church - Jeremiah's Vow

The Good News: Incarnation

The least possible evidence that someone has believed the Gospel of Jesus is that they center their lives upon trying to get people to show up to something in order to hear a verbal presentation of this Gospel.

The least possible evidence that someone has believed the Gospel [which literally means “good news”] of Jesus is that they center their lives upon trying to get people to show up to something in order to hear a verbal presentation of this Gospel.

Acknowledging that reality is important when phrases like “just preach the Gospel” are being thrown around as “solutions” to injustices that exist.

It’s fascinating when you begin to explore what this “good news” actually is, why it matters, and what it actually means to believe in it.

To do that, you have to consider and start with the entire narrative of Scripture.

The God we read about in the Bible is the one who created us by sending His very breath into us. This God is the one who became human in order to enter into humanity to live with us. This God is the one who sent His Spirit to now live within each of us. And this God is the one who will not “bring us up into heaven” but instead has been bringing heaven to earth this whole time and eventually will redeem or recreate earth and heaven fully.

This is the God of incarnation. And that’s good news!

Why?

Because incarnation is not just some fancy theological word. It is essential to the nature of who God is, and it means that God is always “getting to us.”

Most Christians will tell you that the Scripture teaches that we can’t get to God. And whether that is true or not is almost beside the point. Because the nature of God never allows for that instance to exist. Just because of who He is, He is always “getting to us.”

This God of incarnation is the God of every day life. Of showing up when and where we are. Of managing to meet us in our mess and not expecting us to clean up our mess to get to Him – or more correct, clean it up before He can get to us.

The truth is this: too much of this history of the Church has miscommunicated this reality.

Not necessarily through words. But certainly through actions.

The Church has most consistently taught with its actions that we do not actually believe complete incarnation to be the trajectory of the Scriptures and the very nature of God.

Instead, it has been communicated through actions that the center of the Christian life is a weekly gathering, for a specified period of time, in a facility that is owned or rented, that we should be trying to get everyone to show up to. And that this is (incompletely) called “church.”

Which communicates that this is a necessary and important outcome of the Gospel.

But is it?

This isn’t actually a question about whether or not gathering should happen. It will happen as a natural outcome of being made in the image of God, and of being “the church.”

It is a question about what the place of gathering is: What is its actual role? How much of our focus does it deserve (especially since it seemed to get so little of the God of the Bible’s attention while He was here on earth)? How much impetus should we place on it (when it seems to be described as a small part of the overall lifestyle of the Church in Acts done in mostly normal, everyday sorts of ways)?

There will be those who get upset at this attempt to take incarnation to its full implications. To “work it out” beyond the least possible evidence of it, to a mature understanding of its inworking and outworking in our lives.

Many of those who may become upset will be religious professionals or dedicated “church goers” (as “church” is being defined above).

But there is very little doubt what someone believes to be most important in their life if you just follow their actions, or their money, or their time. No matter what their lips say. Jesus taught us this.

And if you follow those things in the functioning of almost every single “church” I know of, they will tell you that gathering people is the single most important thing “the church” does. It’s honestly not even close. Somewhere between 75-90% of almost every church’s actions, money, and time spent is on gathering people.

Facilities are built around it. Staff are hired around it. Programs are run around it. And schedules are created around it. Whether it is getting people to show up or what happens once they do, by the actions of all involved (myself included for much of my “ministry life”) we have communicated what we believe is most central to “the Church” and thus to “the Gospel.”

Now here me loud and clear: gathering is important.

But we rightfully should ask what its importance is and are we rightfully placing it in the correct spot in importance level.

And we should rightfully acknowledge that gathering is the least possible evidence of our internalizing of the presence of God (incarnation being essential to who He is) into our lives.

Actively treating gathering as the most central aspect of the life of the Christian ultimately runs contrary to what we read in the Scriptures. The Gospel of incarnation, as displayed perfectly by Jesus (God incarnate), does not centralize gathering people.

And that must start to be said loud and clear if we are to reclaim the Gospel fully again – the literal good news of God for the entire world.

We must lament the reality that we have believed the Gospel only in part. Only in its most basic, elementary form. And thus we have placed gathering as the most important part of our Christian lives.

And so I join together with all those willing to acknowledge this, and look to Jesus once more as our guide to imaging God in this world. In doing so, may we fully reflect to the world “God with us” this Advent.

An open letter to “church experts” trying to lead the conversation on people “leaving”

Another good title would be: Why leaving a ministry job might be saving their souls, and why you should stop talking about them.

