On February 12, Americans and lovers of truth and liberty across the globe celebrate the 200th birthday of the man who must be considered the most beloved President in American history, Abraham Lincoln. Many historians have said in so many words that the rebellion of the mid-19th century was defeated less by General Grant’s artillery than by President Lincoln’s goodness.
Given one month before his death at the hands of an assassin, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address is the most theologically mature faith statement given in a political speech before or since. Consider the conclusion of what has been called Lincoln’s “Sermon on the Mount.”
Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us not judge, that we be not judged.
The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. “Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?
Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
After his murder on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, ministers across the nation made deifying comparisons between Lincoln and Christ. In the 14 decades since Lincoln’s death he has been claimed by nearly every stripe of nearly every religious body active on American soil.
But Lincoln himself affirmed that he was not a member of any “Christian church.” Though he occasionally attended services, and though he sought counseling from the pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at the death of his sons, there is no evidence of Abraham Lincoln ever making a public profession of faith.
It could be that Lincoln was not a “joiner,” and it could be that he held a faith in Christ but, like many of us today, was horrified by the fire-and-brimstone vocabulary of the fundamentalists that so misrepresent the sanctifying and redeeming God of the Bible.
Whatever his application of doctrinal faith in his personal life, it is clear that Lincoln the man held a high level of Biblical literacy and that Lincoln the President applied that literacy in the execution of his leadership of the nation. It is also clear that he eschewed the religious buzzwords of his time for the still small voice of God that spoke to his heart, and through that heart to the liberation of millions in his day and beyond.
If only each of us at the dawn of the 21st century would lay aside the cacophony of bumper-sticker theology and amplified populist proclamation to find that still small voice of God.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Receivers, Not Achievers
While watching the news the other day, I saw the coverage of a paparazzi photograph of one of America’s recent Olympic heros smoking marijuana through a pipe. The story on the news show was followed by a panel discussion around the expected issue of the disappointment that will be experienced by many Americans, especially young people, over the public failure of a highly visible role model.
As the conversation among the talking heads went on, the young man’s statement of apology was flashed on the screen and quoted by the host. Though such things are subjective, to me the words of repentance released by the young athlete had an unusual ring of sincerity to them.
After hearing the public apology, a member of the panel made the statement, “I don’t know that [the young man] can be forgiven for this...He will have to do something spectacular to put this behind him.”
Forgiveness.
In all of the hustle and bustle of the life of the modern Church, and in all of the seminars, methodologies, meetings, long-range-planning events, and mission statements, the work we should be about...the work we MUST be about...is plain and simple forgiveness.
Can the young man be forgiven for using drugs while serving as a role model? The answer from our God is YES. What will he have to do to “put this matter behind him?” The answer from our God is NOTHING. All that is required to be cleansed from any sin, no matter how grievous, no matter how persistent, is to surrender in repentance to the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Not only is the sin forgiven, but full usefulness is restored.
Some of the most useful servants described in the Biblical narrative were among the most vile of sinners. King David sent a man into battle and certain death that he might claim the soldier’s wife for himself. Paul was one of the worst persecutors of Christians before he was knocked off his horse and placed in the service of Christ. The apostles themselves were a motley collection of swindlers. According to the witness of the Gospels, Jesus Himself was quickly and fully forgiving of the sins of the flesh. In each and every case the restored sinner was immediately entrusted with the work of God’s kingdom.
Of course, this doesn’t make any sense to me. I doubt it makes any sense to you. Shouldn’t these people have gone through some sort of “restoration” process under the guidance of the Church? Shouldn’t there be a 12-step program to help them come to grips with their sin? Shouldn’t there be some sort of periodic evaluation by church leaders to insure that the repentance and forgiveness was complete? Shouldn’t there be some means of documenting the sinful actions so that the record might be cross-referenced in the event of a recurrence?
The answer from the world is yes. The answer from God is no.
