Thursday, May 19, 2011
a pastor's heart
My bro-in-law Tony died suddenly on the Saturday before Easter. We were both interns under Dr. Murphy Lum 30 years ago. At Tony's memorial service in L.A. two nights ago, Pastor Lum ended with an invitation to accept Christ as savior. It was an old-fashioned altar call, albeit brief. It impressed me because it showed Dr. Lum’s heart. More than anything he wants to see people come to know Jesus. I may think his methods are old-fashioned but I can’t disagree with his heart. He is in alignment with Jesus and Paul. Jesus said that his message was to repent because the kingdom of heaven is near (Matt 4:17). Paul said that our message is to be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:19-20). Entering the kingdom of heaven and being reconciled to God are the summum bonum of human experience, the highest good that we could experience. Wanting this for everyone that he can influence is what makes Murphy a successful pastor, regardless of attendance numbers or the size of the church building where he has an office.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
learning to worship
Last Sunday was Palm Sunday, which is also called Passion Sunday. I wanted to attend a performance of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. I wasn’t deeply familiar with the SMP (as it’s called) so I’ve been reading about it and listening to it during Lent, allowing Bach’s re-creating of the passion of our Lord to shape my own experience of this season. I had asked my kids if any of them wanted to attend the performance with me and it was my youngest who wanted to go. I warned him that sitting through 3+ hours of Baroque choral music (in German!) would be challenging, but he insisted that he wanted to go.
He made it through about 20 minutes and then started nodding off. I let him sleep for a bit and then he woke up refreshed and made it through the rest of Part 1 alert as I whispered to him a running commentary on the music. After the intermission we changed seats and sat in the back of the large church, closer to the cool air coming from the open doors, which became our emergency exit when he needed another intermission halfway through the much longer Part 2. We came back in to enjoy the final 40 minutes. At the end we actually started the applause, during which he then bolted for the door and skipped outside yelling, “I’m free!” We were the first ones out of the parking lot.
But I experienced the SMP more deeply because of Josh. I prepared for the concert more thoroughly because I wanted to explain the piece to him. In the car beforehand I explained to him that the singers would sing words directly from the Bible, along with contemplative responses to the story, and that the chorales represented the response of the Church to the story. I brought along the score with English translation so that we could read along and I could show him things like the 11 repetitions of “Lord, is it I?” as all the disciples except Judas are portrayed musically by Bach. We were both touched as the soloist playing the role of the Evangelist depicted Peter’s devastation at realizing that he had fulfilled Jesus’ prophesy of Peter’s betrayal.
During the intermission an older gentleman asked Josh if he was a singer, what instruments he played, etc. He complimented Josh on his attendance at this performance of a piece that the gentleman obviously treasured: he told us he’s attended performances of the SMP 10-15 times. And in some ways, I think Josh had a better experience of the SMP than some bored-looking adults sitting near us who looked envious when we made our emergency exit. He experienced it as I would expect most 8 year-olds would. But we experienced it together. And that older gentleman gave us his blessing.
And I think that’s a great picture of worshiping together as a church community: kids welcome to participate as they can, with adults giving guidance and blessing. In the process, everyone is enriched as God is glorified. Soli Deo Gloria.
He made it through about 20 minutes and then started nodding off. I let him sleep for a bit and then he woke up refreshed and made it through the rest of Part 1 alert as I whispered to him a running commentary on the music. After the intermission we changed seats and sat in the back of the large church, closer to the cool air coming from the open doors, which became our emergency exit when he needed another intermission halfway through the much longer Part 2. We came back in to enjoy the final 40 minutes. At the end we actually started the applause, during which he then bolted for the door and skipped outside yelling, “I’m free!” We were the first ones out of the parking lot.
But I experienced the SMP more deeply because of Josh. I prepared for the concert more thoroughly because I wanted to explain the piece to him. In the car beforehand I explained to him that the singers would sing words directly from the Bible, along with contemplative responses to the story, and that the chorales represented the response of the Church to the story. I brought along the score with English translation so that we could read along and I could show him things like the 11 repetitions of “Lord, is it I?” as all the disciples except Judas are portrayed musically by Bach. We were both touched as the soloist playing the role of the Evangelist depicted Peter’s devastation at realizing that he had fulfilled Jesus’ prophesy of Peter’s betrayal.
During the intermission an older gentleman asked Josh if he was a singer, what instruments he played, etc. He complimented Josh on his attendance at this performance of a piece that the gentleman obviously treasured: he told us he’s attended performances of the SMP 10-15 times. And in some ways, I think Josh had a better experience of the SMP than some bored-looking adults sitting near us who looked envious when we made our emergency exit. He experienced it as I would expect most 8 year-olds would. But we experienced it together. And that older gentleman gave us his blessing.
