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*Quotes, Volume Three"What makes a genius? The ability to see. To see what? The butterfly in a caterpillar, the eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish person, life in death, unity in separation, God in the human and human in God and suffering as the form in which the incomprehensibility of God himself appears." "We could complain that rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses" A faithful worship leader magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit by skillfully combining God's Word with music, thereby motivating the gathered church to proclaim the gospel, to cherish God's presence, and to live for God's glory. "Grace is the delivery of a jewel that nobody ordered, a burst of light in a room where everyone forgot it was dark." If we even begin to comprehend the risen Christ in all His glory, or faintly hear the heavenly choirs that surround the throne with their anthems of praise, or imagine what life in the presence of the Lord will be like, then we can never again be satisfied with worship as usual. We will always be striving to make our worship fit for glory; and we will always be aware that our efforts, no matter how good and noble, are still of this world and not yet of that one.
"I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." When someone insists that we should only use the best music in worship, I scratch my head. Is the best music simple of complex? Written or spontaneous? Short or long? Do they mean the best aesthetically, pragmatically, emotionally, or historically? We usually have in mind what we mean by "best," and it often says more about our preferences than our theology. As I understand it, the best music enables people to genuinely and consistently magnify the greatness of the Savior in their hearts, minds, and wills. That's a standard that will never change from culture to culture, generation to generation, church to church.
It is fruitless to search for a single musical style, or even any blend of musical styles, that can assist all Christians with true worship. The followers of Jesus are a far too diverse group of people -- which is exactly as it should be. We need, rather, to welcome any worship music that helps churches produce disciples of Jesus Christ. We need to welcome the experimental creativity that is always searching out new ways of singing the gospel, and banish the fear that grips us when familiar music passes away.
Worship turns out to be the dangerous act of waking up to God and to the purposes of God in the world, and then living lives that actually show it. Worship is about God and for God. But our human tendency is for our vision of God to be small and petty rather than stretching to the heights and magnificence that He deserves. When we do look beyond [ourselves], however, we see vividly that the daily lives of millions of people around the world are about chronic desperation. People with names and families are living daily without food or water, in sickness or oppression. All of this is going on while mainline and evangelical churches keep debating what they think are the primary worship issues: guitars versus organs, formal versus informal, traditional versus contemporary, contemporary versus emergent; while other denominations are absorbed in debates over issues that dominate their landscapes and preoccupy their fading national bureaucracies.
Today, vast stress is laid on the thought that God is personal, but this truth is so stated as to leave the impression that God is a person of the same sort as we are -- weak, inadequate, ineffective, a little pathetic. But this is not the God of the Bible! Our personal life is a finite thing: it is limited in every direction, in space, in time, in knowledge, in power. But God so limited. He is eternal, infinite, and almighty. He has us in His hands; we never have Him in ours. Like us He is personal; but unlike us, He is great .
"There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord. One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and by being very, very good. In The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller proposes that there are two lost sons in the Parable of the Prodigal Son -- and that the son who was the "most lost" was the elder brother. Furthermore, he suggests that our churches are full of "elder brothers." Below are just a few statements about "elder brothers" from this very insightful book: Characteristics of "elder brothers:" Elder brothers believe that if they live a good life they should get a good life, that God owes them a smooth road if they try very hard to live up to standards. Elder brothers have a strong sense of their own superiority. Competitive comparison is the main way elder brothers achieve a sense of their own significance. Elder brother self-righteousness not only creates racism and classism, but at the personal level creates an unforgiving, judgmental spirit. The "religious experience" of elder brothers is joyless and fear-based - with the goal of living a life of compliance to the letter of the law. Elder brothers have a lack of assurance of the father's love, which manifests itself in a dry prayer life. Though elder brothers may be diligent in prayer, there is no wonder, awe, intimacy, or delight in their conversations with God. Their main goal in prayer is to control their environment rather than to delve into a intimate relationship with a God who loves them. Elder brothers have an undercurrent of anger toward life circumstances, hold grudges long and bitterly, look down at people of other races, religions, and lifestyles, experience life as a joyless, crushing drudgery, and have a deep insecurity that makes them oversensitive to criticism and rejection yet fierce and merciless in condemning others.
