Fourth.
There seems to be a divide in opinion when it comes to church music. It seems as though people are either moved by traditional hymns and sacred music OR praise and worship music. I happen to love both. Praise and worship music lends me a heart beat that seems to pour energy into me, and the traditional hymns say it like it is and bring a certain kind of comfort having heard them growing up and leaning on the texts for guidance.
A common argument against contemporary Christian music is its shallowness. I will admit that when I was first exposed to praise and worship music, I was turned off by how repetitive and mundane it was. "How great- is our God. Sing with me how great- is our god. How great, how great- is our God". Don't get me wrong, our God is super great, but why repeat the phrase a million times and put our hands in the air and close our eyes. It wasn't until I NEEDED something out of that music that I realized I had been listening wrong.
When I "got" this music I was at a point where I needed reassurance in Him. Looking back I don't recall if it had been financial hardships, a rocky relationship, an emotional burden etc. but when I sang "How great is our God" I didn't believe it. We sang the phrase again, and it made me think of what things WERE great in my life that He gave me. And soon I had tears of understanding; God blesses us even when things seem hard, and he's the one who will see us out of our discomfort.
So that's just one example of how I embraced contemporary Christian music. By deep listening, I allowed the music to become a tool to make me introspective and really listen to what God was saying. I will say that my upbringing in the church taught me of Gods power, His true power, not just what you hear from other people, but the power that drives you. The stuff that saves you from yourself. And it was this knowledge of serious understanding that helped me tap into the meaning of the song. So it makes me wonder if people without a church background have remotely the same experience. THAT is why I am careful when I'm choosing music for an event. It is NOT enough to repeat words over and over and put your hand in the air with your eyes shut. When my hand goes up, it is not receiving God's abundance, it is reaching for help, security, and guidance, and every time I reach, He reaches back.
I worship at a traditional service, which never ceases to move me. So when I get to experience contemporary, I make the absolute most out of it.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
The Portable Chancel
Third.
Lately I have been lucky to have a friend who enjoys discussing our different beliefs together. He worships at a much different church than I do, so when we talk about our faith and dive into apologetics, we will often come up with differences in opinion.
I learn a lot about myself when I have to ACTUALLY say out loud what I believe and why I believe it. When you're in a position to explain your reasons for your faith, being vague and ambiguous is just not an option. Sometimes I go looking for the debate.
I recently read a blog post about how people tend to get too touchy about some of the language used in the church. The post was centered around calling the chancel a stage instead of a chancel. The argument stood that Christians are too busy worrying about whether we are using the right terminology and not dealing with more important issues. To that blogger, I say kudos to being real -it's a mundane argument when there's much more to worry about.
HOWEVER, there's a reason we have a different word for it. Say a professional dancer comes into church for the first time and sits next to you in your usual pew. She leans in and says 'where are the pastors?' and you say 'they will walk in and sit on the stage" From her perspective, you may have just told her that this worship service will be constructed like entertainment and that the people up there are performing. By calling it a chancel, this gives that space the credibility it deserves that its only purpose is to be a place of worship, not human glory.
I was a vocal performance major in college, so I have been on my fair share of stages. I decided a long time ago that my talent is a direct gift from God and that every time I sing, the performance belongs to Him.
Considering the blog post about chancels and stages, i was lead to think that I never stand on stages. I only sing on chancels because EACH performance belongs to God regardless of the subject matter in the performance. We can put chancels beneath our feet all day long. Give God glory while you walk the dog -walk on His chancel down the street. Give God glory when you're at work -send emails from chancels. Give God glory when you are at the pool -swim in chancels. Give Him glory when you sing in a recital hall -sing on chancels.
In the end, labeling chancels are monumentally important because if we don't, we miss opportunities to glorify our Lord in our practical lives on whatever ground we walk on. Put His chancel beneath you and stand firmly on it.
Lately I have been lucky to have a friend who enjoys discussing our different beliefs together. He worships at a much different church than I do, so when we talk about our faith and dive into apologetics, we will often come up with differences in opinion.
I learn a lot about myself when I have to ACTUALLY say out loud what I believe and why I believe it. When you're in a position to explain your reasons for your faith, being vague and ambiguous is just not an option. Sometimes I go looking for the debate.
I recently read a blog post about how people tend to get too touchy about some of the language used in the church. The post was centered around calling the chancel a stage instead of a chancel. The argument stood that Christians are too busy worrying about whether we are using the right terminology and not dealing with more important issues. To that blogger, I say kudos to being real -it's a mundane argument when there's much more to worry about.
HOWEVER, there's a reason we have a different word for it. Say a professional dancer comes into church for the first time and sits next to you in your usual pew. She leans in and says 'where are the pastors?' and you say 'they will walk in and sit on the stage" From her perspective, you may have just told her that this worship service will be constructed like entertainment and that the people up there are performing. By calling it a chancel, this gives that space the credibility it deserves that its only purpose is to be a place of worship, not human glory.
I was a vocal performance major in college, so I have been on my fair share of stages. I decided a long time ago that my talent is a direct gift from God and that every time I sing, the performance belongs to Him.
Considering the blog post about chancels and stages, i was lead to think that I never stand on stages. I only sing on chancels because EACH performance belongs to God regardless of the subject matter in the performance. We can put chancels beneath our feet all day long. Give God glory while you walk the dog -walk on His chancel down the street. Give God glory when you're at work -send emails from chancels. Give God glory when you are at the pool -swim in chancels. Give Him glory when you sing in a recital hall -sing on chancels.
