Hannah Montanna and the Heart of Worship

At MERCYhouse, we try to organize our church around 5 devotions - Worship, The Word, Prayer, The Church, and Our mission in the World. One of these devotions is central to all the others and that one is worship.

So what is worship? The closest thing to a definition that I've ever found in the Bible is Romans 12:1. The Apostle Paul writes:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

He starts with the object of worship, that is, God. The Bible throughout Old and New Testament depicts human beings as worshipers. The first two commandments deal with having no other gods before God and prohibit worshiping idols. While this makes sense in an ancient world where everyone was worshiping multiple gods, does this really apply today?

I'd say it does. Worship doesn't have to revolve around something religious, it can be anything that we choose to put at the center of our lives. As human beings, we crave something that we can commit to, think on, work for, sacrifice for, celebrate, tell others about. We are never not worshiping something.

I was reminded of this, when a news story broke a few months back when a tweener, who really wanted to see Hannah Montana, wrote a phony letter into a radio station to try and win some free tickets and back stage passes. She put in the letter how her dad died in Iraq, which wasn't true, in order to better her chances of winning. The letter worked and she ended up getting the tickets.

Then the media started asking her and her mother about their fallen father/husband and they both kept up the lying until someone confirmed that it was a hoax. Most who saw this story shrugged and wondered when they'd be on the next Jerry Springer, but something more was happening here - worship.

The desire to see, be with, experience, celebrate Hannah Montana had become the center of this family's life and they were willing to sacrifice anything to make that happen. Something about that chip off the akey breaky heart, had taken over their mind, will, and emotions to the point that anything that tried to unseat this priority (common sense, fear of embarrassment, morality) was quickly pushed out of the way.

I can certainly remember days as a young tweener church goer when I'd never have dreamed of making that kind of sacrifice for Jesus. For example, I would say just about anything to fit in with friends and have a good time. Even if that included taking God's name in vain or making fun of a kid that wasn't part of our group. Even though I knew a lot about Jesus, believed he existed and that He died for my sin, I wasn't worshiping Him.

Everyone who experiences Christian conversion, becomes a worshiper of Jesus. They have gotten a view of His mercy (aka the gospel) and it has set in motion a surrender of their mind, will, and emotions to such a degree that that they now become a "living sacrifice." The Apostle Paul is most likely speaking of the "whole burnt offering" of the Old Testament that was not mandated by the law. It was instead a free will offering that was completely consumed as a way to communicate to God absolute surrender.

This is what our hearts are all longing for. Something that takes such a high priority in our lives that nothing, not even embarrassment or common sense, can unseat it from our center. It's what makes everything else (the Bible, prayer, church, our mission out in the world) come to life and maintain a level of passion and perseverance that will continue all the days of our life.

*This article is part of a series on leadership.

The Grip of The Gospel

This past November I was reading Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest and was struck by this quote:

"The thing that awakens the deepest well of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven sin. When once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you , you will be held as in a vice constrained by the love of God."

My mind immediately went to memories of my grandfather working in his shop. He was always tinkering with some sort of metal object that needed bending or shaping. He would take it over to his old rusty vise and crank it down nice and tight. Then he'd take his ball pin hammer and wail away on it until he obtained his desired result.

I would then go over and try it on for size. Finding an old scrap of metal, I would put it in the vise , muster up all the power of my 70 pound frame and bang on it until my ears rang. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the thing to let loose - which probably saved me from a good many shrapnel wounds. I couldn't help but be continually amazed at the grip that thing had.

The vise grip of the Gospel is the beginning of every person's story who is an authentic Christian. Though the method of delivery is different for everyone, all are gripped by the truth that they are in a hopeless situation because of their sin and out of His absolute goodness, God gave them (through Christ) a free gift of forgiveness. This is the Gospel - the good news.

Christian conversion via this gospel secures a surrender of our mind, will, and emotions such that we are lovingly constrained as in a spiritual vice. This is essential seeing as how life is going to come at us like a wild eyed junior higher with a ball pin hammer. Recently, a scripture about the centrality of the gospel in our Christian walk came to my attention. It's in Hebrews 13 and says "It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace." Implying that it may not be the best idea to seek strength from other (graceless) sources.

These other sources? Anything relating to performance comes to mind. As a pastor, I often find myself enslaved to an approval cycle. Feeling on top of the world on Sunday (if things go well) and then in a pit of despair on Monday when it's just me and God in silence. When I get in these patterns, the road out of them is always the same - go back to the gospel.

You don't have to be a pastor to fall into these cycles. The default of every human heart is to go back to earning our way into the good favor of God. A heart that draws strength primarily from consistent Bible reading, effective evangelism, intimate worship experiences . . . is headed for a manic-depressive spirituality that is going to end in some serious burnout. Unless, of course, these activities are a means to seeing and savoring (that's a John Piper) the gospel that gripped us in the first place.

Everything that we do on this side of conversion is a response of praise, thanksgiving, worship if you will for the free gift of grace given to us in the Christ event. So as we begin our road down a list of characteristics and skills to be sought after by leaders. Let's start with and stay with the most important - to be firmly constrained in the grip of the Gospel.

