Radical Minimum Standard (title borrowed... not mine)

I have a thought that I have shared with many congregations, groups and individuals when I have the chance to talk about the church and the fact that even though we are in the world, our new-found identity as members of the Body of Christ, grafted into his family requires us to not be OF this world.

I’m sure you have heard me say at least once that we need to become less Canadian and more Christian.

Because we live in a society in which the 10 commandments are regularly/generally followed with minor exceptions here and there, for many of us, there is not much distinction between our lives as Canadians before we knew Christ and our lives now that we are Christians.

I submit that because we call ourselves Christians, the state, country, kingdom to which we belong ceases to be our earthly state. As much as our physical bodies may exist and operate in a physical, earthly state, our citizenship changes and I think that this is what Paul talks about all throughout the book of Romans… helping the Roman Christians to understand the fundamental truth that their allegiance should be first and foremost to their newfound identity and should trump their original allegiances and patriotic tendencies.

Paul builds on a poignant charge to offer ourselves as “Living Sacrifices” holy and pleasing to God (which we looked at last week) with an even more demanding charge to refuse to conform any longer to the pattern of the world.

Because the pattern of the world in which we find ourselves – post-modern, post Christian Canada – bears some kind of resemblance to the pattern we should be following, my thought is that it is even more challenging for us as worshippers and Christians living in this society. The reason our “world” resembles Christianity so much is that we live in a society that was founded on Christian principles… and so just like children resemble their parents and share many traits, so our society right now resembles the Christian culture that founded it. The difference, however, is that the similarity only starts and ends in the resemblance, but does not continue to the motives, the values, and even the principles; and is evidenced by the fact that the patterns of the “world” in which we live cause as much harm (or even more) to society as the good they desperately try to do.

Therefore, this pattern, even though it bears resemblance, isn’t really a genuine pattern and therefore we must make sure that we are not conforming to a pattern that is counterfeit and extremely deceptive when it first sets in. I understand and will even concede that a lot of what Canadians (culture, patterns, tendencies) do is good, but if we are called to be non-conformist, it means that our minimum standard becomes more radical than the one in which we live in order that we are “set apart” as scripture calls us to be.

I believe that the church today needs to undergo what Paul calls a “transformation by the renewing of the mind” to capture the true essence of the radically different pattern of the kingdom of God on this earth. I also strongly believe that the “world” actually longs for this pattern of the kingdom of God because they are desperately trying to make this world a better place and exercise justice and mercy; albeit from their skewed point of view.

True justice and mercy can only be understood by somebody that has allowed the Spirit of God to reveal to them the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross – understanding that Jesus’ death was to satisfy Justice, and his victory over sin and the grave extended to us is an extravagant show of mercy. A worldview – a pattern - that acknowledges this is then able to exercise Justice and Mercy for more than humanitarian reasons.

What does this mean for us as worship ministers?

I think the answer comes from the last sentence of verse 2 in Romans 12, which says,

“ Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will”

A worship team that has chosen to live a life inspired by the Holy Spirit, that recognizes that their call is to be more than just conformists to the pattern of this world, is a worship team (I believe) that shall see in increasing measure God’s perfect will for their church and worship gatherings.

I therefore call all of us to a radically different minimal standard that requires us not only to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, but to live lives that may sometimes bear resemblance to the world, but are actually remarkably different. Obviously none of this is possible without yielding your life to the work of the Holy Spirit and the transforming power that he has… but we each have to make a cognitive decision to put ourselves under his will in order that this may be accomplished in our lives.

Romans 12: 2

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If you are a member of the choir, you’ll probably remember the first talk I gave when we resumed meetings for the fall in September ’07. One of the things I said back then is this: “You are on my side!”

If you were there for that meeting, you’ll probably remember that I said “Politics and political maneuvering has no place in the worship ministry at Woodvale”… and by politics, I was referring to using the processes of dissention and underhandedness to create a majority of dissenters and people working against the leadership – basically the bad side of politics.

I am happy to say that as a team, we are doing quite well in this area and I would like to urge us to keep this as a cornerstone value of our ministry. Because we are on the same side, we need not spend sideways energy fighting each other because there is a more important battle that we have to win – the battle for the souls of our congregation, family members, etc…

I think that this is directly tied in with the thoughts about being non-conformist with relation to the patterns of this world. May they see in us the ability to put differences aside to achieve the common goal of connecting people with God, and when we finally come before Jesus to give account for the ministry he placed in our hands, I pray that we will not be found wanting because we wasted time fighting each other and not the enemy.

You are all in my thoughts and prayers!