's one of the reasons we study it so often (or should) and intently. Since every word comes from God himself, it's an extremely important form of communication with and praise to God. If he didn't want us to know about Christ's birth of if he thought that it was not important, then why did he devote so much space to it in the Bible and, more importantly, why was it so wonderfully miraculous!

There are many examples in our relationship with God and our worship and service to him that displays our own personality into what he set forth. I don't remember anything about using song books in the new testament, he didn't tell us to meet on Wednesdays to study the bible and have an "invitation", he didn't tell us to spend Church funds to buy softball uniforms, the list goes on. Most of us (almost all of us) have no problem with these man-made infusions of personality into our worship to God.

So, for me, I am an old dog that is learning a new trick, a mule that is finally starting to move, the stick in the mud that is wiggling it's way out. I am embracing Christmas for what it is, a man-made celebration of the miracle of Christ's birth. It's not nearly as important as his death, but one comes before the other and his birth WAS miraculous, wonderful and God-given. Praise God, Christ was born!

"Holy Hands"

1 Timothy 2:8 - "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

Lamentations 3:41 - "Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven."

When I first saw someone with my own eyes lift up their hands during a worship service (I don't remember where it was) I will admit, it sort of "freaked me out". I didn't understand it, I had never seen someone at a Church of Christ do that! "They only do that on T.V.!", I thought.

Other things went through my mind. Generally, I thought that they were just "showing off" to call attention to themselves like, "...look at me, I'm REALLY into this, why aren't you?..." Another thought was, "...I'm going to shove this in your face, and make you feel uncomfortable because I think that we all need to do this...". The really paranoid part of me said, "...Ok, what's next? Are they going to start 'speaking in tongues'?"

Over the last few years I have come to grips with the fact that these were irrational thoughts. I can no more tell what another person is thinking than I can tell you the next time the Detroit Tigers will win the World Series! Also, after considering this practice, recalling my past studying of the Bible and doing some more studying I think I can honestly say that there is nothing scripturally wrong with it. The opposite may be the case, there may be biblical precedent for practicing it.

So the obvious question is, why DON'T we "raise holy hands"? Another question to be answered is why does it make us so uncomfortable? Still another is why is it being so strongly opposed by the "main stream Churches of Christ"?

I can only respond from my personal experience at this point, but I intend on discussing this with my friends, peers and Church leaders as I get opportunity. I believe it has to do with the dreaded word which I will probably bring up time and again...IDENTITY. We identify that kind of act as something that "those people" do, you know people like the "faith healers" on T.V., the T.V. evangelists, the Pentecostals... "They are just out of control", is what we might say. People are just afraid of starting down that "slipery slope" and never being able to get back up. From my view, (from the cheap seats) I believe that is where we must have STRONG, FORWARD-THINKING, PRAYERFUL, and BOLD LEADERS. It is the job of our elders to guide us down the right path prayerfully considering what is best and pleasing to our God.

Personally, in the past, I have felt funny about it. I think it often looks rehearsed or fake. However, there are moments when it's done at the right time and in small doses that it seems appropriate. MY spriritual life is going through a change, a re-birth, if you will, that has brought about many emotions that I have not felt for a long time or have never felt before. Although, I have never "raised holy hands", as of late, it has crossed my mind. I think this is a good thing, I think it means I MAY be on the right track.

I'm still not conviced that I will do it (and I readily admit that a prominent reason has to do with COURAGE), but don't be flabbergasted if at some very special point in an especially good act of worship you see my hands...slowly...carefully...go...up.

2 Corinthians 3:7-12

"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold."

"Church Music" - Part V - "Corrective Lenses"

OK, it's time to finish this (at least for now). Let me just say this so I can make myself clear and so that there can be no misunderstandings.

I believe in ACapella music for corporate worship. I base this on MY PERSONAL HISTORY, I like it's simplicity, it is harder (certainly not impossible) to let material things get in the way when we are praising God this way. As of today, I have no intention of making a practice of worshipping God by singing songs of praise with instrumental accompaniment. However, I don't think that non-ACapella worship is unscriptual, unacceptable praise to God and worth our gargantuan efforts to stamp out. If a friend of mine invites me to worship with him (or her)and they use instruments as part of their heart-felt praise to God, I will join them. I will no longer cringe or concern myself that I am doing something terrible (trust me, I've done MUCH WORSE things), in fact I will try very hard to worship HIM in spirit and in truth.