And I think that’s a great picture of worshiping together as a church community: kids welcome to participate as they can, with adults giving guidance and blessing. In the process, everyone is enriched as God is glorified. Soli Deo Gloria.
worship together
I couldn’t “enjoy” the Good Friday service last night because I was busy explaining things to my younger kids and making sure they weren’t too noisy. And I suppose my kids and the other kids in the service were a little distracting to the adults present who didn’t have kids.
But what’s the purpose of corporate worship, especially during Holy Week? Worship isn’t merely about me having a “worship experience”. It’s about all of us, as a church community, re-telling, re-living, and re-creating the gospel, the good news that is epitomized in the events of Holy Week as we remember Jesus’ teaching us to love each other, suffering and dying for the redemption of the world, and becoming the firstfruits of the resurrection.
I’m not saying that there isn’t a time for quiet reflection in worship and that kids should be allowed to run wild during worship services. But the worship life of the church community should not be exclusively “adults only”. As Jesus said to the disapproving Pharisees on the first Palm Sunday, if the kids aren’t allowed to make some noise then the very rocks will cry out. Corporate worship is the response of the church community to God’s work in our world and in us. And it shapes us as a community (including our children), as well as shaping me as an individual.
How do I measure a “successful” worship service? By how deeply I am moved? Or how engaged my kids are? If that’s the case, then I’m probably looking at each worship service as an event in itself and as a kind of baptized entertainment venue. I’m guilty of using the same standards to measure worship as I use to measure a movie. And I’m becoming a critic instead of a participant.
Worship throughout the Christian year sets the rhythms of our life together as a family and as a church community, and shapes our identity as the people of God. So I was glad to see so many of Grace’s families attending the Good Friday service together. As parents brought their children up to the communion stations, some parents were just accompanied by their younger children while others were explaining and then administering the communion to their older children. I’m sure the kids would rather be watching cartoons or playing video games. And the parents couldn’t have a time of deep individual reflection. But it was still a holy moment. Because if we as a church community aren’t becoming more deeply the people of God, then eventually all that will be left to praise God will be the stones.
But what’s the purpose of corporate worship, especially during Holy Week? Worship isn’t merely about me having a “worship experience”. It’s about all of us, as a church community, re-telling, re-living, and re-creating the gospel, the good news that is epitomized in the events of Holy Week as we remember Jesus’ teaching us to love each other, suffering and dying for the redemption of the world, and becoming the firstfruits of the resurrection.
I’m not saying that there isn’t a time for quiet reflection in worship and that kids should be allowed to run wild during worship services. But the worship life of the church community should not be exclusively “adults only”. As Jesus said to the disapproving Pharisees on the first Palm Sunday, if the kids aren’t allowed to make some noise then the very rocks will cry out. Corporate worship is the response of the church community to God’s work in our world and in us. And it shapes us as a community (including our children), as well as shaping me as an individual.
How do I measure a “successful” worship service? By how deeply I am moved? Or how engaged my kids are? If that’s the case, then I’m probably looking at each worship service as an event in itself and as a kind of baptized entertainment venue. I’m guilty of using the same standards to measure worship as I use to measure a movie. And I’m becoming a critic instead of a participant.
Worship throughout the Christian year sets the rhythms of our life together as a family and as a church community, and shapes our identity as the people of God. So I was glad to see so many of Grace’s families attending the Good Friday service together. As parents brought their children up to the communion stations, some parents were just accompanied by their younger children while others were explaining and then administering the communion to their older children. I’m sure the kids would rather be watching cartoons or playing video games. And the parents couldn’t have a time of deep individual reflection. But it was still a holy moment. Because if we as a church community aren’t becoming more deeply the people of God, then eventually all that will be left to praise God will be the stones.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
born blind
In John 9 Jesus is asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus steps out of the theological corner into which his disciples have painted themselves and tells them, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”
I’m a person who’s spiritually and emotionally blind. I’m wounded by the many blunders I’ve made: broken relationships, stupid choices, ill-conceived plans, all stemming from lack of foresight or from ignoring the data in front of me. My tendency is to either blame myself or (in the tradition of Freud) my parents. But Jesus offers me the hope that God is working through all of the mess of my life, and that he has a better design than I or my parents or anyone else around me could have imagined.
In fact, Jesus offers that hope as motivation to get out of my corner, stop licking my wounds, and move ahead with confidence that God is using me for the good of his Kingdom: “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” As long as Jesus is my light, he can shine through me to bring light into this world.
I’m a person who’s spiritually and emotionally blind. I’m wounded by the many blunders I’ve made: broken relationships, stupid choices, ill-conceived plans, all stemming from lack of foresight or from ignoring the data in front of me. My tendency is to either blame myself or (in the tradition of Freud) my parents. But Jesus offers me the hope that God is working through all of the mess of my life, and that he has a better design than I or my parents or anyone else around me could have imagined.
