End of the Spear and Confrontation

Amazing article by Randy Alcorn concerning the firestorm of controversy surrounding The End of the Spear movie. If you have not yet heard, this movie is about Jim Elliot and his missionary friends who were killed by Indians in South America a few decades ago. The sum of the controversy concerns the fact the the guy who plays the lead actor, Steve Saint, is gay and a well known homosexual activist. Randy's article is not about this issue per say, but rather the response of the Christian community in dealing with the directors and producers of this film.

DG National Conference (2006)

Desiring God Ministries 2006 National Conference
Theme: Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World
Date: September 29 to October 1, 2006
Speakers: David Wells, D.A. Carson, Timothy Keller, Mark Driscoll, Voddie Baucham, John Piper

David Wells: "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World"
D.A. Carson: "The Supremacy of Christ and Love in a Postmodern World"
Timothy Keller: "The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World"
Mark Driscoll: "The Supremacy of Christ and the Church in a Postmodern World"
Voddie Baucham: "The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World"
John Piper: "The Supremacy of Christ and Joy in a Postmodern World"

Here for more info.

Gospel for Asia

A few years ago I read a book called "Revolution in World Missions" by K. P. Yohannan, the founder and president of an organization called Gospel for Asia. I would have to say that this book has probably impacted me the most in terms of pratical application of anything I have read in the last few years. If you go to the website and request the book, they will send it to you for free. I would greatly encourage you to spend a couple minutes on the website to see what they are all about.

Infinite God

Wayne Grudem notes:

When we speak of God's existence"before" the creation of the world, we should not htink of God as existing in an unending extension of time. Rather, God's eternity means that he has a different kind of existence, an existence without the passage of time, a kind of existence that is difficult for us even to imagine. (See Job 36:26; Ps. 90:2,4; John 8:58; 2 Pet. 3:8; Rev1:8) The fact that God created time reminds us of his Lordship over it and our obligation to use it for his glory.

From "Systematic Theology"

To buy click here.

Support good art!!!

Click here for one of the coolest bands that you may have never heard of.

Avoidance Ethic

There is a great phrase from years past, "I don't smoke, I don't chew, and I don't go with girls who do." Brings to mind a spiritual principle...

John Piper talks about an "avoidance ethic" - the idea that my personal spirituality or dedication to Jesus is categorized by all the things that I avoid. I don't do this, and I don't do that, thus I am really doing well as a Christian. The problem with this is that I can avoid alll the cultural taboo sins and still have hate in my heart, be greedy to the core and persist in silent judgementalism.

Outward behaviors may be easy to regulate, the greater challenge comes with the state of our heart. Jesus taught about this over and over in the Sermon on the Mount. He took all the commonplace and familiar rules of the day that were based on outward appearances and took them down the heart level. For example, Matt 5:21,22 says ""You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." Murder is easy to regulate, hatred is not. Jesus calls us to be consistent. May there be no disconnect between inward heart workings and the outward behaviors.

All this to say, this should drive us to dependance up on the Holy Spirit. None of us can change ourselves, but we must surrender before the cross and believe that God will change us from the inside out as we submit to him and experience the great joy of obedience. Luke 11:11-13 is a great encourgement:

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Verse of the Day

This is one of my favorite verses to help me battle materialism in my heart. In our culture this is one of the primary battles that we face on a day to day basis. Most of the time we probably are not even aware of it. May the "decietfullness of wealth" not choke out faith!


1 Timothy 6:6-9 (New International Version)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.

Great Article for Parents

Jerram Barrs of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis is quickly becoming one of my favorite living theologians. Read his immensely helpful and practical article, "Everything Is Interesting: Raising Educated People" here.

Easier Than Love

Off any of the attempts by Christian musicians to go "mainstream", Switchfoot has to be seen as the most note worthy to date. I am a huge fan of their release "The Beautiful Letdown". Beginning to end, it is amazing songwriting and the production is far beyond the standard for most major label Christian acts. This was the album that propelled them to a very credible status in the mainstream. Which brings to mind burning question... Why is it a huge deal if the mainstream validates something that is Christian? Do we see this as evangelism? Perhaps. Or it is that we feel somehow inferior to mainstream culture, giving rise to insecurities and needs for validation? Just a random wondering... Anyway, back to Switchfoot.

