Good Pleasure by Candice Watters on 10/28/2009 at 9:00 AM
Getting married and making babies are such earthy activities, they sometimes make pious people uncomfortable. I love the earthiness of God's creation. Maybe it's the influence of my Jewish grandmother.
Whatever the reason, I'm excited about Gary Thomas's new book, Pure Pleasure. In it, he talks about God's gift of pleasure and the way godly pleasures protect us from sin. In Tuesday's featured Boundless article based on this book, "Enjoying the Earth without Loving the World," Gary writes,
... many Christian teachers persist in setting God's earth up against God's Kingdom — as if the two always oppose one another. We celebrate redemptive activities like prayer and worship, but then pit them against other human realities like marriage, exercise, traveling, reading for pleasure, and laughter.
God isn't just our redeemer, however; he is also our creator. He made us and He made this world. So when we participate in this world as He made it, we celebrate him every bit as much as we honor Him when we do things that reflect His redeeming work.
Redeemed by Jesus, I am finally set free to truly enjoy and participate in the things of this earth without becoming sinfully entangled by them.
How many times are singles told that they have to stop really "wanting" to get married before God will bring them a spouse? This stupidity not only depicts a taunting, teasing God (finally giving us something only after we've stopped wanting it), but it also undercuts the beauty of true marital intimacy, designed by God and generously given to us by God.
Keep in mind, Adam walked with God, enjoyed God, worshiped God, and talked with God far more intensely and directly than we do today. And yet it was God who said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Gen. 2:18).
Catch this: God is literally telling Adam, "It is my opinion that the way you are living — just me and you — is not enough, at least not for now. It isn't good for you to be here with just me and no companion, so I'm creating someone else, a woman, with whom you can share your life and relate to me together."
Brothers and sisters, God told Adam, in one sense, "I'm not enough." Those aren't my words; they're His.
It seems that the Halloween decorating has been amping up in my little corner of the world for the past couple of years. What used to be the occasional skeleton or haybale with pumpkins seems to have morphed into the Fall Battle of the Griswolds.
For the most part, I have no problem with it. I like the elaborate fall decorations with the scarecrows, dried corn and garlands of fall leaves. I don't really mind the giant spiders, witches who have crash landed in the front yards and giant inflatable vampire Mickeys (okay, that's not true, vampire Mickey gives me the willies).
But there is one particular Halloween decoration in my neighborhood that just gives me the creeps. I've had my eye out to see if it was going up again this year and, this morning, it did.
Picture this: A group of five ghosts. They're little and cute and adorable, being held up by sticks. All the ghosts are holding hands (via their little sheets being connected at the edges) so that they appear to be circling around a tree together.
I know. Not that horrifying, right? In fact, I've spent some time this morning wondering, just what it is about this house that gets to me? The best guess I can muster is that it's the cute superimposed upon the creepy. That these sweet little things seem to be participating in something pretty ugly--some type of nature worship ritual.
In the midst of the good things that Christians are trying to do with the Halloween holiday (like show hospitality, remain true to our convictions, host Fall Festivals for the community or celebrate "Reformation Day"), there are still aspects of Halloween that, rightly, cause us concern (like this or this or this).
"Yes, I am well aware this is a controversial issue. In my opinion, it is often either overstated or understated. And yes, on Halloween we do give out candy generously, and we enjoy the kids' costumes. For some Halloween is harmless. But there is another side to be aware of, which sucks in others."
I think that may be it. Other believers probably drive by this ghosts-around-the-tree scene without batting an eye. But something about this particular decoration reminds me, in a pretty vivid way, that as much as we may try to redeem or reform or repurpose this holiday, there is a dark side to it. Demons are real. Satan prowls and he would pull our worship away from our Lord in any way that he could.
As Alcorn put it, I don't want to overstate it or understate it. But those little ghosts this morning reminded me that it should at least be stated.
I first heard the Christian music group Delirious* back in the mid-90s. It wasn't my style of music, but after some thought I bought a couple of their albums. My justification: I was a musician, and this is popular, and so it'll be good for me to study their music.
