Is every person at church a born again believer that is doing the best they can to please God? Probably not; almost certainly not. But I think that’s where you are most likely to find the people that are. Everyone in the hospital isn’t sick, every person in prison may not be guilty, and every person at church isn’t going to heaven. But in each of these cases I think you will find the highest concentration of those that are.
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Your experience with liturgical worship probably depends on the denomination you are part of. Liturgy is probably associated with high church in Presbyterian, Lutheran and Methodist denominations, less so with Baptists. When I say probably I mean chances are, in most cases, all other things being equal, the odds are in favor of what I’m saying… but it all depends. Style of worship and what constitutes worship are highly subjective to individuals and individual congregations. When we start generalizing about denominations there are so many flavors within each and there is bound to be some bleed through around the edges, to mix metaphors.
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I was listening to the Jimmy’s Table podcast this morning as he interviewed a local Charlotte, NC pastor. They discussed the recent wave of Facebook Live and other video/streaming church services and that brought up a few questions. Will church members go back to church when this is all over? Why send tithes to a church in your city when you could watch a live stream or listen to a podcast from a pastor anywhere?
Here is my response to why we need to go back to church. Continue reading
I understand the significance of high production value. Our desire is to bring the very best before God in his house. A congregation expects, as well they should, for the preacher to be prepared. Sermon prep begins on Monday or Tuesday (and sometimes weeks or even months in advance) not on Saturday evening or before church on Sunday morning. Bible teachers and worship leaders, soloists, music directors, choirs and praise band members are all expected to put in time working together and practicing. And in this day and age you need the crew in sound, projection and lighting to go over the program, discussing transitions and the order of service. There is nothing wrong and in fact there is a lot right about devoting time and energy to prepare for worship. But what has slowly happened over the past 20 or 30 years, from my point of view, is that worship has morphed into a spectator sport. Authentic worship is not something we are to sit and watch. I don’t know who said it first but the term I like to use for that activity is worshiptainment. I do not believe that is what God desires. Continue reading
It’s Sunday morning. I don’t normally post on Sundays because there are so many other things going on. But just a short reminder. Today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread is titled Plodding for God. There is a link in the left-hand side bar. The scripture is taken from Hebrews 6 and it shares the story of William Carey, British missionary to India. Continue reading
If you haven’t read this post featuring A.W. Tozer from earlier this week, please start there. This is something of a follow up that continues the same line of thought. Continue reading
I saw a quote the other day, see if this sounds about right.
“It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games and refreshments.”
Discuss amongst yourselves. I’ll give you a topic:
“A Christian church-design company has proposed that building McDonald’s restaurants in churches would attract more worshippers.” –The Week, Dec. 12, 2014
I’m thinking you will attract something, I’m not sure they’ll be “worshippers.”
Those of us who have made church a part of life for many years may not even be aware of the “church culture” we surround ourselves with. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but we need to understand what is taking place and how it can effect our ministry and witness. Let’s begin by defining some terms:
culture: a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc. (Miriam Webster Online)
subculture: a group that has beliefs and behaviors that are different from the main groups within a culture or society (Miriam Webster Online) Continue reading
First, a word about society. Our culture at large has pretty low expectations for behavior. Honesty, morality, decency and work ethic are no longer expected from most people. Slipping in a few minutes late, taking home a few office supplies, riding the clock a few minutes here or there is what employers and co-workers expect as normal these days. People will do what they can get away with, at school, at work, at red lights without cameras, filing their income taxes, etc. I’m not talking about embezzling corporate funds, I’m talking about the “little things” that supposedly everybody does, from running errands in the company car to flirting with the waitress.
Hopefully Christians – I said hopefully – attempt to rise above falling expectations. Continue reading
The Master's Table 