To My Sisters…
So there’s a word that gets thrown around a lot in conservative Christian circles (notice I didn’t capitalize conservative…just saying…): modesty. Especially in homeschooled circles, you’ll see this word thrown at young Christian girls like beads at skanks during Mardi Gras.
“You must be modest,” They’ll say. “Or else you won’t be a good Christian/Proverbs 31 woman!”
Maybe they don’t say it exactly like that, but it’s implied. And usually, clothing that went out of style 100 years ago is tagged as “modest.” Typically, for homeschoolers, this means ankle-length skirts, long-sleeved blouses and unassuming footwear that you would usually see on arthritic seniors at Kmart. For most other Christians, this just means clothing that doesn’t “show too much skin,” aka nothing that doesn’t go higher than the knees and doesn’t show any cleavage.
What is modesty, though? The search for modest on dictionary.com (one of the greatest resources ever), brings up the following:
mod·est
[mod-ist] Show IPAWhat I gather from this definition is basically that it’s not making too much of yourself. Which, unless I’m way off and have misinterpreted every verse of the Bible I’ve ever read, is a very Biblical concept. You know, the whole “do unto others,” or “regard others as better than yourself,” deal.
If you don’t see where I’m going with this already, I’m about to make it very clear.
I love the following chapter, talk about convicting, but these two verses really stood out to me:
likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. (1Ti 2:9-10)
Don’t let yourself be brought down by people who think godliness is merely an outside manifestation and remember that Christ came to give you a new heart, to make you beautiful from the inside out.
Yes, men can end up tripping over visual stimulation, but if you conduct yourselves with modesty, then how the average joe thinks of you is not your responsibility. Christ sees your heart, and if your heart is His and seeks after Him, then the outside will follow what’s inside.
By not just dressing modestly but also acting modestly, you’re helping us guys out more than you will ever know.
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
It’s Been Awhile, But…
You know, it’s funny how much the concept of masculinity has changed in just the past 100 years. 100 years ago, men were supposed to be refined, well practiced in sports and respectful to women. Fast-forward to today’s feminazi-influenced culture, and men are supposed to stick to their football fantasies and let the women handle everything, because men are idiots who can’t take care of themselves.
You will even see this deeply imbedded in the Church. The leaders are either supposed to be hyper-emotionally sensitive touchy-feely types or strictly intellectual beings devoid of compassion and sensitivity to others’ needs. If you’re sitting there shaking your head thinking to yourself, “There he goes again, taking his own opinion to the extreme,” shift your thinking to what you’ve actually seen in the Church, maybe even at your own church.
I have seen both types of people that I indicated above more than any others. I have been around die-hard Fundamentalists, Progressives, Reformed, Emerging, Liberal, Conservative and many other types quite a bit. These are the two types that I’ve seen the most. The few that find that narrow middle-ground usually end up being people that I a) remember and b) remember fondly. The others either end up making me decide I don’t want to be them and forget about them or I end up using them as examples of what not to be as a leader in my blog that SO many people read.
What’s funny is that the leaders who find that middle ground are often the subject of intense ridicule and hatred, often from within the Church. It doesn’t matter what they say, somebody’s going to try to make it look like they’re ignorant, narrow-minded bigots who just don’t understand how life works.
Take Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, for instance. I respect this guy a lot and enjoy listening to his sermons when I get a chance. His mantra is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus and his foundation is the Word of God and nothing else. He seeks to be a strong, manly influence and lets his wife take the feminine part of ministry.
One of Driscoll’s biggest problems with the modern church is how feminized it is. You will hear him say many, many times throughout his sermons how men need to man up and be the way God created them to be. One of his examples on how they can do that is through Mixed Martial Arts, because he says that men were made for combat and dominance (over the world and each other), whether it’s physically, mentally or culturally, and the UFC is a good outlet for this instinct.
However, one particular critic finds him at fault for this. Brad Williams (Yes, I’m writing his name…he posted something on the Internet for the entire world to see so why can’t I use his name?), on Christandpopculture.com contends with Driscoll’s position. He takes issue because he thinks that Driscoll is ignoring the fact that not every man wants to beat another man’s face in to establish dominance. This, in fact, is not what Driscoll is trying to say.
