As usual, Jesus would sit down and teach his disciples about the mission and vision he had for them. So on a bright sunny day, Jesus sat down to teach.
However, the process for each meeting was becoming pretty complicated because, after every survey, his disciples came up with more ideas on how to improve their experience. For example, logs were very hard to sit on, so during the last meeting, Jesus snapped his fingers and POOF, stadium seating appeared, with cup holders even.
As Jesus hurriedly made preparations for the meeting today, He noticed the sun was shining, so he snapped his fingers and POOF, the clouds came and dimmed the bright light. Realizing that most of his disciples didn’t like the heat, except James of course, Jesus decided to cause a cool breeze to come. After all, majority opinion rules ya know. But after all that, something was still bothering Jesus, and then he noticed it. The place was just a tad dull. So just like last time, Jesus snapped his fingers, and POOF, he colored the rocks. But, to increase the pleasing look of this setting, he made each rock change color. Jesus knew his disciples would appreciate his effort in sheperding their comfort.
It was time for the meeting. This was going to be a tough meeting. Typically Jesus would teach from an annual list of subjects from the survey, but today, God the father had directed Jesus to give the disciples a specific message. And Jesus was pretty nervous about it because it wasn’t something that would make them happy and he didn’t know if any of the disciples would leave him.
Each disciple sat down in their usual seats. Jesus was ready to start the meeting but noticed a few of his disciples were still getting coffee. And yes, Jesus had provided that two years ago for the meetings due to popular demand.
Just as Jesus was about to speak, he realized Judas Matthew and Philip were giving him unhappy looks. And then Jesus remembered that he forgot the music. So Jesus snapped his fingers and POOF, four angels dressed in the latest robe styles, started singing their seven random Jesus-like words. They sang this over and over and over. But the disciples were happy because it was a catchy tune.
Well, now was the time. Jesus had an important message from God the Father he needed to tell the disciples. Jesus looked at the disciples then he looked at the piece of paper his father had given him. Beginning to sweat even more, he wondered how could he tell his disciples this terrible news? Pausing for what seemed like hours, he looked at the paper in his hand and back at the disciples. Back and forth he struggled to say the words written.
Just then, Jesus came up with a great idea. As long as it looked like he was reading his father’s words, the disciples would not know the difference. After all, it was a direct revelation and his disciples didn’t have a bible to reference.
Jesus then said to his disciples; “When you go out into the communities, make sure you help everyone you can. I’m going to give you all the power to do anything you can think of. Remember it’s important to fit in, so don’t do anything to upset the people you are with. Remember, love is all you need.
And with that, Jesus put the paper in his pocket, and ended the meeting. As each disciple left, he gave them a neckless with a wooden cross on it as a gift for coming. Because Jesus told them, that they would have to bear the cross. He knew the gift would help them have good vibes from the service.
#satire #progressivechristianity #progressives
What the Bible actually says:
Matthew 10
English Standard Version
The Twelve Apostles
10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[a]4 Simon the Zealot,[b] and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’[c]8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts,10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics[e] or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.12 As you enter the house, greet it.13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Persecution Will Come
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[f] above his master.25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[g] those of his household.
Have No Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[h]29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[i] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Not Peace, but a Sword
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.41 The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.42 And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Too many progressive and seeker friendly churches put the emphasis on the wrong things. All the while running over people who Christ called us to love. As you will see below, if you don’t fit the mission, look out! The church bus is coming for you.
Caveat First
To my reader who may not know Christ as your personal savior. My hope is that in reading the following post, you’ll know what to look for in a church fellowship. As Christ followers, we are called to love you. You won’t find perfect people, but you can find a Christ fellowship that shows Christ’s love to each other. And that love starts with a true understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So look for the Gospel being presented, open your Bible and trust Christ to be your savior. But beware, there are places that call themselves churches that do not show the love of Christ. They may have a good show, but don’t preach the forgiveness of sins which is the starting point for understanding the Love of Christ. Instead, they concentrate on dopamine experiences entertaining and pleasing the flesh. This blog post will hopefully provide you with tips on finding a good church family and staying away from the destructive ones.
