Monthly Archives: May 2011
Can You (Personally) Worship God Without A Band or A Song?
Can You (personally) Worship Without A Band or A Song?
I remember sitting in a church service as a young pastor explained why they were beginning a building project. “We are growing so fast, we do not have room to put everyone.” His assessment of the situation was correct. They didn’t have room for all the people who were coming. However, I thought his conclusion was wrong. Building wasn’t the answer.
I had attended for three months so I felt I had a good sense of the leadership and the congregation. I thought the answer was more basic: Start preaching Biblical messages, presenting the message of the Cross, instead of tickling everyone’s ears, and the space problem would be fixed. How, you ask? People would Read the rest of this entry
Rethinking the Contemporary Worship Service
“It’s Sunday once again and we haven’t even pulled into the parking lot of the church but already the frustration is building. With a glance skyward I whisper a now familiar but heartfelt prayer: ‘Lord, let this be a meeting of the saints. Please let there be something real in the House of God today. No ridiculous nonsense, no overt heresy, no deceptive ploys cast in Your Name, no silly sales tactics. Let us hear some of Your everlasting and immutable truth; anointed and unfiltered. Challenge me through the singular preaching of Biblical doctrine. Dare me to strive for Holiness, to love more freely, and believe absolutely. Let this be the very church service where I die! Where my fleshly passions and desires are nailed on an ancient splintered Cross to be wholly absorbed into a pool of Regal Blood. Never to rise again.’
The words leave my heart but I hold out little hope. Not that I doubt my Lord but because I know the modern church all too well….”
My friend Jim over at LivingElect penned those words, but it could just as easily been written by myself or countless other Christians who have grown so VERY tired of the modern American church. A quick glance at those assembled on any Sunday leaves one thinking that everything is fine. People are smiling, sermons are preached, songs are sung, offerings are collected. But if we take Rafiki’s advice (Lion King) and “Looked Harder!” we see a different picture: believers who are spiritually mal-nourished, longing for just a sip of cold water and a stale piece of bread that never come. Week after week after week, the spiritual food never arrives, and the body becomes weak. This is where many of the Contemporary churches have led God’s people.
In an earlier post, I asked the question “Can We Bring Him More than a Song?” It was a question that Read the rest of this entry
Rethinking Contemporary Worship: Can We “Bring Him More Than a Song?”
Back in 1997, Matt Redman wrote the now famous song “The Heart of Worship” as a response to a challenge from his pastor. It seems that music had become an obstacle, perhaps even an idol to the congregation. So the pastor got rid of the band and the PA. For a month or so, they sang acapella. This song was born during that time and was Matt Redman’s personal response to the challenge.
Recently, we sang that song during a Sunday evening service. I was struck by one line in the song:
“I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself Is not what you have required….”
The line struck a chord with me, and led to these two thoughts. First, if a song is not what He requires of us to worship him, then Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Alternative to Calvinism? You Decide!
“What shall a Christian do who is convinced of certain central tenets of Calvinism but not its corollaries? Specifically, what if I am convinced that God elects individuals to salvation but I am also compelled by the evidence of Scripture to reject the notion that Christ died only for the elect? What if I am also convinced that the Calvinist doctrine of irresistible grace – that God gives saving grace only to the elect while withholding it from others – has little or no biblical foundation?”
“Calvinism has at least three dilemmas: (1) reconciling God’s sovereign election of individuals with His genuine desire for the salvation of all; (2) adhering to a deterministic view of sovereignty without blaming God for the fall of Adam; and (3) adhering to limited atonement and irresistible grace while also affirming that the gospel is genuinely offered to everyone. There is an alternative to Calvinism – called Read the rest of this entry
Jim’s Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe in Honor of Mother’s Day
I was never able to make this delicious recipe for my own mother. But I have made it for the mother of my children many times. She, and everyone else who has ever tried them, absolutely loves them. She pleaded with me to make them this weekend. So I am.
In honor of Mothers Day, I am sharing this secret, highly sought after recipe with my readers. These twice baked potatoes are EASY to make and you can alter the recipe in many ways. It is almost impossible to mess these up. They are a perfect addition to any meal. Enjoy. Let me know how they turn out!
Santiago The Gringo’s Famous Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
A 400 Year Old Prayer: “May I Honor You Today in All I Do”
The following prayer was first offered back in the 1700′s. It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These people knew God and they certainly knew how to pray. We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english. I have updated a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011. However, they still have the feel of that era. This prayer, titled ’Morning Needs’, along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett.
O God the author of all good,
I come to You for the grace another day will require Read the rest of this entry
The Seeker-Sensitive Model: Has the Quest for “Relevance”, Made the Church Irrelevant?
In its quest to be “relevant”, has the seeker-sensitive church model become irrelevant? Has the desire to seem “seeker-friendly” actually made the church less friendly? Does the Seeker-Sensitive church model eternally benefit those whom it targets? My conclusion: The Seeker-Sensitive church Isn’t. It isn’t “friendly” and it isn’t relevant. Strong charges, I know. Bear with me a moment and walk through my argument.
The seeker-sensitive church model is good at doing what it does. It is good at creating a crowd, Read the rest of this entry
John MacArthur: “To Be A Christian Is To Be A Slave of Christ”
What is a Christian? What does it mean to be one? How should Christians order their lives? What priorities should captivate and compel those who call themselves Christians? In our day, it seems many who call themselves Christians are confused about this. Several months ago, I embarked on a study of the descriptive terms used in the Bible to describe Christians. I hypothesized, that understanding those terms, would shed much light on what it means to follow the Savior. I was right. It was a very nourishing exercise.
Would it surprise you to learn that the word “Christian” is one of the least used terms in the Bible to describe those who follow Christ? It occurs only three times. The two most common terms used to describe followers of Christ are: Disciple and Slave/Servant.
In his new book, “Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your identity In Christ”, Dr. John MacArthur focuses on the term “slave.” I was hooked by the end of the first page. Here are some great quotes from the book:
“When we call ourselves Christians, we proclaim to the world that everything about us, including our very self-identity, is found in Jesus Christ because we have denied ourselves in order to follow and obey him. He is both Savior and our Sovereign, and our lives center on pleasing Him. To claim the title is say Read the rest of this entry
And We’re Back!
It has been one month since our last post. April was very busy around here, and we didn’t post much. Starting tomorrow, we will be back. Stayed tuned for posts on Re-thinking Contemporary Worship, 400 year old prayers, book reviews, and thoughts about church. To all who read this blog: thanks!
Not For Itching Ears 