Some will choose, some will abstain…
Today, an interesting conversation sparked over Camron Ware’s tweet update: “Why do we (Church) feel like we HAVE to ALWAYS see the lyrics?! Learn the songs! And don’t say it’s cuz the newcomers. #frustrated”
I encourage you to go read his latest post: an expanded explanation of his Lyric-Tweet.
Between today’s conversation and something growing in my heart (fueled lately by my latest sound-bytes on Twitter, i.e. imag is like porn, lava lamp media, & the image-saturated church), i’ve needed to slow down a bit and re-evaiuate what our overall purpose, intention & motivation are. Sometimes challenging the status quo can be interpreted the wrong way, making it sound like “we’re right and you’re wrong” & look like a “elitist” mentality is there that should not (and hopefully does not) exist. This is the last thing i want.
I wrote this in a letter to a close group of friends today involved in the “lyric-tweet” debate. I hope this honest explanation & confession builds up and edifies the Church.
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This whole conversation has been amazing b/c it causes us all, at least in a brief moment, to look at one consistent aspect of our culture’s picture of a “worship gathering” and to question “why” it is that way. “Because that’s the way it’s always been done” is not cutting it for me, as i’m sure it doesn’t work for you as well.
There’s been a lot of “questioning” going on… part of this next generation finding it’s place in leadership in the Church. Change is messy and it’s full of mistakes.There is an overall shift happening in our Western Church on a large scale…. i can’t quite sum it up in a statement or even an email, but i get a big sense of God doing something every where that i go. I have no idea where He’s leading us, but i can firmly say that the Church has seen it’s “glory days” in America, as i see the mega-church/seeker service model failing, church staff’s being laid off more and more, and a general sense that people are yearning for authentic worship & community more than they are a cool experience. I think He may be preparing us to be persecuted a little more. i dunno.
I enjoy sparking debate and leading people to ask the question “why”….. one way i have done this is in thought-provoking and sometimes jabbing sound bytes & RTs via Twitter, and recently i have felt a sense to provide a little more context (via blog or whatever) unless the context can be contained in 140 characters or less.
I have to make sure that i have a filter on though = the edify and build up God’s Church. I have failed repeatedly at this.
recently, God led me to Romans 14 and i had a good heart check about passing judgement on others. It explains a LOT in that passage about choosing and abstaining; there’s a LOT to unpack there. I won’t do that here… but I definitely took away the fact that some churches will choose to lead their people one way and some will choose to lead their people another way….some will choose to do certain things and some will abstain…. but we are not to pass judgement on each other or think that any one of us is experiencing a deeper worship than the rest…. ALL are acceptable to God, as long as the intent and purpose is to honor Him. I want to know and own for myself why I am choosing or abstaining from something.
I think in this season, there are some people (myself included) who are realizing and experiencing that abstaining (or choosing other ways of leading) is actually ok and effective in certain contexts (our own). This is a part of that SHIFT i was referring to….it’s happening on a larger scale than we imagined.i also think there’s something refreshing and spiritual that happens when the one who chooses goes through a season of abstaining, and when the one who abstains decides to “choose”…. as long as it’s about making ourselves available to God…being open and flexible….allowing room for the Spirit to do something new and different in us. but i also recognize that “while others may, you may not” …. this has to be decided between you and God. No author or speaker or blog writer or artist or conference can dictate for you.
this is the bigger picture at hand, and i hope that it comes across the right way. i’m sure it doesn’t most of the time. esp in 140 characters.
i don’t know about you, but this has been really good for me. It’s causing me to check my motives and pray for more wisdom….
i welcome any wisdom you might have.
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we live in a culture that promotes choosing the latest greatest thing… a whole industry has been built on selling us the latest greatest stuff… i think it would be interesting if everyone chose to abstain, at least just once…. it may truly fail… it may not work for you…but at least you’ll know it & be better off in the end. I encourage everyone to look at every single aspect (creative & logistical) in guiding people in corporate worship, and to own the answer for yourself. Don’t let the overall popular culture dictate how and why you lead a certain way. God has a journey uniquely crafted and carved out just for you and your local church. He has so much more in-store for your congregation than you could ever imagine!