In the end when our lives are done, we will know that humans will always fail us. But with our faith in Jesus, the real Jesus, you have hope for now and eternity. Trust Christ.
And to my reader who knows Christ, the Bible is clear. We are to love God and love others. We are to make disciples. That is it. However, the challenge today is many churches mega or small are not fulfilling the law of God. Nor are they making disciples instead they are making minions or cult followers maybe; but not Christian Disciples.
Romans16:17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
The Catalyst – Ready? Ok, here we goooooooooo……
“There is a pile of dead bodies behind the Mars Hill Bus and by God’s Grace it’ll be a mountain by the time we’re done. You either get on the bus or you get run over by the bus. Those are the options. But the bus ain’t gonna stop.” – Pastor Mark Driscoll” A statement he made to a conference room full of pastors.
Being raised a preacher’s kid, I have witnessed all kinds of disgusting behavior in the name of God. The above statement is one of those most vile I have heard. Mark Driscoll pastored over 14,000 people in 5 states, and this was his approach to representing Christ? A former megachurch star, Mark Driscoll left the church he co-founded after allegations he plagiarized his books and bullied people who worked for him. You can learn more from the podcast, The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill. If only this was an isolated incident. But it is not. Many mega church pastors like Mark take on a cult like image; church vision and culture is god because it increase numbers. And anything goes to get people in the seats, make them happy, and have them give money. Cynical? Yes. True? Absolutely.
At the root of Driscoll’s and other mega, and mega wannabe pastors’ methodology is something called Vision Casting. Vision Casting churches have what some consider a cult like structure. I would call it corporate methodologies. As you hear from Driscoll in the video above, people were to do as he said or get thrown off the bus and run over. It is eerily similar to a corporation. You have someone at the top, the CEO for example, he or she casts the vision for the corporation. It is expected that everyone will sign on with that vision, and those who do not serve the vision will find themselves moved out of their positions or fired right out. Either way, it is the corporation’s way or the highway. People are what they are, subjective employees.
With the rise of seeker-friendly and progressive churches, one thing many have in common is a move away from teaching Biblical doctrine. Instead, they are centered around an experience at church, and the cult like vision casting leader who is responsible for growing the church. And how is that done? By providing what people want to experience. Consider Mega Church Pastor Joel Osteen, he would make a good motivational speaker, but his sermons lack significant contextual Biblical foundation. Sin is called mistakes, and God’s power is replaced with a narcissistic doctrine such as the ‘little god’s’ doctrine. Many churches have found out that if you feed people’s narcissism and call it Christianity, that will fill the seats for sure. This method produces many mega churches that are often centered around the vision caster. I recently read an article about Ron Carpenter leaving his church. The article described many of his congregants as ‘spiritual orphans.’ I call that the Cult of Church Worship
Church vision casting, or the idea that God gives each local church their own vision has no foundation in the Bible and is grandiose narcissism. Jesus gave us one ‘vision’ if you will, one command that applies to all local churches;
Or this example from Steven Fertick’s church Elevation. Such a nice cartoon to indoctrinate children to follow a man.
Matthew 28:16-20
American Standard Version
16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they [a]worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you [b]always, even unto [c]the end of the world.
There can be only one goal of the church. That’s it, that is the only ‘vision’ or direction that each Christian church has. To say a local church as a specific vision that another church doesn’t implies that God has spoken to that church something contrary to what Jesus said in Matthew 28.
If ‘Vision Casters’ like Mark Driscoll and others were honest, they would just say what they really mean, ‘this is how I’m going to run the church, all of you work for me paid or free, and I’m going to do what I want, and if you don’t like it, hit the road.’ But it is much more manipulative to say ‘I have a vision for the church that God gave me.’ That implies a direct revelation from God, for a specific group of people. Something that is not supported in scripture.
Jesus being a micro pastor.
Matthew 20:24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.26It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
So why do many modern churches not love? Just a theory.
