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!

Starting out...

My desire is to see the worship ministry at Woodvale Pentecostal Church become so undeniably potent that what happens during our services becomes so much more than a duplication of services gone by, but an encounter with a transcendent, all powerful God.

My desire is that what happens at Woodvale through our worship services and encounters with God shall spill out into the congregations in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and even to the rest of the world.

I believe that we have entered into a new season as a church and that as God moves through all the ministries here at Woodvale, we too should position our hearts, lives, and energies in such a way that we capture God's heart for worship at Woodvale Pentecostal Church.

This blog is going to contain my thoughts on scriptures, concepts and ideas about worship that I feel led to share with the members of the worship team at Woodvale Pentecostal Church.

There will be a new entry every week, so feel free to bookmark this page and check back weekly for my most current blog about worship and music.

Blessings!

P

Living Sacrifices?

I do not know if you have ever heard this before...

Somebody once said that the trouble with "living Sacrifices" is that they have a habit of jumping off the alter when the fire is turned on.

Anybody that has been in the church for a while has gained an understanding of what a "sacrifice" is, and therefore knows that in the ancient Jewish tradition, from which Christianity was born, the sacrifices to God were burnt up at the altar.

The concept of "Living Sacrifices" is taken from Paul's letter to the Romans and he launches into this concept after talking about the fact that we should be deeply grateful for the salvation that we have received and come to understand as gentiles. Jesus was born among the Jews and he worked really hard to reveal himself to them; but while many of them rejected him then, and still do even to this day, he chose also to reveal himself to the gentiles because he is a savior for all humanity.

Paul launches into the "living sacrifices" concept as a reflection on his argument/thesis about Jesus being a savior to all mankind and asserts that our Spiritual (reasonable) act of worship in view of this is to allow ourselves to be sacrifices.

But it is MUCH MORE than merely ALLOWING yourself, because that may suggest coercion at some level. He takes it up a notch and asks you to willingly OFFER yourself as a living sacrifice... making no room for coercion and making it about a cognitive process in the mind of the gentile unbeliever. According to Paul, it SHOULD be our natural response if we truly understand what it means for us to be grafted into the family of God through Jesus. This privilege requires us to willingly place ourselves on the alter of God and allow his fire to consume us even when it starts to get searingly hot and uncomfortable.

Because we are a worship team that seeks to connect people with God and see him move in ways that we could not have even began to imagine, we have to familiarize ourselves FIRST with the concept of being Living Sacrifices. Understand that what God wants to do in our church is not all going to be fun and games...understand that there will be rebuking, breaking, shaping, re-making, molding... processes that will not be easy for all of us as a church to go through, but as he refines us and changes us into the church he wants us to be, the people who lead the charge - pastors, and volunteer leaders - have to allow these processes to start with them first.

So instead of being an unwilling, unsuspecting Living Sacrifice that jumps off the altar at any sign of discomfort, I call you to a mental, spiritual and physical posture of surrender and humility. I call out to you to realize that in view of God's mercy and forgiveness, our reasonable, spiritual response is to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God and allow him to refine and transform us.

Romans 12: 1

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Speaking of the process of refining and transformation, I would like to bring to us all a thought that I have shared with everybody on the worship team at least once.

Communication

Whether you realize it or not, when you stand (or sit, in my case) on stage, your body and facial expressions have a subconscious resting place and if we are brutally honest, for most of us, it is not one that facilitates worship.

I cannot count the number of times I have sat through worship services where the worship team look like they were dragged out of their beds and forced to stand on stage and sing. I cannot count the number of times when I have watched a cantata or other choir presentation and wished most of the choir had not showed up because of the sour expressions on their faces.

All the entertainers and good speakers that we either loathe or love understand one fundamental principle... you communicate so much with your body without EVER SAYING ANYTHING.

A worship leader that desires to connect with the congregation well enough to be able to subsequently connect them with God understands that he or she cannot allow him or herself to be standing on stage with a nonchalant expression. This person understands that you cannot stand like an expressionless tree and somehow expect that people will emotionally connect with a God that spared no expense to get them back to him. This person grows in the understanding that in order to be a witness of exuberant worship, it has to start with them, and flow out to the congregation... or else a congregation that desires to be exuberant will feel awkward because the leaders do not "endorse" it through their actions. I know some will start to counter this with the whole conversation about varying levels of exuberance... but understand that a stoic worship team trains and eventually produces a stoic congregation. Conversely, an expressive worship team trains and eventually produces an expressive congregation; albeit haltingly at first, but without restraint in the end.

What is the picture of worship that you want to see at woodvale? You have to become an image of that picture before we see it manifest at the congregation-wide level here.

I'd like to end by making sure that you understand that this entry is about spurring us forward... not patting us on the back. I value you all, I respect you all, and I am thankful to be on the platform, in Jesus' service, and on the battlefield with all of you.

For his glory and for his fame!