The announcement did not involve a press conference, but it did resonate with high drama. It was made to me upon my return last Tuesday from Atlanta.
“There is a mouse in the house. I have seen it.”
Such news is not entirely surprising. Mice have been spotted in northeastern Kansas in the past. Our house is around 70 years old. Cold weather has arrived. If I were a mouse, I wouldn’t plan on riding out the winter in the back yard.
The complicating factor was, in 72 hours, 50-60 people were expected at our house for a party. Our fear was that one of our friends might actually see the afore-mentioned rodent. We also had a house guest coming for the weekend from Iowa. Would she see the mouse? If she saw it would she scream?
Snap traps and peanut butter were collected, and plans for the critter’s trip to Mousy Gloryland were laid.
It wasn’t until after the party that the traps accomplished their work. Much to our family’s relief, the rodent did not appear at the soiree. Blood-curling screams and social shame were avoided.
I guess we are not the only family in America dealing with a mouse in the house. We were told by friends who live in a fancy house in the suburbs that they trapped twenty-five mice in their basement. (Ooooooh!) Also, I saw a commercial on television for a fancy new mouse trap one morning last week while getting ready to go to work.
The trap in the commercial looked like an oversize can of chewing tobacco. It had a mouse sized hole on one side. The cheerful announcer proclaimed, “You don’t have to see it. You don’t have to touch it. You don’t have to deal with it. And, the mice are gone!”
Well, how about that! With this fancy device -no objection...I am going to buy one- you can kill the mice in your house, throw the remains away trap and all, and you don’t have to deal with the bloody mess that results from the snap trap. Cool!
It occurs to me, though, that we sometimes try to do the same thing in the Church. For over two centuries American churches have too often engaged in a prettified facade. We sweep our difficult situations and our difficult people under the rug. We allow them to go into the fancy mouse trap where they are disposed of in a way that we don’t have to see them, touch them, or deal with them. We sometimes throw them out...trap and all.
I don’t think we intend to do this...it is just our way of refracting the ministry of the Church through the lens of our tidy suburban, middle-class, American lives. The bloody, messy issues of sin and pain are easy to gloss over. Just like it was in the days of Jesus and the apostles, the Church is filled with a parade of screwed-up people dealing with tough situations. Sometimes we answer the call to deal with pain and sin compassionately and forgivingly by finding a sanitized way to pretend that it isn’t there.
That is one of the reasons I shared the full text of Wesley’s O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing in a recent rehearsal. In the tradition of Martin Luther, Wesley approached the tough issues of sin, death, repentance and forgiveness with straight talk and tough love. This is why his hymns will be loved and treasured as much by Christians 250 years in the future as they have been in the 250 years since they were authored.
Carlyle Marney was a Southern Baptist pastor who died in the early 1970s. A liberal maverick in a very conservative system in a conservative region, he was known as a no-nonsense straight talker. The story goes that he was called for an interview at the Myer’s Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Myers Park in the 1960s was the ultimate in gentrification: a silk-stocking Southern church. The pulpit committee arrived to the formal interview with the legendary preacher in their buttoned-down finest. Limo drivers waited in the parking lot.
Marney, by contrast, arrived late in cowboy boots complete with the evidence of his afternoon riding visit to a nearby ranch. A gentleman, he removed his ten-gallon hat and laid it on the conference table near one of the committee members. It was said that his lack of a recent shower was apparent.
Marney took charge of the interview and asked the first questions: “What are your goals as a church?” “What do you want to accomplish in the next ten years?” “What do you see my contribution being to that?”
After listening silently for about twenty minutes, Marney stood up and said, “I am not your man. I want to open the doors of the Gospel to people who are hurting. All you seem to want to do is gather more people who look like you, talk like you and think like you. You don’t seem to give a [darn] about anything other than counting your money. Real ministry is a dirty business. Jesus calls us to approach the ugliest parts of ourselves with love and compassion. I want to help people with broken hearts and empty wallets.”
As the committee sat in stunned silence, Marney walked out of the room, his boots trailing horse manure on the carpet of the well-appointed church parlor.
The best part of the story is that the leaders of Myers Park Baptist Church spent months in prayer and Bible study and then asked Marney for another interview. This time, he accepted the call and served a pastorate that was one of the most storied in American church history. As a part of his ministry, he created a support organization for pastors and church leaders called “Interpreter’s House.” The organization sponsored retreats for church leaders at Lake Junaluska, NC, where men and women in these high-stress professions could go to “deal with ugly things” in a place of acceptance and emotional safety.
As we approach the holiday season, there will be people in our community that are wrestling with painful and difficult things. Perhaps it is an addiction to drugs or alcohol. Perhaps it is a broken relationship that may end in divorce. Perhaps it is a serious or terminal illness for them or a loved one. Perhaps it is an area of sinfulness or selfishness that cannot be overcome by their efforts alone. Perhaps it is a crossroad where a heart is asking, “Is there anything to this God thing?” or “Is this...house, car, boat, HDTV...all there is to life?”
There is no question that they will come to us in our own congregation. Some are already there. The only question is, “Are we ready to get some horse manure on our boots and some bloody mess in our hands?”
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
A DAY REMEMBERED IN INFAMY
It is amazing how we humans remember seminal events that bind a nation, a world, or a culture together in a moment of common attention and purpose. My first memory is the emotional reaction of my parents to the news of the assassination of President Kennedy. Many of us remember hearing of the explosion of Challenger. Of course, for those too young to remember Pearl Harbor, the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, remains the primary such event in our lifetime.
I had just taken a two year interim job in a church outside New Orleans. It was my last full-time ministry position, and I took it with the understanding that I would commute two days a week to Kansas City and two days a week to Atlanta to work toward the building of the Choral Foundation as my future primary vocation, an event that was accomplished by mid-2003.
My son John, then four, was playing in the family room while his mother watched The Today Show. Daughter Marguerite, then four months old, was protesting the imposition of tummy time on a blanket in front of the television. Since we had been in Louisiana less than three weeks the house was cluttered with boxes and debris from unpacking. The day I had planned included a meeting at the church in the morning, followed by a noon drive across Lake Pontchartrain to the New Orleans airport and a Festival Singers rehearsal in Kansas City the same evening.
I had placed my bags in the car and walked in the house to say goodbye when John yelled out, “Daddy, a plane flew into a building on television.” Since children of that age can say almost anything, I gave an unconcerned glance to the screen in time to see the replay of the first plane strike. I remember thinking that some drunk must have gotten off course and flown his small general aviation craft into a building.
I didn’t realize the event was a terrorist attack until I got to the church office and saw the ashen faces of my colleagues.
There were many moving images in those days. I watched the memorial service from the National Cathedral from the comfort of my daddy chair with my chubby infant daughter on my lap and I prayed for the world that she would live in one day. I remember talking to my brother about the senselessness of it all and raging, “I want chase those #@^&%$* to the ends of the earth and choke the life out of every one of them with my bare hands!”
The image that I remember the most, however, was the news coverage of the grounding of all flights over American airspace. A huge board somewhere in Washington had a blinking light for every plane in the air across the nation. One by one the lights when dark as the last planes landed. As the reporters remained silent the last few lights went out, leaving the dark board to certify that America was shut down. The greatest human kingdom on the face of the earth had been stricken.
But, even in the depths of the fear and despair, we knew as a people that we would rise again.
I was one of the first to board a plane in New Orleans after air travel resumed. There were seven people on the flight. Looking back at the Knowing the Score newsletters for late September 2001 reminds me that the Festival Singers added eleven new members in those two weeks. Several of those members became some of the most significant leaders in the history of the Choral Foundation. Though the 2001-2002 season was among our most challenging as an organization, many seeds of a decade of stupendous growth were sown during those dark and frightening days.