Mr. Williams even tries to take the “religious high ground” by scoffing at Mark Driscoll and saying that instead of fighting, he’s going to talk about Jesus, and how He’s his greatest example. I get angry when people, especially Christians, take this kind of stance because they just end up looking like self-righteous hypocrites. The guy cries throughout the whole article about how Driscoll is “mixing categories,” and making a “false dichotomy,” simply by saying that Jesus will come again in glory, not humility. One would almost assume that Mr. Williams felt guilty that he wasn’t manly enough and so had to write a scathing article against Mark Driscoll (despite the whole “brother in Christ” thing…) in order to compensate.
What I’m getting at here is that, yes, Jesus is without a doubt our foremost example of what a man should be in this life. However, Jesus didn’t go crying at every verse of “Just as I am” or go and fingerpaint with the hipsters so that they wouldn’t feel bad about themselves. He fed the poor, he healed the sick and he made a cat-o-nine-tails and whipped the crap out of the money lenders and changers and other people that were conducting business in the temple. He mocked the Pharisees and Sadducees (the most educated of that day), he told the Disciples when they were being stupid and endured utmost shame and suffering by being whipped, scourged, having a crown of sharp thorns shoved on his head, carrying his own heavy cross through the streets of Jerusalem, had nails put through his feet and wrists and then had to endure a long, extremely painful death.
Obviously, to be a man none of us have to endure all of those things. However, we follow Christ’s example of self-sacrifice and put others’ needs above our own. That’s how a man should be.
Although the other stuff, desire for dominance and combat, should probably also accompany those things, too. The Bible doesn’t point out the “mighty men” for nothing. Go ahead; check in your concordance for mighty men, great men or strong men. You’ll probably find a great many verses highlighting these men who did mighty deeds for the glory of God and Israel. They were men and proud of it.
So Mr. Williams, maybe it’s time you rethink your view of Christ and your brothers in Christ. Maybe you should listen to Mr. Driscoll before you start making judgments based on a couple of paragraphs you read one time.
And while you’re doing that, I’m going to be over here trying my hardest to be more like Christ in every way. I know I have, am and will fail, but I know that Christ’s mighty right arm will always pick me back up and set me back on the straight and narrow.
As a side-note: Ladies, if you find a man who actually does put others before himself, you should encourage that in him. Praise his accomplishments and support him through his failures. God made man and woman to balance each other out, and you’re not helping when you make us feel like idiots or failures. And you don’t even have to be “interested” to do that!
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off
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Restrictive Freedom
So it’s been a painfully long time since I last posted. Which is funny, because I started this blog with the intention of feeding you my limited perspectives weekly and look how that has worked out! Oh well, maybe this new year will bring new motivations.
But anyway, back to the blog
Many people will look at the above image and immediately be repulsed by it. “This is just a crude representation of the god of the Old Testament!!” And I would agree, if not entirely.
Most of us with our 21st century mindset think of the God of the Bible as a mean, authoritarian figure with the furrowed brow and pointed finger, always accusing us of things. And that’s mostly the fault of the Church, because we’ve gone away from the True God to one who’s obsessed with a vague, idealistic notion of love, who would never, ever dare to punish someone for something so minor as seeking love from someone of the same sex!
Our God is much greater than either of these limited views. He is our Father, the one who created us from nothing, who does not need us, yet still loves us and gives us things we want as well as need.
I was reading today’s devotional in TableTalk Magazine, a periodical from Ligionier Ministries, and it focused on Romans 3:20: “For by work of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
This whole chapter in Romans is talking about our righteousness versus God’s, making the case that ours is paltry and doesn’t even come close to measuring up to what God has mandated. Our righteousness is filthy rags compared to God’s holiness. The law was created to show us our sin, as verse 20 states, to show us just how far we’ve fallen.
However, this particular devotional opened my eyes to a different perspective on the law. It’s not there as a way of God mocking us, showing us how pitiful we are. It’s there to give us hope.
Hope?! What?! How on earth does that work? Obviously, nobody can go through life without forming idols for themselves, taking the Lord’s name in vain, stealing, murdering or committing adultery (in the heart or physically), but how does the Law give us hope?