On their most recent release, "Nothing is Sound" the guys are back with a great rock album, but I am afraid that is does not measure up to the epic status of "The Beautiful Letdown". To me, there are some really great songs on this latest release, but pound for pound, song for song, it is not quite as strong. One of the highlights though for me is found in the song called "Easier than Love". In essence the song discusses the lies that we believe about sex that are purported by the media. What an amazing thought that literally millions of unbelievers are going to pick up this record and perhaps have their thinking challenged on such a potentially destructive issue. Sexual lies are the cultural air that we breathe, so to see Switchfoot have a platform to communicate truth in a way that is artistically credible is very encouraging to me.

Below are the lyrics:

Sex is currency
She sells cars,
She sells magazines
Addictive bittersweet, clap your hands,
with the hopeless nicotines

Everyone's a lost romantic,
Since our love became a kissing show
Everyone's a cassanova,
Come and pass me the mistletoe

Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone

She is easier than love,
Easier than love,
Easier to fake a smile and bribe
It's easier leave
It's easier to lie
It's harder to face ourselves at night
Feeling alone, What have we done?
What is the monster we've become?
Were is my soul?

Sex is industry,
The CEO, of corporate policy
Skin-deep ministry,
Suburban youth, hail your so-called liberty

Every advertising antic,
Our banner waves with the neon glow
War and love become pedantic,
We wage love with a mistletoe

Everyone's been scared to death of dying here alone

Sex, is easier than love

Anti-Genocide Rally in Sudan

More info here about the situation in the Sudan.

This world is not our home

Hewbrews 11:13, 16 - These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strnagers and exiles on the earth...But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 13:14 - For here we have no lasting city, for are looking for the city to come.

John Piper notes:

Being Christian exiles in American culture does not end our influence; it takes the swagger out of it. We don’t get cranky that our country has been taken away. We don’t whine about the triumphs of evil. We are not hardened with anger. We understand. This is not new. This was the way it was in the beginning –- Antioch, Corinth, Athens, Rome. The Empire was not just degenerate, it was deadly. For three explosive centuries Christians paid for their Christ-exalting joy with blood. Many still do. More will. It never occurred to those early exiles that they should rant about the ubiquity of secular humanism. The Imperial words were still ringing in their ears: “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mark 13:13). This was a time for indomitable joy and unwavering ministries of mercy. Yes, it was a time for influence –- as it is now. But not with huffing and puffing as if to reclaim our lost laws. Rather with tears and persuasion and perseverance, knowing that the folly of racism, and the exploitation of the poor, and the de-Godding of education, and the horror of abortion, and the collapse of heterosexual marriage, are the tragic death-tremors of joy, not the victory of the left or the right.

Read the full article here

Thoughts on Worship Leading - Part 3

One of my mentors and friends, Chuck Steddom (Worship Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis) frequently reminded me of the need for the use of scripture in our worship leading. All to often as a young worship leader I tried to use the platform that I was given in order to preach a mini sermon instead of helping people respond to God. I had to come to terms with the fact (and Chuck helped me see this) that ultimately people don't need my words, they need the Word of God. Not that we don't speak to our people when we lead them in worship, but ultimately my hope is they will be left with a grand vision of God which may primarily come through his Word and not a worship leaders clever phrase or devotional thought.

Harry Potter

Personally, I have not read the books. My wife devours them. I know they have created a bit of a stir in the evangelical community in recent days. Jerram Barrs penned this helpful article to add his voice to the conversation. I found it to be very interesting and enlightening.

Miscarriage

My wife and I have personally felt the confusing and painful sting of losing a child through miscarriage. Pastor and theologian, Dan Doriani, of Covenant Theological Seminary, provides a very helpful and honest article that deals with such a sensitive, yet common issue.

Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

C. S. Lewis is very much in the news these days. Bookstores are selling great quantities of Lewis' Narnia stories and many other Narnia-related works because of the release of the new film version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In his essay "Echoes of Eden in C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," Jerram Barrs, Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture and Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute, addresses the Christian themes that make the Narnia stories such effective instruments for spreading the Gospel. Click here to read it.

Sudan

I am a big fan of the genre of documentary film making. Recently I viewed a very interesting story of boys from the Sudan who through an American program can start a new life in the US. What was most interesting to me was that the film makers gave a refreshingly positive view of evangelicals as they were basically the only community to reach out to these boys in tangible ways. Click here for info about the film. I highly recommend viewing it.

