Remember the hit movie “Titanic” that came out in the 90’s? The director, James Cameron, has another movie coming out next month, titled “Avatar.” I would be hard pressed to describe the story, but it looks interesting. (And judging by the 3D trailer I saw in front of “A Christmas Carol” yesterday, it looks great.) Below is an interview with Cameron from 60 Minutes. (I think there is one mild curse word in the interview, just FYI.) The most interesting part of the interview to me was the discussion near the beginning about the story vs. special effects. “Avatar” looks like a feast for the eyes, but Cameron stresses that the story is really the key element.
The most memorable movies have stories that connect with people. They may feature great visual effects, but the movies that last and are universally loved and remembered are the ones with a great story. On the other hand, movies that are long on special effects and short on story and character may do well at the box office, but are quickly forgotten. (The “Transformers” movies immediately come to mind.) Any good director will tell you that visual effects must serve the greater purpose of telling a good story.
Special effects change over time. What was innovative a few years or decades ago seems hokey and out-of-date today because of the constant advance in technology and the tastes of audiences. So visual effects aren’t bad, and in fact can be quite helpful. But they shouldn’t exist for their own sake.
It’s much the same with worship. Every tradition of worship features some form of “special effects.” These can range from the evangelical emphasis on music and technology, to the liturgical and Catholic use of vestments and bells, and to the Orthodox use of icons and incense. Every Christian worship tradition has practices and elements that help people to worship. However, they don’t exist for themselves, but rather to help us remember and enter into God’s great Story: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Re-Creation. They support, enhance, and focus worship, but they should never become the focus themselves.
This Christmas season, I encourage all of us to remember the heartbeat of Christmas: worshiping the God who gave himself unselfishly. The shopping, Christmas music, church programs, TV shows, Christmas traditions… all of those are great, but what really matters is the story of salvation embodied in a tiny child born in a manger.
This semester (which is just about to wrap up) I’m teaching a course called “Theology and History of Worship.” Yesterday’s learning topic dealt with sacred space in worship–how the people, furniture and symbols of worship are arranged to best allow people to engage with God and one another. I had planned on doing a lecture, but then decided to approach it a different way. Since the lecture would be based mainly on the reading they had done (I would be reviewing the main ideas and adding more info), wasn’t this a little redundant?
I came up with this instead: I wanted them to put into practice the things they had learned through the reading, and what I would briefly review in class. I had them get into 3 groups, with this assignment: design a worship space for a particular area and tell us why you designed it that way. What are the theological and practical reasons for your choices? Group 1 designed a sanctuary for an urban church meeting in a leased office space, Group 2 designed a space for a suburban church plant, and Group 3 designed space for a rural church youth ministry that emphasized the arts.
The results were interesting, and the students took it more seriously and engaged in the process more than I expected. A couple of the groups were very detailed in their designs. I was pretty impressed.
I’ve only been teaching for a few years, and have a lot to learn (trust me on that one, or just ask my students!). But one of the things I do know is that active learning (participation and engagement) allows students to interact with and process what they learned from reading and lectures. The lecture format can be done effectively by some teachers and for some topics, but I am learning some new, different, and often more effective approaches to help students learn.
By the way, here is good quote I used in class: “Space, it has been argued, needs to be redemptive space. It needs to reflect the work of salvation, which we celebrate. Therefore, adequate space for gathering, for the hearing of the Word, for the celebration of the Eucharist, and for music and the arts that accompany these acts is a priority. The major shift that has taken place in worship space is the shift from longitudinal space to a more centralized space, a space in which the worshipers become participants. ” (Robert Webber, Worship Old & New, 146)
As I sit here at my desk and glance to my left, I see a whole section section of books on the topic of “leadership.” I must have several dozen of them. I also have several of these books on my desk, about two feet away from me, including The Leadership Challenge, We Shall Not Fail (about the leadership of Winston Churchill), and Lincoln on Leadership. Leadership and its related components is a hot topic among not only ministers, but educators, business professionals, and just about every other segment of society.
Here’s what I find interesting: in all of the instructions in the New Testament, and in the words of Jesus in the Gospels, we don’t find very much specific material about leadership. We do, however, find lots of material about what it means to follow Jesus and live our faith in the day-to-day world.
There is a great deal of conversation these days about how the church needs better leaders. Of course we need good leadership; that is a given. But what we really need are better followers. We need leaders who follow Jesus. In other words, we need people who are disciples first, and leaders second.
Jesus never said, “Go lead.” Instead, he said “Follow me.” We are called first and foremost to be followers, and then to be leaders. The funny thing is, I’ve had plenty of training on leadership–innumerable conferences, books, lessons, sermons, you name it–but precious little on “followership” (or what is called “discipleship” in the Bible). Ironically, the better we follow, the better we’ll lead.