As the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks approaches Sunday, the media will be filled with stories about the event and the struggle against terrorism that will probably extend for the remainder of our lives. There will be pious words by theologians and philosophers. There will be policy debates by candidates and politicians. There will be spoken prayers and moments of silence by those who have survived and on behalf of those who were lost.
And the Festival Singers will sing. We will sing songs of faith and hope, living out the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian who died in a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis: “...daring to love and pray for those who bring you harm is our highest calling under God.” As an eternal witness to his words, Bonhoeffer, knowing he would be killed at dawn, served the Sacrament of Holy Communion to the men who would be his murderers.
Yes, the Festival Singers will sing. We will affirm the power of love over hate. We will affirm the truth of life over death. We will give voice to the creative joy of the human spirit to bring a better world out of the rubble of destruction.
The arts have no greater purpose.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
I had just taken a two year interim job in a church outside New Orleans. It was my last full-time ministry position, and I took it with the understanding that I would commute two days a week to Kansas City and two days a week to Atlanta to work toward the building of the Choral Foundation as my future primary vocation, an event that was accomplished by mid-2003.
My son John, then four, was playing in the family room while his mother watched The Today Show. Daughter Marguerite, then four months old, was protesting the imposition of tummy time on a blanket in front of the television. Since we had been in Louisiana less than three weeks the house was cluttered with boxes and debris from unpacking. The day I had planned included a meeting at the church in the morning, followed by a noon drive across Lake Pontchartrain to the New Orleans airport and a Festival Singers rehearsal in Kansas City the same evening.
I had placed my bags in the car and walked in the house to say goodbye when John yelled out, “Daddy, a plane flew into a building on television.” Since children of that age can say almost anything, I gave an unconcerned glance to the screen in time to see the replay of the first plane strike. I remember thinking that some drunk must have gotten off course and flown his small general aviation craft into a building.
I didn’t realize the event was a terrorist attack until I got to the church office and saw the ashen faces of my colleagues.
There were many moving images in those days. I watched the memorial service from the National Cathedral from the comfort of my daddy chair with my chubby infant daughter on my lap and I prayed for the world that she would live in one day. I remember talking to my brother about the senselessness of it all and raging, “I want chase those #@^&%$* to the ends of the earth and choke the life out of every one of them with my bare hands!”
The image that I remember the most, however, was the news coverage of the grounding of all flights over American airspace. A huge board somewhere in Washington had a blinking light for every plane in the air across the nation. One by one the lights when dark as the last planes landed. As the reporters remained silent the last few lights went out, leaving the dark board to certify that America was shut down. The greatest human kingdom on the face of the earth had been stricken.
But, even in the depths of the fear and despair, we knew as a people that we would rise again.
I was one of the first to board a plane in New Orleans after air travel resumed. There were seven people on the flight. Looking back at the Knowing the Score newsletters for late September 2001 reminds me that the Festival Singers added eleven new members in those two weeks. Several of those members became some of the most significant leaders in the history of the Choral Foundation. Though the 2001-2002 season was among our most challenging as an organization, many seeds of a decade of stupendous growth were sown during those dark and frightening days.
As the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks approaches Sunday, the media will be filled with stories about the event and the struggle against terrorism that will probably extend for the remainder of our lives. There will be pious words by theologians and philosophers. There will be policy debates by candidates and politicians. There will be spoken prayers and moments of silence by those who have survived and on behalf of those who were lost.
And the Festival Singers will sing. We will sing songs of faith and hope, living out the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran theologian who died in a concentration camp at the hands of the Nazis: “...daring to love and pray for those who bring you harm is our highest calling under God.” As an eternal witness to his words, Bonhoeffer, knowing he would be killed at dawn, served the Sacrament of Holy Communion to the men who would be his murderers.
Yes, the Festival Singers will sing. We will affirm the power of love over hate. We will affirm the truth of life over death. We will give voice to the creative joy of the human spirit to bring a better world out of the rubble of destruction.
The arts have no greater purpose.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Thursday, July 28, 2011
SECULAR SPIRITUALS?
It was over twenty-six years ago that the William Baker (then called "Gwinnett")Festival Singers was born in the basement of a Norcross church. For the first thirteen years the group was a growing and successful Atlanta-based choral ensemble. Now it represents the first chapter in a national arts organization that sponsors ten groups based in three states.
The signature repertoire of the Festival Singers choirs has been sacred a cappella classics and spirituals along with works for chorus and chamber orchestra. I like to say that “sacred” and “a cappella” are our signatures, not our prisons. From time to time, as in the coming season, we will also sing a number of the secular works that are equally worthy of inclusion in the repertoire of the ensembles.
Every conductor has his or her own personal style and an approach to the interpretation of musical ideas that arise from their personal value systems, training, experiences, and perspective on life. There is really no such thing as right and wrong in these matters. In fact, the diversity of leadership styles and personalities is one of the great gifts we enjoy in the rich choral community of Atlanta.
One of those perspectives for me is the open consideration of the spiritual dimension that is an inherent and, to my mind and heart, inseparable element of these great sacred works of art. Yes, you can study the craftsmanship of Handel’s MESSIAH, or you can experience the thrill of air flowing across your vocal chords to make sound, but I do not believe that you can truly approach any level of understanding of the music in its full glory without the consideration of the import of its text.
Please let me be clear. This is not to say that you must ascribe to the specific doctrines expressed in a piece of music in order to experience it fully or to perform it faithfully. Rather, I believe it is important to consider the relationship of the composer and the author to the words and the music they have created... for what purpose, to reveal what questions and struggles, and to gnaw at what potential answers. The questions of time and eternity are always there for us humans, whether we choose to consciously consider them or not. Most certainly we can go through our musical lives singing only of birds and bees and flowers and trees, but doing so does not satisfy the thirsting in the soul that generation after generation has wrestled with throughout history.
Great music, as opposed to entertainment music, can be scary. Great music does not roll passively by us. It is a change agent that will not stand to leave us where we were when we encountered it. You don’t hear spirituals playing on the sound system at the grocery store. You don’t hear choruses from THE CREATION or ELIJAH in the elevator of your office building. You don’t hear the MISSA SOLEMNIS played as background music at the city pool.
Because great music can be scary, and because many educators and conductors appropriately desire to avoid any danger of actual or perceived proselytizing, I think we often hide from the consideration of the text, how the music serves the text, what the composer was trying to reveal through his or her setting of the text, and what is needed from a performance stand-point to make the composer’s work come alive through both the music and the text in their uncompromising relationship to each other.
I believe this is a relationship that cannot be broken, though many in recent years may try. I couldn’t help but chuckle some years ago when one of our Festival Singers’ ushers told a story about an encounter with a woman of a certain age at the CD table following a concert. “I just loved the concert...but especially the joy with which you sang the spirituals,” she said, “but I noticed that all of the spirituals your choir sang today are religious in nature. Could I please buy a CD of spirituals that aren’t religious?”
We also see the same issue in many public school choral situations. When there is a prohibition of music with sacred texts, nearly all of the great works of Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, and many others are not allowed. How then, can we provide comprehensive music education while excluding much of the repertoire of the masters? It would be like trying to teach American history after proclaiming George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and World War II to be politically incorrect and disallowed from the curriculum!
It is not necessary to be Lutheran to sing the ST. MATTHEW PASSION on a level that speaks to the soul and the spirit as well as the ears. Singing the AVE MARIA of Franz Biebl or William Byrd does not make a performer a member of the Catholic Church, nor does singing the Ernest Bloch SACRED SERVICE make a performer Jewish. For that matter, singing Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA does not make the performer a promiscuous drunkard. (I can’t help but wonder, then, why CARMINA BURANA is acceptable among the politically correct, but MESSIAH is not.)
