We got it right.

Okay, maybe the United Methodist Church finally got it right... at least in the advertisement.

I really like this.

Palin's Giving

I posted the Tim Steven's blog below about Biden, Obama and McCain's annual giving. Palin's tax returns were released this week and the Palins' gave 3.3% of their income in 2006 and 1.5% in 2007 (an average of 2.4% for the two years). The average American family gives about 2% of their income to charitable organizations, the average Christian gives around 2.5% (Wow, we Christians are so generous!). Honestly, given Palin's overt Christianity, I am very surprised it was that low. I expect more out of our leaders.

More is never enough

So I write this post with a little fear of potential comments. I don't want to take this into a discussion of the evils of the "institutional church" or "church growth." So please don't go there if you decide to comment. Fair?

So this weekend Central had a total of just over 450 people at our worship gatherings. A couple of things about this:

1. It is a record attendance for us. (It's about 50 over our previous high attendance which was on a special event Sunday years ago). But this is a lot of people for Central.

2. I am really not a numbers guy (other than the obvious truth that many anti-church-growth-people just can't escape --that numbers are people and people matter to God.) But I really don't put all my identity and value in "nickels and noses." You'll just have to trust me that I've worked this out with God and I'm pretty clear on this. I'm not into numbers for numbers' sake.

3. There was an excitement that was palatable in the conversation between the services. New families and people who just said to me, "Man, we hear that God is doing something here and we wanted to check it out." Which I found to be a strange comment: I agree... but I have always thought that the case. I LOVE this congregation. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. But it seems that several other people are picking up on this as well.

So here is the thing. Honesty time.

As I was driving home from our gatherings, I knew had a staff meeting in the evening, so I called my administrator and asked for the attendance numbers. She added them up and told me, "452."

My first thought: "Wow, that is really great. That is a new high attendance for us. That's exciting."

HONESTLY, my immediate second thought: "Man, I wonder if we could break 500?"

Now, let me put this out there: I think it's okay for a congregation to grow. I think it's even okay for a pastor to WANT a congregation to grow (for the right reasons). I will even go out on the edge and say that I think setting numerical goals can be okay (not in that you are trying to reach them, but in setting them you begin to think about what is beyond yourself.)

But what bothered me about this incident was that I was not satisfied.

More was not enough.

And I know my personality type. It will never be enough.

There is an addiction that comes with "success." I'm so thankful for what God is doing at Central. And not just the numerical growth. I love the stories of life-change. I love the community that is being formed. I just love being a part of this congregation.

But I never want to be at this place in my life where God is working and I can't enjoy it because I'm thinking of the next thing. And this is how I'm wired. And honestly, sometimes it just bugs me.

This was a vulnerable post for me to write. Be kind. :)

Worship Music

I hope I'm not violating confidence, but these are two actual letters written from individuals complaining about song selection and music.

One letter said:

"I am no music scholar, but I feel I know appropriate church music when I hear it. Last Sunday's new hymn - if you can call it that - sounded like a sentimental love ballad one would expect to hear crooned in a saloon. If you insist on exposing us to rubbish like this - in God's house! - don't be surprised if many of the faithful look for a new place to worship. The hymns we grew up with are all we need."

Another letter said:

"What is wrong with the inspiring hymns with which we grew up? When I go to church, it is to worship God, not to be distracted with learning a new hymn. Last Sunday's was particularly unnerving. The tune was un-singable and the new harmonies were quite distorting."

By the way, the first letter was written in 1863 and the song they were concerned about was the hymn, "Just As I Am". The second letter was written in 1890 and about the hymn, "What A Friend We Have In Jesus".

It's a good thing people stopped complaining about music.

Volunteer Recruitment

Okay, I begin by saying that Granger Church is often over the top. Often, way too over the top for my personal tastes.

But I think this is absolutely hilarious.

A pound of the Eternal

"I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please - not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a foreigner or pick beets with a migrant worker. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of a womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I'd like to buy $3 worth of God, please."

Wilbur Rees

"Drama" and worship

This week a number of us from Central are going to a conference at Willow Creek Church in Chicago. I'm sure that some of my readers may have negative opinions about Willow (or lump them into all the others in the "church growth" movement), but as someone who has followed them for quite some time, I think they have a ton of integrity and I am always inspired to worship and to love God more when I'm there.

So, I have to confess, I have a love for the dramatic.

Now, I'm not sure that "drama" is the right word, but I'm going to use it and maybe you will catch on to what I mean. I have always been into lights, drama, the set up of the physical space...etc. This is what engages and connects me. In fact, it just hit me this past week: This is often why much of the worship done is "contemporary worship congregations" (especially smaller ones) leaves me cold. There is no mystery. No symbolism. Nothing to connect me with the holy.

For years I have been in a constant discussion with the different people who lead worship at our church to "read scripture, add some creeds, string songs together" and none of them do that. Not one. Years and years of asking. Begging! And really, one morning last week, I just figured out why. It's not that they don't love God (although I always have some questions about Patrick and Kevin)...it's that they worship God out of simplicity.

I worship God out of complexity.

I had this conversation with my current worship leader the other day. He kept saying, "People need to be able to worship God no matter what the band sounds like or if there is no band. I should be able to make sounds on my armpits and people worship to that!" (Okay, I think I said that line, but I will credit him.)

And the whole time I was thinking, "Yea, I agree. Great theology of worship!" And he does have a great theology of worship. (Yea, please don't read this post as an inditement of Patrick. Few people I know have greater integrity.)

He is right... we SHOULD be able to worship to nothing or anything.

But just because we should be able to... does not mean we ought to.

I was created as this multi-sensory being. I was given emotions. I was given an intellect. I was given a desire to connect to my past. I was given a love for art and beauty. I was told, by this God who created me, that I was to engage with Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. So why just sing songs... when we can create experiences to connect with God. When I can be engaged with my mind and emotions... my love for beauty and mystery? Not all the time (not everyone gets into this) but some of the time. Most of the time?

This post was inspired by this clip. This is from an Easter service... and unfortunately, the person who shot it had a bit too much coffee that morning and they didn't hold onto the last image long enough. But I found myself captivated by it. I honestly think it is beautiful. And it moved me to worship.

The future of preaching

Prediction: This is in the future of the church.

Right now, hundreds (thousands?) of churches are experimenting with video venues. Mostly, this is "live" music and a taped message (although there is at least one congregation I know of that is doing EVERYTHING with video.) Most of the time, each campus has a campus pastor who provides "presence" and coordinates ministry and connection.

Now, certainly churches are not the only ones doing this. Schools, colleges and business have done teaching over compressed video, satellite, etc for years. When you have a good teacher, I think people would rather listen to them over video, than a bad teacher live. And, as a teacher (and someone who loves teaching/preaching) I understand the idea behind this.

But as a theologian, I have some questions.

What does this say about our theology of incarnation?

If the "Word became flesh"... what happens when there is no "flesh."

What if Marshall McLuhan was right and the medium IS the message (or at least a large part of it.)

Is there something lost when the messenger isn't "live?"

I wrestle with this. Wrestle with it with me.

BONUS THOUGHT: Not doing video venues would keep people like me from saying stuff like this and having it end up on utube for people like me to make fun of...

[NOTE: the video caused one of my loyal readers to have problems and browser crashes... and she is way more important than this video.... so I dumped it.]

When worship goes bad.

For those times when "worship" goes bad, the band doesn't gel; when they just don't seem up to par... always remember, it could be worse.