It’s actually pretty simple, and I will probably have some disagreement with this, but…oh well… The Law is there to show us not just to show us the insurmountable obstacle that our sin is, but to show us the incredible lengths Christ went to in order to save His people. We no longer have to strive to meet the requirement of perfection by the Law, we simply have to trust in Christ and His perfect life, sacrifice and resurrection!
The next verses make this clear:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
In Christ now, the Law is a monument to His righteousness that accomplished what we could not. The Law is something that we can look at, and while still seeking to please Christ, we can take comfort and hope that it is not our own frail and pitiful attempt at keeping the Law that pleases God and make us “heirs according to promise,” it is Christ’s work and righteousness!
Our confidence is in Christ alone and nothing we can do! This should drive us, not to do whatever we want, but to (out of gratefulness) live as much like Christ as we can and not fret over the small things or over other people’s shortcomings.
So, like Romans makes clear, the Law is a monument to Christ and no longer an oppressive “tutor.”
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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Blindly Following
Imagine with me, if you will, that you’re walking down a road and you encounter two groups of people: One is being led in a straight line along the road, the other is rambling, shuffling along in a big group with everyone trying to hold each other’s hands and loudly chanting something. Then you notice something; each and every one of these people is blind (Or visually challenged…). You ask the first group, “Why are you all, who are blind, following a blind man so closely?” They reply, “Because he says he’s seen this road, he’s been educated, so he must know what he’s doing!” The leader barks out an order and suddenly, each person in his group goes quiet, puts their head down and obediently follows.
You shake your head and go to the other group. You notice that they are chanting one word; love. You ask them, loudly so that they can hear you, why they are shuffling along so. “Because we believe in love, and love will guide us if we just believe strongly enough!” At which point, they begin to chant loudly again, shuffling along in no particular direction or order.
If you’ve read much of what I’ve written before (I don’t blame you if you haven’t, but come on, really? ;), you will probably already have an idea of where I was going with this particular analogy. It’s not complicated, it’s based on things I’ve witnessed myself. We’re all blind in some way on this earth, but I’m not going to go into all of those ways right now. That’s for a later time.
The first group I will label as uber-conservatives. These are the ones who place a higher priority on the externals than the internals. You know; do this, this and this and you’ll be righteous and God will be happy. Don’t drink, smoke or even think about sex or else you’ll burn for eternity. And for goodness sake, NEVER question what the pastor says!
Many of you may have come across these types. Some of you may only view them as something akin to a myth, something that has its basis in factual instances, but has been heavily exaggerated over time. For you people, trust me, they’re real.
The second group are these uber-liberal “progressives,” who seem to spend more time talking about love than actually showing it. They will talk about acceptance and open-mindedness until they’re blue in the face, but the instant that you contradict them and bring up scripture that disagrees with their closely-held belief system, they will become hysterical and call you names. You know, such terrible things like “narrow-minded,” “Conservative,” “Pharisee,” “bigot” and the like.
Why do I talk about these? Because as far apart as they are in practice, they are eerily similar in their worldview. And that is basically that, “I take the Bible literally when I feel like it suits my needs at the moment.”
Ian! How could you be so judgmental and narrow-minded! Pretty easily, actually. I am a sinner after all and by the abundant grace of God I’ll conquer that tendency. However, in this instance this isn’t “judgmental” in the modern sense, but simply taking the fruit I see and drawing a conclusion based on it.
I’ve been working with one of the first group for a little while now. I’ve gotten a first-hand experience with dealing with one of these extreme uber-conservatives. I could argue biblically and logically with this person until the cows come home, but if I don’t agree with his views, or better yet, with his pastor, then I am automatically wrong and living in sin. Period. I can’t tell you how many verses I’ve brought up that to me and thousands of theologians across 2000 years say clearly what I’m saying, but this guy refuses to accept it, assuming that my mind is clouded by all my “sinful” ways. Cuz you know, listening to rock music has been proven to kill brain cells.
There have even been a couple of instances where I have argued a point, he refused to concede anything to me and then came back the next day talking in glowing terms about his pastor declaring the exact same thing I had been talking about. To which I replied in calm and a patient tones that I had been saying that the day before, and naturally he didn’t believe me.