When God forgives us in Jesus Christ, the sin is gone as if it were never there. No process is required because no sin is present. Psalm 103:12 tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so has He removed our transgressions from us.”
This is bad news for all of the hucksters selling books, videos, and study guides in “Christian” bookstores. There is really not much need for all of that junk. There is not much need for committees of long-faced modern Pharisees meeting in Sunday School rooms to determine some ridiculous “process.” God has finished the work by saying the Word and healing His servant.
You see, we are receivers of grace. We are achievers of nothing.
When we are in Christ, our feeble, sinful self is exchanged for the perfect love of Jesus. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
The forgiveness of God, like the love of God, is a radical and preposterous thing. The idea that love could be unmerited and unconditional, and the idea that forgiveness could also be complete and unconditional just doesn’t make sense to the human mind.
But, thankfully, in the mind and heart of God, it is His gift to us in Jesus Christ. Our job in the Church is to proclaim that gift and bring others to a saving knowledge of it.
Plain and simple. Radical and preposterous.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
As the conversation among the talking heads went on, the young man’s statement of apology was flashed on the screen and quoted by the host. Though such things are subjective, to me the words of repentance released by the young athlete had an unusual ring of sincerity to them.
After hearing the public apology, a member of the panel made the statement, “I don’t know that [the young man] can be forgiven for this...He will have to do something spectacular to put this behind him.”
Forgiveness.
In all of the hustle and bustle of the life of the modern Church, and in all of the seminars, methodologies, meetings, long-range-planning events, and mission statements, the work we should be about...the work we MUST be about...is plain and simple forgiveness.
Can the young man be forgiven for using drugs while serving as a role model? The answer from our God is YES. What will he have to do to “put this matter behind him?” The answer from our God is NOTHING. All that is required to be cleansed from any sin, no matter how grievous, no matter how persistent, is to surrender in repentance to the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Not only is the sin forgiven, but full usefulness is restored.
Some of the most useful servants described in the Biblical narrative were among the most vile of sinners. King David sent a man into battle and certain death that he might claim the soldier’s wife for himself. Paul was one of the worst persecutors of Christians before he was knocked off his horse and placed in the service of Christ. The apostles themselves were a motley collection of swindlers. According to the witness of the Gospels, Jesus Himself was quickly and fully forgiving of the sins of the flesh. In each and every case the restored sinner was immediately entrusted with the work of God’s kingdom.
Of course, this doesn’t make any sense to me. I doubt it makes any sense to you. Shouldn’t these people have gone through some sort of “restoration” process under the guidance of the Church? Shouldn’t there be a 12-step program to help them come to grips with their sin? Shouldn’t there be some sort of periodic evaluation by church leaders to insure that the repentance and forgiveness was complete? Shouldn’t there be some means of documenting the sinful actions so that the record might be cross-referenced in the event of a recurrence?
The answer from the world is yes. The answer from God is no.
When God forgives us in Jesus Christ, the sin is gone as if it were never there. No process is required because no sin is present. Psalm 103:12 tells us, “As far as the east is from the west, so has He removed our transgressions from us.”
This is bad news for all of the hucksters selling books, videos, and study guides in “Christian” bookstores. There is really not much need for all of that junk. There is not much need for committees of long-faced modern Pharisees meeting in Sunday School rooms to determine some ridiculous “process.” God has finished the work by saying the Word and healing His servant.
You see, we are receivers of grace. We are achievers of nothing.
When we are in Christ, our feeble, sinful self is exchanged for the perfect love of Jesus. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
The forgiveness of God, like the love of God, is a radical and preposterous thing. The idea that love could be unmerited and unconditional, and the idea that forgiveness could also be complete and unconditional just doesn’t make sense to the human mind.
But, thankfully, in the mind and heart of God, it is His gift to us in Jesus Christ. Our job in the Church is to proclaim that gift and bring others to a saving knowledge of it.