It wasn't long, though, before I came to admire their work and consider them among the most influential worship bands in modern Christendom. I now own each one of their albums, have listened to each one many times, and have played their songs numerous times in church and elsewhere.
Here's a now-funny story: I woke up the neighbor's sleeping child by playing "Obsession" for my girlfriend Ashleigh one night in the parking lot years ago. Who knew that my car stereo was that loud?
Last night I was able to attend their concert here in Colorado Springs, part of their farewell tour. I'm heartbroken even writing that, seeing that their time as a band is wrapping up. That said, I have no doubt that their time in ministry is hardly coming to a close. Their passion for Scripture, for the Lord Jesus, for God's glory, for the oppressed, for excellence ... will continue to express itself and bless people even after their time as a band comes to a close.
If you're not familiar with their work, I suggest you order a copy of their forthcoming album, History Makers: Greatest Hits. (In the interest of full disclosure, I confess that their publicist offered to send me the CD for free. I refused, since I have no use for a "greatest hits" album: I already own everything Delirious has put out.)
It's been over a decade since I first gave Delirious a listen because I thought it'd be good for me. It hasn't just been good; it's been very good.
In closing, here are a few photos. The first is of lead singer Martin Smith with his wife Anna in the Focus on the Family studios. It was an honor to spend half an hour with them yesterday, along with Lisa Anderson. Stay tuned for that podcast....
This photo shows all five bandmembers. You'll have to take my word on that.
Meet Mr. Smith.
Meet Stu G.
Ted meets Martin.
Meet Ted and his date for the night, the more than fair Mrs. Slater. I must say that I bought my glasses before she bought hers.
*The band's name is actually "Delirious?," but for the sake of grammatical clarity, I've made an executive decision to drop the question mark. My conscience is clear.
Bob Kauflin, Boundless author and Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries, has been leading corporate worship for over 30 years. And he's never been more passionate about the cross of Christ.
In his most recent blog post, "Lessons Learned From Three Decades of Leading," Bob writes about "why the cross should play such a central role in our singing." He then goes on to reference his friend CJ Mahaney's thoughts on cross-centered worship. CJ give four reasons why "Cross-centered worship songs are vital to the life of the church":
First, since the cross is the storyline of Scripture, it should be the storyline of our corporate worship.
Second, we must never leave the impression during corporate worship that we do not need a mediator.
Third, cross-centered songs imitate the heavenly model.
There is no greater mystery, nothing that inspires more wonder, than the crucifixion of our Lord. It was the greatest act of both love and hate ever portrayed. It's a manifestation of both the stratospheric height of God's mercy and the grimy depth of our sin.
Paul boasted in but one thing: the cross. The hosts of heaven include Jesus' death in their continuous expression of praise, day and night. My sin, as the old hymn goes, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. We are reconciled to God through the cross of Christ.
You could ponder the cross for a lifetime and never fully explore its depth and significance. It's both simple and complex. It's seen as both foolishness and the pinnacle of wisdom. It illustrates both divine compassion and divine wrath. Christ the all-powerful was crucified in weakness. It's both glorious and shameful. It shows us both God's fierce anger and His lovingkindness.
So if the cross is central to our faith, and will be throughout eternity, why is it so little referenced in the songs we sing at church?
Why, indeed?
If you're a worship leader, I implore you: Please seek out songs about the cross of Christ for your congregation to sing. If you're not a worship leader, please consider sharing this blog post on Facebook, or directly with your pastor. I'd love to see a broader discussion of the relevance of the cross in congregational singing.
Today I came across this powerful video of Josh Harris talking about not wasting your sexuality. In it, Josh observes:
Trying to be godly and holy when it comes to sex can feel like such a burden, like does God have a bad sense of humor? He gives me all these desires and then He says "Don't do anything with it."