The real issue here is not about the music issue it's about our LACK OF FOCUS ON THINGS THAT MATTER. To quote Paul Woodhouse from "Grace Centered Magazine", "Let's drop the instrumental music issue. It is irrelevant to the poor single mother, the aborted infant, the divorcee, and the prison inmate...It's time to get real and move on." There are so many other things that NEED our FOCUSED ATTENTION, immorality, the declining importance of family, abortion, depression, divorce, suicide and the list goes on. We should be lights...BEACONS for the rest of the world to find Christ, not enforcers of religious practices (does that sound like a....Pharisee?) If we took just 50% of the time and effort that is spent everyday defending ACapella singing in the Church of Christ IMAGINE WHAT WE COULD DO?!?!

We have lost our focus, it's time to get corrective lenses and get to work.

OK, I'm done (for now).

"Church Music" - Part IV... our kids

I grew up, primarily, in the 70's and I really don't remember this being a big deal then. Yes, it was discussed, and yes, even then the Churches of Christ were distinguished by (among other things) that fact that we didn't have any instruments in our worship service (or our buildings). The difference between then and now is that, then we looked at the whole Instrumental Music in worship "thing" as insignificant. The kids of my day were not talking about it and our worship services (practically ALL of them throughout the mainstream Churches of Christ) were the same. It wasn't an issue because we all understood what was "right and good".

One BIG change between now and then (from my view in the cheap seats) is that our kids talk with other kids about Church, God, Religion and the Bible MUCH MORE than we did. They invite their friends to devotionals and teen outings like crazy. When I was a kid is was all well and good for US to invite THEM to OUR outings, but forget about going to THEIRS (why would we do that?). So, over the years, the youth of our faith have become more and more...accepting of other faiths.

Why? It's simple, their FRIENDS are from other faiths. We used to have our "Church friends" (those kids from OUR Church) and our "Other friends", which we did not mix together (at least not very often). Youth (and what you call "youth" can very GREATLY) look at all of their friends as one big unit and they cherish their friends that go to other Churches and regard them very highly. Why? Because they can be very good people!

So now, they are exposed to different views of their faith from a very early age and those differences are not keeping them up at night. Their discussions about spiritual things often take them down the same paths...they don't get caught up in the details.

Their friend (Chris, we will call him) is a Christian too! Even though they play guitars in their worship service and might have women preachers. Even though Chris doesn't go to the "Church of Christ" he is still a Christian. Why? "How can't he be? He believes the same things that I do, he just does a few things different. He has the same moral values that I do (sometimes higher). He is just as active in his Church as I am, and I enjoy worshipping with him (the few times I have gone) and he enjoys worshipping with me."

The youth of our faith are more accepting than we are or were when we were their age. That could be a big factor in why they are pushing our Church to update and try new things because they are being exposed those things and their positive impact on personal spirituality. Simply put, their world is bigger and the bounds of their Christianity are too. Singing with musical accompaniment isn't a big deal, they hear the arguments against it and they may even nod their head with understanding, but they also see the positive impact that their friends (their Christian friends that don't go to a Church of Christ) have on them. Furthermore, they can't believe that their friends are going to hell, they are strong Christians, so what if they sing with instruments!

Then we are surprised when they pull back from our faith and become "rebellious" when they are given a very rigid view of Christianity, one that excludes these people they look up to.

More later...

"Church Music" - Part I

I want to talk about a topic that brings fear and cringing to most Christians that attend Churches of Christ. Music.

Specifically ACappella vs. Instrumental. ACappella, is simply translated as "Church music", but has come to mean music without instrumental accompaniment. But, even that definition is not enough for some. For some, even a human voice (or hand or other body part) that mimics an instrument is no longer ACappella music. For such people, mimicking a bass or creating a beat (for example) defies the spirit of the idea of "Church Music".

On the other side we have something as simple as a Church that might use an organ or a piano along with congregational singing, then there are Choruses, all the way to full bands with electric guitars and drums. There is an organization here in our town that proclaims that they are "The Church That Rocks".

Speaking as someone that has spent his whole life singing ACappella music in worship to God, and in choruses in High School and College, at devotionals and even in a somewhat short-lived group, I feel uncomfortable with the idea of using an instrument (other than that which God gave me) to worship him in an assembly. For me, it's distracting and unnecessary, the human voice is beautiful and simple enough for our corporate praise to God.

The Church of Christ's stance (at least traditionally and generally) on this issue is that instrumental music is not commanded in the Bible, nor is there a New Testament example of any Church using instruments in their corporate worship. It's really that simple, the Bible doesn't mention it, so we don't do it. Actually, the idea of instrumental accompaniment is rather new, only for the last few centuries have Churches used instruments in corporate worship to God, so those that would try to use the Bible to explicitly show that we should use an instrument in corporate worship would be foolish, it's not there. It is truly a man-contrived addition to what God established....

However, so are song books...and, Nurseries....and, Bible Classes...and, V.B.S...and, "pew Bibles".

(I originally called this "Let's Get This Over With...", but I decided to change the name to reflect what it was actually talking about)