"By the cross," Paul said, "I am crucified unto the world." The cross where Jesus died became the also the cross where His apostles died. The loss, the rejection, the same, belong both to Christ and to all who in very truth are His. The cross that saves them also slays them, and anything short of this is a pseudo-faith and not faith at all. But what are we to say when the great majority of our evangelical leaders walk not as crucified men but as those who accept the world at its own value - rejecting only its grosser elements? How can we face Him who was crucified and slain when we see His followers accepted and praised? Yet they preach the cross and proclaim loudly that they are true believers. Did Paul mean one thing and they another? I fear that is so, that there are two crosses, the old cross and the new. If I see aright, the cross of popular evangelicalism is not the cross of the New Testament. It is, rather, a new bright ornament upon the [chests] of self-assured and carnal Christianity, whose hands are indeed the hands of Abel, but whose voice is the voice of Cain. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter. The flesh, smiling and confident, preaches and sings about the cross; before the cross bows and toward the cross it points with carefully staged histrionics - but upon that cross it will not die, and the reproach of that cross it stubbornly refuses to bear. Who today is interested in a gloomy mysticism that would sentence its flesh to a cross and recommend self-effacing humility as a virtue actually to be practiced by modern Christians? These are the arguments, along with many more flippant still, which are brought forward to give and appearance of wisdom to the hollow and meaningless cross of Christianity.
"Lord, by the stripes which wounded Thee, From death's dread sting Thy servants free, That we may live and sing to Thee, Alleluia!" To live and sing - that is what you are here to do. No need to wonder over purpose. To live, and that is enough. To love and not die. To live and not give up. To live, meaning to go through life no matter how hard it is. To live because He has a reason for your being alive and paid a high price to keep you that way. He knows what He wants accomplished in and through your life, and it can only happen when you are alive. So live! You may not see the point all the time. You may not see it right now. But your purpose is to live, to make it when so many aren't making it -- when so many have no reason to. It is not that complicated. Live! Stay alive! He wants you alive for one reason: to live for Him. Oh yes, and He wants one more thing: He wants you to sing. He wants you to live and He wants you to sing while you're living. It really is pretty simple when you get right down to it.
My heroes include any elderly persons who keep the flame lit, who still feel inspiration and outrage at ideas, current events, history, movies, books, national tragedies, spring flowers, the passing parade. Somehow they take it all in. Life enlarges their spirit, becomes fuel for the remaining journey, seasoned with humor, not bitterness. They age with dignity. Part of the dignity is keeping the inevitable heartbreak framed by larger perspectives and by going deeper into the grief, not denying it. The alternative is that other strategy of the heart, the hardening of it.