Number 1: In today’s self indulgent culture, we are in it for ourselves. So why would we listen to a church leader who talked about serving, and actually showed us what serving is? Well, because we don’t want to serve ourselves. We’d much rather go to church, get what we can out of it, and feel better about ourselves. Jesus tells us in Matthew 20 that he himself came to serve. This is what we as laity (regular folk) and church leaders should exemplify. In other words, the laity is not the servants and the church leadership the masters. We are to serve each other. But that requires us to be aware of our sinful flesh. We are no good people at birth. Even Jesus said that only his Father is good.
Number 2: This is related to number 1, but we like our idols. We want to believe in someone tangible. Someone who feeds our narcissism. That’s what you see from Mark Driscoll, for him to be so abusive and have such a large following, he was feeding people what they want and was in ministry much longer than he should have been. But as you see with Mark, when the gods people hold onto fall, there is devastating damage. I’m so glad I don’t put any faith in any human. They are imperfect just like me. They are sinners like me. And one day they will die like me.
Number 3. And the final reason church people don’t love is, they have a false sense of who Christ is. They believe the fairy tails learned growing up and don’t understand that Jesus came with one purpose, to save those who believe, this was his Father’s will. Luke 22:42. Even Jesus did his Father’s will. If we would read our bible, we would see that Christ came to serve, and tells us to do the same. I once heard someone say, ‘church is not about you.’ While I see what they are trying to say, I would disagree. Church is about you loving God and others. Saying it’s not about you does nothing but insult people. Words matter.
Love as Jesus explains it: In Luke 10, Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan helping the man in the ditch who was robbed and beaten. A man asked Jesus what it took to inherit eternal life? “27He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’c and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’d” I think we have that love of self perfect eh?
There is so much we could exposit from this story, but one key point is Jesus said ‘Go and do likewise.’ Go and do what? Help those in need.
Close your eyes! Wait. Then you can’t read.
Matthew 7: 15Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
My mom told me that we are fruit inspectors. So in church, it’s pretty easy. Those who do not love, choose to rule, dominate, and disregard the sheep as merely bodies instead of serving and protecting the sheep, they are wolves. Strong? Yep. So about that fruit.
Galations 5:
16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
-But we can’t know the fruit of the Spirit if we are not -producing- it ourselves. If we are selfish, if we misuse people, and are led by our flesh, we are on the wrong side of Jesus. –
God’s Warning
Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
2Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
3Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
For those like Mark Driscoll, save he repent of his sins, God’s judgement will be upon him. And to the same extent, those in our local churches who sow for greed, how cause the church to scater instead of ‘feeding’ the sheep, this judgement is theirs as well.
Body Parts
My friend reminded me the other day that as Evangelicals, we love 1 Corinthians 12 but will skip right over most of it to talk about what we get out of it; Vs. 27, “First are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers and so on.” But in my lifetime of going to church, I can not remember hearing a message about what comes before in verses 12 – 24.
One Body with Many Parts
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23 And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24 while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25 This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
Unity in church? This is what it takes, it’s not a competition, it’s not a slave master relationship , it’s not about manmade vision where we are all worker bees with jobs in the church fellowship. It’s about exactly what is described in 1 Corinthians 12, – All – are important to God. None are more unimportant. We are all sinners, we all serve the same God (well most of us do). We should never do like Mark Driscoll, pick and choose who sits on the bus. It’s God’s bus if you will. We have no right nor should we look at other folk in church as just bodies to be used. That’s what Mark did.
To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of ehim who holds the seven stars in his right hand, fwho walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 g“ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but hhave tested those iwho call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up jfor my name’s sake, and you khave not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned lthe love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do mthe works you did at first. If not, nI will come to you and remove your lamp-stand from its place, unless you repent
When Paul visited the church in Ephesus, he spent time teaching Christ, love for each other and warning the Ephesians to beware of false teachers, idolatry which Ephesus had plenty. So why does Revelation 2:2-5 criticize the church at Ephesus? This church while working hard to preserve doctrine had lost their love for one another. Throughout Paul’s teaching, he continues what Jesus taught us, and that was to love other. If we are to love our enemies and pray for them. Matthew 5: 43-48
Alternative analogy: The Goats
There seems to be a theme eh? One of my favorite songs from Christian Singer Song writer Keith Green is “the Sheep and the Goats”
He said it best. There isn’t a way for me to improve on it.