He does call you to restrain yourself and preserve yourself for marriage, and yet you are supposed to do something with it. And what you're supposed to do with it is to allow that desire to drive you. To say, "I'm going to get my life in gear; I need to get a job, I need to start working hard to be a man of maturity and spiritual insight and discernment so that I can lead a family, a wife."
I'm reminded of an article published earlier this year called "When Pigs Fly." In it, author Mike Ensley considers how an improper view of the male sex drive has done damage in the Christian community. Like Ensley, Harris suggests focusing on what God does intend for sex rather than its opposite (which is plentiful in our culture). He says:
God uses this gift to fulfill His purposes and direct us and guide us. When we engage our sexuality for Him it becomes a beautiful thing. It has purpose. And it's not just about trying to seek some greater and greater thrill.
I had a frank conversation with a friend recently who told me that he thinks Christians place too much emphasis on what we can't do instead of focusing on what we should do. What do you think?
In what the authors describe as the "first major national survey of megachurch attenders," the study looks at three major themes:
Who attends a megachurch
Why they come
Why some stay (their italics, not mine)
In the first theme, "Who attends a megachurch?", the study found some similarities between the congregations of megachurches and those of smaller churches. Both congregations are "predominantly female, well-educated, middle class and married with children." But, the study states, "if one looks closer at the information, significant differences emerge."
Specifically, megachurch congregations are "considerably younger" and have "many more singles."
Considerably Younger: Nearly two-thirds of megachurch attenders are under 45 years old, while only a third are for the all-church sample. Megachurches also have a significantly higher percentage of 18- to 24-year-olds in their congregations (18%) compared to typical churches (5%).
Many More Singles: Single adults represent about 10% of a typical American church congregation. However, they represent almost one-third of a megachurch congregation. "Interestingly," the authors write, "these single attenders were twice as likely to be living with other singles when compared to churches of other sizes, but equal in percentage for those living alone. This suggests that perhaps a larger percentage of the megachurch singles are students, a perception confirmed in our visits to the megachurches."
That got me to wondering why young singles seem to prefer megachurches. According to the study, worship style is the strongest factor in initial attraction to a megachurch, followed by senior pastor, church reputation and music/arts. If that worship and teaching are biblically sound, then this trend could be a fine thing.
But I am concerned about the lack of older Christians, older marrieds and older parents in megachurches. Wouldn't it be difficult to benefit from the wisdom of mentors when there are so few? How can we learn from marriages that have stood the test of time if we're surrounded by those who are either aren't or are only recently married? How can we learn from parents who have brought up their children in fear and admonition of the Lord if we never actually see them?
Christian maturity is not limited by age but I've also learned over the past decade that I shouldn't discount the benefits of a life lived following the Lord. Perhaps your experience is different. But, when I'm honest, I realize that the best and most sound biblical advice I've received are from those who are able to look back at my life stage, not those who are participating in it with me.
What about you? Do you attend a megachurch or a smaller church? Do you see pros or cons to either?
Our friendNathan Clark George performed at my church on Sunday. Which was a real treat. He's in Colorado all summer leading worship at Horn Creek retreat center for the various Christian groups coming through.
Yesterday, I noticed that USAToday.com excerpted from a Christianity Today article featuring Nathan on how the recession is affecting Christian artists. Here's what he had to say:
Nathan Clark George has taken minimization of overhead to an extreme — by living with his family in an RV and by playing smaller churches that can't afford big-name acts.
When they know they can't pay you, thankfulness is way up, because they know you're sacrificing, just like they are. People have been very generous. They have handed me a ham, or they've given me broken guitars, since I've blogged about how I like to fix old guitars."
(Check George's blog where he cheerfully recounts some heart-stopping/wallet-sapping misadventures with their van but keeps making music.) George tells CT:
This recession, along with the general industry collapse, is getting rid of the whole stardom mindset, and that's a great thing. If I never make it big and sell 400,000 copies of my CDs, that's just fine. I don't think the Bible says we need stars. The Bible says we need servants."