I’ve encountered many of the second group. A lot of them have great motives, but haven’t figured out that their version of acceptance should mean that they accept opposing viewpoints. I’ve been called a pharisee and narrow-minded simply because I pointed to God’s Word as the ultimate authority.
So what’s the point? Both sides talk about following and knowing Jesus, but they forgot somewhere along the way how to do that. You want to know Jesus? Look at His Word. Like He said, Christ is in every word, every sentence, every page. (John 5:39, 40; Luke 24:44) You can’t know or follow someone if you refuse to get to know who they are and why they did what they did.
So follow the Berean’s example (Acts 17:11) and search and really read the Bible, not to get some principles or how-to’s on life, but to know the One whose Name you took on yourself. Seek first the kingdom, and I firmly believe that He will send His Spirit to guide you (through the scriptures, of course) on how to live.
And if for some reason you don’t already know Him, then I challenge you to sit down and read either the book of Luke or the book of Romans. Really read it and see that Christ wasn’t just a good man, but He is the Son of God and lived, died and rose from the dead so that we could have life and true righteousness in Him.
This wasn’t the direction I originally intended for this post, but I hope it makes sense. Think about it, pray about it and follow Jesus, not man-made traditions!
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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Inside Out
I’ve been going to church since I was born. My dad became an ordained PCA minister when I was young so he and my mom spent many patient hours teaching me and my siblings about the bible and theology. As I got older, I got to see a few things from different perspectives: Baptists, muslims, methodists, non-denominational, PCUSA, homeschooled, uber-conservative, you name it, I’ve probably had some experience with it. I’ve been blessed to have seen how other people think and view the world.
And so, it’s been my pleasure to begin the see the faults of each viewpoint. I’ve talked about a lot of them before, but they all go back to one thing: pride. God forbid we should agree with someone who’s not like us, right? Because there’s no way that God would want us to associate with those wackjobs, right?
And what is the one thing that tends to be a symptom of this separatist attitude? An obsession with externals, with how we look and sound.
Think I’m wrong? Look at the progressives, they tend to obsess with non-profits and charities, which are good things, but they have become an end unto themselves in many ways. The ultra-contemporaries have to look trendy, with all the latest tech and super-polished production. Uber-conservatives think rock music and alcohol are evil and tend to think 1960s styles are the best because they’re “modest.” Presbyterians have to have their theological and academic ducks in a row. A lot of homeschoolers obsess over having well-behaved kids.
The thing with most of these is that they’re not bad in and of themselves, but they lead to idolatry, plain and simple.
Jesus made pretty clear that the main problem with us is our hearts. Make a search for the word hearts in the bible and you will discover the incredible abundance of references. “Do not harden your hearts,” “Let not your hearts be troubled,” it goes on and on. There aren’t many verses that say, “Do ______ and you will be good.”
Following Christ isn’t really that complicated. Repent and confess that Christ is the Lord come in the flesh (1 John 4). “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) ”And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:3)
What are those commandments? Don’t listen to rock music, drink alcohol, associate with Calvinists or even wear trendy clothes to impress non-believers…none of that is in the Bible, and therefore should not be the focus of our faith. They can be good things, but they become idols (replacing Christ and His sacrifice) that take over our hearts and end up blocking healthy relationships with God and each other.
The commandments are simple: Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself. Anything less becomes idolatry.
How do we do these? Well, it’s pretty well laid out in scripture, and few things have to do with how we look or what we do and almost all of it is about our relationship with God and others.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:11 that, “it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth.” It’s not the externals that affect our status as Christians, it’s the state of our heart, and it is what comes out of our mouths that indicates that state, not what we wear, drink, listen to or support.
You want change? You can’t change someone else’s heart, but you can work on yours with the help of Christ. It starts with me, and it starts with you. Until we get that, we will never have unity in the Church.
So focus on the internals, not the externals, have a little patience with each other and we’ll all be a lot better off!
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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Monday, Monday
So today was a bad day. I don’t think I could even really tell you why, specifically. It was a combination of a lot of things: lack of sleep, too much time to ponder, equipment breaking down, 12 hour work day, etc., etc., etc.
I spent a lot of the day begging God to help me be content. A lot of people search for contentment, but it seems (At times, anyway) that most of those people already have so much to be content about. You know; a job, a car, plenty of opportunity, no financial worries, college paid for by someone else, lots of friends to call randomly or have call randomly.