All of this said, I must agree that it is equally inappropriate to use the performances of a civic organization, a public school, or the concert stage to attempt in any way to force belief. And, I understand that the use of any sacred text in any situation other than a service of worship must be done in a way that does not attempt to force belief or work to marginalize those who hold other views. I think it is also the responsibility of music leaders and educators to expose their singers and audiences to the widest possible diversity of inquiry and philosophy without compromising the standard of musical or poetic excellence at any level.
This admittedly rambling discourse was inspired by a couple of conversations I enjoyed with members of our Summer Singers over the last few weeks. After some very kind words about how our reflections on the background and import of the sacred texts have enhanced their exploration of this immortal music, one of our members said, “Are you sure this is okay? I hope you are not going to get ‘in trouble’ with the board, or some arts agency somewhere!”
No danger there. One of the beauties of an independent organization like the Choral Foundation is that we are beholden to no one as we pursue the cause of excellence and diversity through music of timeless beauty and worth. We can ask any questions we wish to ask... of history, of philosophy, of literature, of poetry, and yes...of religion too. We will never impose answers to those questions for anyone, but we will allow every ingredient to enjoy unfettered access to our gumbo of exploration in the free exchange of great ideas.
To my mind, my heart, and my soul, that is what the arts ...especially the choral arts...are for!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
The signature repertoire of the Festival Singers choirs has been sacred a cappella classics and spirituals along with works for chorus and chamber orchestra. I like to say that “sacred” and “a cappella” are our signatures, not our prisons. From time to time, as in the coming season, we will also sing a number of the secular works that are equally worthy of inclusion in the repertoire of the ensembles.
Every conductor has his or her own personal style and an approach to the interpretation of musical ideas that arise from their personal value systems, training, experiences, and perspective on life. There is really no such thing as right and wrong in these matters. In fact, the diversity of leadership styles and personalities is one of the great gifts we enjoy in the rich choral community of Atlanta.
One of those perspectives for me is the open consideration of the spiritual dimension that is an inherent and, to my mind and heart, inseparable element of these great sacred works of art. Yes, you can study the craftsmanship of Handel’s MESSIAH, or you can experience the thrill of air flowing across your vocal chords to make sound, but I do not believe that you can truly approach any level of understanding of the music in its full glory without the consideration of the import of its text.
Please let me be clear. This is not to say that you must ascribe to the specific doctrines expressed in a piece of music in order to experience it fully or to perform it faithfully. Rather, I believe it is important to consider the relationship of the composer and the author to the words and the music they have created... for what purpose, to reveal what questions and struggles, and to gnaw at what potential answers. The questions of time and eternity are always there for us humans, whether we choose to consciously consider them or not. Most certainly we can go through our musical lives singing only of birds and bees and flowers and trees, but doing so does not satisfy the thirsting in the soul that generation after generation has wrestled with throughout history.
Great music, as opposed to entertainment music, can be scary. Great music does not roll passively by us. It is a change agent that will not stand to leave us where we were when we encountered it. You don’t hear spirituals playing on the sound system at the grocery store. You don’t hear choruses from THE CREATION or ELIJAH in the elevator of your office building. You don’t hear the MISSA SOLEMNIS played as background music at the city pool.
Because great music can be scary, and because many educators and conductors appropriately desire to avoid any danger of actual or perceived proselytizing, I think we often hide from the consideration of the text, how the music serves the text, what the composer was trying to reveal through his or her setting of the text, and what is needed from a performance stand-point to make the composer’s work come alive through both the music and the text in their uncompromising relationship to each other.
I believe this is a relationship that cannot be broken, though many in recent years may try. I couldn’t help but chuckle some years ago when one of our Festival Singers’ ushers told a story about an encounter with a woman of a certain age at the CD table following a concert. “I just loved the concert...but especially the joy with which you sang the spirituals,” she said, “but I noticed that all of the spirituals your choir sang today are religious in nature. Could I please buy a CD of spirituals that aren’t religious?”
We also see the same issue in many public school choral situations. When there is a prohibition of music with sacred texts, nearly all of the great works of Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, and many others are not allowed. How then, can we provide comprehensive music education while excluding much of the repertoire of the masters? It would be like trying to teach American history after proclaiming George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and World War II to be politically incorrect and disallowed from the curriculum!
It is not necessary to be Lutheran to sing the ST. MATTHEW PASSION on a level that speaks to the soul and the spirit as well as the ears. Singing the AVE MARIA of Franz Biebl or William Byrd does not make a performer a member of the Catholic Church, nor does singing the Ernest Bloch SACRED SERVICE make a performer Jewish. For that matter, singing Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA does not make the performer a promiscuous drunkard. (I can’t help but wonder, then, why CARMINA BURANA is acceptable among the politically correct, but MESSIAH is not.)
All of this said, I must agree that it is equally inappropriate to use the performances of a civic organization, a public school, or the concert stage to attempt in any way to force belief. And, I understand that the use of any sacred text in any situation other than a service of worship must be done in a way that does not attempt to force belief or work to marginalize those who hold other views. I think it is also the responsibility of music leaders and educators to expose their singers and audiences to the widest possible diversity of inquiry and philosophy without compromising the standard of musical or poetic excellence at any level.
This admittedly rambling discourse was inspired by a couple of conversations I enjoyed with members of our Summer Singers over the last few weeks. After some very kind words about how our reflections on the background and import of the sacred texts have enhanced their exploration of this immortal music, one of our members said, “Are you sure this is okay? I hope you are not going to get ‘in trouble’ with the board, or some arts agency somewhere!”
No danger there. One of the beauties of an independent organization like the Choral Foundation is that we are beholden to no one as we pursue the cause of excellence and diversity through music of timeless beauty and worth. We can ask any questions we wish to ask... of history, of philosophy, of literature, of poetry, and yes...of religion too. We will never impose answers to those questions for anyone, but we will allow every ingredient to enjoy unfettered access to our gumbo of exploration in the free exchange of great ideas.
To my mind, my heart, and my soul, that is what the arts ...especially the choral arts...are for!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A GOOD INVESTMENT
The worst economic downturn in the past eighty years has created repercussions in every area of American life as families, businesses and governments seek ways to maximize income and cut expenses.
There is not a state in our nation that has not at least considered dramatic cuts in the arts, or the elimination of public funds in their entirety. There are many arguments for this, some of which, to be honest, have validity and need to be thoughtfully considered and addressed.
My personal political philosophy tends to run with Thomas Paine: “The government is best which governs least.” It is true that the presence of public money in the arts has led at times to not-so-subtle attempts by government bodies to take control of the arts. If you have ever completed an application for government arts funding, you must agree that the burden of political correctness is onerous. Rather then encouraging a truly free exchange of expressive ideas through the arts, public funding too often tends to support the agenda of the governmental agencies that determine which organizations and projects are funded.
Then, there is the very real issue of government inefficiency. To be honest, the number of person hours required to complete an application for public funding is usually so great, and the amount awarded so relatively small, that it is hardly worth the effort. There are many organizations who apply for public funding for the sole reason that significant private contributors often will only consider organizations that have been awarded government grants.
However, as valid as these points may be for many, there is one argument often heard that is completely invalid and must be loudly protested by everyone of sound mind in our society. That argument is that the arts are, somehow, a luxury or frivolity that can be dispensed with in challenging times.
I would contend that the arts are a foundational component of the highest human aspiration, as essential to the mind, soul and spirit as food and water is to the body. It is our thirst for and pursuit of ideas and hopes that separate us from the lesser creatures of Creation. The need to express and experience beauty has been a human drive since the dawn of Man, in the best of times and in the worst of times. Art is not an addendum to the human experience. Art is essential.