Nathan and his family of seven (soon to be eight) have been living in their RV for four years, traveling across the country for gigs in
coffee houses and churches. I would think that's taking minimization to the extreme. And probably atypical from other Christian artists, which he acknowledges.
"People in coffee houses appreciate the scripture songs as much as anything else," he says. "I'm just a musician who is willing to go anywhere and sing for anybody. I really don't follow the Christian music scene so I don't know where, or if, I fit in. I just try to be cognizant of where God wants me and try to stay within that framework. Even if it means another year in the RV."
Because the Bible says we need servants, not stars.
The last thing I need in church is for a pastor to encourage me to twitter my "experience with God." It's hard enough to stay focused without the temptation of trying to impress someone with my theological erudition. But that's exactly what some pastors are doing according to this Time magazine article.
Voelz and David McDonald, the other senior pastor at Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Mich., spent two weeks educating their congregation about Twitter, the microblogging site that challenges users to communicate in 140 characters or less. They held training sessions in which congregants brought in their laptops, iPhones and BlackBerrys. They upped the bandwidth in the auditorium.
As expected, banter flourished. Tweets like "Nice shirt JVo" and "So glad they are doing Lenny Kravitz" flashed across three large video screens. But there was heartfelt stuff too.
"I have a hard time recognizing God in the middle of everything."
"The more I press in to Him, the more He presses me out to be useful"
"sometimes healing is painful"
Really? Voelz and McDonald think there's value in distracting yourself from worshipping the almighty God to compliment someone's shirt or for such life changing observations like "sometimes healing is painful"? As John Piper recently wrote, "There is a difference between communion with God and commenting on communion with God."
More Piper:
Preaching and hearing preaching are worship. Preaching is expository exultation. The preacher is explaining the Bible and applying the Bible and EXULTING over the truth in the Bible. The listener is understanding, and applying, and joining in the exultation. Hearing preaching is heart-felt engagement in the exposition and exultation of the Word of God.
This is a fragile bond. The fact that an electric cord is easily cut, does not mean that the power flowing through it is small. It produces bright and wonderful effects. So it is with preaching. Great power flows through fragile wires of spiritual focus.
Perfume can break it. A ruffled collar can break it. A cough can break it. A whisper can break it. Clipping fingernails, chewing gum, a memory, a stomach growl, a sunbeam, and a hundred other things can break it. The power that flows through the wire of spiritual attention is strong, but the wire is weak.
And some of us have a wire that's been weakened by years of cultivating a heart that loves distraction. So much so that the very weight of my iPhone in my pocket tempts me to check, to quickly peak at all those wonderfully colorful apps and all their potential.
I've blogged about my allergies before. There is something in the mountain air that just slays me. Yesterday I woke up feeling yucky for the sixth day in a row. I called and canceled brunch plans after church. Before I hung up the phone my friend suggested I take some Benadryl to see if the symptoms subsided. She said that would probably be a good indicator whether I had a cold or allergies. Brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?
Probably because I don't have a medicine cabinet. Out of sight, out of mind. I still have 96 days of singleness left, so I refuse to do some grown-up things like stock a medicine cabinet until I have to. Besides, pain is your friend. It lets you know you aren't well yet. But since her suggestion did make a lot of sense, I called Brian (my fiance) and asked him to bring me some Benadryl when he picked me up for church. He stays with his parents on the weekends and they have a well stocked medicine cabinet. Thank you future in-laws.
He brought me some chewables. They were grape and reminded me of being sick as a kid. I loved being sick as a kid. My Maw Maw made me milkshakes periodically throughout the day while I laid on the couch and watched soap operas.
I chewed a tablet in the car and another a little later. I assumed that they were kid's strength since they were chewable. I was wrong. I stumbled into the church sanctuary. Brian said it was like going to church with a drunk person. Apparently I was a little loopy in our before-the-service fellowship time. So he apologized for me and explained that it was the allergy meds.