We should not, therefore, be too taken aback when unexpected and upsetting and discouraging things happen to us now. What do they mean? Why, simply that God in His wisdom means to make something of us which we have not attained yet, and is dealing with us accordingly. Perhaps He means to strengthen us in patience, good humor, compassion, humility, or meekness, by giving us some extra practice in exercising these graces under specially difficult conditions. Perhaps He has new lessons in self-denial and self-distrust to teach us. Perhaps He wishes to break us of complacency, or unreality, or undetected forms of pride and conceit. Perhaps His purpose is simply to draw us closer to Himself in conscious communion with Him; for it is often the case, as all saints know, that fellowship with the Father and the Son is most vivid and sweet, and Christian joy is greatest, when the cross is heaviest... Or perhaps God is preparing us for forms of service of which at present we have no inkling. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relationship with God. We read our chapters, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar. The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: shallow loves, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." "The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." "Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake." For centuries, theologians have struggled to explain why suffering occurs in a world supposedly ruled by God, and their answers usually involve dissertations on free will, sin, and redemption. However, it's clear that no one, not even a Christian, is immune to pain and suffering. Apparently it's okay to tell God we're disappointed in Him or to question His character. He can handle it; He is secure in His God-ness. In fact, it seems that questioning God is not only allowed but encouraged. Working through doubt is a necessary and healthy part of the spiritual journey. The psalmists cried out to God because they believed, in spite of their despair, that God was still just. They boldly questioned God in an effort to comprehend Him. Ironically, wrestling with doubt ultimately builds faith. At the height of his suffering, Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him." (Job 13:15) Though I've never suffered like Job, I, like all people, especially artists, have faced my fair share of adversity. At various times, I too have questioned God's goodness. But I keep coming back to a simple statement of faith often expressed in time of trouble: God, you are still my God even when life is hard. My fellow artists, may your image of God be true, and when life is difficult, may you wrestle openly and honestly with who God is and discover that, in spite of circumstances, He is still sovereign, powerful, holy, good, gracious, loving, compassionate, merciful, wise, and faithful.
Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God
Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Holy Spirit, come abide within;
Holy Spirit, from creation's birth,
Many of us talk about the mercy of God. We may even teach about it. But we are like coastline dwellers who admire the seascape and watch the sun over the water every afternoon, but never go sailing. When I launch into the depths of God's mercy, I lose my excuses, and I actually start going somewhere -- somewhere I've never been before. A world of uncharted waters for my venturing soul opens up before me. I leave behind the small calculations of my shoreline existence and am buoyed by the ocean of His grace. New possibilities exist for me out in the ocean -- new ways of seeing myself and those around me -- and new ports of call. "We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls." "The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance." "Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God." "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile." Sometimes if we're not careful, idolatry can creep into our hearts quite innocently. When the apostle John received his apocalyptic vision, he bowed down and started worshiping the angel who was merely acting as his tour guide through the heavenly realm. The angel quickly corrected John, saying "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God! (Revelation 22:9) Like John, people must guard against idolatry even while serving God. We tend to make "sacred cows" out of the most undeserving candidates. Our adherence to a tradition or a certain way of doing church can become an obsession that's more about us than about God. Though convinced we're doing God's work, such rigidity could actually be stifling that work. Similarly, if our insistence of a particular worship style becomes more important than connecting with God or causes us to judge, malign, or mistreat others, we are worshiping 'created things rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25). And be careful about becoming addicted to the euphoric adrenaline rush that worship can sometimes be. We are not to be worshiping worship. We are to worship the living God. "It amazes me how causally I can sing songs of deep, almost heroic commitment. It's as if I think, As long as I'm singing, the words I say don't really matter. God knows it's just a song. While my minds wanders I promise to bow before the Lord, to proclaim His name to the ends of the earth, and to go so far as to die to express my faith. Yet these words may be sung with scarcely more emotion than I feel when I'm ordering a hamburger. How often do we Christians 'take the Lord's name in vain' during our worship?" "If you please God it doesn't matter who you displease, but if you displease God it doesn't matter who you please." "God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts, and join His global purpose." "Singing seems to be both mentally and physically healthy. Research suggests that it can increase immune functions and decrease the need of visits to the doctor. Why? It seems to produce endorphins and the feel-good hormone dopamine." "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." "End of construction. Thank you for your patience." "If only people would open their ears, they might open their hearts." Hymnwriter Timothy Dudley-Smith expresses honesty and vulnerability before God in this prayer for healing. In the second section, the he references Matthew 15:21-31, the story of the Canaanite woman who cried out for mercy to the Lord for the healing of her daughter. dp Lord, Help Me: A Prayer for Healing
My Father,
And there are others--like this poor woman's daughter -
My own deep places --the
My faith is not great, Lord. Indeed
So be my bread of life, Lord Jesus. The Gift of Worship Let's be clear with ourselves and the members of our congregation. Worship is simply GIVING our selves and our lives (again) to God. Giving is at the heart of worship. We give ourselves and our lives to the Father because we trust His goodness, and embrace His greatness. With this understanding, worship may seem more like a wrestling match, and less like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Surrendering my life again to God isn't something I enjoy, because I die to myself every time I do it. On the flip side of the coin, let's be equally clear about what worship is not. Worship is not about the feelings we get when we sing. We will experience wonderful feelings, and that's good, but those feelings are not worship, nor do they make worship "great." Worship is not about convincing God to bless us. Worship is not about what's happening on the stage. Worship is not about entertainment, lighting, or sound. Worship is not about us at all. Every week, we are involved in crafting worship services. Worship services. Worship. It's not about anything other than helping people to lift their eyes to the Savior of the universe, and to respond to the holy gaze in which they find themselves. May we be worship leaders, pastors, and media junkies who give people Someone worth gazing at. And may we do it week in and week out. Honestly, there is no greater calling.