*This article is part of an ongoing series of articles about leadership

What I'll be blogging on in the new year.

It's been a while since I've posted. I'm on the road for most of this month so I won't be posting much. So here's the plan for the coming months. I've been talking about the need for hanging out with folks. No matter how young a person is in Christ, they have something to offer as long as they continue to grow in their relationship with Jesus. For the next several posts, I'll be covering some of the basic areas of growth in a disciple's life. Below is a list of the particular areas. My hope is to use this process to get some writing done and then put the results in a book that will be used with our leaders. I'm hoping to hear some feedback as to what would be most helpful in the different areas mentioned or if there are areas that are missing.

1. The Gospel (How every topic on this page and more all stem from the gospel - the gift of grace given to us in the Christ event)

2. The Five Devotions, (Five domains of the Christian life: Worship, Prayer, The Word, The Church, The World )

3. Time Management (the grid: roles, goals, time sheet, evaluation and tweaking)

4. Fishing For Humans (taking initiative in the lives of others in your life or in a fishing pool event)

5. The Small Group Experience: Hospitality; Community Building; Corporate Worship; Bible Study Discussion; Prayer

6. Fishing For Humans (taking initiative in the lives of your small group members)

7. Shepherding: Listening and Questions (the art of conversation)

8. Shepherding: Biblical Guidance (common issues in the lives of disciples)

9. Mobilization: Spiritual Gifts (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12)

10. Multiplication: 3 stages of raising leaders (Jesus did it / they watched; they did it Jesus watched; they did it)

The How to of the Hook - Christmas

If you've read my earlier two posts (hook for humans) you may be thinking yeah, yeah, yeah I know that stuff. Jesus and His mission are the only real food for searching hungry hearts, but how do you actually draw someone in with the Gospel bait. In a word - Christmas. I'm not talking about some sort of cool Christmas outreach. I'm talking about the theology behind Christmas.

Christmas is a time when we celebrate when God took on human flesh so He could do several things, one of which, is hang out with humans. There's a story in the first chapter of the book of John that seems so insignificant. You may even wonder why it's there. It's (soon to be disciples of Jesus) John and Andrew. They've been hanging out with John the Baptist which incidentally had to be a weird ride. John tips them off that the whole reason he has been in ministry has just walked by in a robe and sandals.

John and Andrew abruptly start stalking Jesus until He gets the hibbee jibbees and turns around to inquire why they are intruding on His personal space. They are understandably nervous, having never met a Messiah before and they say to Jesus that they only want to see where He lives. His answer to them is to "Come and See."

Jesus is no idiot (a gross understatement I know). He knows what these guys are up to and could have gone into a red letter discourse that would have made your head spin, but He doesn't. He simply let's them come up close and personal. The scripture says they then spent the day with Him. Can you imagine? Spending the day with the Godman. We're hard pressed to find a regular old human who would be willing to spend the day with us much less want to. By the end of the day, Andrew is so stoked over his hang out time that he can't wait to go fishing for his brother Simon (soon to be Peter). Jesus has successfully begun to fish for men and did it through the ministry of hanging out.

When we came here to plant a church in 1999, we had been trained to market our vision for the start-up of a new church. The idea was to do a publicity blitz with slick post cards and news ads. It would cost thousands but was supposed to bring in a sizable crowd for our launch service. Before we could really get launched with this strategy, most of our start-up money was cut for one reason or another. Because of this, our "strategy" had to shift to the ministry of hanging out.

We set-up a table at Umass and met a few folks. Invited them to a start-up meeting and from there engaged in the ministry of hanging out. Some of those folks became Christians. Some, who were already Christians, grew immensely. All of them started doing the same in their own circles of influence. The result has been a church that has been planted in a place where most church plants have failed. While we've definitely spent money, it's been mostly on staff who spend lots of time cultivating relationships and encouraging others to do the same. Our biggest challenge is passing that vision on to each generation of MERCYhousers.

This hanging out ministry is so simple and yet so hard. It's simple because all you need is a living/growing/transforming relationship with Christ. You need not worry about having a huge storehouse of pat answers to spring on your unsuspecting victims at a moments notice. You only need Christlike love for the people you are hanging out with and your own story about walking with Christ.

It's hard because it takes a huge investment of time and energy and sometimes other resources as well. People are, well, messy, and there is no getting around it. It is so tempting (and yes it is a temptation to sin) to close the door on new relationships and hang out with only those who are safe and encouraging. Thank God Jesus didn't do that. He chose to risk and to be inconvenienced and give his whole day to a bunch of punks from Galilee. Come to think of it, gave His whole life to a bunch of punks from planet earth. Let's follow in His steps and do the same.

A Hook for Humans II

The other intriguing part (see earlier post for part I) of Jesus' invitation to his first followers is that it includes the opportunity to give one's life away to the mission of Jesus. This too rings strange in the ears of Christian consumers. Why would Jesus tell people He wanted them to do something for him before they've even decided they want to follow him in the first place. A couple of reasons come to mind.