Consider the results experienced across the nation by school districts that have cut art and music from their curriculum for the purpose of spending more class time and energy in “math and science.” Almost without exception the math and science scores plummet. In school districts where funding and support for music and art has been maintained, math and science scores are higher.
There are many reasons the United States continues to fall below the world standard in public education, but I believe the loss of support for expressive arts is chief among them. Education is very different from vocational training. It should be the purpose of the educational system to create educated human beings who are possessed of the skills and creativity to build a better world. A student cannot become an educated person without a well-rounded education that includes art, literature and music. The nations across the globe that are excelling in education have proven this time and again.
Most of all, the arts are a good investment. It is a proven fact that every dollar invested in the arts, either publicly or privately, reaps a rich harvest of economic benefit. In Charleston, the change from a small Southern city with a crime-ridden downtown in the 1960s to a beautiful, safe, prosperous, and vibrant tourist destination for the last 35 years, is due largely to the city’s investment in the Spoleto USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festivals.
One of the primary considerations for business seeking new locations, or for top professionals seeking homes for their families, is quality of life. Cities without a vibrant arts community simply do not have the quality of life that attracts growing commerce and the highly educated professionals needed to sustain it.
The arts produce an amazing return for such a small investment. Those who advocate cutting the arts often neglect to point out what a tiny fraction of government spending is invested in cultural programs. The arts are a convenient target of attack because of their vulnerability and their lack of effective lobbying support systems. If every penny spent across the nation on the arts were eliminated, the savings would be infinitesimal, but the negative economic impact would be profound.
Opera star Joyce DiDinato, 2010 Gramophone Artist of the Year and native of Prairie Village, Kansas, recently wrote a powerful editorial in the Kansas City Star. She offered this quote by Alex Aldrich, head of the Vermont Arts Council: “Finally, and perhaps most importantly, every state should invest in the arts sector simply because it makes good economic sense. One of our most conservative policy analysts looked at state and local tax revenues that flowed to state and municipal coffers from our very narrowly-defined arts sector in Vermont. Income taxes paid by artists, arts administrators and independent arts contractors reveal a total return of $19.25 million on a combined investment of $2.5 million, which includes our $500,000 (state) appropriation. This annual return on investment of 775% is even more astonishing since nearly all of Vermont’s state tourism dollars promote skiing, outdoor recreation, fall foliage, and maple syrup...”
The arts are a good investment that brings life to our civilization and civilization to life. As President John F. Kennedy said: “I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”
There is not a state in our nation that has not at least considered dramatic cuts in the arts, or the elimination of public funds in their entirety. There are many arguments for this, some of which, to be honest, have validity and need to be thoughtfully considered and addressed.
My personal political philosophy tends to run with Thomas Paine: “The government is best which governs least.” It is true that the presence of public money in the arts has led at times to not-so-subtle attempts by government bodies to take control of the arts. If you have ever completed an application for government arts funding, you must agree that the burden of political correctness is onerous. Rather then encouraging a truly free exchange of expressive ideas through the arts, public funding too often tends to support the agenda of the governmental agencies that determine which organizations and projects are funded.
Then, there is the very real issue of government inefficiency. To be honest, the number of person hours required to complete an application for public funding is usually so great, and the amount awarded so relatively small, that it is hardly worth the effort. There are many organizations who apply for public funding for the sole reason that significant private contributors often will only consider organizations that have been awarded government grants.
However, as valid as these points may be for many, there is one argument often heard that is completely invalid and must be loudly protested by everyone of sound mind in our society. That argument is that the arts are, somehow, a luxury or frivolity that can be dispensed with in challenging times.
I would contend that the arts are a foundational component of the highest human aspiration, as essential to the mind, soul and spirit as food and water is to the body. It is our thirst for and pursuit of ideas and hopes that separate us from the lesser creatures of Creation. The need to express and experience beauty has been a human drive since the dawn of Man, in the best of times and in the worst of times. Art is not an addendum to the human experience. Art is essential.
Consider the results experienced across the nation by school districts that have cut art and music from their curriculum for the purpose of spending more class time and energy in “math and science.” Almost without exception the math and science scores plummet. In school districts where funding and support for music and art has been maintained, math and science scores are higher.
There are many reasons the United States continues to fall below the world standard in public education, but I believe the loss of support for expressive arts is chief among them. Education is very different from vocational training. It should be the purpose of the educational system to create educated human beings who are possessed of the skills and creativity to build a better world. A student cannot become an educated person without a well-rounded education that includes art, literature and music. The nations across the globe that are excelling in education have proven this time and again.
Most of all, the arts are a good investment. It is a proven fact that every dollar invested in the arts, either publicly or privately, reaps a rich harvest of economic benefit. In Charleston, the change from a small Southern city with a crime-ridden downtown in the 1960s to a beautiful, safe, prosperous, and vibrant tourist destination for the last 35 years, is due largely to the city’s investment in the Spoleto USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festivals.
One of the primary considerations for business seeking new locations, or for top professionals seeking homes for their families, is quality of life. Cities without a vibrant arts community simply do not have the quality of life that attracts growing commerce and the highly educated professionals needed to sustain it.
The arts produce an amazing return for such a small investment. Those who advocate cutting the arts often neglect to point out what a tiny fraction of government spending is invested in cultural programs. The arts are a convenient target of attack because of their vulnerability and their lack of effective lobbying support systems. If every penny spent across the nation on the arts were eliminated, the savings would be infinitesimal, but the negative economic impact would be profound.
Opera star Joyce DiDinato, 2010 Gramophone Artist of the Year and native of Prairie Village, Kansas, recently wrote a powerful editorial in the Kansas City Star. She offered this quote by Alex Aldrich, head of the Vermont Arts Council: “Finally, and perhaps most importantly, every state should invest in the arts sector simply because it makes good economic sense. One of our most conservative policy analysts looked at state and local tax revenues that flowed to state and municipal coffers from our very narrowly-defined arts sector in Vermont. Income taxes paid by artists, arts administrators and independent arts contractors reveal a total return of $19.25 million on a combined investment of $2.5 million, which includes our $500,000 (state) appropriation. This annual return on investment of 775% is even more astonishing since nearly all of Vermont’s state tourism dollars promote skiing, outdoor recreation, fall foliage, and maple syrup...”
The arts are a good investment that brings life to our civilization and civilization to life. As President John F. Kennedy said: “I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well.”
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING
The liturgical year is designed to ensure that the Church remembers the key events of Biblical history over the course of its three-year cycle. Of course, Easter Sunday always focuses on the resurrection. The first Sunday of Lent is the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Epiphany Day brings the visit of the Magi, and the first Sunday after Epiphany is the wedding at Cana.
The encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (as important to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as Maundy Thursday) is celebrated on Easter night. The first Sunday after Easter is traditionally the story of doubting Thomas.
You know how it goes... The word on the street is that Jesus has risen from the dead. All of the remaining eleven (Judas has committed suicide at this point) have seen Him except Thomas. Who knows, maybe Thomas had taken the weekend for a beach vacation or something...
When told that Jesus had risen from the dead, Thomas said, in effect, “Yeah, right. I be believin’ it when I be seein’ it!” Of course, he does indeed encounter Jesus, places his finger in the nail holes and falls in worship before His Savior. Jesus blesses him, but also says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”
It really is a pretty intense story. After all, most of us can groove on the idea of celebrating the return of spring, or bunnies, eggs, birds, bees, flowers and trees. We can even get into some kind of spiritual renewal that returns our spirits back to the Great Universal Who-Hah in the sky.
That isn’t the story of the Resurrection of Jesus.