[If you haven’t read the pontifications of church “experts” about why people are leaving ministry jobs, then you can if you’d like. There are so many opinions on the stats out there and I’ve grown tired of reading them (just Google about Barna stats and “the Great Resignation”).]

To the Church Experts,

I am saddened by how you are talking about people leaving ministry jobs (or thinking about leaving).

It reveals a great deal of ignorance.

It also displays a great deal of insecurity.

One of the main evidences of these things is that the way you talk is simply a guilt trip clothed in Biblical language or “Christianeze.”

STOP SPEAKING BEFORE LISTENING

There are 3 main things I wish you would take time to explore by listening to those “leaving” before speaking any further about them:

1. Most are becoming ministers in a new way. They are not “leaving” ministry.

Framing what’s happening as “leaving ministry” reveals an unfortunate ignorance of what ministry is, who is expected to be in ministry, and where the locus of ministry takes place.

That people say phrases like this in general is lamentable enough.

But then that you would apply them to someone who is leaving a job working for a ministry is detrimental.

When you do this, you have just communicated to others that “real ministry” is only what happens when those who are in leadership and/or work for the ministry are doing it.

And that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Too often I’ve seen you talk out of both sides of your mouth when it comes to this topic. You tell people to find their place in ministry generally, but then create a special category for those who are especially “qualified.”

As long as someone is following Jesus and living, they’re in ministry. It is just a question as to who they are in ministry to and with.

It’s a weird dynamic when “church experts” misunderstand, or simply contradict, their own teaching that everyone is a minister and we just have different roles within this thing called ministry.

A believer doesn’t leave ministry. They simply change contexts and roles.

For those who have left ministry jobs behind, they have not “left ministry.” And for you to say so as a supposed church expert only further reveals the ignorance that exists about what ministry is and who is “in ministry” among God’s people today.

2. Most are allowing their calling to be integrated into the rest of their lives. They are not “abandoning” a calling.

This is one point of contention that I am very passionate about.

There are two main issues I have with how people have been taught to understand calling (and they’re related): 1) too many people confuse their calling with their identity, and 2) too many never integrate their calling with the rest of their lives.

It’s ironic that these two issues seem divergent and yet are not in the least.

Your calling is not who you are.

Who you are is foundational. Your calling builds upon that.

And if you haven’t dealt with that, then your calling becomes the tail wagging the dog. And it creates all sorts of confusion and pain.

It also typically means you’ve separated out your calling from the rest of your life.

A whole person who starts with the foundation of who they are being the most important thing to God, is then fully capable of understanding their calling as an integrated part of their life.

People aren’t “called to ministry” as separate from “called to their family.” These aren’t competing values for someone who correctly understands and lives into what God is calling them to. They are one and the same.

And so, just like the last point, when understood correctly, someone is not actually abandoning a calling. They might stop living out that calling in a certain way. But the calling isn’t gone.

They may have misunderstood it, confused it with their identity, or separated it out from their entire life. But they haven’t abandoned it.

The pain caused by how you “church experts” are misspeaking about the concept of calling is causing trauma upon trauma upon trauma in most people’s lives who are leaving a ministry job.

When you tell them they have abandoned their calling, it only retraumatizes them or causes them new trauma to the already difficult circumstances of changing careers.

The pain that’s being caused by your words when you actually think you’re helping is heartbreaking.

3. Most are courageously following Jesus by doing what they’ve challenged others to do for years: to live out their faith in a non-Christian workplace and community.

The absolute craziest part of the confusion you’re causing as “church experts” in this conversation is the fact that when someone leaves a ministry job and becomes a person following Jesus out in the workforce, they become the very thing you continually give lip service to being the most important thing a Christian can be: a missionary.

The person leaving a ministry job is simply following to its logical conclusion the single most important theological belief we hold to as Christians: incarnation.

They are locating themselves, with all the skills they’ve developed to care for people (pastor), to convey truths in relevant ways (teacher), to walk with someone thru coming to know Jesus (evangelist), to speak in love the mysteries of God (prophet), and to do it among people who may never come to know God unless someone goes to where they are (apostle).

They’re literally embodying out in the world the entirety of the gifts God has given to the Church by making the very decision you are now critiquing them for making.

This is not only confusing to the person going thru it [who feels like they’re actually doing what the Gospel compels them to do like every other Christian in the world], but it is also confusing to every other Christian who has been told to live as a missionary out in the world yet are watching the person leaving a ministry job being shamed for becoming a missionary.