On a similar and much more scary note, click here to read Al Mohler's blog entry entitled "Mass Murder in Slow Motion? Genocide in Darfur".

New Christian Radio in Nashvegas

For all those living in Nashtucky there is a new Chrstian radio station - 1160 AM. The focus is Bible teaching and you'll find many familiar names there I think. Check it out.

Must see for all musicians

If this is real, then I am extremely impressed. This guy is a bit crass, but I think you'll find it very entertaining, especially if you are a piano player.


I got this clip from my friend Tim, you can see his blog here

Five Bad Ways to Argue About Abortion

Amazing article here

Free Willy?

Free will vs. God's sovereignty? Theological giant, Matt Perman comments:

Finally, let me conclude with a clarification to avoid misunderstanding. I am not saying that man is entirely passive in salvation. The Scriptures clearly teach that man's will is involved in coming to Christ. It is a choice that we make. What I do deny is that man is ultimate in salvation. Thus, when we believe in Christ, God must be the one who is causing us to do this through His effectual call. The issue between Calvinism and Arminianism is not whether man makes a choice, but why man makes the choice that He does. Calvinism answers that belief is ultimately a result of God's effectual grace, while Arminianism answers that it is not ultimately because of anything God is or does.

To read the whole article, click here

Clear Thinking about Legalism

I found this article extremely helpful.

Thoughts on Worship Leading - Part 2

I would submit that the lead worshipper is ultimately the Senior Pastor, or primary Teaching Pastor. The vision of God that is presented from the Word of God by our teachers wil in the long run sustain over and against any new hip style or song. We may be able to generate a crowd by changing music styles or changing worship leaders, but in the end it is the content of the preaching that will cause people to respond to God in worship and give them endurance to finish well. I believe that one could be the best worship leader on the planet, but if his senior pastor provides a weak a vision of God, over time his worship leading will be ineffective. Thoughts?

Thoughts on Worship Leading - Part 1

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the last few years on the majority of our church's paradigm shift to (I hate the word due to baggage) "contemporary worship". In this post I want to talk about what I think are two main keys that in my opinion will help any worship leader in this paradigm or in any other. These would be:

1. Song Selection, and
2. Player Selection

In the past I did not give much attention to these factors, focusing more on service planning, transitions, rehearsing the band, and thinking through personal instrument choices. In recent days I have come to embrace different values in leading worship. Not that the former things are bad, but I believe they need to take a back seat to song selection and player selection.

Song Selection:

Are our songs Christ-Centered? There is a wealth of "contemporary" songs out there these days. There are almost too many to pick from and we could lead our congregations in a new song every Sunday if we wanted to. But how many of those songs really point to the gospel in a clear and worshipful way? I want to know that after each Sunday we have provided a vision of the cross and all that entails and not just an "emotional high". Not that emotions are not important, biblically, we know that they are, but too often in our current worship culture we can sing songs that just speak of OUR love for Jesus and not focusing on what he has done and will do for the sake of his glory. Second, are our songs hard for our people to sing? We need to be presenting music that is accessible to our congregations. Is the range of the song too diverse? Is the verse to rhythmic for people to follow after the first few times? As leaders in music it may be easy for us and satisfying for us, but we need to bend to the needs of our people and serve them with music that is not over their heads.


Player Selection:

Excellence should be defined by the leadership of each local congregation, and especially by the lead pastor and lead worshipper. Thus, standards of excellence will vary greatly from congregation to congregation. That being said, are the people that we are putting up front to facilitate worship hindering our focus on Christ, or helping? Are we placing people in positions simply because we feel the need to fit into some “contemporary” form of bass, drums and guitar, rather than looking to who God has provide in our congregation who can play with excellence? Maybe you only have a violin, and bass guitar and piano, but if all of these people can play up to the standard of excellence that the leadership has set it would more effective than trying to fit people who are less skilled into some prescribed form that we learned from the current “contemporary” worship model. Is excellence king? By no means, humility is, but if we discredit it we may fail to honor God and our people.

Let us cease to believe the lie that God’s spirit moves through basses, guitars and drums. Ministry has always been and always will be about God’s spirit moving through faith filled people, not through forms that come and go. Thus we don’t NEED anything other than surrendered hearts to reach a post-modern generation. All the hip techniques that we learn about in conferences and in books about reaching people will come and go. The great commission and the great commandment will stay the same. May we primarily focus on these things first in our preaching, praying and loving and perhaps give all those techniques and forms secondary attention.