What happens to me, though, is I end up comparing my life to theirs. I am 27, just graduated college, had to work full-time while going to school full-time, I have had few really great opportunities in life (it seems), single, working in landscaping making $12 an hour while wearing myself out trying to get my own business off the ground.
I know that God is in control. I strive to remember Jeremiah 29:11. But it is finding contentment in the middle of what seems like a really, really, really, long, drawn out build-up to that good that God has somewhere in the future that seems an impossibility sometimes.
And when things go bad, it’s easy to point the finger at God and yell and scream “why?” It’s easy to deny my own role. It’s easy to deny my own shortcomings.
So what is it that I want? I want God to make it all better. I want God to force me to do what is pleasing in His sight. I want Him to fling wide the doors of opportunity for my business. I want, just for a little while, for Him to give me more than enough money than what I absolutely need right now.
I want God to do all the work for me. I want Him to pull the strings, make all the bad stuff go away. But that’s not the way it works. God moves, He directs the heart, but He also expects us to take initiative.
So it’s in the midst of this trial that I find myself running harder than I ever have into the arms of my Abba Father. I know it’s going to all work out for His glory and my good (Rom. 8:28), and it won’t be easy in the meantime, but I know that He is still King. He is still my Father. Jesus is still my Savior.
In the process of working all this out, the lyrics to a song were written. It sounds crazy to say it, but I feel that they were divinely inspired. Eventually I’ll put music to them, but until then…enjoy.
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off
Puppet
I am a puppet
These strings tie me to You
I want You to move me
Force me to what I couldn’t do
I am a weak man
I need these strings to love You
Just a puppet, here for You
Just a puppet, to entertain You
So pull these strings and use me
These strings are all I have
To be Yours
Woe is me, I am undone
These strings tangled, useless
They’ve wrapped around my neck
Now immobile, feeling foolish
Am I a puppet, here for You?
I can’t move now, can’t entertain You
These strings are a mess now
They’re all I have to be Yours
Now You show me
These strings aren’t Yours
They’re my own device
To my desires they’re moored
They only keep me down
Tangled, I’m lost and sore
Cut these strings now
So I can be all Yours
The cross behind me
Jesus before me
Holy Spirit inside me
Father above me
I’m free now, free to be yours
No longer a puppet, I am Yours
No longer a puppet, to entertain you
No more strings of my design
Only through Christ now, I am Yours
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Case for Courtesy
I love Jesus. And because I do, I want to follow what He has told me to (John 14:15). I fail miserably more often than not, but my desire to follow Him and be like Him is still there.
We Christians as a group tend to get so caught up in the minor things of life (Rock music, alcohol, baptism, etc., etc., etc.) that we lose sight of what Jesus Himself told us what the whole Bible is about: Loving God and loving your neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). I’ve already outlined in an earlier blog what this means for us, so I’m not going to flesh it out. It should be pretty obvious by now.
I don’t know this for a fact (I’m too lazy to do much research right now), but I bet you anything that what we now know as “being polite” or “common courtesy” were originally grounded in the second Greatest Commandment. It really took root in the deeply Christian Old South and still makes this area different from the rest of the world with this concept of “being nice to others.” Yes, they had slaves…but goodness, I really don’t want to deal with that issue right now! Suffice it to say, it wasn’t right, but it was a huge part of the culture, an argument that pro-homosexual advocates use all the time.
Thanks to feminists and the scorn of them Yankees who don’t get it, we’ve lost much of what makes politeness and common courtesy such a great thing. It’s not to put down that woman you opened the door for, it’s to show respect (1 Pet. 3:7).
Why have we lost our sense of common courtesy? I thoroughly believe it’s because the Church has given up on it.
I know way too many people that think that in order for the Church to have an impact for Christ, we have to completely separate ourselves from the “culture” and look totally different. Apparently, this will draw people in like magnets…it’s funny, because the churches that think that way often have dwindling numbers…
The Bible never says to separate ourselves from the world. Jesus had dinner with sinners and most of the Bible seems to make the assumption that we are already rubbing shoulders with the world everyday (Philppians 2:15, for example). Jesus in His prayer before being taken to be tried even asks that we not be taken out of the world (John 17:15).