In the end, labeling chancels are monumentally important because if we don't, we miss opportunities to glorify our Lord in our practical lives on whatever ground we walk on. Put His chancel beneath you and stand firmly on it.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Outdoor Day
Second.
For my job, I have to be creative. I bet ALL youth pastors feel this way. Somehow, we have to build an attractive yet meaningful program. It only seems to get more difficult with each new incoming class of sixth graders.
I find that if you can manage to balance fellowship with faith-centered life application learning, the relationships that form are rooted beyond youth group, and the youth come back. All of this is to say: It's really ok to have an event that is strictly for the purpose of bonding.
I got lucky today when the sermon was about accessing the courage God gave you with the familiar illustration of David and Goliath. At youth group, I had planned to do a Slip-N-Slide and water games. After church, I made my way to Walmart to grab a blow-up raft to slide on and a great idea came to me. I picked up some chalk and some water shooters, and I had myself a new game. I call it "Total Access".
Total Access:
How it works:
Divide your group into 2 teams. Each team gets one large water bucket and a shooter. On the ground where each team is to stand (side by side works fine, use a parking lot), draw a sling shot with chalk. Tell them they are not to step outside of their sling shot. About 5 feet in front of each team's sling shot, draw FEAR in large letters. Have each person draw a small image of one of their fears close to FEAR.
Have your students line up behind their sling shots with water shooters at the ready. When you say "go", each team member has 20 seconds to wash away as much FEAR as possible. The teams will race simultaneously while you count to 20 for each pair. After each team player has had 2 turns, see which team has the most FEAR left on the sidewalk (or parking lot).
**if you've seen the movie We Bought A Zoo, you remember the genius line "all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage to face your fear". -Such a great practical idea. That's why you count to 20.
The lesson behind this game is that God gives us total access to the courage we need to handle anything we face. Because of this gift, we can aggressively face our fears.
For my job, I have to be creative. I bet ALL youth pastors feel this way. Somehow, we have to build an attractive yet meaningful program. It only seems to get more difficult with each new incoming class of sixth graders.
I find that if you can manage to balance fellowship with faith-centered life application learning, the relationships that form are rooted beyond youth group, and the youth come back. All of this is to say: It's really ok to have an event that is strictly for the purpose of bonding.
I got lucky today when the sermon was about accessing the courage God gave you with the familiar illustration of David and Goliath. At youth group, I had planned to do a Slip-N-Slide and water games. After church, I made my way to Walmart to grab a blow-up raft to slide on and a great idea came to me. I picked up some chalk and some water shooters, and I had myself a new game. I call it "Total Access".
Total Access:
How it works:
Divide your group into 2 teams. Each team gets one large water bucket and a shooter. On the ground where each team is to stand (side by side works fine, use a parking lot), draw a sling shot with chalk. Tell them they are not to step outside of their sling shot. About 5 feet in front of each team's sling shot, draw FEAR in large letters. Have each person draw a small image of one of their fears close to FEAR.
Have your students line up behind their sling shots with water shooters at the ready. When you say "go", each team member has 20 seconds to wash away as much FEAR as possible. The teams will race simultaneously while you count to 20 for each pair. After each team player has had 2 turns, see which team has the most FEAR left on the sidewalk (or parking lot).
**if you've seen the movie We Bought A Zoo, you remember the genius line "all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage to face your fear". -Such a great practical idea. That's why you count to 20.
The lesson behind this game is that God gives us total access to the courage we need to handle anything we face. Because of this gift, we can aggressively face our fears.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Start at the Beginning
First
8But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously
8But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously
Micah 6:8
It's about time to go public with the thoughts and ideas in this head. I've hopped onto the blog train! Who am I? I'm a ministry-minded entertainer bent on social justice. Here, you will find song lyrics, my sermons, my thoughts on issues, youth ministry ideas, recordings, and printables. For more information about me, hit up my profile.
So where to start? We'll start where it all started for me: church. Some find it overrated. Some find it insincere. Many find it boring. I'm just gonna be blunt... those people are WRONG.
Let's say you were surfing the web and found yourself on Hulu. You browse and find yourself attracted to the title of a show you've never heard of. You read about it and it interests you. You watch the episode and decide it's just awful. Does this make you a TV hater? Of course not. You find something you like and you spend your time watching that instead.
Here's another one. Say your mom would always watch All My Children, a soap opera that you found yourself watching because it was always on. Someone asks you someday, "What's your favorite soap opera?" and the only show you really know about is All My Children, so you say that one.
These are a lot like church. I'm not suggesting that church is for your entertainment, even though you may very well be entertained at church. It's for your soul. Just as though you search until you find a webisode/tv show/channel you like better than others, so should you deliberately seek a church. In this day in age, there are SO MANY churches to choose from, chances are, you will find something that speaks to you. Perhaps you were brought up in the wrong church for you. Your parents settled in a church that you didn't understand or agree with. Maybe you didn't like it because you were forced to go all those years. So, like your opinion of soap opera, it's all you really know so you just go with it.
By allowing yourself to be affiliated with something you don't agree with, you are doing yourself a disservice. You owe it to yourself to put your energy into something you are passionate about.
What I get out of church is much more than a history lesson. When I leave church, I'm equipped for challenges, I'm more appreciative of the beauty around me, and I get to let go of the slimy feelings of guilt and hate and uncertainty. There's nothing like it. Nothing.
I suggest you challenge yourself. Decide what it is that you love about your church, and thank God for it. Do you have any speculations about the way you practice your faith through that church? Thank God for your speculations. And if you're one of the many people missing out on the gift of a church home, ask yourself why. Would it really be so awful to look for one you like?
Come on in, the water is magnificent!
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