The Wrap.
The story of Mark Driscoll is sadly being repeated over and over again in churches today. Church folk are looked at as employees, things to be used for vision caster’s purpose. I’ve seen it over and over.
I personally struggle to understand why God would add folks to an unloving church. God is God and he can do what he wants. Psalm 115:3 But hopefully the wolves show us how much more we need to love each other, support each other, and do as God; count the weakest as the most necessary. Hopefully we recognize that we are to serve, to love, not to be served. Just as Christ did.
A final thought on 1 Corinthians
So if we continue on in Corinthians, we come to the passage more people are familiar with;
1 Corinthians 13:1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, a but have not love, I gain nothing.
Or to put it in todays vernacular
If I go to church and don’t have love, I’m a seat warmer.
If I am positioned to shepherd over people in church and don’t have love, I’m just a boss.
If my church serves coffee, but doesn’t have love, then it’s a Starbucks knock off.
If we have great programs at church, but don’t have love, then we are just a Moose Lodge.
And if we have the best entertainment with all the fog, silly light shows, and best music and have not Love, then we really should pay 10 bucks at the door and expect popcorn.
About the author: Steven Davis is a overcooked preacher’s kid, musician, former social worker and media producer.
First of all, the rules for this post. (ominous sounding eh?)
Rule: 1 This post is not about racial equality, race issues in general.
Rule: 2 This post is not about singling out any culture or race.
Rule: 3 This post is from an American point of view
So what about Stryper? Probably one of the most renowned Christian Rock Bands from the 80s till today.
A bit of HX
For me, the music was among other bands that I listened to at a critical time in my Christian journey. Other bands I liked were Bride, Guardian and Degarmo and Key. There are many more, but those are the more well-known bands. So that is a sample of my favorite Christian music from back in the day. Even though I was playing praise and worship from the likes of Ron Kenoly in church, in my room or car, those were the tapes I played constantly. I still remember playing Bride for my youth pastor and he just shook his head. I guess head banging may not have been his thing? My thing? Absolutely.
But that’s me. I can actually swing from Christian metal to Bluegrass in one blog sitting. What about you? What Godly music do you like? So you have a favorite? Do you like everything? You do? Including Stryper? It can get uncomfortable to think that there is more Christian music out there that others like. Why don’t they like what we like? Shouldn’t we all listen to the same Christian music? Of course not. We are all created differently and our musical likes and dislikes can vary immensely.
As recent as a few years ago, I visited a church, one where I got a massive migrane from their blue light banks. Someone asked me how I enjoyed the service. I mentioned my pain with the stage light. She mentioned that their worship isn’t for everyone, and directed me to packs of ear plugs on a table in the lobby. I did see the earplugs, but the volume of well-mixed church meeting music has never bothered me. But certainly those with hearing issues, headache issues or other auditorial issues, yep, loud music can be a hindrance. Her response however was that the church had mitigated issues like mine by providing earplugs for worship. Did that make any sense? Didn’t then, doesn’t now. The comment however that the worship wasn’t for everybody was the most concerning part of that encounter. That blog post was the whole reason for this and other posts. We have to examine our corporate worship, what is it, what should it look like? So what about our corporate worship, is it for everyone? We need to address questions like this in the modern church, openly.
Can I come to church with you? I hope you’d say, ‘Absolutely!.’ But will your church band play some metal for me? What about some bluegrass?
Probably not, but maybe your church is like this Finnish Heavy Metal Church. I can only hope.
What does your church play for music? In the American church, the choices are wide open. There are hymnals and at the other ends of the spectrum is music like the above video, church metal. “Now wait a minute,” you say? “Church Metal?!” Yes, Church Metal.
But I’d bet your church isn’t into metal. What they actually play for the church meeting may depend on a large set of factors.