So how do we live in the world, but not of the world? It’s easier than you think, but yet somehow so difficult: We speak and live Jesus.
Duh, you might think. But come on, how many of us (yes, I include myself in there) actually try to do this on a day to day basis? Sure, you may go to church every Sunday, own a few Christian albums, insert God or Jesus somewhere in a sentence occasionally, but how often do you try to really love your neighbor?
From what I’ve seen, it involves the following (plus some):
Leaving a good tip for your waiter/waitress, even if they haven’t been very good. (Prov. 25:21-22).
Allowing the person who’s zooming up behind you doing 100 on the interstate by, regardless of how you feel about him doing so.
Opening doors for women and the elderly, regardless.
Being nice to the fast food employees, whether or not they’ve screwed up your order.
Refraining from gossip about your fellow Christians.
Loving the sinner, yet hating the sin.
Speaking the truth in love, not rage. (Eph. 4:14-15)
Forgiving others their follies, shortcomings and mistakes, cuz hey, isn’t that what Christ did for you? (Matt. 7:3)
I could probably continue this list for pages and pages…but I won’t. I just hope my point has been made. Let’s be polite. Let’s love our neighbor. If we, Christ’s Church, as a whole group start to do so, then the rest of the “world” will follow. Because action based on love makes people want to follow.
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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Habited Wasteland
I love the Church of Christ. There is no other body/group that I would rather be associated with. I believe with my whole heart that logically, within reason and beyond all doubt that Christ is the only way to salvation and that all others don’t get it.
I love being a part of a global family that cares for its own. The blessings received as a part of such a group are unsurpassed elsewhere.
But it seems these days that the Church in the United States has been more affected by the culture than the other way around. Even the most die hard “conservative” Christian views things on a very hyper-individualistic basis, unable to see past their own nose on so many issues.
We are a group of people who have purposefully ignored their Shepherd’s call, wandering around blind and ineffective in the middle of a world in a desperate search for a cure to their afflictions. We are grasping at the timid little straws of “right” music and doctrinal pursuits, while ignoring the feast of knowledge and joy that is right there in front of us, waiting for us to leave our petty disputes and arguments and enjoy the blessings of God Himself.
I mean, we are heirs of God in Christ (Galatians 3:26-29), which means that we shall receive all the blessings and power that Christ Himself receives from the Father, but yet we will ignore a brother in need because we disagree with his choice in music?! The world is right at our door, but yet we refuse to let them in because they might stink up the place!
Diehard PCA “TRs” (I am, have been and will probably always be a PCA member, but that doesn’t mean I can never be critical) have placed their doctrines on the altar of Reason, insisting there is no other way, that somehow they are so much better than those lowly, uneducated masses out there. They worship their own intelligence, and rarely does it occur to them that they have such a small following for a reason.
Baptists spend more time preaching love, it seems, than actually practicing it (I spent three years as a worship leader in a Baptist Church, so I’ve seen a lot of this firsthand), rarely stepping outside their own doors to feed the poor and needy. Not to mention their basically un-Biblical form of government that promotes cliques and cult-of-personalities.
Methodists…I’m still not sure what they believe, and I’m not quite sure that they are, either. They seem to be sticking to what their tradition dictates, and that is dangerous ground to try to stand firm on.
Presbyterians (PCUSA) have effectively, as a group, denied the Gospel and denied the Word of God in order to follow unquestioningly the dictates of “culture” and a select few who think they know better than anyone else.
Oh, how far we have fallen! We cry Lord, Lord but yet deny His name by our treatment of the believer in the seat next to us in Church. We look down our noses at someone who doesn’t adhere to the “principles” that we so rigidly follow, but then get all up in arms at anyone else who does the same to us. We treat someone who is different and isn’t the “ideal Christian” as an outcast and ignore every entreaty or need, thinking that “Maybe that will shape them up!”
Will it take real persecution to wake us up? Or will God see fit to open our eyes to our own arrogance and sinfulness and bring us to our knees in repentance before His judgement is cast upon us?
Let us all pray that the latter will be the case, because the first option will not be pretty. It will go far beyond a few tax regulations or restrictions.
Let’s worry about the speck in our own eye before we try to yank the log out of our brother’s eye.