I felt really silly for overdosing and totally expected to snore through the sermon. But to my delight and surprise, I was more focused than usual. The medicine slowed down my mind enough that I wasn't thinking about my grocery list, wedding plans, what blog I was going to write on Monday, or the person smacking their gum behind me. It was amazing. I wept from the second song to the benediction. In the midst of my Benadryl stupor, The Lord reawakened my love for Him and His Kingdom.
How different could Sunday mornings be if I stopped worrying about all the things I can't change and just listen to what is going on right in front of me? I'm tempted to take a Benadryl before church every Sunday, but I know that's not the solution (and allergy medicine is expensive). So I'm praying that God will help me develop a steadfast mind because there is something very rich and life-changing about being completely engaged in the preaching of His Word.
I'm reading through the Psalms with my family. And this past Saturday when we reached Psalm 24, I had a bit of inspiration to sing it instead of reading it ... thanks to Nathan Clark George. As I've written previously, "Hearing Scripture put to music -- and put to music very well -- is just edifying."
It seems Justin Taylor had a similar experience when he heard Nathan's "Psalm 24: The Earth is the Lord's" for the first time saying it "Led me to worship." Justin had never heard of Nathan before this weekend but now highly recommends his new album "Pull Up a Chair." So would l.
As you may know, Nathan was a guest on the Boundless podcast and we've featured his music on several shows here, here, and here.
I love hymns. I do. I know I stick out like a sore thumb in my generation and like a statistical anomaly on demographic studies, but so be it. I love hymns.
This thought crossed my mind when I read today's Boundless article, "Love to Tell." Before I could even read the article, I had to finish the hymn in my head.
I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory,
Everybody together!
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
And there's just something about Easter hymns, in particular, that gets my blood flowing a little. Maybe it's the memories of a childhood and youth of Easters spent with believers singing together. I loved seeing the congregations get a little umph in their songs this time of year (Hard to sing "Up from the grave He arose" in monotone).
Or maybe it's the lessons that I've learned from those hymns-- "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe".
Or maybe it's the humility they remind me to have -- "When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride."
Or maybe it's the thankfulness of generations of saints that they call me to join --"I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain."
Or maybe it's the sheer joy of Christ's victory -- "Christ the Lord is risen today, Ah..ah..ah..ah..alleluia!"
I sometimes wonder if C.S. Lewis' admonition to us about books might not work for music too. Lewis wrote:
"It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books."
Maybe for every new song we sing to our Lord, it might not be a bad idea to go back and sing an old one. Not because an old song is worthy just because it is old, but because old songs have stood the test of generations and may point us toward genuine truths and even our own mistakes.
So, this Sunday, I certainly won't mind if our congregation sings contemporary songs. There are some great ones. But I hope we sing some old hymns as well. I'd like to "Awake my soul and sing, of Him who died for thee, And hail Him as thy matchless King, thro' all eternity."
Church Matters blogger Jonathan Leeman wrote a series of blogs on a "little book" called Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney. They're all pretty short posts but the content he highlights about how the world influences believers ruined me anew. Like this portion for example:
So often we're ignorant of the signs, the symptoms of worldliness. People can be attending church, singing the songs, apparently listening to the sermons...
But inside, that person is drifting. He sits in church but is not excited to be there. She sings songs without affection. He listens to preaching without conviction. She hears but does not apply.
A love for the world begins in the soul. It's subtle, not always immediately obvious to others, and often undetected by the people who are slowly succumbing to its lies.
It begins with a dull conscience and a listless soul. Sin does not grieve him like it once did. Passion for the Savior begins to cool. Affections dim. Excitement lessens for participating in the local church. Eagerness to evangelize starts to wane. Growth in godliness slows to a crawl. (page 20).
Does this make you think about how you spend your week? Do your daily pursuits affect your Sunday worship? Do the shows you watch, the music you listen to, and the things that occupy your time (e.g. friends, conversations, etc.) serve to draw your attention toward the world or toward Christ?
It's interesting to think about. It's important to think about. It's frightening to think about. At least, it is for me.
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