The way you “church experts” have spoken about those leaving (or thinking about leaving) has created such a convoluted context for this conversation that it’s nearly impossible to even have it anymore.

It’s angering if I’m honest.

I have sympathy for you as you’re trying to do your best to wrestle with something you were wrongly taught, but unfortunately you are now becoming the one wrongly teaching it.

STOP KICKING THEM WHILE THEY ARE DOWN

All of this doesn’t even get into the emotional and spiritual damage that’s being done to people “on their way out.”

You “church experts” consistently lament how difficult it is to be in ministry, how ministry leaders get wrongly critiqued by others, and how people need to support ministry leaders during these difficult times…

But then you turn around and kick them while they’re down…and that shouldn’t be lost on anyone.

It’s “church-culture acceptable” spiritual abuse honestly. And I won’t refrain from calling it that.

I’ve been the recipient of it. And I will not remain silent on behalf of those who have made such a difficult decision to only be abused in the process.

STOP DE-PERSONALIZING WHAT IS HAPPENING

I’m in ongoing conversations with at least a dozen people who have left ministry jobs over the last 2 years. Each of them have left for varying reasons. To lump them all together as a statistic would be to miss what is actually happening in this moment in the Church in America.

Each story of those I speak with are as uniquely beautiful and complicatedly gut-wrenching as the next.

And you’ve missed the whole point of the Gospel if you don’t treat them as such.

If instead you just lob your opinion out there as a grenade, with no awareness of the damage you’re doing, then you are no church expert to begin with. And why people are giving you a platform as if you are one is beyond my comprehension.

The church should not simply be an organization that provides a severance package on the way out.

It should be a family that says “we will see you at the next reunion.”

This depersonalizing of people’s stories of why they are leaving ministry jobs is disheartening. And for those of you perpetuating these kinds of conversations, I beg you to stop.

You are not being Christ in their lives in this moment.

You are instead being a Pharisee that is heaping burdens upon them.

[Side note: most of what I’ve said in this blog post could also be applied to how too many established church pastors are talking about church members who have “left.” The guilt trips laced with Biblical language. The spiritual abuse of kicking them while they’re down. I’ve seen all of it the last couple years and it’s sickening.]

And for those who are reading this who have left or are considering leaving a ministry job, here’s a prayer I offer you during such a difficult season:

Be kind to Your little children, Lord; that is what we ask of You as their Tutor, You the Father, Israel’s guide; Son, yes, but Father as well. Grant that by doing what You told us to do, we may achieve a faithful likeness to the Image and, as far as is possible for us, may find in You a good God and a lenient Judge.

May we all live in the peace that comes from You. May we journey towards Your city, sailing through the waters of sin untouched by the waves, borne tranquilly along by the Holy Spirit, Your Wisdom beyond all telling. Night and day until the last day of all, may our praises give You thanks, our thanksgiving praise You: You who alone are both Father and Son, Son and Father, the Son who is our Tutor and our Teacher, together with the Holy Spirit.

– St Clement of Alexandria, 150–215 AD

Why is our evangelism broken?

A friend posted the following question on Facebook. I wanted to respond, but I did not want to blow up the thread. So, I decided to take some time to think about the question and respond more fully (mainly for my sake).

On to the question.

Should our focus lean more towards training church members to invite someone to church so they can hear the gospel or on training them to share the gospel without a church invite in mind?

Let me make a couple of observations right at the beginning.

I believe framing of the question is all wrong, but I understand (at least I think I do) why it is asked this way.
The problem the Church has to address is its insistence on defining/describing the church as a location.

I want to unpack my two observations a little more fully. This is an important issue and one that we have to work harder at addressing in the Church.

First, I believe the question is all wrong.

Why? Because it poses a question that God, Jesus, the Bible, the apostles, church history will NEVER be able to answer. And the reason the question won’t be answered is that it doesn’t actually identify a problem the aforementioned saw as an issue. The idea of inviting people to go to a location to receive information has been completely foreign to the life of the church.

The notion of “thought leaders,” “content matter experts,” “influencers” and gurus is a modern innovation. This is not the way that people generally looked for answers to their questions. Life was the great teacher. And the people you did life with were the primary source of learning and growing.