God help us.
Soli Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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What a Beautiful Mess
There are few things that divide the Church more than the debate on what music is or isn’t acceptable in (or for some, outside of) Sunday worship. “Rock music is evil!” Some cry, while others protest, “Rock music is the only thing that appeals to modern non-Christians!” Then still others say, “No music is the only thing acceptable to God!”
The finger-pointing and back-stabbing that goes along with this is downright depressing. Why do we act like music is such an unimportant part of worship, yet are perfectly willing to destroy a fellow Christian who dares to contradict our opinion?
I used to go to a church that was very conservative about, well, everything. I’m not saying this is particularly bad, but it was taken to some rather unrealistic lengths. For instance, just for me to able to play bass in worship, the elders had to vote on it in an official elder’s meeting. I loved the music we did there, but the fact that you were anathema if you enjoyed rock music never sat well with me.
I’ve seen plenty of other situations similar (and many more much worse) to this. The pastor of a particular church decides that Philippians 4:8 refers to music, despite context, and suddenly anything that isn’t “traditional” is evil.
I was just looking at the website for a Metro-Atlanta area church whose stance on music is the following:
“We believe that God’s Word establishes clear standards with regard to music totally apart from personal tastes. We believe that Godly, triumphant, melodious, traditional music alone meets those Biblical standards and that only such music is acceptable for the worship and service of God.”
My first reaction was something along the lines of, “Huh?”
The only mandate in scripture, at least under the New Covenant is Colossians 3:16.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” I don’t know about you, but that wording is pretty vague. What constitutes as spiritual songs and hymns? Psalms are pretty obvious, but it seems to me that this leaves a very large playing field for what is acceptable in Sunday worship. The Psalms themselves say to “sing a new song,” which leaves the strictly traditional, uh…tradition rather lacking in its biblical precedents. Those who mandate only one form of music in their church have zero biblical basis to do so and therefore, have a rather shaky foundation for their views. I mean, come on, let’s think about it. People get so uptight about “contemporary” music being so evil because of its beat, but weren’t all of the hymns contemporary at some point? Most hymns were crafted according to the music of the time that they were written. Which is kind of a Duh statement, but it seems that a lot of people don’t even think about that. What’s the difference between Newton’s Amazing Grace and Tomlin’s How Great is Our God? The time they were written. Martin Luther’s A Mighty Fortress, one of christendom’s greatest enduring hymns, was described by a contemporary of Luther’s as being, “Extremely rhythmic,” which was probably not exactly a compliment at the time. The fact that the words, rhythm and tune all flowed together in a way that the common man could sing it easily meant that it was probably looked down upon by many at the time who had a set concept of what constituted “holy music.” How many lively “traditional” services have any of us seen, anyway? This one church I visited a couple of times had a self-titled “conservative” service, with very traditional music, and it was horrible! The music leader would stop everything to tell people what verse to go to next, the “orchestra” was often off key and nobody sang. Or if they did, you couldn’t hear them. As a worship leader and musician, it was like nails on a chalkboard. Whatever happened to excellence and a lively service? Now, for those of you who will argue that it is possible to worship without emotion, I would love to see you enjoy anything else in this life without any emotion being involved. Look at the worship described in Revelations, Isaiah, Psalms and even in the historical books of the Bible. There is nothing in there that would cause me to think that true worship of our loving, all-powerful Creator can not have a large element of emotion in it. Psalm 100, anybody? How many of you really think that Heaven is going to be everyone sitting in pews with an angel who calls out hymn numbers and verses, a little organ pounds out a verse of the tune and then everyone starts mumbling the words? Can you imagine this kind of eternity? I think I’d prefer annihilation to that! God didn’t just get stuck in the 1500s or 1950s and suddenly refuse any other time’s form of worship. The healthiest churches I’ve ever been to have had very lively services. It didn’t have to be “rock” music, but it was well done music for the glory of God, and the people reflected the desire behind the music. The Churches that are slowly dying are the ones stuck in their ways, holding on so tightly to their traditions that they don’t realize they are drowning in their own preferences. These are the ones that see members leave in a steady stream, not because they found another church that is more appealing, but because they don’t want to be in that church anymore. See, the issue here isn’t really the music. The issue is the heart behind the music. As one godly man liked to say, “The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.” If I just want to perform for people to bring them into the church so that the numbers will increase, that will be evident in the way the service is presented. If I am convinced that my personal preference against anything resembling contemporary rock music is what God really wants, then that will be evident, too. However, if I want to glorify God and be relevant to the culture around me in order to show them the God that is outside of time and culture, then I will choose the music accordingly. Whether or not it’s “rock music” is irrelevant. If my true heart desire is to glorify God in my worship, then the Spirit will lead me away from anything that does not accomplish that purpose. It’s simple really. Does it glorify God? If you cannot honestly answer that with a yes, then it’s time to start over. Is it relevant to the culture that surrounds you (How many effective missionaries don’t try to be relevant to the culture they’re ministering to)? If not, and the music you’re using is dry and unappealing to even the most basic musicians, then it’s time to find another style. Relevance is a scary word to most, but it’s time the Church started to put it into action. We’ve been irrelevant for half a century now, it’s time to be in the world, but not of it. And I honestly believe that we can start doing that with music that is excellent and relevant to the culture around us. Soli Deo Gloria This is Ian, signing off.