I think we should put a moratorium on all the conferences, books and training related to leadership until we can all learn to follow Jesus just a little bit better.
We had a good chapel service today. The guest speaker gave a creative, solid message on “being different” like John the Baptist. But what really made my heart glad was the worship team.
A couple of months ago one of our students (the one leading worship today) came and asked if he could lead worship in chapel this semester. I keep a pretty tight reign on who is allowed to lead worship; the worship leader must have a proven track record of following through on commitments and be able to lead in that role. I was a little hesitant at first because he had never led chapel worship, but after talking with him and hearing him sing and play guitar I decided to give him a shot and pair him with another more experienced worship leader.
Today, the worship songs were well-chosen, the attitudes and atmosphere were worshipful, and the musicians were well-rehearsed. There were a couple of minor mistakes here and there, but for a student’s first time leading worship in front of his peers and professors, it was a job very well done. (As a matter of fact, I can think of a couple of mistakes I made leading chapel worship just a couple of weeks ago…) The point is not perfection, it’s development and learning. And what we’re all about as a school is helping students find, use and hone their gifts for ministry.
On top of that, I was really proud of our tech team today. I love going back to the tech area and seeing that I’m not really needed because they have the media, sound, lights and recording under control.
It just made my day to see students using and developing their gifts for leadership and ministry. It reminds me of why I do this in the first place…
I had the past couple of Sundays off from my normal church responsibilities and took the opportunity to visit a couple of area churches. Last weekend I visited The Merge, a church plant led by a couple of friends and colleagues, Scott and Lisa Womble. That was a great experience (I’ll post about the visit soon). This morning while my wife was working (she unfortunately has to work Sunday morning once in a while), my son Ben and I visited The Journey, on Kingshighway near Hwy. 44 in St. Louis. We visited the 11:15 a.m. service at the main Tower Grove campus.
I wanted to visit The Journey because I’d heard some exciting things about their ministry. It’s a relatively new church plant with multiple locations in St. Louis. Lead pastor Darren Patrick founded The Journey in 2002, and the church is part of the Acts 29 church planting network.
On my way to the church I drove right past it because the building (a former Catholic church) blends so well into the neighborhood. On my way back around the block I noticed where all the people were headed and followed suit. We had to park a block away because of the number of cars parked on the street around the church (definitely a good sign).
The sanctuary was about two-thirds full when we came in, but was almost full later in the service. The congregation consisted of what appeared to be people in their 20’s and 30’s. The worship songs were familiar to me (except for one or two) and the worship band did a great job with the music (which was very guitar-driven but with more of an acoustic feel). I would guess there were about 300 people there.
After the music came the Scripture reading from 1 John 3.1-10. I found this interesting because in most evangelical churches, the preacher reads the Scripture as part of the sermon. I liked having it read separately before the sermon–this somehow conveys a bit more authority and seriousness of Scripture. The women who read Scripture concluded it with a firm “the word of the Lord” (a nice touch that reminds us it’s God’s Word). Another interesting touch was the repeated reference to page numbers in the pew Bible, which was the ESV translation. This is the first church I’ve seen use the ESV for pew Bibles (score!). Nice touch.
Lead pastor Darren Patrick delivered a great sermon on dealing with sin in our lives. I believe it was about 45 min. long. He is a great communicator and has a very down-to-earth style. He has a gift for combining great biblical content with very practical application. He is very easy to listen to, which I consider a great compliment to any teacher or preacher. The sermon ended with several application questions for personal reflection.
I really enjoyed the communion time. One of the leaders/pastors gave a few brief instructions, they we were directed to come to the front, where several people held a loaf of bread a cup of juice.Ben and I stood up to get in the line closest to us. I tore a piece from the loaf, dipped it in the juice, and headed back to my seat. I loved taking communion this way.
The only real discernible difference between what I normally experience as part of a Restoration Movement church, and the Journey is that they didn’t offer a traditional “invitation” at the conclusion of the sermon. People were instead invited to talk to a church leader or pastor after the service. I assume if someone wants to become a Christian they would take the initiative to speak with someone from the church. Or perhaps there is something I missed. This approach seems fine because the process for someone coming to faith can happen a variety of ways. Church history tells us this much. The traditional “invitation” time is an innovation that has been around less than 200 years. There’s nothing wrong with it, of course; it’s just one approach among many that Christians throughout history have used.
The thing that impressed me the most about The Journey was the seriousness with which they approached worship. You hear a lot these days about young adults (and the Gen-X crowd) being turned off by traditional Christianity, but the worship I experienced this morning took a serious, hard-hitting approach to God, the Bible, and the need for obedience. Mr. Patrick’s sermon didn’t pull any punches.