The true Easter story is pretty ugly. It is the story of God becoming fully Man, suffering a horrific and torturous death. Really dead ...lungs not breathing, heart not beating, dried blood, rigor mortis.
The resurrection is physical and bodily. The same body that has died lives again. It is appointed to every person once to die, but the promise of God is that death is not the end. There is resurrection to a life that will never end. Without that promise ...not hope, promise! ...the whole business of Christianity is a cruel fraud.
Still, it is hard to believe. I have given my life to the service of this Gospel and I have a hard time believing it. I do believe it with all my mind, heart, soul and spirit, but I cling to it with tired fingers and a fearful and fast-beating heart. It is only through the grace of God that my weak hands can continue to cling to it.
I think Thomas gets a bad rap. I understand his doubt. I think Jesus Himself understood his questions. When Thomas says, “You gotta be kidding, Jesus... is it really You?” Jesus answers, “Yes, here, look at this big hole in my side.”
One of my favorite prayers in the ancient liturgy is, “Dear Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief!”
One of the things that helps us sustain our belief is to act out of our belief rather than act out of our doubt.
Sometimes those of us who labor as leaders in the Church -professional or lay- can't seem to get it through our thick heads that the success of our ministry is not up to us. The final words of Jesus' Great Commmission are often the hardest to claim: "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the Age."
In this Season of Resurrection, as we claim God's promises for our eternal life, let us be about His work in this world confident that He will keep His promise to be with us in all of the work that He has given us to do.
Then, we will act out of our faith and not out of our doubt.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
The encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (as important to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as Maundy Thursday) is celebrated on Easter night. The first Sunday after Easter is traditionally the story of doubting Thomas.
You know how it goes... The word on the street is that Jesus has risen from the dead. All of the remaining eleven (Judas has committed suicide at this point) have seen Him except Thomas. Who knows, maybe Thomas had taken the weekend for a beach vacation or something...
When told that Jesus had risen from the dead, Thomas said, in effect, “Yeah, right. I be believin’ it when I be seein’ it!” Of course, he does indeed encounter Jesus, places his finger in the nail holes and falls in worship before His Savior. Jesus blesses him, but also says, “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”
It really is a pretty intense story. After all, most of us can groove on the idea of celebrating the return of spring, or bunnies, eggs, birds, bees, flowers and trees. We can even get into some kind of spiritual renewal that returns our spirits back to the Great Universal Who-Hah in the sky.
That isn’t the story of the Resurrection of Jesus.
The true Easter story is pretty ugly. It is the story of God becoming fully Man, suffering a horrific and torturous death. Really dead ...lungs not breathing, heart not beating, dried blood, rigor mortis.
The resurrection is physical and bodily. The same body that has died lives again. It is appointed to every person once to die, but the promise of God is that death is not the end. There is resurrection to a life that will never end. Without that promise ...not hope, promise! ...the whole business of Christianity is a cruel fraud.
Still, it is hard to believe. I have given my life to the service of this Gospel and I have a hard time believing it. I do believe it with all my mind, heart, soul and spirit, but I cling to it with tired fingers and a fearful and fast-beating heart. It is only through the grace of God that my weak hands can continue to cling to it.
I think Thomas gets a bad rap. I understand his doubt. I think Jesus Himself understood his questions. When Thomas says, “You gotta be kidding, Jesus... is it really You?” Jesus answers, “Yes, here, look at this big hole in my side.”
One of my favorite prayers in the ancient liturgy is, “Dear Lord, I believe. Help me with my unbelief!”
One of the things that helps us sustain our belief is to act out of our belief rather than act out of our doubt.
Sometimes those of us who labor as leaders in the Church -professional or lay- can't seem to get it through our thick heads that the success of our ministry is not up to us. The final words of Jesus' Great Commmission are often the hardest to claim: "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the Age."
In this Season of Resurrection, as we claim God's promises for our eternal life, let us be about His work in this world confident that He will keep His promise to be with us in all of the work that He has given us to do.
Then, we will act out of our faith and not out of our doubt.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
PREACHER TRICKS
The voice of my young colleague coming through the phone was filled with the same disbelief and amazement that I myself have experienced so many times in my 35 years of service in the church.
“Oh, Bill,” he said incredulously, “I submitted my hymns for Easter Sunday. I had chosen ‘Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands’ or ‘Christ lag in todesbanden’ for the Hymn of the Day.” The next day I got an email from the pastor saying, “On a Sunday like Easter, we need good strong, traditional Lutheran hymns ...not new unfamiliar things like this!”
If 500 years of serving as a recommended hymn of the day for Easter Sunday among Lutheran bodies world-wide isn’t “traditional Lutheran,” then please tell me what is!
I did my best to comfort my frustrated friend. I told him that ministers sometimes say silly things when they don’t personally like a hymn and want to trump up a reason not to use it. “I wish he would just be a man about it,” he replied, “...and say he just doesn’t like it.”
As I hung up the phone my mind went through a litany of experiences with ministers during Holy Week and Christmas that have gravely encumbered and diminished worship events for thousands of congregants while making the entire staff of the parish look bumbling and completely bereft common sense. At best, it appears that many pastors ...actually most in my experience... are so focused on themselves and their homiletic commentaries that they become out of touch with reality.
I will share a couple of the stories that come immediately to my mind. I do this to offer comfort and support to my music ministry colleagues so that you can see that you are not alone in your experiences. I offer them to those of you that serve on lay committees and church boards so that you will take more interest in monitoring the behavior of your pastors, offering needed encouragement, but also offering occasional guidance and correction. And, yes, I offer them to some of you pastors in the hope that you will think about your own priorities in leading God’s people in worship. Perhaps you can be a positive influence when your pastoral friends are tempted to take a ride on the crazy train.
By first hand witness I can affirm that both of these stories is true. The names have been changed to avoid embarrassment, though well deserved, to the guilty.
It was the first year of Bob’s appointment to the Harmony Hill Church, a congregation of some 1200 members. Bob was excited to be in such a large congregation, and he was especially thrilled to learn that many Christmas eve nights saw over 1000 people in the three worship services. He was so filled with excitement over the prospect of preaching to so many people in one night that he was fairly trembling as he walked into the staff meeting to plan worship.
To say he was disappointed to learn that the congregation traditionally celebrated Holy Communion at each of the Christmas eve services would be a grave understatement. With an ashen face he asked the staff, “How long does all of this Communion take with so many people?” When he was told that the sacrament was very precious to the congregation and that the tradition was for a brief message followed by Christmas carols, Communion, and the lighting of candles while singing “Silent Night,” he was determined to find a solution to his dilemma.
He came up with an idea.
Communion would not be celebrated in the services but it would be provided for everyone. He asked the Altar Guild to prepare a large stack of trays with consecrated grape juice, and a large bowl of communion wafers. Before the first service he took the elements into the Chapel and placed them on each side of the altar. He made signs on his computer with the words of institution -one sign for the bread and one sign for the cup- and taped them to the front of the altar. He then cheerfully announced in the services that everyone could stop by the Chapel on their way out, serve themselves communion if they wished to do so, and remain for prayer as long as they wanted. He then launched into his well-rehearsed, anecdote-filled forty minute sermon.
His gambit was not well-received by the congregation and a letter of protest was sent by the Staff Parish Committee to the Bishop. After several meetings by the Council on Ministry, the Bishop recommended a three-month “spiritual sabbatical” -at full salary, of course- for Bob to pray and consider the importance of his role as a spiritual leader and minister of both Word and Sacrament.
Bob returned from his imposed vacation with a new idea for the next Christmas eve: Communion would be celebrated only at the midnight service, but would also be observed at the Sunday between Christmas and New Years Day. Bob joked to the Lay Leader of the congregation, “If I am going to forced to lose preaching time, at least I can move it to a low Sunday when one of the associates will most likely preach anyway.”
