Business As Usual

 

So, here we go...

Little by little businesses across the US are starting to re-open.  Of course, everyone's notion of what the looks like seems to vary - and that's simply because there is no 100% accurate way to measure what "re-opening" should look like.  The government doesn't know.  The WHO doesn't know. Doctors and scientists and even religious folk don't know.  And, of course, you or I don't know either. In a sense it is all up for grabs.  Wear a mask - don't wear a mask. Practice social distancing in some places, gather for riots in close proximity to others in other places.  Nobody knows what to do.

And, yet, here we go...

I've been trying to get a sense of what churches are doing in the midst of this "almost re-opening" season and what I am finding is a bit surprising - and disturbing.

Trust me - I have served in Christian churches for over four (4) decades so I fully understand the need for pastors and church staff to "get back to normal" by creating worship experiences that include familiar music, meaningful times of prayer and sermons that both encourage and call to action new ways of living our lives for the Kingdom.

But... here we go...

Back to business as usual.  Back to the same old same old.  Back to "doing church" the same way we always "do church" with - what - a hope that suddenly everyone will hop onto the bandwagon and join in with something they barely were connected to before the pandemic?

Do we honestly need sermon series on topics like Living a Godly Life, or Tithing, or 30 Ways To Pray, or How To Follow Jesus... I am asking seriously - is that what we need right now?  Bible talks? Churchy music performed for us by well-skilled and well-meaning musicians?  

I don't think so.

It occurs to me that what people - all people - so desperately need right now - right now in the midst of pandemics, right now in the midst of racial tensions, right now in the midst of fear and stress and hopelessness - what people need right now is NOT another sermon or another well-performed song about God.  

What people need is JESUS - not in word, but in DEED.

People need to BE loved.

People need to BE welcomed.

People need to BE heard.

People need to BE met with open arms.

People don't need "the church structure" - they need "the church people" doing first and foremost what Jesus calls us to do... listen, come alongside, love, heal, restore... 

This is not the time to "get back to normal" because, unless I'm way off base here (and I may be, but I don't think so) - doing church "back to normal" has not been working for us for a long, long time.  

Jesus told us to feed His sheep.

Let's get back to doing what JESUS did... even if it does not appear to be "normal."

To God Be The Glory?

 

Almost every church in the world includes music in their worship gatherings.  The style of music, of course, varies from church to church but, with few exceptions, music is a huge part of worship gatherings.  

I am not going to re-visit earlier conversations on music styles - you can simply read back through this blog and see previous comments.

That said, I do wish to pose the very basic question: WHY do we include music in our worship gatherings?  And what purpose does it serve?

A quick place to start is to simply refer to God's Word and see how music was described in Scripture.

In a very general sense, it seems there are only a few ways music is "used" in connection with anything Godly or "worship" minded.

We see examples in the Old Testament of the musicians (Levites) going out ahead of the armies entering into battle.  This is like a bold proclamation of, "Hey, watch out, our God is great and we will proclaim his mighty power by blasting trumpets and singing and shouting!"  It is both a warning and a battle cry; a call to recognize the power of God.  

Another way we see music used in worship gatherings are when, for example, in the early church, after the proclamation of God's word, after the miracles performed, after the sharing of each other's belongings with others, and more - these early Christians sang songs of praise (though it is not 100% clear that they sang - it could have been shouts and prayers, too.) 

And, of course, we see examples of people like David, alone, with his lute, singing (and composing) songs of praise to God.  Take a walk through Psalms if you have not done so in a while.  

Somewhere along the line, churches brought in organs and choirs to aid in their singing.  Hymnals were created to offer per-sitters the opportunity to sing-along.  All of this was great - but it causes me to wonder if, by doing this, we began to lose touch with the intimacy we enjoyed in previous eras? 

Then - in rushed the Jesus Movement which led to what we now call Contemporary Christian Music which, for the most part, is even further removed from an intimate connection with God and more connected to the performance of "God-themed" songs in front of spectators.  

Yes - there are churches where the intimacy is still strong.  But it seems that the modern way of approaching music in the church is to create something for the congregation (audience) to watch, rather than engage in for the purpose of encountering the presence of God.

So - I ask again - what is the PURPOSE of music in our worship gatherings?  

Is it to simply remind everyone that there is a God?

Is it to entertain?

Is it to create a space for intimate connection to God through the Holy Spirit?

Is it to give a platform for musicians who would probably not work in the "real world?"

Is it to show off our talents to the masses?

What is the purpose of music in our worship gatherings?

Ponder that.,,

NEW NORMAL CHURCH

 

I write this during week 6 (give or take - because who's keeping track of time any longer?) of the 2020 Corona Virus Pandemic hat has, in many ways, altered the course of our lives across the globe. 

It is definitely a new day with new challenges and new opportunities to explore new ways of doing just about everything on a day to day basis - including attending church. 

Over my many years serving in local church ministry I have been a part of conversations where well-meaning people pontificated on the notion that we don't need to "attend church" in order to worship God and, while there is an element of truth to this statement - that we don't NEED to "go to a church building" in order to commune with our God - could it be that there actually is something we are missing by not gathering together with others in a worship setting?

To combat the "new normal" of social distancing, we "church leaders" have decided to create a means of "attending church" online - through the broadcasting of our worship services to our congregations. Music leaders, pastors, and others have found ways of offering their ministry gifts via a camera and computer hook up.  The congregation can tune in, watch, and engage as they are led.

But - are we engaging?

This leads me back to a similar theme you have heard me speak about before - - what, exactly, is worship?  Is it truly satisfying; is it "enough" to sit in my den and watch worship on my laptop?  Is that actually "worship?"  Or is it something else?

I wonder if we are, collectively, rediscovering just how important it is for believers in Jesus to gather together and actually fellowship with each other as we unite our hearts and spirits to glorify the Creator of all - the Lord, God, Almighty.  

Personally, I think it's a noble effort churches are making to bring the Word of God to their church congregations by offering online services and other ministry meetings.  But is this "new normal" church honestly working?  Are people tuning in and worshiping?  

Here is the bottom line - - we need each other.  God designed us to be in relationship - real relationship - face to face and heart to heart.  We are not designed to observe each other from a distance.  That is not "relationship."  It seems to me that we are, due to very severe circumstances, learning the valuable lesson of our need for one another.  

And taking this a step further - perhaps we actually need to be around... people we don't always agree with... people who don't share our political values... people who have different tastes in church music... all of it.  We need to be around people who are different from us - so that we can learn to love others without the ease of "clicking away"from an online video or comment.  

My prayer is, I'm sure, the same as everyone reading this - - that this Corona Virus would come to an end and we would return to a world where we are forced to be in close proximity again; where we can re-learn what it means to accept and love one another regardless of our values and opinions.

For now, do what you need to do in order to maintain a sense of "virtual togetherness."  We don't really have another choice.  But, when the time comes to return to what we had, step into that reality with a new-found love for your fellow human.

And maybe sit just a little closer to each other in the pews.