In my view, the contemporary evangelical church has misread this generation (which is my generation). We aren’t looking for a church that soft-sells the Christian faith or portrays it as an easy road. On the contrary, young (and young-ish) people are drawn to a faith that is deep, meaningful and doesn’t pretend to offer easy answers to life’s pressing problems. They are looking for connection, meaning, and a transcendent connection with God. This partly explains why people are increasingly drawn to the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. While The Journey is still solidly evangelical, this group of believers seems to be doing something right in reaching a generation that has basically lost interest in traditional Christianity. Surely there is something we can all learn from this.
Bring up the topic of Halloween among any given group of Christian parents and it’s likely to cause a debate. Halloween is seen by evangelical Christians as a bastion for all kinds of evil associated with devil worship and ancient pagan festivals. Is Halloween a time for kids to dress up in costumes and enjoy some harmless fun, or is it harmful to a child’s spiritual health by encouraging activities that may expose them to Satan, the occult, and various other negative elements?
My interest here isn’t to elaborate the history of Halloween (you can easily find a wealth of historical information online), but to explain why we will unashamedly help our 5-year old son put on his Power Ranger costume tomorrow night and go trick-or-treating. This may seem like a strange position, given the fact that my wife and I are both committed Christians, have both served in full-time ministry, and I teach at a Christian college. Many Christian families choose not to participate in traditional Halloween activities at all, or take part in Halloween alternative events (sometimes called “Harvest parties”). Why would we choose to participate in Halloween at a time when many Christian families are saying “no”? There are a couple of reasons:
First, it’s the only time of the year when we have personal contact with many of our neighbors. I live in a suburb of St. Louis, and people in my neck of the woods don’t really socialize with neighbors. I have regular face-to-face conversations with only a few of my immediate neighbors. It’s not because I don’t want to know the other folks; it’s just that they are never accessible! People in our neighborhood, in typical suburban fashion, stay holed up in their castles the vast majority of the time. It’s really difficult to connect with them. So we cherish the opportunity to meet people on Halloween, even if their door is only open for a couple of minutes. We see it as developing relationships, which is essential to sharing Christ in an authentic way. I love the fact that we can take what many see as Satan’s holiday and use it instead for God’s purposes. Christians have been doing this sort of thing for ages.
Second, I don’t believe that Halloween as practiced by ordinary people is harmful. Many intelligent and well-meaning parents will disagree with me on this point. People must do the research and follow their conscience. I fully understand the pagan roots of Halloween, but do kids really make this connection? I think Halloween becomes what we make of it. We can see it as something that is intrinsically evil, or we can see it for what I believe it is–an excuse to put on a silly costume and have some fun. Sometimes I think we have taken the fun out of childhood traditions that are simple, harmless and fun. Just because some people have used Halloween for the wrong purposes, must that ruin it for everyone?
For those who oppose participation in Halloween based on historical pagan connections, what then do we do with other pagan traditions we incorporate into the church? We don’t find anything in the Bible about Christmas trees, December 25th, or Easter egg hunts, yet we don’t seem to have a problem including them in our worship and church life. And what about Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and others? Certainly we shouldn’t ignore these touchstones that are such an important part of our American history and heritage. Yet at the same time, we should be careful to keep them in their proper place. We must always be alert to the danger of worshiping something other than God, whether it be Halloween, American history, national freedom, false ideas of romance, or something else just as seductively powerful.
Jesus is still Lord on October 31st. Satan has no more power on that day than any other day of the year. And besides, do we really believe Satan is going to channel his most destructive power through a $14.99 Wal-Mart costume and a couple of popcorn balls? I think he is a little more subtle than that.
I think we have bigger fish to fry than making a big issue about Halloween. What about the consumerism and out-of-control spending they see from their parents at Christmas? What about the fathers who aren’t stepping up to the plate in the home (or in the church)? What about the constant danger of drug and alcohol abuse in school? What about an evangelical church culture that teeters on the edge of forsaking the Gospel for the sake of cultural relevance? Those, to me, seem like much more immediate and potent threats to the health of our children. Halloween seems to be the least of our worries.
This is, of course, a matter of opinion over which Christians will disagree. That is as is should be. I have great respect for anyone who studies the issue and responds with a clear conscience. But in the meantime, we will have a great time collecting candy from our neighbors, some of whom don’t know Jesus. I pray that God would help us use this opportunity to establish and build relationships with our neighbors, and that he may be glorified in the process.
My apologies for my absence on the blog lately. I’m back today with a short but great clip of an interview with Michael W. Smith by Don Chapman, founder of worshipideas.com. Worshipideas.com is a great site with tons of helpful tips for music and worship leading in the church, and Don sends out a weekly email with a helpful article. This is a site that is definitely worth checking out.
I have seen Michael in concert countless times over the years and appreciate his heart for worship and the local church, despite being a superstar in the world of Christian music. He is the real deal, and you see a wonderful glimpse of his heart here. I love his comment that worship leading is all about disappearing.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the St. Louis Art Museum, a place I thoroughly enjoy. The Art Museum is a great place to visit if you’ve never been. Admission is free, and the museum has something for every taste. My favorites from the visit yesterday are the paintings by Vasari (who know Michelangelo personally), Van Gogh, and Monet. They really made an “impression” on me (sorry for the bad pun).