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Pain and Disenfranchisement
These past few weeks have been a truly dark period for me. I have struggled with who I am, with other’s apparent apathy toward me, with God, with everything. Now that I’ve graduated from college, one of the biggest thoughts I keep having is, who cares? Did I work two or three jobs while going to school for seven years for nothing?
I have been beaten down in so many ways these past few weeks, I can’t even get it all straight. I’ve had people ditch me, ignore me and hurt me. Nothing has gone right. My computer has not worked the way it should have. My car died right at a point where I had no money to replace it.
A long time ago, one way that people would be executed was by slow crushing. They would be laid down on the ground, a large board placed over them and large rocks would be placed on that board until the person underneath died. That’s how I’ve felt these past few weeks. Each new trouble, problem, difficulty, hurt has been piled on me, crushing me slowly until I cannot breath or think anymore.
The capstone on all of it is a project that I got for my business a couple of weeks ago. It was an editing job for a woman’s 50th birthday. She had survived a brain tumor, so her family wanted a special video done for a surprise birthday party. Everything went pretty smoothly until I tried to export the video to send to the lady’s husband. Somehow, because there was no video, only pictures, the program would freeze every time. Only thing I can think of is that I scanned the pictures into the computer as files that were too big for the ram to be able to deal with properly.
But long story short, I couldn’t complete the project, the guy was really pissed and is now demanding his $500 back.
Throughout all of this, I have struggled with God. Why does he keep beating me down? Why could nothing ever go right?
My mom has been a real help in this, with encouragement and reminding me that this is all in God’s hands. He is in control, He knows what He’s doing.
I can’t tell you how hard I’ve wrestled with this. All of my friends have few real difficulties it seems and are moving forward with life while I feel like I’m still stuck at square one. Am I some divine punchline or something? Is God just having some fun with me before tossing me out like some bit of useless trash to be tread on and forgotten?
I have been reminded several times through sermons and encouragement from several sources that the God that we often don’t want to acknowledge allows crap to happen. And that’s His prerogative. He is God. He holds this unimaginably huge universe in the palm of His hands and we are but dust in comparison to His awesome and awful might and majesty. But yet, He loves us. He knows that bad things will make us stronger, He orchestrates good out of all of it.
He is in control. As much as I have struggled with this, I am now finally content that He’s got this. Whatever happens, it will be for His glory and my good.
It’s almost like watching a movie of my own life. God is the director, and all I have to do is sit back and let Him take it where He will. I can still enjoy it, I can still revel in each minute, but all of it is His and He is the only one who has seen the ending. I just need to relax and give up all my fears, hurt and disappointments and let the ultimate Director finish His masterpiece.
I’m learning to let go, because getting angry at God accomplishes nothing and is just being self centered. It’s not easy, but I can rest content that God will have good in all of this for me. Whether it takes years or months for my business to get off the ground, whether or not I ever get married, whether or not I can ever attain anything resembling success in this life is all up to Him.
He’s holding me in hands that are bigger and more loving than anything else, and even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, He will never let me fall. Ever.
Solid Deo Gloria
This is Ian, signing off.
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