So how do we choose our corporate or congregational worship music? Here are some ways, but not all for sure.
People like their car music. Remember mine? But I’m sure other people listen to stuff on K-Love, which may have a tad of issue sliding in “To Hell With the Devil.” But hey, if the K-Love top 10 is Christ-centered Biblically Theologically sound music, then I’m all for it. But should we choose that for corporate worship?
Worship Leader chooses it
I still remember sitting in church trying to sing the songs that were on the screen. I didn’t really recognize most of it. The lyrics were spread along the musical timeline in a way that seemed difficult to sing with. To me, it was like nails on a chalkboard. Several songs were more like religious prose dropped on top of rhythms without thought given to flow. I’d say they were all Christian, but some didn’t make any theological sense. Either way, it was a chore to try and sing with them. I never found out if they were personally written by the worship director, or not but someone tried to write that music.
Congregational Requests
I alluded to this earlier, but some churches sing what everyone likes. After all, you want to keep people happy right? Or do you? Is that what is coined ‘Consumer Christianity?’ We as a worship team/group should do what we can to please the people in corporate worship, right? Probably not, since that is giving the sheep the Shepherds Crook. Consumer Christianity is rampant in today’s American culture. Do something someone doesn’t like, boom, they are off to the next restaurant, I mean church. Wrong attitude.
Is there anything sinister or inherently wrong about playing a song in church someone wanted to hear? Not really. Is it how we should approach corporate worship in a church meeting? Does that make the worship band more of a ‘bar band without the tip?’
It’s What We’ve always played
Generations come and go, decades come and go, and we refuse to review and grow in corporate worship, or even our faith for that matter. After all, the world is going to Hell in a handbasket anyway, why should we change what we do in our local church, we are the chosen few right? So regarding worship, that church down the road is such and such type because they play ‘x’ type of music. That’s the way they’ve always been.
Worship
A Bible Look
According to Jesus: John 4:23-24But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
In Isaiah 12:5 “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
In Psalms 95:1-6 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
Psalm 150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens![a] 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
It’s pretty clear just from a few verses, God’s command and our intent when we worship ,should be to worship the one true God, I AM.
So what about corporate worship. Before we answer that question, we have to look at one more Jesus reference.
Matthew 28: 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus told them to go.17 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted.18 Jesus came near and spoke to them, “I’ve received all authority in heaven and on earth.19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to obey everything that I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.”
It’s the ‘All Nations’ we want to zero in on. With the current modern church in America, we have a lot of religious diversity. We have this church that has this group, this church over here has this group, and that one over there has another group and so on. And often, historically, our American church has differed in music just as it does in the makeup of the congregations. Is it the American culture and musical genres that has influenced our local church worship? Have we taken our corporate worship style lead from the world?
Squirrel Rant — Allow me to borrow that objection in your mind and yell at myself for a minute. Here goes. “Now wait a minute, aren’t congregational makeups largely a matter of location. We have city churches that have city folk, the suburbs have another congregant makeup, and the country churches, well we all know what they have. So, that’s the reason for the congregant makeup right? ” And that’s what gives us our corporate worship style, right? And to some degree, I would agree that by default, across America we have built our local churches based on location. Because given the choice, I’d be hard-pressed to drive an hour to church if I can find Jesus a little closer. :}
I’m going to revisit Stryper one more time (at least)- Labels
Labels What were/are called who like that type of music, “Headbangers” Which is different than “The Headbangers“, that’s a wrestling team. We all dreamed of wearing bright spandex, 8-inch plats, and hair flying in the wind long enough to hit the person on the third row. But those who performed hip-hop, maybe they were called rappers. The labels that were in secular music, we all know them. What about George Jones, well he was a country music singers. I for one wasn’t a huge rap fan. It wasn’t my thing, so I leaned more towards rock and metal. I just liked it. So when I finally found Christian Rock/Metal, I was set. But there were a few RUN-DMC songs I liked. I just didn’t spend any money on their albums.