Plain and simple. Radical and preposterous.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Duty of Constant Communion
Some months ago, hearing that the Baker family was church shopping, some members of the evangelism committee of a nearby United Methodist congregation approached to invite us to worship. After some conversation about a sermon series by the pastor, graded programs for my children, and various fellowship opportunities for all, I asked a question that seemed to confuse the committee members.
“How many of your weekly services are truly “Methodist?”
“Why all of them, of course,” came the answer, “We have a very engaging preacher and all kinds of music. ...you even have the choice of traditional worship or a casual worship.”
The thought of approaching worship casually made my stomach churn, but I let that pass. I was after something else in the conversation.
“Let me put it this way... ‘How many of your weekly services honor the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament as prescribed by (Methodist founder) John Wesley himself?”
The now flustered layperson responded, “Are you asking how often we have communion in our services?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well,” he said with growing confidence, “we have communion the first Sunday of every month, unless of course, a big Sunday falls on the first Sunday of the month. In that case we have to skip it so that the service does not get too busy.”
“What, please tell me, is a ‘big’ Sunday?”
“Easter Sunday, Palm Sunday, Boy Scout recognition, Stewardship, or any other Sunday that our pastor needs extra preaching time, or any Sunday where we need to insure that nothing interferes with an important recognition.”
Sometimes we in the Church need to listen carefully to what we are saying and to what we are hearing. At least by the testimony of one dedicated and well-informed lay person, the pastor of this growing suburban congregation clearly counted his weekly homiletic commentaries and the various marketing gimmicks carried forth in the worship services of his congregation as more important than the promise he made at his ordination to “...faithfully preach God’s Holy Word, and faithfully administer the sacraments.”
Consider the especially damning statement that suggested communion be dispensed with on “big Sundays” (read “high expected attendance Sundays”). To my mind that reeks of a desire to entertain rather than to minister. Should the body and blood of Christ only be offered by the Church when the crowd is small and the process won’t take too long. Or should the Cup of Salvation only be poured when there is not a more entertaining option for the worship hour. Or, worst of all, should the Biblical mandate of our Savior be pushed aside whenever it might impact “preaching time?”
In 1732 John Wesley himself cautioned against such thinking in his sermon “The Duty of Constant Communion.” Aside from the spiritual merits of Holy Communion, Wesley proclaimed in a most powerful way that to fail to celebrate the Sacrament in the worshiping assembly was a gross violation of “the plain command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
[Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will confess to a degree of cynicism with the whole business of preaching. As a life-long weekly churchgoer, and as a professional in the Church for over 30 years where I would often participate in 2-3 weekly services, I would now be perfectly content to never hear another sermon as long as I live. I have endured countless canned sermon stories, and I could readily reveal several of the Internet sites where many ministers find them. I have heard literally hundreds of political speeches masquerading as sermons. Sometimes the politics revolve around national issues. At other times the politics are internal within the congregation. Whatever the focus of the pulpit politics, it is downright obscene that such would come between the power of the Eucharist and the worshiper who has responded to the call of the Holy Spirit to attend worship and approach the altar of grace.]
In the first decade of the 21st century, we can see that a toxic entertainment culture has infected the worship of many churches to an extent that such foolishness seems normal. Many pastors are, at best, vulnerable to this culture or, at worst, culpable to it. In some cases, ego issues and hopes for celebrity make it very difficult for many ministers to see these issues with clear focus and balance.
It is up to the laity in many congregations to stand strong against the tide.
Through councils, committees and boards, laity must insist that the Eucharist is present in every worship service and at all times. If this means that preaching time must be reduced from 25-30 minutes to 10-15 minutes, all the better! Most of the best sermons I have heard in my life were under 15 minutes.
When shopping for a church home, it is important that prospects make the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament a condition for considering placing membership in a particular congregation. If evangelism committees and church staff members see that sermon-oriented liturgies are costing the congregation new members, changes will be made.
