Singing and Understanding

Recently, Cole's dad, Rick shared a very interesting story with me.  But first let me give you some background.

Rick grew up attending a charismatic church, that uses popular style musical accompaniment, soloists, choirs, etc. in worship.  Rick was one of the soloists.  Rick married, Gina who grew up attending a non-denominational acapella Church of Christ.  Rick attended with her often, but remained loyal to the way his parents raised him.  A few years ago Rick and Gina began attending with us.  After a few months, Rick said he had some questions for me.  We met in my study before worship on Sunday afternoon.  He questions were great but that is another blog.  He surprised his family and to the delight of all here, he came forward and obeyed the Gospel that evening.  Rick now leads in worship in many different areas and teaches our young teens on Wednesdays.

Now back to Cole.  Because Rick's family (parents, brothers, etc) are still part of the other group Cole and his brother Brooks will occasionally visit with family and attend worship where they assemble.  After one such visit, Cole told Rick and Gina, "That was a cool church.  They had a band with drums, guitars, it was great!"  Rick asked Cole a simple question, "What songs did they sing?"   "I don't know," Cole replied, "but it was awesome."

After the conversation had changed Cole interrupted, "We did sing, 'It is Well with My Soul,' it was good too."  Rick later discovered that the reason Cole remembered that one song was it was the only one the whole congregation sung acapella.  The message came through when the instruments were silent.

Now I wonder how Eph 5, Col 3, and 1 Cor 14 would fit into this event?

Scott

Re-Thinking Church

A lot of good religious folks are talking about the church, and are rethinking and redesigning the church.  This May 1 and 2 the congregation at Sweetwater, TN will host a series of meetings designed to help us "Think About the Church."  If you are close by or are traveling through, please stop in.  Below is the advertisement for this series of meetings.  Oh, by the way, I am the guest speaker :-)

Scott

Where I Used to Go to Church

Someone recently reminded me of a story of a man who spent five years isolated on a deserted island. When rescued those rescuing him noticed three straw huts, and asked him what they were. "That first one," he said pointing, "is my house." "The last one over there is where I go to church, and the one in the middle is where I used to go, but we had a split over what the preacher was being paid."

It is sad that Christians will let simple things of likes and dislikes, the opinions of others, or financial disagreements get in the way of their walk with God. There may be a right time to look for a new church home, but too many of us swap churches quicker that we change automobiles. Before we leave a congregation where we invested so much time and energy, we ought to try to get along.

Jesus said the world would know His disciples by their love (Jn 13:35). Leaving in a tiff, does not demonstrate love.

Jesus also taught conflict resolution,

• "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Mat 5:23-24)
• "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector." (Mat 18:15-17)

Notice that Jesus teaches that whether I am the offended or the offender that I am the one to make the first step is seeking reconciliation. It is always my turn as God's child to try to work things out.

Take time to study through these verses again, and pray for the strength to put them into practice.

Scott

Guest Blogger asks a serious question

Today's blog is an inquiry from my older brother, Doug McCown, who serves as an elder in the congregation were he attends. I'll add my answer and his to below the question and let you add yours as comments.

Please think about your worship to God...what things distract you? Discuss what you do to put these distractions aside as you worship. Also, discuss what you can do to help others keep their focus on God.

Please keep these comments focused on the actions and not on any particular person. (i.e. Don't say, "Doug never buttons his top button when he wears a tie, so it gets crooked." instead say, "crooked ties and unbuttoned top buttons really distract me from worship.) Please feel free to tag others when you start responses. As you read each of the responses - think what you do to distract others and how you can overcome that.

Doug's answer: One of the most distracting things to me is "bathroom calls or water breaks" during a short one-hour service. Obviously, I can easily dismiss these issues with children under 5 and elderly with incontinence - but others distract me. It is especially true when I can predict the exact time in worship that this will occur. What do I do to prevent this from being a distraction??? I try to avert my eyes, but I have already been distracted. I try not to think about it - and it often works and allows me to refocus.