So what does Stryper have anything to do with corporate or congregational worship. If it was up to me, a whole lot. But God in his infinite wisdom chose not to give me a worship leader position in my teen years. And that is a blessing for all. But enough self-depreciation, if Stryper showed up to do a show at my church, I suspect there would be 5.8% of people left at noon.
I’ll never forget when our band sang at a gospel sing. We had a rhythm and blues lead guitarist, blues and rock electric guitarist, a metal bass guitarist, and myself a southern gospel drummer. Talk about diversity. We were the last people to play. By the end, most people in the seats had dispersed, but we had three elderly gentlemen sitting on the front row. I’ll never forget, they tapped their feet the whole time. I’m sure people left because of the late part of the day. That had to be it. :}
So what does this have to do with corporate church worship? A question we should ask is, how has the progression and diverse American music impacted both what we play in our churches but the makeup of our churches. Do we have “hip hop”, rock, country – insert genre – churches?
Is there anything wrong with playing music people can connect to?
That is the question. Music is one of the most powerful expressions in humanity. Music can be very personal for people. Music can give us messages of life or death. Music can give us messages of hope or hopelessness. Like the ole’ country joke; ‘what do you get when you play a country song backward? You get your dog, truck, and wife back.’ I know I know, not all country music is hopeless.
When I first found Christian rock music and even today, when I invest in Christian music, I’ll research the band looking, for one thing, a message that points to God either in the band’s bio or the words of the song, hopefully in both. Because there is a lot of music then and today that alleges a Christian message, but is lacking in sound theological doctrine and is sometimes outright secular. Like when we all thought Evanescense was a Christian band, finding their way into Bible book stores.
Should we play songs that everyone can connect with? That’s a good question; A better question is should we play songs that enable people to connect to God. If so, then what is the approach we need? Here are some thoughts.
We should come to a church meeting to worship. We need to have an attitude of worship. We as a corporate congregation need to humble ourselves together before God and say, if we worship, we worship to glorify God. Worship should not be to edify the body first but to glorify God. Maybe we sit in quiet waiting on God, maybe we play the same song four times praising God, maybe we just worship first. – Which means, my thoughts about the song choice has nothing to do with my attitude of worshiping God in a collective way that honors Him.-
So then what? Should we play a diverse set of music that reaches everyone including anyone who walks in the door? Or should we look across the seats and settle on this type of music because of who sits there? Still the wrong question. We as Americans have had a tendency to sit and consume church. But our thoughts on worship should be to glorify God. Sunday worship should be the icing on the -weeks- cake, not the entire cake of our -weeks- worship.
A silly proposition. What if we had five people in our congregation; one a metalhead, one country, one who likes hip hop, one who likes progressive modern seeker-friendly songs and one who really digs hymnals. How do we choose that song list? Well there’s the obvious, and then there’s what I propose is the alternative; Rethink our worship entirely. Music is powerful, and anointed worship is when we are in a place that becomes about God, and not the song. -Idols even.- Worship God, let go of ourselves. Now don’t get me wrong, we can play songs, music in a way that is harsh to the ears, rhythmically deficient, and so on. I’m not proposing lowering the quality but rethinking the purpose thereby the substance of our corporate worship.
Final thoughts.
Is there anything wrong with playing worship songs that people can connect with? A better question is; shouldn’t we focus on the act of corporate worship with humility, and let the song choice be a distant sixth place? After all, Jesus tells us to worship God, our attitude of worship should be our first consideration. And that takes constantly refocusing ourselves beyond ourselves.
Is it possible to segregate a church using music, it sure is. If I had a church and hired Stryper to do the worship, I’m probably going to lose some folks. Even if I have Michael Sweet do Amazing Grace, Stryper circa 1980 may be too much spandex and makeup for some.
Do some church folk leave a church because they don’t like the music, they sure do. Do we all come to church and like a good song, sure. But shouldn’t we rethink our worship constantly to make sure we are not inhibiting everyone – All Nations if you will- with connecting with God? Absolutely. But as a good friend of mine told me, that requires working past our humanity.
