iHOPE

Worship: What's the Question?

 

I LOVE the changes in worship!

I don’t like the changes in worship!

I like some of the changes, but don’t care for …(fill in the blank)

Keep going! We want more

Stop! We don’t like this

I’ve been away for a few weeks. What’s going on?

 

  Do you recognize any of those statements?  I have been hearing them throughout the month of July with regards to our worship services. That’s why I wanted to follow-up on last month’s article on worship.

 

  There have been some significant differences in worship the last few weeks. Most people assume that since Nick Rossi came on as our Interim Director of Worship & Music about the same time,  that he must be the one responsible (aka, ‘the One to Blame’).   Actually, many of the changes in July were in the works before Nick arrived. They came in response to some questions about worship that I wanted to address over the summer.  In order to understand the answers Nick helped us come up with, it might be good to understand the questions that inspired them. Here are a few:

Recharging Batteries

  This is 'Sermon Planning' week. Its the week I go off and think through sermons for the next year.  I do it with my good friend, Rich Gantenbein. He's the pastor at St.Andrew Presbyterian Church in Sonoma, California.

  We've been doing this together for more than 20 years.  We gather up ideas that we have been thinking about (or people give us) and then talk through how we might approach them. We create series and then plan when we might tackle them. Sometimes we will preach the same series at the same time, sometimes we won't. The important thing is we bounce ideas, think through issues and sharpen one another's thinking.

  I'm not going to go into what we have planned (you'll find out soon enough!). The point of this post is that there are relationships that are vital and life-giving. One of the ways God blesses us is with good friends who know us and enrich us. They aren't to be taken lightly. The longer you have them, the better life gets. Rich is one of those friends in my life. I hope you have some friends like that, too.

  There is an old saying, "It takes a long time to grow an old friend".  Indeed, it does. But its worth it. They will recharge your batteries and renew your life.

  Got any friends you haven't contacted in awhile?

Mid-Week Memo: Snow Day

Memo to Self:  Pay Attention!

  Today was a Snow Day- one of those days that are part of living on the Front Range. Within a few hours we went from a mild day to blizzard conditions. It is one of those things that is welcomed (mostly by kids who get out of school) and dreaded (people who have to brave the roads and go to work anyway fall into this category). Either way, it shouldn't catch you off-guard.  The message through it all:  Pay Attention!

• Pay Attention to the Things You Take for Granted: Its easy to forget that practically EVERYTHING in the house requires electricity- until you don't have it.
• Pay Attention to Others:  It was amazing how many people were driving last night as if they were unaware of everyone else. The parking lot that was I-25 was part of their legacy. Paying attention to others means to watch for the good things, too. What a great neighbor who came and cleared the snow off the driveway before you had to go out and shovel!
• Pay Attention to Opportunities:  Just because the regular schedule was altered doesn't mean that the day was wasted. Did you see all the parents who were out in the snow with their kids? Long after the snow melts, those memories will endure.
• Pay Attention to God's Provisions:  Did you notice the Hawthorne bush in the back yard? Everything was buried in snow. About a dozen Robins were sitting in the bush looking for berries that had been left. Their big, puffy, red bodies looked like Christmas ornaments against the snow-laden branches. It was a post card with a message.  The berries provided food for birds. The birds provided a reminder for you. If God has provided for birds in the midst of a sudden blizzard, how much more will God provide for you?

  Today was a Snow Day. Nothing went as you had planned, yet God was here. Pay Attention!

A Time to Dance?

 
I was struck the other day by an article about Haiti and Carnival. Normally this season is full of celebration, revelry and general raucousness. This year, it has been called off. There is nothing to celebrate.

“I live on the street. I lost everything. Today, I should be dancing but the earthquake ruined everything.”

  There is too much tragedy for celebration, too much sadness for dancing. As one woman said,

“I’m sad not because we don’t have Carnival,” she said. “I’m sad because I lost eight people of my family. They’ll never dance again.”

  Carnival/Mardi Gras is a little foreign to us Presbyterians (that is what is known as an 'understatement'!). Today is Fat Tuesday which is the last day of Carnival before Ash Wednesday and the traditional rigors of Lent (that is a little foreign to us, too). It seems the idea is to have all the fun you can before you have to get 'serious' with religion. That is too bad.

Living With a Future

I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, 

plans for your welfare and not for harm,

to give you a future with hope.   (Jeremiah 29:11)

  Dan's book, Everyday Courage, has me thinking about the future this week. The first theme we are invited to read, think about, pray over and discuss in our Life Groups is 'courage for the future'.  If there is one affirmation that permeates scripture, it is that the People of God have a future.

  So, how do you live when you aren't afraid of the future?  You give your best energies to the future you believe is coming. That is easier said than done! Let me give a couple examples:

Fight Club Evangelism?

  OK, I appreciate the creativity and the passion for evangelism, but I think we crossed a line here. The latest trend in evangelism for some churches is ...mixed martial arts?

  Yep, according to the the NY Times story (February 1, 2010) the latest scheme for getting people to follow the Prince of Peace is to encourage them to beat one another to a pulp.