Scott's answer: 1. Internal distractions of my thoughts. These may concern things I think I need to get done or things I forgot to do. As a preaching minister, sometimes I am distracted toward what I am about to say when I should be focused on the song, prayer, sacrifice of Christ, etc. To get re-focused requires me to "pinch" myself internally and concentrate ore on what is going on at that moment in worship

2. External distractions for me tend to be adults and older children who should have better control, getting up too frequently to refresh or relieve themselves. Again as a preacher, this is not fair to me, I cannot leave for the restroom during my own sermon ;-).

Well what about you?

Why Members are Exiting Churches

A good walk and quiet commute this morning. The question of why members are leaving is weighing heavy on my mind this morning and for the last couple of days. This morning I give you four reasons why I think this is so and four suggestions on how those of us in church leadership and as members of churches might combat this trend. My thought started after a local TV reporter I follow on Twitter posted, “A national survey shows more people are falling away from organized religion. Why do you think this is happening?” Since reading her question, I have read two articles online (The Christian Chronicle http://tinyurl.com/bjslt6 & the Christian Science Monitor http://tinyurl.com/dfysz7 ). Both have good information about what might be going on.


While encouraging you to read the above articles, permit me to give my evaluation of why I believe people are leaving churches. From my reading, from conversations, from my observations, and as a member of Generation X (a.k.a. The Baby Busters) who are part of the ones walking out and taking their children with them; I think there are at least four major reasons people leave:

1. A Mis-Focus on Politics: Churches of all types began shifting their focus about 15 to 20 years ago away from Christ and toward Politics and the creation of an anti-cultural movement. I believe that this was an honest change in an attempt to “keep” the United States a “Christian” nation. Leaders in churches saw that culture was heading in an ungodly direction and began to shout warnings hoping to bring people to hold fast to Judeo-Christian morals. They took this approach out of the pulpit and church buildings to the steps of capitols and doors of legislators trying to beat the Devil at his game. The reasoning was that Christians could no longer be the silent majority letting the vocal minority influence local, state, and national policy. Those of my generation, even many of those who hold to high moral standards do not believe that churches should run government. The recent change in the national political environment may be evidence of this belief. When churches continue to promote candidates and try to push politics from the pulpits the younger sets begin to walk out the door. They are not wanting to be worldly, they want to be godly, and do not feel they are learning as much about God as they are about Washington D.C. Churches do need to teach morals and the truth about immorality, but not with a political tone.


2. Failure to Teach Doctrine: At about the same time as the above shift in focus, so-called Mega Churches started appearing on the evangelical and fundamentalist landscape. These groups built large communities of adherents by reaching out to the “un-churched” with programs and ministries designed to fill their felt and desired needs. Again the idea was mostly from a pure motivation of trying to reach people for Christ. Many thought that if we reach the physical and emotional needs of the “un-churched” with love then we could reach their spiritual need for Christ. A mantra echoed in the halls of many churches, “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The problem is that many have not shifted from this emotional and physical outreach to teaching their converts about doctrine. I suggest that the average church goer does not know the major doctrines of the congregation they attend. There is a time for a baby to have only milk, but a child must have solid food to grow to adulthood (1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12). Many are leaving churches because they need a change in diet to help them grow to maturity.


3. Cultural Shift in the Churches: A result of not growing individuals to mature adulthood as a child of God is that they do not learn to avoid the pitfalls of the world. By not teaching doctrine, churches failed to equip their members to be faithful to each other and to God. There are telling statistics concerning high rates of broken homes within Christianity, higher than non-Christian cultures and even atheistic homes. Churches have let the world get a foothold on their members. A friend and fellow preacher wrote recently about doing an experiment with his sons. He had his boys time how long he could hold a finger in water as it began to boil (I did not say he was bright did I?). When he finally pulled it out he noticed it was pink and on the verge of blistering. He stuck another finger in and realized the water was quite hot. His first finger did not notice the gradual change in the water temperature as abruptly as a finger left outside of the water. What was his point and mine? When we allow worldly culture in our homes via mass media and we slowly incorporate that culture into our lives and churches we lose people to the world. When we use popular programming to “bring people in” we are not offering anything different from the world. Mankind is smart enough to see our inconsistency.