To go a little deeper here, the Church does not have a focus, it has a mission. Christians don’t do training, we engage in discipleship. We don’t invite people to church, we receive them into the body. The church is not the place to hear the Gospel, ~~it’s where believers receive instruction for Gospel mission~~ it’s when believers assemble to receive instruction for Gospel mission. Until we straighten out how we are thinking and talking about these issues, we will continue to have issues.

Second, we have to stop talking about the Church as a place. Period.

The Church is everywhere. And, there may be expressions of that one Church in local congregations. And, those congregations may meet in a variety of locations. But there is still and always will be one Church. No matter how messed up the people who make her up.

This is something I’m actually working on myself. I don’t want to invite people to church. I want to invite them to visit our fellowship, or to come and enjoy our community, or attend our gathering. Anything that makes the invitation about the people present.

We have to move away from using the concepts of marketing and branding as the lens through which we interpret the Church’s identity and purpose. These are tools. Tools that we should redeem. But when the tools become the means by which we understand who and what we are, it may be time to check our hearts!

The Ambassador Way, Pt. 3 | Embrace Your Mission

When you know who you are and why you exist, how you are going to live out these two realities is vitally important.

Introduction

This is the third article in series about The Ambassador Way. This is how I have described what it means to live out our identity as called out group of believers. If we are going to make sense of what we are supposed to do, we have to intentionally move through each of these phases. Each phase helps us stay focused on the main thing for our church.

So, once you have defined your identity as a church and have articulated your vision, the next step is to embrace your mission. When you know who you are and why you exist, how you are going to live out these two realities is vitally important. Continue reading “The Ambassador Way, Pt. 3 | Embrace Your Mission”

The irony of a “pop-culture church” in a culture where Christianity is not popular

It should be fairly obvious to any halfway observant Christian that over the last generation Christianity has gone from a religion that America endorsed, to a religion America ignored, to now being a religion that America is antagonistic toward.

From the news articles about Christian schools losing their accreditation, to the ones concerning the potential forcing of all Christian ministers to perform marriage ceremonies they fundamentally disagree with, to the removing of Christian campus ministries because of their attempt to require its members or leaders to sign a code of conduct, it has become evident that culture no longer believes Christianity is acceptable in the public sphere.

Another observation that is fully obvious over the last generation has been the trend in the church toward popular culture – or in other words, the trend in the church toward “popular Christianity.” From music labels, to book deals, to TV stations, to celebrity pastors, and on we go… It is now apparent, like never before, that while the culture is moving away from Christianity, the American Christian church is still trying to move toward the culture.

The most obvious arrival of pop-culture into the church has been thru the occurrence of what has been coined “the worship wars.” With mostly contemporary worship winning out, we have seen the embrace of secular music culture within the church. Lights, cameras, smoke, lead guitars and drum solos, “worship music” being sold for profit, and so on.

None of the creative aspects of secular music being brought into the church are necessarily sinful in and of themselves, but they do make the potential for sin (pride, greed, etc.) more accessible by elevating certain aspects of production in the church. And, let’s not forget the obvious downfalls to the celebrity pastor status and followership that has become common in popular Christianity as well.

All of that is true.

But what is most interesting about all of this is not the discussions about what has actually happened, but rather the discussion about why it has happened and continues to happen.

Then, Why?

Why does the church continue to bring pop-culture in when Christianity is clearly being rejected within pop-culture?

Why does the church look more and more secular when secular society continues to distance itself (and in some cases attack) Christianity?

The answer may surprise you.

Jesus.

Now I know what many of you may be thinking, “It sounded like this article was headed toward calling the church away from this trajectory. I thought you were about to crush the church for trying to be like a culture that hates it…”

And you would have been right – if you were expecting me to be like most American Christians who are for some reason scared of the reality that Christianity seems to be “losing ground” in our society.

But I am not like those Christians. I see our situation a little differently. I like to think I see it a little more like Jesus…

How’s that?

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ first act in the plan of salvation he was called to fulfill was the act of incarnation. And yet the last thing the church ever seems to talk about is what it means for us to be incarnate in our society.

If the first step for Jesus was to become like those who he was looking to save, then why is it that Christians are so surprised when he expects the same of us?!

In fact, I have started to believe that unless the church becomes more incarnate in the world and begins to actually function completely outside the walls it has created by going right into where those who need us most are living, then the trend of antagonism toward Christians will only continue.

What I am not saying is that we should act like the world – Jesus did not. What I am not saying is that we should compromise our integrity for the world – Jesus never did. But what I am saying is what Paul said:
“When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ… When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ… When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.”

So what?

