Over the past several months it seems that those infamous worship wars are heating back up. I have personally debated the issue with people and have read countless articles lamenting the rise of modern worship as the death of all that is sacred. Most of the arguments fall into one of two categories. The first states that the technological enhancements to our worship experiences have become distractions rather than enhancements and have created a performance or concert venue rather than a house of worship. The other states that there is absolutely no good theology coming forth from modern worship music. There is a third camp that is not as prevalent in the war against modern worship music. That camp simply states that modern worship music is too wordy and too difficult to sing.
Before I continue, let me say that to some extent, this modern worship pastor feels that there is some validity to each of these arguments that must be weighed as we plan for an effective and meaningful worship experience. It is in the weighing of these arguments, that I want to pose the question, 'Can we have a meaningful modern worship experience that also engages the intellect in the way that more traditional worship experiences seem to?'
What made me want to explore this? I have a friend who recently changed churches and is observing the season of Lent for the first time in her Christian life. She is chronicling her journey through Lent on her blog and it has been a fascinating read for me. You can check it out here. One of her observations is that she enjoys the intellectual engagement that she is getting from the traditional forms of worship she is experiencing. This is not a new train of thought, but her insights have been so powerful that it has challenged me to ask the question that I raised above.
Why is it that the modern churches don't include any traditional liturgical elements in their worship services? Are we scared of losing 'cool points' if we dare look at things like the church calendar or responsive readings? Make no mistake, the modern church still follows liturgy. It just more often consists of elements like announcements, transition videos, skits, etc. Before you throw me in the traditional camp, let me say that I think there are ways to do all of those things including some of the more 'old school' elements I mentioned. Does it require some work and extra creativity on the part of the staff? Sure.
The under 40 generation is a very visual generation and the technology enhancements work for us. However, we also like to be challenged intellectually. A lot of churches ignore that and assume that if they give us the smoke, lights, and modern music we will stay engaged simply because of the production value. They are often finding that to not be the case.
I think my biggest pet peeve with many (not all) modern churches is the void of scripture woven throughout the worship service. In many places, you might get 2 or 3 verses of scripture to kick the sermon off and then that's it. Did I miss something? Is the Bible the guide that we use for our lives? If so, shouldn't it have a more prevalent place in our service? I'm not advocating that we worship scripture, but I am advocating that we use it a whole lot more than we usually do. Realistically, if we simply included more scripture in our worship, we would certainly engage our minds more than we currently are.
I am starting to wonder if maybe we get too hung up on the terminology of modern/contemporary/traditional that when we hear the term that doesn't best fit our preference we shut down and refuse to even see what God may be speaking to us. In my opinion, there are wonderful songs of worship in praise in both the traditional and modern scopes of music. There are also terrible songs with bad theology in both veins as well. Worship is about God, not us. Maybe we should challenge ourselves to engage in every facet of our corporate worship services from start to finish. As hard as they try, our pastors and worship pastors won't always get it right. It's not fair to put all the blame on them when you don't get what you expect from a worship experience. Stretch yourself. Challenge yourself. Don't check your brain at the door. I think what I'm ultimately getting at is that I believe it is completely possible to have a modern worship experience that moves our emotions AND challenges our thought process. Modern and cerebral worship experiences don't have to be mutually exclusive.
I have blogged a little bit with regard to a few of the arguments I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. If you want to read more about those, you can go here and here.
Please feel free to comment your thoughts. This could be a fun topic.
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Carolina vs. Duke 2015 Round 1 - What We Learned
It's been a while since I've done a sports related blog, so if you don't like sports or don't care about college basketball, I'll be back to my normal blog posting soon enough.
I never write on this topic immediately after the game as the emotion, win or lose, is too raw and I find it impossible to even try to be objective in those moments after the buzzer sounds.
Last night was everything that is right about college basketball. The greatest rivalry arguably in all of sports was on display for 2 1/2 hours and as it usually does, it lived up to the hype. Both teams overcame double digit deficits to force overtime and the game came down to the last possession with the Dukies going home happy and the Heels taking the longest 8 mile drive of the season back to Chapel Hill. Here's my observations while attempting to put my bias aside. Feel free to challenge or agree in comments as the discussion is what really makes this fun.
1. Tyus Jones is a player that every Carolina fan will hate for years to come. One of the youngest players on the floor, in the biggest game of the year, was probably the most poised man on the floor last night. What he lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in heart. He simply refused to let Duke lose last night. Okafur had all the hype, Jones delivered a much more poignant performance. This takes us to....
2. Jahlil Okafur is a phenomenal talent, no question. He can be contained if you take the game to him. You have to initiate the contact with him. If he is allowed to make first contact, he will eat you for lunch. However, he didn't respond well when Carolina got physical with him. This Carolina fan is still hoping that he's one and done.