Most of all, it is imperative that lay members hold pastors to a high level of spiritual and leadership accountability. The yoke of ministry is a trust, it is not an entitlement. Pastors should be held to the highest standards of scholarship and study by a dedicated and informed laity. It is not out of line for members of the congregation to say boldly, “We have called a pastor, a minister of Word and Sacrament, not an ‘entertainer in chief.’”
“The Church is of God and shall be preserved to the end of time...” is a truth that is enshrined in the liturgies for Holy Baptism and for affirmation of membership in a congregation. We do not have to fear the survival of the Church, for such is a promise of God.
God, however, calls us as the Church to be a faithful witness to truth. He calls us to proclaim His Word boldly and without apology. He also calls us to break the bread of life in remembrance of His death, in proclamation of His resurrection, and in the expectation of His coming again.
To serve this calling is the sacred trust placed in us by Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church. To refract it through our desires to substitute pulpit entertainment for holy mysteries constitutes no less than a vulgar violation of that trust.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
“How many of your weekly services are truly “Methodist?”
“Why all of them, of course,” came the answer, “We have a very engaging preacher and all kinds of music. ...you even have the choice of traditional worship or a casual worship.”
The thought of approaching worship casually made my stomach churn, but I let that pass. I was after something else in the conversation.
“Let me put it this way... ‘How many of your weekly services honor the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament as prescribed by (Methodist founder) John Wesley himself?”
The now flustered layperson responded, “Are you asking how often we have communion in our services?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well,” he said with growing confidence, “we have communion the first Sunday of every month, unless of course, a big Sunday falls on the first Sunday of the month. In that case we have to skip it so that the service does not get too busy.”
“What, please tell me, is a ‘big’ Sunday?”
“Easter Sunday, Palm Sunday, Boy Scout recognition, Stewardship, or any other Sunday that our pastor needs extra preaching time, or any Sunday where we need to insure that nothing interferes with an important recognition.”
Sometimes we in the Church need to listen carefully to what we are saying and to what we are hearing. At least by the testimony of one dedicated and well-informed lay person, the pastor of this growing suburban congregation clearly counted his weekly homiletic commentaries and the various marketing gimmicks carried forth in the worship services of his congregation as more important than the promise he made at his ordination to “...faithfully preach God’s Holy Word, and faithfully administer the sacraments.”
Consider the especially damning statement that suggested communion be dispensed with on “big Sundays” (read “high expected attendance Sundays”). To my mind that reeks of a desire to entertain rather than to minister. Should the body and blood of Christ only be offered by the Church when the crowd is small and the process won’t take too long. Or should the Cup of Salvation only be poured when there is not a more entertaining option for the worship hour. Or, worst of all, should the Biblical mandate of our Savior be pushed aside whenever it might impact “preaching time?”
In 1732 John Wesley himself cautioned against such thinking in his sermon “The Duty of Constant Communion.” Aside from the spiritual merits of Holy Communion, Wesley proclaimed in a most powerful way that to fail to celebrate the Sacrament in the worshiping assembly was a gross violation of “the plain command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
[Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I will confess to a degree of cynicism with the whole business of preaching. As a life-long weekly churchgoer, and as a professional in the Church for over 30 years where I would often participate in 2-3 weekly services, I would now be perfectly content to never hear another sermon as long as I live. I have endured countless canned sermon stories, and I could readily reveal several of the Internet sites where many ministers find them. I have heard literally hundreds of political speeches masquerading as sermons. Sometimes the politics revolve around national issues. At other times the politics are internal within the congregation. Whatever the focus of the pulpit politics, it is downright obscene that such would come between the power of the Eucharist and the worshiper who has responded to the call of the Holy Spirit to attend worship and approach the altar of grace.]
In the first decade of the 21st century, we can see that a toxic entertainment culture has infected the worship of many churches to an extent that such foolishness seems normal. Many pastors are, at best, vulnerable to this culture or, at worst, culpable to it. In some cases, ego issues and hopes for celebrity make it very difficult for many ministers to see these issues with clear focus and balance.