If a humble worship leader would spend a majority of time picking the right songs and picking the right people I think they would be well on their way to God-honoring worship leading.

There is much more to say, but we’ll save that for later…

Kanye and Critisism

I have to be honest; I am a fan of Kanye West. Let me qualify that statement: I’m a fan of his music. I believe he is one of the most refreshing things (artistically speaking) to come out of the music industry in a long time. Sadly thought at this stage in his career he is probably best know not for his music, but for his mouth. On national television, in the wake of the Katrina disaster he uttered the now classic phrase, “George Bush doesn't care about black people". Now I don’t know GW or ever been in his presence so I can’t comment on his relationships with black people, but Kanye’s statement begs the question, “Which black people? All black people? Just black people in New Orleans? What about black people in Haiti and Africa and other parts of the world? Does GW not care about them too?” It goes without saying that this statement was reckless and misguided. I know this point in history was a very emotionally charged time for lots of different people and we have all lashed out in various ways when we are pushed to the edge emotionally, that being said, Kanye’s statement at the least it needs serious and careful qualification. But this whole issue brings me to another broader issue:

What is the means by which we go about criticizing others? Recently I have been reflecting on my need to be informed before I make judgments about people or come to conclusions about issues in our culture. The classic example goes like this: There was man on an airplane accompanied by his three children. During the coarse of the flight his three children became very unruly and obnoxious, yet he seemed to completely ignore the whole situation. All this commotion from his children eventually brought an angry passenger to say to him sternly, “Sir, will you please control your children!” He seemed to be brought to his senses and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. We just buried their mother and I am having a hard time dealing with it all.” Our understanding of someone’s circumstances can greatly affect how we judge their behavior. Personally I have felt the pain of people questioning my motives and my character for certain decisions that I made without ever sitting down and asking my why I made those decisions. I have also been the one to dole out the cavalier statements that disrespect people and cut them deep, giving the impression that I am omniscient.

I am learning that it is much easier to take criticism when you feel like you have been heard and understood. Usually when we seek to listen and understand it brings us first to a place of humility and second to a heart of compassion. Our convictions about someone or something may not change a bit, but the way in which we express those convictions may take a completely different shape which hopefully is more God-honoring and Christ exalting.

All this is a call to love people enough to try and understand why they are who they are and why they make the decisions they make. Seek to listen and understand before spewing forth accusations and judgments. Only God is all knowing. Only He has all the information. Fight for humility and love people enough to carefully listen first. If anyone needs to hear this message, I do.

Homosexuality and the Church

Check out this link for a great story of grace and truth brought to my attention by my blogging hero, Justin Taylor.

http://www.founders.org/blog/2006/01/homosexual-activism-and-sbc.html

TV for Small Children

When I was younger and more idealistic I always thought, "When we have kids we won't even have a TV! TV is the spawn of Satan!!" Now I still believe to some degree that TV is the spawn of Satan, that said, when Daddy desperately needs to get some work done, popping in a "Bob the Builder" movie is a great free babysitter for 45 minutes. Thus I have grown less dogmatic in my views concerning TV. Along the lines of viewing for little people...

Is it just me or do "The Wiggles", "Boo Bah", and "Tellie Tubbies" completely give you the willies?

Personally my favorite show for young kids is "Between the Lions"

This show is very educational in terms of the skill of reading and is extremely creative in it's presentation. I would highly recommend it for the hobbits that live in your shire.

Cinderella Man

I know, I know I am way behind the times here, but when you have two little people that live in your house it is very hard get out and see movies. Recently on a flight from Atlanta to LA, I had the privilege to see the movie Cinderella Man. What an amazing movie on a variety to levels. Let me make some random comments:

1. Paul Giamatti, (supporting actor, played the trainer) was unreal. Definitely Oscar worthy.
2. I have to admit that I was expecting to see just another version of Rocky, so I was a bit skeptical, but after about 5 minutes into the movie I knew that I was very mistaken
3. What an amazing display of Biblical roles in the family. The man goes out and fights for his family at all costs and his wife lovingly supports him even thought it very scary at times. What kind of a man break his hand in a boxing match and then goes out and gets a job on the docks just so he can hold his family together? I hope I could be this kind of a man for my family
4. This movie made me have a greater respect for my former generations. I believe that my generation (Busters) has a lot to learn from those who have gone before us. Our great grandparents and grandparents lived though times that are virtually unintelligible for us younger people who have been blessed so much. What a reason to say thanks to them and remember that those who fought through the hard times have shaped who we are today.
5. Since when did Russell Crowe become the manliest man alive? Gladiator, Master and Commander and now The Cinderella Man? Geez…
6. As a parent this movie touched me at such a deep level. I found myself weeping at multiple times when Jim was pushed up against the ropes of life and came close to losing his family, but over came all obstacles to see that this did not happen or at least did not happen for very long. I think these sorts of themes touch us very deeply because God has wired us up as men to desire at some level at least to be this sort of man for our family.

Granted, this is a movie, but Jim Braddock was a real person and his story is worthy of viewing whether it has been altered to push our emotional buttons or not. I would highly recommend the viewing of this movie for it is cause for great reflection about family and life. Please let me know your thoughts.

Why Blog?

Is it arrogant on my part to assume that there are people out there that would want to read and think about what I have to say? Maybe. Could it be a grand waste of time publishing all these random thoughts to a potentially world wide audience? Maybe. Could it be that I am just longing for attention and people to affirm what I blieve to be true because I am insecure? Maybe. On the positive side, I think it is great way to document ones thoughts and to practice writing.

Lots of introspection as I move through my second day as a blogger. Would love any other bloggers thoughts here on this subject.

For lovers of truth and justice

Please consider spending sometime on this website:

http://www.abort73.com/

I believe that we are living in a day that 300 years from now history writers will look back and have some sort of label for. We use words like "The Dark Ages" and "The Enlightenment" to refer to times past. In the future historians will give this period around the millenium some sort of name like that. I feel blessed to be able to live in a time and space that seems to be very unique. At the same time I am greatly grieved by what will most likely be one of the hallmarks of our age: abortion. It truly is the holocaust of the 21st century. I hope that does not offend a Jewish person or someone from Rwanda, because I am aware that the issues are different, but we must take heed and know that a culture that purposely supports the slaughter of those who are "in the way" or less powerful will certainly implode upon itself.

Take a moment and watch the second video on the site and ask God what he would have you do. Not sure what I am supposed to do yet specifically. Maybe this post is the first step...

Kobe Goes for 81 - Unreal

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap;_ylt=AhLTDpkqGAHiGpoQ_yshziI5nYcB?gid=2006012213&prov=ap

Boycott Conservative Talk Radio!!

Am I serious? Maybe... I would submit that people who behave in ways that are completely sub-christian, but at the same time claim an allegiance to Jesus do much more harm to the visible church than any hardened pagan ever could. I can't begin to articulate how angry I get when (Rush, Sean H, Bill O, etc) completely disrespect their callers through lack of listening and compassion and grace. Granted I may line up ideologically with a majority of what they say, but the means by which and the tone they use in communicating their message does more harm than good in my opinion. In short if you are going to be a Christian, please don't give the impression to others that if everyone would just do exactly as you say, then the world would be the best possible of all places. That is not to say that we don't believe that we have real Truth to communicate to a very needy world, but that Truth first needs to come to me as the neediest, and that perspective should revolutionize the way I treat all those who agree or disagree with me. Just asking for more humilty and grace in communication from those who claim the name of Jesus. A couple scriptures to consider in light of these comments

James 1:19:
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,


Proverbs 18:17:
The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him


On a related note, can we do away with the church marquees that say something like this "How do you like your eternity? Smoking or Non-smoking", or "Don't want to get burnt? Use Son-screen" Both of these have appeared at churches not far from my house. Not a great evangelistic strategy in my opinion. It may be a valid question in a certain context, but not on the ouside of church on the marquee, using those words in that way. Thoughts?

Loving/Disciplining our Children

Kim and I are working very hard on being the kind of parents who communicate very intentionally beyond words how much we love our kids. Meaning, do we spend actual quantity and quality time with our kids? My three year old loves to play trains. How often to I met him on his terms instead of mine and get on the floor and play trains with him? Easy for 3 minutes, not for 30, which is what he likes and needs. It is amazing how when I give him this kind of attention how much better he is behaved generally speaking.