Bob remained appointed as Pastor of Harmony Hill for four years. During that time worship attendance dropped by 65%. Combined Christmas eve attendance his last year was about 400, down from over 1000 his first year. The operational budget fell by 55%, resulting in the cutting of several lay staff members and one associate. In his final report to the district superintendent, Bob commented that “people just aren’t as committed to church as they once were...”
Of course, Bob’s six-figure salary was unchanged during his appointment.
+++++++++
At the beginning of Lent, Sally, the new youth minister, and Ron, the long-time music director were considering ways to engender meaningful involvement among the youth of the congregation in worship. Though many of the youth participated in church orchestra, choir and bells, not everyone was musically inclined. The goal was to find a means of participation for those youth who did not participate in musical groups.
It had become the custom of St. Michael’s Church that the choir and ministers processed on the opening hymn each Sunday. Appropriately, the processional did not occur during Lent, but had returned with palms for Palm Sunday.
The staff members decided to expand the procession for the Easter services and use the youth who were not involved in musical ensembles. The young people researched the tradition of the procession in Sunday School, learning the proper order for the cross, torches, banners, Bible, and so forth. Two parents created Easter banners for the occasion and several of the young women helped sew them together as a part of their youth group activities. On the Saturday morning before Easter, a rehearsal was held in the nave of the church as the three teams of teens -one team for each of the three services- rehearsed their processional spacing, carrying their appointments with dignity and reverence, and timing their movement to the altar to fit perfectly with the flow and meter of the hymn.
At the staff planning meeting some twenty days before Holy Week, Ron and Sally told the staff about the plan and related the enthusiasm of the young people. There were many comments about how the prospect of participation in worship had inspired the teens and offered hope of a deepening faith and commitment to the church. Pastor Martha appeared to listen while she checked her Blackberry, but never directly commented on the plan.
Easter Sunday morning came and all of the youth on the first processional team arrived early. With great reverence the cross, Bible, torches, and newly made banners were brought out of the sacristy. As the organ prelude was rising in the nave, the teens stood in the narthex prepared to lead the procession of worship followed by their friends in the youth choir, then the adult choirs and, finally, the pastors.
Pastor Martha entered the narthex and almost shouted, “What is all of this!?” Sally, responded quickly, “...this is the procession for Easter ...we talked about it in staff ...the young people have been preparing.....” Pastor Martha cut her off in mid-sentence: “We can’t do all of this silly pomp on Easter Sunday... it takes too long ...tell them they can hold their things and stand in the chancel ...just go arrange them up there... Ron, tell the choir to find their way to the loft. There will be no processing on high attendance days!”
“But,” Ron protested, “How does it take ‘longer’ to process? The hymn lasts the same amount of time whether we are moving or not...” Pastor Martha responded sharply, “Don’t argue with me ...do as you are told!”
A lot of tears were shed at the youth meeting that Sunday night. The disappointment and sense of betrayal among the young people was thick in the air. At choir rehearsal the following Thursday members wanted to know why the plans for a glorious Easter celebration had been so arbitrarily dismissed. One member said to their music director, “You need to talk to Pastor Martha and tell her....” “No,” replied Ron, “My job is to follow her directions. If you have a concern, you should respectfully meet with her and express your concern.”
Many members of the choirs, along with parents of the youth group, did meet with the Pastor in the coming week. For the most part the meetings were respectful and cordial, but there were deep frustrations strongly expressed as well.
Late on Friday afternoon, Ron and Sally were meeting in the conference room reviewing plans with the church administrator for upcoming summer camps. Pastor Martha’s secretary entered the room and said, “Ron, Sally, Pastor Martha would like to meet with you both for a few minutes.”
“Well, good,” said Sally as they walked together to the Pastor’s study, “Maybe we can talk this out and come up with a better solution for next Easter.” Ron was at first puzzled, then filled with dread as he entered the study to see Pastor Martha and Paul, the chair of the church personnel committee, waiting with long faces.
Pastor Martha spoke: “Today is your last day of employment at St. Michael’s. Several members of the choir and youth parents have paraded through this office complaining to me about Easter Sunday. I am sure that you have put them up to this and I will allow no insubordination. Your severance checks are on your desks according to the Staff-Parish Handbook. You may now retrieve your belongings under supervision of the personnel chair and then you will be escorted from the building. He will take your keys.”
As Paul walked the shell-shocked fired staff members to their cars he said, “You have both served this congregation well, and you have brought many families to our number. This is not fair, and it is not right, but she is our pastor and we must follow her lead.”
I wish these stories I have related were not true. I wish they were exaggerated, but they are not. I wish I could say that they were the only two such examples I knew of families and congregations being ripped apart, and faithful dedicated lay servants put on the street because of the egos and arrogance of ministers violating the trust of their ordination. I am sad to say that I could offer dozens more such stories from my own experiences and from the experience of close friends and colleagues in ministry.
This is certainly not to say that all pastors are corrupt, selfish, and muscle-headed, but the truth must be told that many are. Even worse, the structures of most mainline denominations and the configurations of church boards and committees provide layers of protection for pastors without holding them accountable at any level.
I believe that this issue, as much as any other, has led to the disillusionment of the laity and the loss of literally millions of congregation members from mainline churches.
Consider the families of the youth in our second story. Some of those families left the congregation for other parishes. Some of them stayed and worked through their anger. Some stayed on membership rolls, but become inactive. Others simply dropped out of the life of the Church entirely.
Some years after the incident my friend Ron ran into one of the teens at a computer store. The young man had been scheduled as crucifer that fateful Easter Sunday at the earliest service. Ron asked the now-graduate school man where he was going to church. The young man responded, “I have no use for the Christian religion... the egos, the hypocrisy... I have had enough!”
How many souls have been lost at the hands of pastoral ego and arrogance?
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
“Oh, Bill,” he said incredulously, “I submitted my hymns for Easter Sunday. I had chosen ‘Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands’ or ‘Christ lag in todesbanden’ for the Hymn of the Day.” The next day I got an email from the pastor saying, “On a Sunday like Easter, we need good strong, traditional Lutheran hymns ...not new unfamiliar things like this!”
If 500 years of serving as a recommended hymn of the day for Easter Sunday among Lutheran bodies world-wide isn’t “traditional Lutheran,” then please tell me what is!
I did my best to comfort my frustrated friend. I told him that ministers sometimes say silly things when they don’t personally like a hymn and want to trump up a reason not to use it. “I wish he would just be a man about it,” he replied, “...and say he just doesn’t like it.”
As I hung up the phone my mind went through a litany of experiences with ministers during Holy Week and Christmas that have gravely encumbered and diminished worship events for thousands of congregants while making the entire staff of the parish look bumbling and completely bereft common sense. At best, it appears that many pastors ...actually most in my experience... are so focused on themselves and their homiletic commentaries that they become out of touch with reality.
I will share a couple of the stories that come immediately to my mind. I do this to offer comfort and support to my music ministry colleagues so that you can see that you are not alone in your experiences. I offer them to those of you that serve on lay committees and church boards so that you will take more interest in monitoring the behavior of your pastors, offering needed encouragement, but also offering occasional guidance and correction. And, yes, I offer them to some of you pastors in the hope that you will think about your own priorities in leading God’s people in worship. Perhaps you can be a positive influence when your pastoral friends are tempted to take a ride on the crazy train.
By first hand witness I can affirm that both of these stories is true. The names have been changed to avoid embarrassment, though well deserved, to the guilty.