Recruitment efforts at the churches, which are predominantly white, involve fight night television viewing parties and lecture series that use ultimate fighting to explain how Christ fought for what he believed in. Other ministers go further, hosting or participating in live events.

  Evidently church softball teams are for wimps. If you want to attract men today, you need something with a little more testosterone- and a lot more blood.

The goal, these pastors say, is to inject some machismo into their ministries — and into the image of Jesus — in the hope of making Christianity more appealing...The outreach is part of a larger and more longstanding effort on the part of some ministers who fear that their churches have become too feminized, promoting kindness and compassion at the expense of strength and responsibility.

  So much for that 'turn the other cheek' thing. If only Jesus wasn't so 'feminized' and had a little less compassion, he could have kicked some serious tail and avoided the whole incident with the cross.

  Still, far be it from me to buck the latest trends. Maybe its time for New Hope to toughen up a bit. We should probably start with our motto as a church where people 'Find a Home, Build a Life and Make a Difference'. From now on our stationary should say something like, 'The First Rule of New Hope...'

  Hmmm.

Are We Distracted into Incompetence?- PBS Documentary Raises Questions About 'Benefits' of Technology

 Since I mentioned Facebook (yes, I use it) yesterday in the sermon, I thought this might be timely. Part of the issue seems to be the myth of multi-tasking. Haven't seen the PBS documentary yet, but looking forward to it- maybe while I'm working on taxes, emailing and working on dinner :)
  The issue of developing out focus has never been more important. It looks like we are in the situation of having so many ways to connect that we can distract ourselves into complete incompetence.
  I'm curious about how all you 'connected' people (if you are reading this, you're one of us!) have wrestled with this in their own lives. What have you found that helps you stay focused even as you are more and more connected?

Click in the link below to read the article that got me thinking.

via news.cnet.com

What Would You Say?

  So, what would you say to your non-Christian friends about your faith? 

  Someone posted this recent story in the December issue of Esquire where someone wrote a letter trying to explain what they believed. I thought about it after last week's sermon where we saw 'the crowd' dismiss Zacchaeus as hopeless, and was about to do the same with Jesus for inviting himself over to Zacchaeus' house.

  The author is Shane Clairborne and I liked what he wrote not just because it addressed some of the things that were in last week's sermon, but this week's too.  I don't know who he is and his picture is certainly meant to grab your attention, but I think he is saying some important things. 

  You can read the story here. Whether you agree with him on all his points or not, the question remains, "So, what would YOU say?"

So, What Will You Do With Your Extra Hour?

  For all of us who feel like there just aren't enough hours in the day, we have been given a 'gift'. The end of Daylight Savings Time means that we all get an extra hour tonight as we turn the clocks back before going to bed. Most people I know welcome this weekend. It feels like we are squeezing 25 hours into the day- and in some ways, I guess we are.

  So, what will you do with your 'extra' hour? Typical answers include:

• Stay up later (kids like this one)
• Sleep (Adults - especially parents of kids, like this one)
• Catch up on: paperwork, chores, reading, etc. (This always sounds good, but I don't know anyone who ever pulls this off)
• A story on the news highlighted that since the official time change is at 2 am- the closing time for bars, some bars are staying open an extra hour (adults who act like kids prefer this option).

  Since this event (like its evil twin in Spring) always falls on a Saturday night, I tend to go to bed on the 'old' clock and then enjoy the extra hour tomorrow morning. We'll inevitably have some folks who forgot to set their clocks back and will show up to worship and hour early. If it happens to you, that's OK. Come on in and have an extra cup of coffee.

  Whatever you decide to do with your 'extra' hour, remember: this is only a one-time deal. Come Monday, we are back to stuffing all our schedule and expectations into a mere 24 hours. We have to wistfully wait until next year when we get our 'extra' hour again.

  ...or, we can start to just go to bed an hour earlier. 

  Hmmm.

  See you bright and (not quite so) early, tomorrow!

A Church Mascot?

  I'm looking for a good, Church Mascot. Let me tell you why. 

  I think the Church has an image problem- not just in the world but with itself.  Paul tells us we are 'ambassadors of reconciliation'. Nice phrase- in fact, one of my favorites. But even I have to admit, it doesn't exactly evoke a compelling image: Big, black cars. A staff of assistants, some with dubious job descriptions. Portfolios. Protocol. Nuanced conversations. Yawn.

  Yes, I know that wasn't the image Paul had in mind 2,00 years ago, but that is part of the problem. I need a better image to capture and direct my thinking today.  I want a mascot.  

  For me at least, it  has to be a dog. I guess that's partly because I am a 'Dog Person'. More than that, I think God is, too. I know this may get me in trouble with 'Cat People', but I'll stand by it.  I'm not saying God doesn't love cats (its possible), I'm just saying they make a poor choice for a church mascot. In fact, I think we are in trouble because the cat is already the default mascot of most churches: Self-contented, aloof to strangers, prefer to be left alone, only come when they want something from you, constantly preening, playful one moment but will scratch you the next- you get the idea.

  I think Francis Thompson had it about right. When he wanted to write a poem about the persistent grace of God, he titled it, The Hound of Heaven.

  So what kind of dog would be the right mascot for the Church today?  That's the question I posed last Sunday.