None of this removes the fact that there is an intense irony in a reality where we continue to pursue a culture and a people who continue to push us away. But by doing this we act like our very Savior who did the same for us.

In fact, we should strive to be incarnate just like Jesus – where we do not expect others to somehow get to us but rather where we do whatever it takes to get to them. We must stop trying to invite the world in, and start going to where the world is…

Are people seemingly “too busy” to come to a church event? Then go to where they are busy. Has the culture begun to value sports, and concerts, and bars, and other events more than the events of the church? Then get involved in those events and take Christ with you!

Our call is to be the church, not simply build a church.

So if the church we build looks like the culture and even goes to where the culture is (exciting events, etc.), as long as we are still being the church that God calls us to be (light, salt, etc.) then we are fulfilling exactly the call God has placed on our lives: to live like Jesus. And remember Jesus lived incarnate.

The Ambassador Way, Pt. 2 | Articulate Your Vision

In my last post, I talked about the importance of defining our churches identity. The reason for defining our identity as a church is that it will help to sift out those things that are not “us.” They are not things that we should be doing. As leaders in the church, we should not be afraid of saying that something simply does not fit into who God is calling us to be. It is right to make sure that, as a church, we understand who we are and who we are supposed to be. Continue reading “The Ambassador Way, Pt. 2 | Articulate Your Vision”

The Ambassador Way, Part 1: Defining Our Identity

In the first three months of arriving at Ambassadors of Christ Ministries, I began to wonder if we, as a church, really understood what it meant to be a part of this particular body of believers. We understood that God was doing something in our church. What I felt was that we were not always taking what we were doing as a corporate body and filtering it down to ourselves in our personal lives. As time passed, as I observed, and as I interacted with our membership my conviction increased. But, if there I was going to help our members understand how to be Ambassadors, I had to understand and believe it for myself. Continue reading “The Ambassador Way, Part 1: Defining Our Identity”

Sermon Sketch | “Why Come?”

This sermon was originally preached some time in 2008. In it, we look to find a more consistently biblical understanding of the church, Christ’s body at work in the earth.

Why Come?

Have any of you ever heard someone say that they don’t need to go to church to be a Christian? Do you think that that is true? I wonder why so many people believe this.

The other night I was watching a replay of Oprah and there was a lady on there talking about the difference between spirituality and religion. I had one thought running through my mind, and it was this woman has no idea what she’s talking about. Continue reading “Sermon Sketch | “Why Come?””

Sermon Sketch | “Marks of Pure Worship”

I preached this sermon on a couple of occasions, but this particular version I preached at Merrywood Baptist Church in Statesboro, Georgia.

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Marks of Pure Worship

Luke 7:36-50

³⁶ Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down to eat. ³⁷ And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, ³⁸ and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”

Pure Worship is…

I. PRECIOUS: [the alabaster box] (of such great value that a suitable price is hard to estimate ); costly – the idea of costly.

a. Luke gives us that information that the price of the alabaster ointment was three hundred denarius.

b. In other places in scripture we find that a denarius was equal to about one days wage.

i. If she did not eat for a 300 days she would have the money to buy it – unlikely.

ii. If she saved half of what she made in a day, half of a denarius it would have taken 600 days – this is becoming very valuable perfume.

iii. She is described as a sinner by the Pharisee implying that she was a woman that made her living by less than honorable means. As a sore in the sight of society will she be paid in a normal way? I don’t think so.

c. Pure worship is precious. The alabaster box is a representation that what we bring to God should be something “of such great value” that its price is hard to estimate, it is priceless to us, but it can serve as an appropriate symbol of our love for God.

II. POWERFUL: [the forgiveness of sins] – it changes our lives

a. The woman’s worship created an opportunity for Jesus to demonstrate that faith is what brings forgiveness.

b. That woman had to believe that there was a possibility that Jesus could do something for her.

c. You don’t do something if you don’t believe it.

III. PECULIAR: [the woman’s presence] – some won’t understand what it is; why we do it

a. What an odd scene. Here is this woman walking through the crowd…she probably got access to the house because the Pharisee that had invited Jesus was trying to show off.

b. But there was something that probably caught the attention more than just her presence there in that gathering. Paul tells us about the glory of a woman

…but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. (1 Corinthians 11:15, ESV)

c. Allow me just a moment to touch on this. It was common practice for women of that time to cover their hair in public if they were married. They were only to show their hair to their husbands.

i. The fact that this woman exposed her hair reveals to us that she was indeed a sinner, but more to the heart of the matter this woman was taking that which was her glory, the symbol of her womanhood and using it to wash the filth off Jesus’ feet.

ii. The only thing that the Pharisee could see was the woman. Jesus, on the other hand, looked beyond the sin, beyond the cultural rule, beyond the decorum of the day and saw the sincerity of her worship.

d. It is only when I recognize the depth of my sin that the miracle of God’s grace comes to cover the sin of my life.

e. Pure worship is peculiar because when the moment comes we have to be ready to let our hair done.