It is up to the laity in many congregations to stand strong against the tide.
Through councils, committees and boards, laity must insist that the Eucharist is present in every worship service and at all times. If this means that preaching time must be reduced from 25-30 minutes to 10-15 minutes, all the better! Most of the best sermons I have heard in my life were under 15 minutes.
When shopping for a church home, it is important that prospects make the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament a condition for considering placing membership in a particular congregation. If evangelism committees and church staff members see that sermon-oriented liturgies are costing the congregation new members, changes will be made.
Most of all, it is imperative that lay members hold pastors to a high level of spiritual and leadership accountability. The yoke of ministry is a trust, it is not an entitlement. Pastors should be held to the highest standards of scholarship and study by a dedicated and informed laity. It is not out of line for members of the congregation to say boldly, “We have called a pastor, a minister of Word and Sacrament, not an ‘entertainer in chief.’”
“The Church is of God and shall be preserved to the end of time...” is a truth that is enshrined in the liturgies for Holy Baptism and for affirmation of membership in a congregation. We do not have to fear the survival of the Church, for such is a promise of God.
God, however, calls us as the Church to be a faithful witness to truth. He calls us to proclaim His Word boldly and without apology. He also calls us to break the bread of life in remembrance of His death, in proclamation of His resurrection, and in the expectation of His coming again.
To serve this calling is the sacred trust placed in us by Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church. To refract it through our desires to substitute pulpit entertainment for holy mysteries constitutes no less than a vulgar violation of that trust.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Giving Unto Caesar
We humans are creatures of rite and ceremony. Even in subcultures that profess to disdain ceremony and ritual as a part of their worship language, most people’s lives outside those experiences of corporate worship abound with ceremony.
A child’s birthday party has ritual music (Happy Birthday), ritual food (cake and ice cream) and liturgical action (games and presents). Ceremony and ritual can be found in almost equal amounts as a part of a fraternity induction, a Las Vegas wedding, a gang initiation, a major league sports event, or a formal dinner party.
I remember a conversation some years ago with a church member of my father’s generation. Like my own dad who was decorated with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, this gentleman was a hero of the Second World War and as such he was deserving of the fullest measure of honor and recognition that his nation could bestow upon him.
The old soldier was requesting, really demanding, that the congregation devote a Sunday worship service to themes of patriotism and appreciation to veterans for their service. He was soliciting my support as the congregation’s Minister of Music & Worship for his cause.
I shared with him my concerns that such a recognition might serve to take the focus of the worshiping assembly away from the eternal and redeeming love of our Lord and Savior, and turn it to consideration for a human political state that, while precious and dear to us all, will fall into history one day. My efforts to recommend thanksgiving for the veterans and intercessions for our country in the intercessory prayers fell on deaf ears. He wanted a much bolder secular liturgy, that would include a pledge of allegiance to the flag, the singing the National Anthem, having veterans stand for recognition, and a sermon built around appreciation of God and Country.
I even suggested a special patriotic concert by the music ministry, a dinner in honor of veterans, or any number of special events held aside from the worship service itself. No sale.
In his passion he burst, "Can’t you church people set aside your high-falutin’ bowing and crossing just long enough to honor your country and focus on those who have made your freedoms possible?" At that point in the conversation it was clear to me that the best ministry in the situation was to listen quietly and allow the man, a person that I greatly admired, to have his say.
Driving home at the end of the workday I thought about our conversation, taking the discussion beyond the questions of the issue at hand.
The question occurs: "What have we become that so many in the family of God are uncomfortable bowing to the altar of the Redeemer of the world Who reigns forever, but are perfectly content to salute the flag of a nation that will cease to exist at the end of time...if not before?"
Please don’t get me wrong...I am a patriotic American, and I believe the ideals of my country to be the greatest expression of human liberty in history. I have no doubt that the American experiment is the world’s greatest hope for peace and prosperity. Even more, I believe those ideals to be worthy of our thanks and our protection. I am enthusiastic about celebrating them unapologetically ...but not at the expense of the worship of my God.