It was the first year of Bob’s appointment to the Harmony Hill Church, a congregation of some 1200 members. Bob was excited to be in such a large congregation, and he was especially thrilled to learn that many Christmas eve nights saw over 1000 people in the three worship services. He was so filled with excitement over the prospect of preaching to so many people in one night that he was fairly trembling as he walked into the staff meeting to plan worship.
To say he was disappointed to learn that the congregation traditionally celebrated Holy Communion at each of the Christmas eve services would be a grave understatement. With an ashen face he asked the staff, “How long does all of this Communion take with so many people?” When he was told that the sacrament was very precious to the congregation and that the tradition was for a brief message followed by Christmas carols, Communion, and the lighting of candles while singing “Silent Night,” he was determined to find a solution to his dilemma.
He came up with an idea.
Communion would not be celebrated in the services but it would be provided for everyone. He asked the Altar Guild to prepare a large stack of trays with consecrated grape juice, and a large bowl of communion wafers. Before the first service he took the elements into the Chapel and placed them on each side of the altar. He made signs on his computer with the words of institution -one sign for the bread and one sign for the cup- and taped them to the front of the altar. He then cheerfully announced in the services that everyone could stop by the Chapel on their way out, serve themselves communion if they wished to do so, and remain for prayer as long as they wanted. He then launched into his well-rehearsed, anecdote-filled forty minute sermon.
His gambit was not well-received by the congregation and a letter of protest was sent by the Staff Parish Committee to the Bishop. After several meetings by the Council on Ministry, the Bishop recommended a three-month “spiritual sabbatical” -at full salary, of course- for Bob to pray and consider the importance of his role as a spiritual leader and minister of both Word and Sacrament.
Bob returned from his imposed vacation with a new idea for the next Christmas eve: Communion would be celebrated only at the midnight service, but would also be observed at the Sunday between Christmas and New Years Day. Bob joked to the Lay Leader of the congregation, “If I am going to forced to lose preaching time, at least I can move it to a low Sunday when one of the associates will most likely preach anyway.”
Bob remained appointed as Pastor of Harmony Hill for four years. During that time worship attendance dropped by 65%. Combined Christmas eve attendance his last year was about 400, down from over 1000 his first year. The operational budget fell by 55%, resulting in the cutting of several lay staff members and one associate. In his final report to the district superintendent, Bob commented that “people just aren’t as committed to church as they once were...”
Of course, Bob’s six-figure salary was unchanged during his appointment.
+++++++++
At the beginning of Lent, Sally, the new youth minister, and Ron, the long-time music director were considering ways to engender meaningful involvement among the youth of the congregation in worship. Though many of the youth participated in church orchestra, choir and bells, not everyone was musically inclined. The goal was to find a means of participation for those youth who did not participate in musical groups.
It had become the custom of St. Michael’s Church that the choir and ministers processed on the opening hymn each Sunday. Appropriately, the processional did not occur during Lent, but had returned with palms for Palm Sunday.
The staff members decided to expand the procession for the Easter services and use the youth who were not involved in musical ensembles. The young people researched the tradition of the procession in Sunday School, learning the proper order for the cross, torches, banners, Bible, and so forth. Two parents created Easter banners for the occasion and several of the young women helped sew them together as a part of their youth group activities. On the Saturday morning before Easter, a rehearsal was held in the nave of the church as the three teams of teens -one team for each of the three services- rehearsed their processional spacing, carrying their appointments with dignity and reverence, and timing their movement to the altar to fit perfectly with the flow and meter of the hymn.
At the staff planning meeting some twenty days before Holy Week, Ron and Sally told the staff about the plan and related the enthusiasm of the young people. There were many comments about how the prospect of participation in worship had inspired the teens and offered hope of a deepening faith and commitment to the church. Pastor Martha appeared to listen while she checked her Blackberry, but never directly commented on the plan.
Easter Sunday morning came and all of the youth on the first processional team arrived early. With great reverence the cross, Bible, torches, and newly made banners were brought out of the sacristy. As the organ prelude was rising in the nave, the teens stood in the narthex prepared to lead the procession of worship followed by their friends in the youth choir, then the adult choirs and, finally, the pastors.
Pastor Martha entered the narthex and almost shouted, “What is all of this!?” Sally, responded quickly, “...this is the procession for Easter ...we talked about it in staff ...the young people have been preparing.....” Pastor Martha cut her off in mid-sentence: “We can’t do all of this silly pomp on Easter Sunday... it takes too long ...tell them they can hold their things and stand in the chancel ...just go arrange them up there... Ron, tell the choir to find their way to the loft. There will be no processing on high attendance days!”
“But,” Ron protested, “How does it take ‘longer’ to process? The hymn lasts the same amount of time whether we are moving or not...” Pastor Martha responded sharply, “Don’t argue with me ...do as you are told!”
A lot of tears were shed at the youth meeting that Sunday night. The disappointment and sense of betrayal among the young people was thick in the air. At choir rehearsal the following Thursday members wanted to know why the plans for a glorious Easter celebration had been so arbitrarily dismissed. One member said to their music director, “You need to talk to Pastor Martha and tell her....” “No,” replied Ron, “My job is to follow her directions. If you have a concern, you should respectfully meet with her and express your concern.”
Many members of the choirs, along with parents of the youth group, did meet with the Pastor in the coming week. For the most part the meetings were respectful and cordial, but there were deep frustrations strongly expressed as well.
Late on Friday afternoon, Ron and Sally were meeting in the conference room reviewing plans with the church administrator for upcoming summer camps. Pastor Martha’s secretary entered the room and said, “Ron, Sally, Pastor Martha would like to meet with you both for a few minutes.”
“Well, good,” said Sally as they walked together to the Pastor’s study, “Maybe we can talk this out and come up with a better solution for next Easter.” Ron was at first puzzled, then filled with dread as he entered the study to see Pastor Martha and Paul, the chair of the church personnel committee, waiting with long faces.
Pastor Martha spoke: “Today is your last day of employment at St. Michael’s. Several members of the choir and youth parents have paraded through this office complaining to me about Easter Sunday. I am sure that you have put them up to this and I will allow no insubordination. Your severance checks are on your desks according to the Staff-Parish Handbook. You may now retrieve your belongings under supervision of the personnel chair and then you will be escorted from the building. He will take your keys.”
As Paul walked the shell-shocked fired staff members to their cars he said, “You have both served this congregation well, and you have brought many families to our number. This is not fair, and it is not right, but she is our pastor and we must follow her lead.”
I wish these stories I have related were not true. I wish they were exaggerated, but they are not. I wish I could say that they were the only two such examples I knew of families and congregations being ripped apart, and faithful dedicated lay servants put on the street because of the egos and arrogance of ministers violating the trust of their ordination. I am sad to say that I could offer dozens more such stories from my own experiences and from the experience of close friends and colleagues in ministry.
This is certainly not to say that all pastors are corrupt, selfish, and muscle-headed, but the truth must be told that many are. Even worse, the structures of most mainline denominations and the configurations of church boards and committees provide layers of protection for pastors without holding them accountable at any level.
I believe that this issue, as much as any other, has led to the disillusionment of the laity and the loss of literally millions of congregation members from mainline churches.
Consider the families of the youth in our second story. Some of those families left the congregation for other parishes. Some of them stayed and worked through their anger. Some stayed on membership rolls, but become inactive. Others simply dropped out of the life of the Church entirely.
Some years after the incident my friend Ron ran into one of the teens at a computer store. The young man had been scheduled as crucifer that fateful Easter Sunday at the earliest service. Ron asked the now-graduate school man where he was going to church. The young man responded, “I have no use for the Christian religion... the egos, the hypocrisy... I have had enough!”
How many souls have been lost at the hands of pastoral ego and arrogance?