IV. PENETRATING: [the weeping] – it moves us to the core

a. The weeping was like that of a rain storm. When we come into the presence of God are we moved to tears because of the wrong our sin had done to his holiness.

b. No one could deny that this woman knew who she was. She was honest enough with herself not to argue with the charge that she was a sinner.

i. There was not need to fight back. That was not why she had come. There was no longer a reason to hide.

ii. Any effort to hide would not conceal the truth of here condition from the world because the world already knew. We so often times hide from ourselves because we can face the truth.

V. PASSIONATE: [holding on for dear life] – we do it with all of our being

a. The touch…we do worship because is it something that we should do. Worship is done is such a way that when others look at us they would think that our lives depended on it if we didn’t.

b. The Pharisee lived by a strict set of rules that kept him separate from everyone and everything in his world. He would guard against touching something or being touched because he could afford to be contaminated.

c. This woman was passionate about what she was doing. The text does not do justice to what was happening. This woman was not just touching Jesus she was literally hanging on for dear life to his feet. She just couldn’t make herself let go. There was something different about this man.

VI. PERSONAL: [we are responsible] – we have to do it

a. This is the final point mark of pure worship. Only you can offer it to God.

Make every worship song your own

Over the last few years, I have found my understanding of what worship is changing and expanding. The main reason is that I have been leading worship more often. My learning to play the guitar started as a necessity. It then became something far more personal. It was not something that I wanted to do. It just sort of happened. It needed to be done, and I was able to lead, so I did.

What makes worship so challenging, at least, to me, is that it can be difficult to get people to worship. Part of the problem may be that most of us do not know how to worship God. We have been exposed to an entertainment culture. So, that gets transferred into the church and we come waiting on the “show” to begin.

This is a dangerous and sad state of affairs. The conversations about worship no longer revolve around content but rather have shifted to style and preferences. It really should not matter the style of music that is being used, if you are a child of God, you should be able to worship whenever God’s people have gathered for that purpose.

I am not diminishing the reality of our own preferences. However, when these preferences dictate our ability to connect with our heavenly father, we have given far too much power over our worship to something that changes from one generation to the next. I do not my worship held hostage by the style of music. I must work to keep our worship focused on the one who is worthy of worship. And I must do this independent of what style is employed my the assembly I happen to be in.

It is a true statement to say that the distance between what was expected in the Temple during the sacrificial system and today is so great. By this, I do not mean the sacrifice itself. That would be too easy to identify as a difference. I am talking about the intimacy of having to watch that sacrifice being slaughtered because of my brokenness and sin. That connection, the connection between sin and sacrifice to atone has to be reconsidered and reestablished.

Yes, we can sing about the promises and the love of God. We can sing about all the great things God has done. We can sing about heaven and the power of the Spirit. All of these things are appropriate and necessary subjects of our praise. However, the underlying reason for all of these things, the reason we can sing about these things at all is because a Lamb was slain for the sins of the world.

When we fail to ground our worship in the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection, our worship is untethered from the only mooring that gives our worship meaning.

I have basically come to the conclusion that the problem is we do not take ownership of the worship we are are supposed to be giving to God. In other words, when I join the church to worship I have been called to belong to and the worship leader is leading in a song, I have to make that song my song. I have to make the words that are being sung my words. I should be joining my voice with the voices of the rest of the church as we say to ourselves and to God that we believe what we are singing together.

Each song is communicating something. There is a point to the lyrics and the music helps to communicate that idea. Therefore, if I am going to worship I have to engage all of my faculties. My head and my heart must be joined together. The emotions and ideas that I hear and contemplate may begin in the mouth of the leader but, eventually, they must come out of my mouth too. Not just to parrot what is happening. But because I believe what is being sung is true for me too.

When I worship, those who see me doing it, those who hear me sing should be able to say that they believe that I believe what I am singing and saying. Those around us should be convinced that I mean every word of the song I am singing.

I do not always do this, but I want it to be truer of me every day.