The long-awaited inauguration of President Barack Obama is an example of civic ceremony. Tens of thousands of people have been engaged in intense preparation to welcome the hundreds of thousands of people who will come to witness the historic event and recite the liturgy of national ordination.
And rightly so. Whatever one’s political leanings, and however one may have voted, it is a glorious thing to see, 150 years after the final abolition of slavery in America, a black man taking the same oath of presidential office that was once taken by Lincoln himself. I give thanks to God that my own children will never know a world where every leader of our nation had been a white male. To make the words just right, the music powerful and stirring, and the scene eternally inspiring is and should be the goal of everyone involved with the event.
Is the same not true for our worship on Sunday morning? The very definition of "worship" is to pay homage to that which is "truly worthy." Only God is worthy of worship, and God is worthy of the very best worship we can offer. In practical terms, God is worthy of worship where the themes are unencumbered by personal, promotional or political distraction. God is worthy of worship where the organ plays the right notes at the right time, and the choirs sing as in tune as can possibly be. God is worthy of worship where the lay readers and the liturgists say well-chosen words in ways that ring with care, truth, sincerity and power. God is worthy of worship where the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament is honored always and without fail.
By doing our best to offer worship to God and God alone, we remember our Lord’s command to "give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s."
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
A child’s birthday party has ritual music (Happy Birthday), ritual food (cake and ice cream) and liturgical action (games and presents). Ceremony and ritual can be found in almost equal amounts as a part of a fraternity induction, a Las Vegas wedding, a gang initiation, a major league sports event, or a formal dinner party.
I remember a conversation some years ago with a church member of my father’s generation. Like my own dad who was decorated with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart, this gentleman was a hero of the Second World War and as such he was deserving of the fullest measure of honor and recognition that his nation could bestow upon him.
The old soldier was requesting, really demanding, that the congregation devote a Sunday worship service to themes of patriotism and appreciation to veterans for their service. He was soliciting my support as the congregation’s Minister of Music & Worship for his cause.
I shared with him my concerns that such a recognition might serve to take the focus of the worshiping assembly away from the eternal and redeeming love of our Lord and Savior, and turn it to consideration for a human political state that, while precious and dear to us all, will fall into history one day. My efforts to recommend thanksgiving for the veterans and intercessions for our country in the intercessory prayers fell on deaf ears. He wanted a much bolder secular liturgy, that would include a pledge of allegiance to the flag, the singing the National Anthem, having veterans stand for recognition, and a sermon built around appreciation of God and Country.
I even suggested a special patriotic concert by the music ministry, a dinner in honor of veterans, or any number of special events held aside from the worship service itself. No sale.
In his passion he burst, "Can’t you church people set aside your high-falutin’ bowing and crossing just long enough to honor your country and focus on those who have made your freedoms possible?" At that point in the conversation it was clear to me that the best ministry in the situation was to listen quietly and allow the man, a person that I greatly admired, to have his say.
Driving home at the end of the workday I thought about our conversation, taking the discussion beyond the questions of the issue at hand.
The question occurs: "What have we become that so many in the family of God are uncomfortable bowing to the altar of the Redeemer of the world Who reigns forever, but are perfectly content to salute the flag of a nation that will cease to exist at the end of time...if not before?"
Please don’t get me wrong...I am a patriotic American, and I believe the ideals of my country to be the greatest expression of human liberty in history. I have no doubt that the American experiment is the world’s greatest hope for peace and prosperity. Even more, I believe those ideals to be worthy of our thanks and our protection. I am enthusiastic about celebrating them unapologetically ...but not at the expense of the worship of my God.
The long-awaited inauguration of President Barack Obama is an example of civic ceremony. Tens of thousands of people have been engaged in intense preparation to welcome the hundreds of thousands of people who will come to witness the historic event and recite the liturgy of national ordination.