About the Author: Steven Davis is a drummer, recovering social worker, overcooked preachers kid, bible school dropout.
I’m reminded of a story, where for no fault of their own, a person was killed. It was senseless without any reason. Only God knows what actually happened, but from all accounts, the victim did nothing to instigate the violence. So while the tragedy was the loss of life, it was aggravated as there was no obvious reason for the loss of human life. Outrageous right?
As a follower of Christ, I’m daily reminded of the millions of babies murdered through abortion around the world. Again, it’s senseless, no rational person would kill a baby. But we have a culture that calls it a ‘choice’ and ignores the science of human development. Of course, there’s going to be outrage, especially by Christ-followers. Abortion is one of the great sins of America and the world. So what can be done? Since abortion was socially accepted through Roe vs. Wade, there have been numerous approaches to stopping abortion, many in the name of Christ. There are legislative actions, sit-ins, prayers, pro-life counseling, marches all to promote life and speak against the act of killing babies in the womb. There has also been violence against those who perform abortions. Outrageous right?
As Christ-followers, when we see injustice or acts that we perceive as outrageous, what do we do? We can often feel helpless because of tragedy can seem so large. Why in the world doesn’t God stop it!? That in and of itself can be a reason to be angry.
So, what does the Bible say about anger?
Ephesians 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. 26“Be angry, yet do not sin.”dDo not let the sun set upon your anger, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
We are human. We are also fallen, meaning born of sin and separated from God. Those two facts leave us with a lot of human emotion, a lot of it not so bad, but some not so good. Including anger which can turn into outrage. We become angry. And often that comes from feeling helpless, sad, or being offended. What is our example as Christ-followers?
We can look at Jesus when he was betrayed.
Matthew 26:53Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?”
Jesus knew that coming to earth was to go through a gruesome death, being betrayed and crucified by the very people he loved. He knew the pain was coming but did he take out his anger on us? Instead he endured all of it for us. #hallelujah
As for us, we can’t even get past someone’s comment that somehow offends us, instead, we lash out. Often more than not we fail to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. If someone offends us, what is our response? We’ve all seen those on social media that curse, ‘yell with CAPS’ at the smallest offense. Or we’ve lashed out at someone only to regret it later. Or maybe we rant about the injustice without ever pointing to God when given a chance. In a world of tragedy, injustice, and pain, it can be challenging not to become angry, even outraged. And sometimes, we can be full of judgment with little to no grace or understanding.
Matthew 5:13-16Common English Bible (CEB)
Salt and light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how will it become salty again? It’s good for nothing except to be thrown away and trampled under people’s feet.14 You are the light of the world. A city on top of a hill can’t be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on top of a lampstand, and it shines on all who are in the house.16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.
This is a cornerstone scripture on how we should appear to the world. We are to be salt and light. We are to stand out. So how does this relate to anger or outrage for that matter?
Good question. So let’s examine our first example; a senseless murder. It is and should be common for Christ-followers to be angered about such an action. But what should be different about us vs non-Christ followers? How are we to stand out in our anger. Because angry we are going to be. But if we as Christ-followers are just angry in the same fashion as those who don’t follow Christ, how are we Salt or Light?
Our difference is in vs. 16, our light should shine so others see God and praise Him. So if we are just a part of an angry mob, on social media or otherwise, how does that point people to God in Heaven. It doesn’t. If on the other hand, we are being ‘salty,’ meaning ultimately use our anger to mention God, point to God, and putting our testimony on display during our anger, then we are being angry and not sinning.
The biggest risk though is to turn our anger into something that doesn’t glorify God. Take the second example; abortion. There is nothing righteous about it. We should speak out about God’s mercy for those who have had abortions, and speak against the progressive abortion industry. These are ways that we can take our anger and point to God. God is the ultimate giver of life. The damage comes when we don’t live a life or express a mantra that wraps our verbal anger in the compassion of Christ which points to God by default.