4. We Cannot Out Entertain the World: Many churches are losing members to various genres of entertainment. One local church leader complained to me that since the “mud-track” opened up on Sunday, he cannot compete,attendance began to dwindle. The congregation he leads has a rock band, uses dramatic performances, etc. to draw people in and to supposedly keep them there. Again we cannot beat the Devil at his game. He has more money and more experience in the entertainment department. I once heard Dan Chambers in a lectureship series say “Entertainment, not religion, is now the opiate of the people.” He is correct. {For more from Dan Chambers read “Showtime: Worship in the Age of Show Business” (Nashville:21st Century Christian), 1997.} If people want entertainment, they will find the best available.

Now the question remains; What can churches do?

First churches must return to the basics. When the church at Ephesus became mis-focused after a few years, Jesus encourages them through the Apostle to “return to your first love.” This concept needs proclaiming from the roof tops of churches around our great nation and the world as a whole. We need to be like Paul who said, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). To the Philippians he declares that above all he desires to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (Phil 3:10). We need to return to proclaiming the message of Good News – the Gospel of Christ that is God's power to save men (Rom 1:16, 5:1). Once we reach people with this wonderful, awe inspiring, love compelling, disciple making message of hope, then we can move on to loftier and meatier matters. Churches cannot abandon the simple Gospel message for any watered down more “palatable” message. Any thing less would be (is) disastrous.


Next we need to study up on and instruct congregations in the Bible; not modern self-help psychology; not sermonettes on how to avoid financial ruin, but messages that create a firm foundation for faith and hope. We must hear again and follow the teachings of and the teachings concerning Jesus as Christ and not build on the sand (Matt 7:24-27). This teaching begins with a confirmation of the Bible as God's authentic inspired word and therefore reliable as a guide toward obedience. We need to re-establish faith in the inerrant nature of Scripture. I dare suggest that many in the pew do not know the history of the providential preservation of God's word from it's inspiration to the version you hold as you study. We need to demonstrate the relevance of the messages within the Sacred Text to our lives in the 21st Century. Details of life may change, but our nature remains the same. Specifics within the context of a narrative may not always be relevant, but the underlying lessons are still for our learning and instruction (Rom 15:4). We need to return to the pattern of living by the precepts of God in Christ.


We must also remember that Jesus told His immediate followers, and by extension all that belong to Him, that they and we are “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:14-16). We are to lead the world by our example and not follow the example of the world. Paul put it this way in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .” When we will live a daily Christian life, the world will take notice and we will be the unique people we God calls us to be (1 Pet 2:9).


Finally, we need to refocus our worship. Too many churches and individual Christians look for a worship experience that moves them as individuals or small groups. Jesus told the woman of Samaria that God is Spirit and those that worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). God is the focus of our worship. When I worship God, I am the last concern, you are next in line, and God is the central figure and the only member of the audience as we each individually participate in cooperate worship. Your edification and admonition are secondary byproducts of my worship and my encouragement is secondary to your worship. The focus is God and His pleasure. We must learn again to worship the Creator and not the created. I find that when you and I focus on God and Christ that I do gain. Notice the Hebrew writer's emphasis in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” We accomplish this when we gather together to “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” (Heb 13:15).
What will the results of a shift toward a restoration of Biblical preaching, Christian living, and godly worship? Some will still leave, they left Jesus in John 6, and He asked the Twelve, if they would leave as well. They stayed. Some today will stay the course. If we will do the above those who stay will be stronger for it.


Scott.