Some insights about talking (and listening): "A man of knowledge uses words with restraint." - Proverbs 17:27 "We are more anxious to speak than to be heard." - Henry David Thoreau "When you have nothing to say, say nothing." - Charles Caleb Colton "They always talk who never think." - Matthew Prior "Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving in words evidence of the fact." - George Eliot (Marian Evans Cross) "There are people who, instead of listening to what is being said to them, are already listening to what they are going to say themselves." - Albert Guinon "Whoever gossips to you will gossip of you." - Spanish proverb "Only those who have been truly forgiven can truly forgive." "Whenever the method of worship becomes more important than the Person of worship, we have already prostituted our worship. There are entire congregations who worship praise and praise worship but who have not yet learned to praise and worship God in Jesus Christ." True worship leads to faithful obedience. It should be clear by now that true worship leads to a life of faith and obedience. It is the purpose of worship, on the human side, to inspire faith and devotion to the Lord, not just for an hour, but for the whole week and for the whole life. This was the emphasis of the preaching of the prophets and the teaching of Jesus and the apostles; and this emphasis was based on the significance of worship as a covenant renewal, a ritual that not only celebrated the blessings that God has bestowed on his people through Christ but also reminded the people of their own covenant responsibilities. At the heart of faithful obedience is personal holiness and righteousness. True worship has no place for gossip, slander, malice, envy, strife, control, or any other sin that destroys worship. Our celebration of being at peace with God must issue in living in peace with other believers. Our covenant obligations do not stop with out purging out the leaven from our lives. There is a positive side of righteousness that calls for action. If the church claims to be worshipping but has no interest in helping the poor and the homeless, the widow and the orphan, the oppressed and the foreigner, or in championing justice and equity in society, then the worship is empty. And if the worship does not prompt the work of evangelism and missions, or simply sharing the faith, then the worship has not been led by the Spirit of God. With these and many other serious matters we may test whether worship has fully achieved what God has designed it to achieve. - Allen P. Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation Some thoughts about worship as a lifestyle: When you accept whatever situation you are in without murmuring, you are worshipping Me. When you can rejoice with Me in the midst of your infirmities, you are worshipping Me. When I have brought pressures to bear upon you to bring out the gold of My nature and you bear them patiently - blaming not Me, or another person, nor yourself, then you are truly worshipping Me. When you can "forgive yourself" for your weaknesses and failures and cease expecting your human nature to bring forth perfection, you are worshipping Me. When you have come to the place of recognizing and acknowledging that "of myself I can do nothing," then do I have your praise. When you can look upon a wasted life and agree that I can and will make this one every whit whole - that this is My desire - then you have offered Me true worship, for you have seen My true nature. When you look upon My natural creation and the beauty of it and magnify Me, then am I worshipped. When you hear My Word within you saying "This is the way - walk in it" and you obey My word with rejoicing, I feel worship from you. When you look with compassion upon one who is afflicted, tossed, and broken, then am I worshipped. When you recognize My Body and honor them as My brothers and sisters, this is true worship unto me. When you lips are silent because of your pain, and you lift your heart to Me, I feel your worship. When you say, "I cannot - please help me!" then am I worshipped. Worship is a heart attitude in every place and situation in which you find yourselves. It acknowledges My Lordship, the righteousness of My nature, the truth of My Word, and the reality of My indwelling presence. You may offer true worship at all times and in every situation by keeping your heart right toward me and toward your fellow believers.