Anger is a big problem for humanity. There is so much harm that comes from unchecked anger. As Christ-followers, we risk losing focus on God and putting ourselves first by becoming angry in unhealthy ways. One question to ask is, if someone calls me on my anger, how will I point to God? If we can’t answer that question, then we should do a lot of praying asking God what to do with that thing that we are angry about.
One of the greatest roads anger can lead to is hate. And that’s something we know God prohibits. We are to love, we are to have compassion, we are not to compromise, but we always point past ourselves to God. So when we have anger, we have to slow our roll before we arrive at hate.
As Christ-followers we have to understand that in all things we are to point to God because he is the judge for humanity, we are just salt and light. We shouldn’t downplay or disregard our anger, as it’s an emotion we have to live with. Whether it be a disappointment in our own lives, something external, an offense by someone, a social injustice, or something else; we can remain Christ-followers and still acknowledge God in all things, even our anger. We just have to point to Him. Be angry and sin not.
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, over-cooked preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
It hurts the cause of Christ when Christians attack each other. It shows we have lost focus on our mission, which is to make disciples. Verbal discourse in the church is a good thing. But in Luke 6:37 when Jesus says; Do not judge. Jesus gives us a warning about judging others.
So why do it? Why use words to judge other Christ-followers? Good question. Why do we justify attacking one another?
James 4, we are commanded not to slander each other. It’s that simple. Nothing in the Bible or Christiandom gives us a right to slander other followers of Christ.
So what should we do when Christians attack other Christians?
First, pray. Ask God what we should do.
If possible, we should go to that person privately, if that’s not possible, then we should leave our concern with God and let it go.
We shouldn’t take sides in public.
Christians attacking other Christians is the worst possible witness to a lost world. When we judge other Christians, especially in public or on social media, we take the place of God. We actually create the justification for it and believe we have a throne to do so. But we don’t.
The Apostle Paul wrote letters to other Christians because of division in the church. Christians attacking other Christians is a poison. It shows that we as Christians lack a single focus, we don’t practice what we preach.
Colossians 4:5-6 “5Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
If we are to speak with grace to non-believers, then how much more should be to fellow believers?
In Matthew 10, Jesus tells us that we as sheep will be in the midst of wolves. When Christians attack other Christians, we are no longer sheep, but wolves. We have crossed over to the ‘other-side’ condemning one another.
So what should we do? We should treat each other with kindness and not judge. It really is that clear. When we as Christ-followers attack each other, we damage our witness. Because a lost world is watching, they look for any reason to go ‘Ah HA!’ They look for any reason to say, there’s no difference between the followers of Christ and any other group.
So we have to resist the temptation to judge other Christians. We instead should be in one accord, one focus, and that is showing the love of Christ. We are called to make disciples, not judge one another.
A good self-question to ask is: ” is what I’m about to say lift that person up?”
But another question to ask is: is what I’m about to say, hurt that person, does it hurt their witness? If it doesn’t, then why say it? Why condemn?
Guilty
We are all guilty of judging one another. I’ve had to pray for flying off at the mouth about others. Increasingly, God has put on my heart a burden to be part of the body in a way that lifts up, exhorts, and doesn’t condemn. We should all ask forgiveness for our behavior.
It’s not a stretch to believe that our negative words towards one another could cause someone to resist following Christ. And that should be a sobering thought that we as Christ-followers should pay attention to each and every time we open our mouths.
Remember, when Christians judge each other, both lose. But moreover, the loss is our witness. We have something now in common with non-believers, we have become wolves.
____________________________
About the author: Steven Davis is a musician, Bible school dropout, media producer, well-done preachers kid, and recovering social worker.
References:
Luke 6:37
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Romans 2:1
You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
James 4:11
Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the Law and judges it. And if you judge the Law, you are not a practitioner of the Law, but a judge of it.
1 Corinthians 12:26And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
The human church was never established to be a bridge to God that we should boast of our abilities. On the other hand, Jesus: his birth, life ,death and resurrection is the bridge to God. Its arrogance to believe we can rise to that act of Christ. No, we are not the bridge brothers and sisters, we are at best road signs pointing to His bridge. #humility
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Labels What were/are called who like that type of music, “