3. Marcus Paige is a shell of what Carolina fans saw last year. I don't know if it's the plantars fasciitis or if teams have simply figured him out, but whether or not he's scoring, he must impact the game for Carolina to be successful.
4. JP Tokoto will drive Carolina fans nuts with some of his decision making, but I would rather him make a few boneheaded decisions and be aggressive like last night, than watch him disappear to timidity.
5. If Brice Johnson can eliminate one stupid foul per game, he could be absolutely dominant. Unfortunately he loses about 3-4 minutes of floor time every night due to foul trouble.
6. People will be quick to criticize both team's defense given the final was 92-90 and I'll admit, both teams have defensive flaws. Duke can't defend the paint and Carolina can't defend the 3-point line. That said, let's also be honest and say that when clicking as both teams were, these are 2 of the best offensive squads in the country. When a team or a player (Quinn Cook) get hot from 3, Carolina is in trouble. Likewise when a team owns the paint (Meeks and Johnson), Duke can be beaten.
7. Both of these teams can play with and beat anybody in the country, but I don't think either of these teams make a title run this year. Duke isn't deep enough and I expect them to wear down in the tournament as they have done in year's past. I mean, let's face it...the 18 game ACC schedule is absolutely grueling and it will take it's toll on the best of teams. Carolina struggles to close teams out and that will ultimately spell their demise in March.
8. Who wins round 2?? Duke will be favored, but I think Carolina will be motivated to exact a bit of payback on March 7. Either way, we should have another classic on our hands.
I never write on this topic immediately after the game as the emotion, win or lose, is too raw and I find it impossible to even try to be objective in those moments after the buzzer sounds.
Last night was everything that is right about college basketball. The greatest rivalry arguably in all of sports was on display for 2 1/2 hours and as it usually does, it lived up to the hype. Both teams overcame double digit deficits to force overtime and the game came down to the last possession with the Dukies going home happy and the Heels taking the longest 8 mile drive of the season back to Chapel Hill. Here's my observations while attempting to put my bias aside. Feel free to challenge or agree in comments as the discussion is what really makes this fun.
1. Tyus Jones is a player that every Carolina fan will hate for years to come. One of the youngest players on the floor, in the biggest game of the year, was probably the most poised man on the floor last night. What he lacks in stature, he more than makes up for in heart. He simply refused to let Duke lose last night. Okafur had all the hype, Jones delivered a much more poignant performance. This takes us to....
2. Jahlil Okafur is a phenomenal talent, no question. He can be contained if you take the game to him. You have to initiate the contact with him. If he is allowed to make first contact, he will eat you for lunch. However, he didn't respond well when Carolina got physical with him. This Carolina fan is still hoping that he's one and done.
3. Marcus Paige is a shell of what Carolina fans saw last year. I don't know if it's the plantars fasciitis or if teams have simply figured him out, but whether or not he's scoring, he must impact the game for Carolina to be successful.
4. JP Tokoto will drive Carolina fans nuts with some of his decision making, but I would rather him make a few boneheaded decisions and be aggressive like last night, than watch him disappear to timidity.
5. If Brice Johnson can eliminate one stupid foul per game, he could be absolutely dominant. Unfortunately he loses about 3-4 minutes of floor time every night due to foul trouble.
6. People will be quick to criticize both team's defense given the final was 92-90 and I'll admit, both teams have defensive flaws. Duke can't defend the paint and Carolina can't defend the 3-point line. That said, let's also be honest and say that when clicking as both teams were, these are 2 of the best offensive squads in the country. When a team or a player (Quinn Cook) get hot from 3, Carolina is in trouble. Likewise when a team owns the paint (Meeks and Johnson), Duke can be beaten.
7. Both of these teams can play with and beat anybody in the country, but I don't think either of these teams make a title run this year. Duke isn't deep enough and I expect them to wear down in the tournament as they have done in year's past. I mean, let's face it...the 18 game ACC schedule is absolutely grueling and it will take it's toll on the best of teams. Carolina struggles to close teams out and that will ultimately spell their demise in March.
8. Who wins round 2?? Duke will be favored, but I think Carolina will be motivated to exact a bit of payback on March 7. Either way, we should have another classic on our hands.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Do We Like To Be Offended?
It's a serious question. Is there some underlying reason that we are so quick to play the 'I'm offended' card as soon as someone says or does something that we don't like? I'm actually starting to think that maybe, to some extent, we do. Before you write me off (or get offended) please here me out. Let me draw from a recent online encounter that I had.
Is this really controversial?
The above link is to a blog post from a very good friend of ours. She posted this and a firestorm broke out on her personal Facebook page. She was called careless because some took offense to the blog (particular the part about women's ministry). I was absolutely floored at the level of offense that took place over this simple blog post.