"Music is moonlight in the gloomy night of life." "Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons. You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body." "Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite." If the essence of worship is satisfaction in God, then worship can't be a means to anything else. You simply can't say to God, "I want to be satisfied in you so that I can have something else." Because that would mean that you are not really satisfied in God but in that something else. And that would dishonor God, not worship Him. But in fact, for many people and pastors, the event of "worship" on Sunday morning is conceived of as a means to something other than worship. We "worship" to raise money; we "worship" to attract crowds; we "worship" to heal human hurts; we "worship" to recruit workers; we "worship" to improve church morale; we "worship" to give talented musicians an opportunity to fulfill their calling; we "worship" to teach our children the way of righteousness; we "worship" to help marriages stay together; we "worship" to evangelize the lost among us; we "worship" to give our churches a family feeling, etc., etc. In all of this we belittle worship and God. Genuine affections for God are an end in themselves... I am not denying that vital corporate worship might have a hundred good effects on the life of the church. It will, like true affection in marriage, make everything better. My point is that to the degree that we "worship" for these reasons, it ceases to be authentic worship. Keeping satisfaction in God at the center guards us from that tragedy.
From time to time the church should take stock of that which is most central, most important and most vital in our common life together. Though we sing with the tongues of men and angels, if we are not truly worshipping the living God, we are noisy gongs and clanging cymbals. Though we organize the liturgy most beautifully, if it does not enable us to worship the living God, we are mere ballet dancers. Though we repave the floor and resurface the stonework, though we balance our budgets and attract all the tourists, if we are not worshipping God, we are nothing.
Impacted by a global culture of consumerism, ever-changing technology and postmodern angst, it can be difficult for us to become part of anything that does not exist for our benefit. We are hesitant to embrace anything that inconveniences or challenges our personal opinions and comfort, and so abandoned worship can appear ridiculous. Yet at the core of true worship is a life that gives up everything. It's not about what's in it for "us"; rather, it's about being broken and humbled before the King of eternity as we lay down our lives and agendas before Him. Without our relizaing it, worship can become a commodity, or used as a means to an end. This creates an ever-increasing pressure within the local church to see worship as something to be used for many different purposes: a church growth tool; an evangelistic device; an atmosphere setter; a warm-up for the preaching of the Word; a source of income through publishing and recording; and the list goes on. We are constantly evaluating the effectiveness of worship by the response of people. We paint a picture of God as a Being who is there for our benefit, and we view worship as designed to reinforce our basic selfishness, masked under "meeting our needs." The fact is, worship is an end in itself. It is for God. To lose sight of Him is to lose sight of worship altogether. All begins and ends with Him. The stance is not passive, however. This kind of worship is engaging. [In the book of Revelation we read that] the elders were moved by the revelation of who It was they stood before, and by a deliberate act of the will they bowed. The resulting power of this kind of worship shifts the focus from the worshippers to the One being worshipped. The attention shifts from the worship team, the choir, the liturgist and the preacher to the Lord. No long is worship about performance and presentation. God is present. This posture is deliberate, not waiting for a mystical presence but stepping into the reality of who God is. No longer is worship simply about receiving a touch and getting goose bumps. God is here, and His kingdom has come. The presence of God is no longer out of reach; the Kingdom is here and manifest amongst us.
I Stand By the Door An Apologia for My Life
I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Go in, great saints, go all the way in -
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there.
"I had rather be a door-keeper" |
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