In fact, Jesus offers that hope as motivation to get out of my corner, stop licking my wounds, and move ahead with confidence that God is using me for the good of his Kingdom: “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” As long as Jesus is my light, he can shine through me to bring light into this world.
Marx or Jesus
I had a social studies teacher in junior high who was a self-proclaimed card-carrying Communist. He was passionate about redistribution of wealth and redressing the wrongs that had been suffered by the common man. He was also white. I mention this because I’m guessing that he asked to be assigned to teach in my junior high, which was predominantly African-American (this was before busing) and next door to a high school that had been the scene of race riots in the years previous. I don’t remember specifically anything he taught us in the classroom, but I do remember that he took us on a field trip to the Fillmore district and then to see one of San Francisco’s housing projects (both were in African American neighborhoods) to impress on us both the beauty of African American arts and culture and to see the results of social injustice. Not exactly the planetarium or an introduction to the symphony.
Obviously my teacher was driven by a vision of the world and the sense that he could make a difference by molding young hearts and minds. His vision came from Karl Marx. He believed in the power of education and used his influence to affect classrooms full of junior highers, many of whom were living the injustices that he felt so strongly needed to be corrected.
And it makes me wonder: What gets me out of bed in the morning? How much am I trying to make a difference in this world? How much am I trying to influence others to make a difference? My vision of a better world doesn’t come from Marx, it comes from Jesus. Jesus was like my social studies teacher: driven by a vision, teaching that vision to others, convinced that his students would make a difference in the world. But instead of a vision drawn from economic theory, Jesus’ vision came from the heart of God. And so his methods came from God’s Word. And his means were and are people who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
It sounds a little weird to compare Jesus to my social studies teacher. But what I’m really doing is comparing myself to my social studies teacher. And I have to ask myself: based on the evidence of my life and of his, whose vision of the world is more compelling, that of Marx or Jesus?
Obviously my teacher was driven by a vision of the world and the sense that he could make a difference by molding young hearts and minds. His vision came from Karl Marx. He believed in the power of education and used his influence to affect classrooms full of junior highers, many of whom were living the injustices that he felt so strongly needed to be corrected.
And it makes me wonder: What gets me out of bed in the morning? How much am I trying to make a difference in this world? How much am I trying to influence others to make a difference? My vision of a better world doesn’t come from Marx, it comes from Jesus. Jesus was like my social studies teacher: driven by a vision, teaching that vision to others, convinced that his students would make a difference in the world. But instead of a vision drawn from economic theory, Jesus’ vision came from the heart of God. And so his methods came from God’s Word. And his means were and are people who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
It sounds a little weird to compare Jesus to my social studies teacher. But what I’m really doing is comparing myself to my social studies teacher. And I have to ask myself: based on the evidence of my life and of his, whose vision of the world is more compelling, that of Marx or Jesus?
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
going
Context is everything. When Jesus’ first disciples heard him say, “Go into all the world” it had a very different effect on them then it has on me. My first response is to think, “When will it be convenient? Which airline do I take?” But when Jesus first uttered those words his hearers must have thought, “That’s impossible.” And that’s probably what motivated them to actually do it. My problem is that I take it for granted that it’s within my means and that it’s up to me to carry the good news. But how does it affect me if I assume that only God can do it and I am the one who’s along for the ride? I’m not saying that I’m to be passive. But am I presenting myself for God’s use in his plans (like the boy with five loaves and two fishes) or am I just including God in my plans when it’s convenient for me?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
popular
In Mark 3:20 Jesus’ notoriety reaches such a fever pitch that he and his disciples cannot go into a house and have a meal because they draw such a crowd. In our day that’s considered a sign of success. Imagine: without even sending out a tweet Jesus is able to draw a huge crowd just by his presence. Jesus has gone viral!
The result is that Jesus’ family thinks he’s crazy and the religious leaders think he is demon-possessed. Today Jesus would be considered a publicist’s dream come true. Who cares about the actual content of Jesus’ teaching? What’s important is that he is a celebrity. And that means a lot of money could be made if Jesus’ teaching (whatever it is) could be packaged and marketed properly.
So who has the better grasp on the importance of popularity?
The result is that Jesus’ family thinks he’s crazy and the religious leaders think he is demon-possessed. Today Jesus would be considered a publicist’s dream come true. Who cares about the actual content of Jesus’ teaching? What’s important is that he is a celebrity. And that means a lot of money could be made if Jesus’ teaching (whatever it is) could be packaged and marketed properly.
So who has the better grasp on the importance of popularity?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