At the same time we are working very hard at being the kind of parents who are very direct and consistent with our discipline. I am dying not to be the kind of parent (as I am sometimes) that just yells and yells and warns and warns but never follows through. All that teaches my kids is that Daddy just yells and is angry at them alot, but never really acts on what he says he is going to. Indirectly, he learns that Daddy is a liar. He does not do what he says he is going to do. Very destructive for our kids. We are trying very hard to be quiet and calm in our disciplilne, but quick and sure at the same time. I don't want our home to turn into a concentration camp, but in the early formative years I think this is very important to be this consistent. What a joy to see the fruit of this in our childrens brief lives thus far. We fail all the time and I find myself confessing to Kim, "There was an instance today when I was a bad parent" but we are striving for this with all our dependant and prayerful might.

I think marrying these two approaches can be a powerful combination in the lives of our kids.

Better sign off and go play legos...

Another great Bible Study site

http://www.monergism.com/

Worship disconnect

I was recently in a prominent church in the midwest and observed something that troubled me very deeply. The worship leader was leading the congregation in the song "Blessed Be The Name" by Matt Redman. The context of the song is Job and the song talks all about suffering. When all was stripped away from Job he was still able to say, "Blessed Be The Name of the Lord". Now in light of the fact that all of Job's family was killed, except for his wife and he lost all his material possessions as well, it goes with out saying that this song is not a "happy" song. The problem was that the worship leader was leading the song with a huge smile and his face and he was exhorting us to dance and clap like it was a high school pep rally. Granted it is a an upbeat song, but for sure it is not chipper in light of the lyrics. There seemed to a be vast disconnect between the content of the song and the way in which it was presented. It was a great reminder for me as a worship leader (cause I have done this in the past I'm sure) to seek to be true to the tone and meaning of the song in its presentation. The flip side would be presenting a song about the joy of the Lord and we lead it stone faced and seemingly bored.

I think the same goes for preachers. If we are going to give our people a "red faced rebuke" about how they don't give enough to missions or whatever, then we must ask if that was also the authors intent in the text from which we are preaching. If the text is from Paul, then does Paul seek to be angry and rebuking in the message that he penned? If not, then I don't think we should either in our presentation as preachers. For example, if we are preaching from Galatians 1 then it would be appropriate to be stern and rebuking in our tone as preachers, but if we are preaching from Phillipians, then probably not in light of the context of his message there. Make sense? Would love your thoughts.

Drama Ministry on Sunday Mornings?

I'll be blunt. I'm not a big fan of the drama ministry on Sunday mornings in our corporate gatherings. I think it is probably due to the fact that in most churches that I have attended or worked in, this expression usually is expressed with a severe lack of excellence. Contrast this with our musicians. Generally speaking, most music pastors or worship leaders have spent years honing their craft. They view themselves as professionals. Could the same be said of those who lead the drama ministry or participate? Probably not. Usually there is a call out to the church that anyone interested in being involved can come to a meeting and get plugged in. Then the line of thought goes something like this, "I used to be in drama in high school, or someone once affirmed how funny I was in the college variety show, heck, I'll give it a shot!" Now this may not be all bad, but I would like to submit that we need a higher standard of excellence in our Sunday morning gatherings. The same can be said for musicians as well. I think alot of churches get bogged down by feeling like that have to allow all these different types of minsitries to be used on Sunday morning simply because they can. Now, is there a place for this type of artistic expression in the church? Should it be affirmed? I believe so, but I'm just not sure if we should feel that we need it on a Sunday morning in order to be "culturallly relevant". I know I am raising a number of issues here and lots of my statements need to be further qualified, but I'll just leave it here for now and would love further interaction from anyone else out there on this issue. I hope not one hears this as arrogant, I just want to ask honest questions. I know I run the risk of offending many here due to no non verbal in this form of communcation medium, but I think it's worth the risk. Questions:

What is the role of the arts in our Sunday morning gatherings?

Should we attempted to use all artistic means at our disposal just because we can?

How should "excellence" be defined and by who?

I've joined

Ok, so I've bent to the pressure of the information age and started blogging. Hope to hear from you soon.

Imogen Heap

Probably the coolest music I have heard in a long time. I would greatly encourage all lovers of art, and especially those lovers of musical artistic expression to check it out and support good art.

http://www.imogenheap.com/

or on iTunes - imogen heap

Bible Study Resource

I have been thinking about buying some Bible software for my computer, but in doing some research into it I have found there there are a wealth of resources (more that I could ever get to) that are free on-line. See below for a great free Bible encyclopedia.


http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/