And rightly so. Whatever one’s political leanings, and however one may have voted, it is a glorious thing to see, 150 years after the final abolition of slavery in America, a black man taking the same oath of presidential office that was once taken by Lincoln himself. I give thanks to God that my own children will never know a world where every leader of our nation had been a white male. To make the words just right, the music powerful and stirring, and the scene eternally inspiring is and should be the goal of everyone involved with the event.
Is the same not true for our worship on Sunday morning? The very definition of "worship" is to pay homage to that which is "truly worthy." Only God is worthy of worship, and God is worthy of the very best worship we can offer. In practical terms, God is worthy of worship where the themes are unencumbered by personal, promotional or political distraction. God is worthy of worship where the organ plays the right notes at the right time, and the choirs sing as in tune as can possibly be. God is worthy of worship where the lay readers and the liturgists say well-chosen words in ways that ring with care, truth, sincerity and power. God is worthy of worship where the Biblical balance of Word and Sacrament is honored always and without fail.
By doing our best to offer worship to God and God alone, we remember our Lord’s command to "give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and give unto God what is God’s."
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Why The Leipzig Door?
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the first edition of The Leipzig Door. I am excited about the prospects for this new cyberspace enterprise, and I am honored that you have elected to give it a look.
The Leipzig Door will be a blog for those of us who love the church and, either as a vocation or as an avocation, have given much of ourselves in her service. Some of you, if not most of you, are still serving in the trenches of parish service as a pastor, musician, lay professional, or volunteer. You experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. You see the hand of God vividly as you go about the liturgia -the work of worship and witness. You struggle with self-centered leaders and laity, you fight the limitations of financial and physical resources, you bend under the weight of levels of idiocy that are nowhere more onerous or tragic than they are in the Church. Still, you love her, you serve her, and you fight for her.
The Leipzig Door is here to give you a voice. There will be times when we rail in collective frustration and we will call out the Church and (especially) her leaders and exploiters for their sins against common sense, against high ideals, against the Holy Spirit, and against Bach. There will be times when we will seek to offer spiritual encouragement, practical advice, or a funny story that works to get you through the next rehearsal or service.
One of my greatest hopes for The Leipzig Door is that it will be a place where the TRUTH about the church ...its polity, its worship, its music and its leadership... can be told without fear. From my lofty perch as a retired church professional, I can say things that I would never have dared to express so boldly when the needs of my family depended on my bi-weekly alms from a congregation’s bank account. After serving over 30 years in congregations from three of the top five denominational groupings, I am not surprised that mainline churches have lost millions of members in the last quarter-century. It is only by the hand of God that we have anyone left at all. In a small way, The Leipzig Door is here to help reverse that trend.
I hope also that we will have fun with all of this. Many folks in the Church have grown so uptight that they check for devils under the bed before retiring every evening. If you are one of those, you might just find my devilish face staring back at you when you look. I believe that God loves a good story ...if you don’t just check out some parables in the Gospels. I believe that God has a sense of humor ...after all, He did create fundamentalists. I believe that God is not threatened by satire. And, I believe that God loves to have a good time and wants us to join Him in doing so, as evidenced by His creation of Louis Armstrong, baseball, and Pouilly-Fuisse.
One last thing: You may be wondering where the name “The Leipzig Door” came from. In my younger days I considered a call to the ministry before making music my life’s vocation. While taking classes in worship and homiletics, and while hanging with seminary types, I came across an underground newsletter called The Wittenberg Door. That “Door” offered some bold commentary on the things of the Church that both entertained and inspired a younger me. In creating our new blog focused more toward liturgy and music, I imagined the spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach, disgusted with the music and worship of the modern Church, nailing his own protests on the symbolic door of the Church at Leipzig.
So, we are off. The plan is to post a new commentary every Wednesday morning...just in time to get your blood boiling for your weekly rehearsals. Please consider giving us the honor of reading, and please give us the insight of your response.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
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