Now. I am not here to talk about her blog. I have my opinions, but that isn't what this is about (especially since I am a man and these were women sensitive topics). This is about how easily some people are offended (particularly in the church).
What do we get offended about in church? There's the obvious thing....heresy. This should not only offend but most likely cause us to seek another church to be a part of if when confronted the heresy is not dealt with. We are offended by the style of music. We are offended by hard teaching that is sound doctrine when measured against scripture. We are offended when our pre-conceived notion of doctrine is challenged. We are offended when someone doesn't smile when they walk past us. We are offended at how someone dresses. You get the point....we are offended by a lot of things when in reality, heresy may be the only valid thing on the list to take offense at. Why do we seek offense?
I have a theory and it's simple speculation on my part, but here it is. Claiming offense gives us a reason to not examine ourselves. It points the blame towards the person or thing that offends and moves the spotlight away from us as individuals. Culture has been inundated with a philosophy that we have a right to not be offended. Sorry, but that's hogwash.
Jesus offended. A prime example is at the end of John 6. This is the infamous 'eat my flesh and drink my blood' incident. So many of His followers turned away at this saying that Jesus asked his closest friends, his disciples, if they were going to leave too. This wasn't the only time He offended, but it is certainly one of the most memorable.
Now, I know what some of you are saying right now. That was Jesus. He did nothing wrong so it was ok for him to be offensive. With that being said, let's go farther into New Testament writings. Particularly those of Paul and James.
There are so many controversial passages in Paul's writings that it's impossible to pick one. But if you need to be convinced, read Romans 1, and I Corinthians 12 and 14 and see how it would be easily to take offense at his writings. Then let's move ahead and read the book of James. We all probably take offense to what he has to say about the tongue.
Our propensity for being offended is probably one of the biggest reasons that there is so much fighting inside the four walls of the church. That in-fighting is one of the biggest turn-offs that non-believers have with regard to the church. Can we not step back for a minute and realize that our personal offense is just that in most cases....personal? Sometimes we would be much better served to internalize the offense and use it for self evaluation instead of using it to tear down or destroy someone else.
In fact, I personally like it when a pastor says something that makes me double take and ask if that's what he just said. It forces me to go back and examine the scripture even more and that is healthy. So that being said, unless there is all out heresy involved, can we just take a chill pill and quit being so easily offended.
Is this really controversial?
The above link is to a blog post from a very good friend of ours. She posted this and a firestorm broke out on her personal Facebook page. She was called careless because some took offense to the blog (particular the part about women's ministry). I was absolutely floored at the level of offense that took place over this simple blog post.
Now. I am not here to talk about her blog. I have my opinions, but that isn't what this is about (especially since I am a man and these were women sensitive topics). This is about how easily some people are offended (particularly in the church).
What do we get offended about in church? There's the obvious thing....heresy. This should not only offend but most likely cause us to seek another church to be a part of if when confronted the heresy is not dealt with. We are offended by the style of music. We are offended by hard teaching that is sound doctrine when measured against scripture. We are offended when our pre-conceived notion of doctrine is challenged. We are offended when someone doesn't smile when they walk past us. We are offended at how someone dresses. You get the point....we are offended by a lot of things when in reality, heresy may be the only valid thing on the list to take offense at. Why do we seek offense?
I have a theory and it's simple speculation on my part, but here it is. Claiming offense gives us a reason to not examine ourselves. It points the blame towards the person or thing that offends and moves the spotlight away from us as individuals. Culture has been inundated with a philosophy that we have a right to not be offended. Sorry, but that's hogwash.
Jesus offended. A prime example is at the end of John 6. This is the infamous 'eat my flesh and drink my blood' incident. So many of His followers turned away at this saying that Jesus asked his closest friends, his disciples, if they were going to leave too. This wasn't the only time He offended, but it is certainly one of the most memorable.
Now, I know what some of you are saying right now. That was Jesus. He did nothing wrong so it was ok for him to be offensive. With that being said, let's go farther into New Testament writings. Particularly those of Paul and James.
There are so many controversial passages in Paul's writings that it's impossible to pick one. But if you need to be convinced, read Romans 1, and I Corinthians 12 and 14 and see how it would be easily to take offense at his writings. Then let's move ahead and read the book of James. We all probably take offense to what he has to say about the tongue.
Our propensity for being offended is probably one of the biggest reasons that there is so much fighting inside the four walls of the church. That in-fighting is one of the biggest turn-offs that non-believers have with regard to the church. Can we not step back for a minute and realize that our personal offense is just that in most cases....personal? Sometimes we would be much better served to internalize the offense and use it for self evaluation instead of using it to tear down or destroy someone else.
In fact, I personally like it when a pastor says something that makes me double take and ask if that's what he just said. It forces me to go back and examine the scripture even more and that is healthy. So that being said, unless there is all out heresy involved, can we just take a chill pill and quit being so easily offended.
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