One thing you immediately notice in an art museum (or just about any art book) is the vast amount of nudity in painting and sculpture. This has sometimes been a point of discussion in my Arts class because it bothers some people. There is a general Christian perspective that views nudity as something inherently bad. But if you remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve felt no shame in their nakedness until sin entered the picture. The human body is a thing of beauty, a work of art designed by God.
However, in our sexually saturated society, it is very difficult for a Christian to view nudity of any kind without feeling a sense of embarrassment, shame or even lust. This is because even despite our best efforts, it’s difficult to have a biblical, healthy view of human sexuality in our culture. People throughout time have always struggled with issues related to sex (just look at the Bible!), but many of the great artists seem to have a healthier view. They included nudity in their artwork because the realistic portrayal of the human body was seen as a work of art, a way of acknowledging the master craftsmanship with which God designed each one of us.
In the end, I think we see what we want to see . If our minds are filled with lust, we will naturally be led astray by the portrayal of nudity. But if we have filled our minds with godly thoughts and understand the human body as God’s creation, hopefully we can have a more balanced perspective. There is nothing inherently wrong with the naked human body.
However–and this is a big “however”–we have to use a lot of discernment and judgment when it comes to how and when people view nudity in art. Certain things belong in certain places. People need to reach a certain age before they can handle nudity. It also depends on the context of the nudity and how it is portrayed. There also is difference (at least in my mind) between nudity that is painted or sculpted, and an actual image of a person. If someone has a serious struggle in this area, then I think it would be best to limit their exposure to questionable art altogether. “If in doubt, block it out” would be a good policy.
What about exposing kids to nudity in great works of art? Melanie and I were talking about what age might be appropriate for Ben to visit the Art Museum. It seems to me that the best strategy would be better to have open and honest conversations about nudity, sex and the human body at the appropriate age. (What that age is, I don’t know.) What seems to normally happen in households is that parents avoid talking about these issues altogether, thereby creating two problems: 1) kids grow up believing that sex and the human body are shameful things, never to be discussed; and 2) as they grow up they will seek our answers to their questions from sources that are prone to give them warped information: their friends at school, the media, the internet, etc. Shouldn’t parents be the ones to educate their kids on the human body and how God created it to grow and function?
Then again, Ben is only 5 years old, and all this is just theory for me. I would love to hear from some parents who have navigated these and similar issues successfully.
(A couple of notes: My intention with this discussion is not to offend, but to promote healthy, honest dialogue about some things that need discussed. In addition, I have “tagged” this post with a few terms related to sexuality in hopes that a few people searching for questionable items online would find this blog and locate something more helpful.)
Remember the hit movie “Titanic” that came out in the 90’s? The director, James Cameron, has another movie coming out next month, titled “Avatar.” I would be hard pressed to describe the story, but it looks interesting. (And judging by the 3D trailer I saw in front of “A Christmas Carol” yesterday, it looks great.) Below is an interview with Cameron from 60 Minutes. (I think there is one mild curse word in the interview, just FYI.) The most interesting part of the interview to me was the discussion near the beginning about the story vs. special effects. “Avatar” looks like a feast for the eyes, but Cameron stresses that the story is really the key element.
As I sit here at my desk and glance to my left, I see a whole section section of books on the topic of “leadership.” I must have several dozen of them. I also have several of these books on my desk, about two feet away from me, including The Leadership Challenge, We Shall Not Fail (about the leadership of Winston Churchill), and Lincoln on Leadership. Leadership and its related components is a hot topic among not only ministers, but educators, business professionals, and just about every other segment of society.
We had a good chapel service today. The guest speaker gave a creative, solid message on “being different” like John the Baptist. But what really made my heart glad was the worship team.
I had the past couple of Sundays off from my normal church responsibilities and took the opportunity to visit a couple of area churches. Last weekend I visited 
Bring up the topic of Halloween among any given group of Christian parents and it’s likely to cause a debate. Halloween is seen by evangelical Christians as a bastion for all kinds of evil associated with devil worship and ancient pagan festivals. Is Halloween a time for kids to dress up in costumes and enjoy some harmless fun, or is it harmful to a child’s spiritual health by encouraging activities that may expose them to Satan, the occult, and various other negative elements?
Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the St. Louis Art Museum, a place I thoroughly enjoy. The Art Museum is a great place to visit if you’ve never been. Admission is free, and the museum has something for every taste. My favorites from the visit yesterday are the paintings by Vasari (who know Michelangelo personally), Van Gogh, and Monet. They really made an “impression” on me (sorry for the bad pun).