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
Monday, April 4, 2011
DRY BONES
One of the coolest illustrations in the scriptures is the story of Ezekiel (37:1-14) preaching in the valley of the dry bones. You probably remember the story: The Lord leads Ezekiel to a valley filled with the remains of the dead... bones that were dead so long that they were completely dried out.
The Lord asks Ezekiel if the skeletons could ever live again. The prophet, either as a statement of faith or trying not to say the wrong thing to God, replies, “Sovereign Lord You know!” You can almost hear the wheels turning in Ezekiel’s head, “Uh... uh... I don’t think they can, but I am not going to be the one telling the Lord what He can or can’t do.”
Of course, Ezekiel does indeed prophesy to the dry bones and, lo and behold, they rise (probably dancing) up, flesh returns and they come back to life.
Lots of available themes in the story: 1) God can do anything no matter how impossible it seems to the human mind; 2) Don’t you be telling God what He can’t do; 3) The Word of God is so powerful and sufficient that it can pierce even the shadow of death itself. There are many other interpretations, but these are the most common.
Isn’t it amazing how a bunch of long-faced church bureaucrats
in denominational offices and on parish councils can wring their hands and, in effect, tell God what He cannot do.
I have this vision of the Holy Spirit showing up at a committee meeting talking about a struggling congregation. The Holy Spirit
is nicely arrayed in His Hart, Shaffner and Marx suit, bright tie and custom made shirt. (After all, the Holy Spirit gotta look good!) He fills out His name tag, enters the meeting room and takes a seat.
The topic of conversation is a struggling congregation in an older suburb. The membership fell a bit and, to save money, the local council cut programming drastically, resulting in a more severe loss of membership. There is some debt, but not overwhelming. Fixed costs are rising while giving is not. The roof and nave flooring are wearing out and need to be replaced.
The long faces confer about “best use of limited funds...” They talk about the latest motivational gimmicks from the church marketing industry. At length the painful decision is made that every church is born to one-day die.
Since no one at the meeting thought to include the Holy Spirit in the conversation, He had pulled out His Droid phone, caught up some email and checked out the baseball scores. As the meeting was beginning to close He looked up, “Does anyone have any questions for me?”
“Well, no, Holy Spirit!” said the chair of the committee, “We are always glad when you come to our meetings. Would you stop by and comfort the hearts of those in the congregation that we have decided to close?”
“Sure, I will help clean up your mess,” replied the Holy Spirit, “After 6000 years I am rather good at it.”
“Let’s end our meeting with prayer,” said the chair, turning away from the Holy Spirit and back to the long-faced committee members.
“Yo!” said the Holy Spirit, “Since prayer is talking with God and I am, like, right here, why don’t we revisit this issue about the struggling congregation.”
“Well, its late,” said the committee chair, gathering papers into his briefcase, “We just don’t have resources, and church growth experts tell us that there is not a market for that sort of church in that community anyway.”
“Now, hold off!” said the Holy Spirit, “I think you are missing something here. Remember all of that stuff in the Bible about God having all the cattle on a thousand hills, turning water into wine, and preaching to the valley of dry bones. If I can make those dead, rotting bones come alive, I can certainly handle a roof on an old church and replace a little flooring. You are spending too much time ruminating and fulminating about the things of this earth and not focusing on the Great Commission I gave you to boldy preach God’s Holy Word. You get to the work of ministry and leave the work of provision to Me!”
“...and another thing...” the Holy Spirit was on a roll, “Lay aside this business of closing churches, wringing hands, and singing ‘Woe is Us.’ Most of all, don’t be telling the King of Kings and Lord of Lords what can’t be done. If Paul and Silas can set off on missionary tours across nations with nothing but their teeth in their mouth, you can be assured that I will take care of you if you do My work!”
There was confessional silence in the room as the leaders of God’s earthly church considered restructuring their thinking from failure to faith and from despair to action.
Each member gave the Holy Spirit a hug as they exited the room. The last one to leave kissed Him on the cheek and whispered in His ear, “....now about the Kansas City Royals!”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
The Lord asks Ezekiel if the skeletons could ever live again. The prophet, either as a statement of faith or trying not to say the wrong thing to God, replies, “Sovereign Lord You know!” You can almost hear the wheels turning in Ezekiel’s head, “Uh... uh... I don’t think they can, but I am not going to be the one telling the Lord what He can or can’t do.”
Of course, Ezekiel does indeed prophesy to the dry bones and, lo and behold, they rise (probably dancing) up, flesh returns and they come back to life.
Lots of available themes in the story: 1) God can do anything no matter how impossible it seems to the human mind; 2) Don’t you be telling God what He can’t do; 3) The Word of God is so powerful and sufficient that it can pierce even the shadow of death itself. There are many other interpretations, but these are the most common.
Isn’t it amazing how a bunch of long-faced church bureaucrats
in denominational offices and on parish councils can wring their hands and, in effect, tell God what He cannot do.
I have this vision of the Holy Spirit showing up at a committee meeting talking about a struggling congregation. The Holy Spirit
is nicely arrayed in His Hart, Shaffner and Marx suit, bright tie and custom made shirt. (After all, the Holy Spirit gotta look good!) He fills out His name tag, enters the meeting room and takes a seat.
The topic of conversation is a struggling congregation in an older suburb. The membership fell a bit and, to save money, the local council cut programming drastically, resulting in a more severe loss of membership. There is some debt, but not overwhelming. Fixed costs are rising while giving is not. The roof and nave flooring are wearing out and need to be replaced.
The long faces confer about “best use of limited funds...” They talk about the latest motivational gimmicks from the church marketing industry. At length the painful decision is made that every church is born to one-day die.
Since no one at the meeting thought to include the Holy Spirit in the conversation, He had pulled out His Droid phone, caught up some email and checked out the baseball scores. As the meeting was beginning to close He looked up, “Does anyone have any questions for me?”
“Well, no, Holy Spirit!” said the chair of the committee, “We are always glad when you come to our meetings. Would you stop by and comfort the hearts of those in the congregation that we have decided to close?”
“Sure, I will help clean up your mess,” replied the Holy Spirit, “After 6000 years I am rather good at it.”
“Let’s end our meeting with prayer,” said the chair, turning away from the Holy Spirit and back to the long-faced committee members.
“Yo!” said the Holy Spirit, “Since prayer is talking with God and I am, like, right here, why don’t we revisit this issue about the struggling congregation.”
“Well, its late,” said the committee chair, gathering papers into his briefcase, “We just don’t have resources, and church growth experts tell us that there is not a market for that sort of church in that community anyway.”
“Now, hold off!” said the Holy Spirit, “I think you are missing something here. Remember all of that stuff in the Bible about God having all the cattle on a thousand hills, turning water into wine, and preaching to the valley of dry bones. If I can make those dead, rotting bones come alive, I can certainly handle a roof on an old church and replace a little flooring. You are spending too much time ruminating and fulminating about the things of this earth and not focusing on the Great Commission I gave you to boldy preach God’s Holy Word. You get to the work of ministry and leave the work of provision to Me!”
“...and another thing...” the Holy Spirit was on a roll, “Lay aside this business of closing churches, wringing hands, and singing ‘Woe is Us.’ Most of all, don’t be telling the King of Kings and Lord of Lords what can’t be done. If Paul and Silas can set off on missionary tours across nations with nothing but their teeth in their mouth, you can be assured that I will take care of you if you do My work!”
There was confessional silence in the room as the leaders of God’s earthly church considered restructuring their thinking from failure to faith and from despair to action.
Each member gave the Holy Spirit a hug as they exited the room. The last one to leave kissed Him on the cheek and whispered in His ear, “....now about the Kansas City Royals!”
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill
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