As was stated in the earlier post, Jesus is good enough in and of himself to be followed no questions asked. The reason we are able to do this is because He has already shown that he can be trusted by going through the most humiliating, painful death imaginable before we said yes to anything. Whatever He asks of us will always pale in comparison to what He's already done for us - no questions asked.

But there is more to this invitation. Jesus knows that we are hard wired to be on a mission with God. From the very beginning, God and human beings are working alongside each other. When God creates Adam (6th day), the first thing Adam does is rest (7th day) but immediately after the one day rest God and Adam are on the job bright and early on Sunday morning - naming animals and tending the garden. God still sees our vocations in a similar light. Fishing for fish (or designing semi conductors or sweeping the floor) is a way to co labor with the Creator. We are wired to work with God.

Because of the fall of man, we've got an extra thing on our to do list that Adam and Eve didn't have back in Genesis 2. Those who have reconciled with God through Christ are not only on mission with God in whatever career they find themselves in at the moment, but they are also commissioned to be a fisher of humans. We get to ride shotgun with Christ as He continues to do the same kind of fishing that we see Him doing on that sandy beach in Galilee. It is one of the most exciting, challenging, stretching experiences that you will ever have and is one of the "hooks" that pulls you into a relationship with Jesus.

I'll talk more about what it means to fish for humans in the next post

The Hook for Humans

I've always found it interesting how Jesus gets his first followers. He doesn't invite them to a big meeting with free lattes or promise them 10 steps to a better life. He says "follow me and I will make you fishers of men". This seems strange in the age of consumer church. What is Jesus getting at by using such a "hook".

Two things. The first is that Jesus is good enough in and of himself to be followed. These first followers were certainly not following Jesus because they thought he was going to give them the easy life nor did Jesus represent that he was offering this. We find Jesus talking with a group of potential followers in the Gospel of Matthew. One of them declares with great emotion that he plans to follow Jesus wherever he goes. Jesus' quick reply is that he (Jesus) has no place to lay his head implying that the man should perhaps reconsider his decision to follow Jesus because of the unknown hardships he may end up facing. Another person pipes in and declares his need to take care of aging parents before fully following Jesus. Again, Jesus answers with a surprisingly harsh statement that the dead should be left to bury themselves.

Still people signed up to follow. They even signed up to die for him. Why did they do this? This is one of the proofs that Jesus was who he said he was. That people were willing to follow him with nothing to gain. This is an especially powerful argument when we see that many of these same followers continued to follow Jesus even after his crucifixion and did so to their own peril.

There have been many who have tried to explain this phenomenon away. Everything from grand conspiracy theories to group hallucinations. The fact remains that these followers of Jesus remained true to Christ and true to the message of his death, burial, and resurrection and did so without any promise of earthly health and wealth. Their encounter with Jesus, himself was all that it took.

Listen to this Apostle as he describes his encounter with Jesus: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." (1John 1:1-3)

While a relationship with Jesus can definitely improve your life in a variety of ways, this is not why we are to follow Him. We follow Him because he is who he said he was. The Godman who came to rescue us from our sin and did so by dying and rising. This is also how we are to "fish for men." While I do think the church should incorporate some of the principles of our marketplace into it's "outreach", all we have to offer once people are in the door is Jesus himself. If that's not good enough they're going to have to go somewhere else.

Next week I'll talk about the other part of the hook - getting to become a fisher of people.

Prayer of Confession

Recently I got a really cool birthday gift from a great aunt of mine. They are A Man Called Peter and The Prayers of Peter Marshall. Peter Marshall was a pastor back in the 30's and 40's who was known for his amazing prayers. He was eventually asked to be the Senate Chaplain and served Republicans and Democrats alike. The books were originally owned by my great grandmother (Maude Clemons). She and my great grandfather (Thomas Lincoln Clemons) loved Jesus a lot and gave their whole lives in service to him.

Below is one of the prayers by Peter Marshall. It is a prayer of repentance that I plan to use this Sunday as a way to start the season of Advent. I've edited out the Thees and Thous to make it a little easier to read.

"Confession" by Peter Marshall O Lord, I come to you out of my great need. You have pledged your word that whosoever comes to You shall in no way be cast out.

I dare to pray something will happen to me in Your presence. Lord, I know I need to be changed! For the visions that once swept across the leaden skies of monotony, like white-winged gulls, have dimmed and faded, and I would see them again. Open my eyes.

Shame fills my heart as I remember the aspirations that I have breathed before You, the vows I made, the resolves that were born, the seedlings of consecration that were planted in my heart. I blush to remember the withering blight that touched them all – my failure, my shortcomings.

Lord, I confess before You that: I have had longings and nudges from You which I did not translate into action;

I have made decisions without consulting You, then have blamed You when things went wrong.

I have said that I trusted You, yet have not turned my affairs over to You.

I have been greedy for present delights and pleasures, unwilling to wait for those joys which time and discipline alone can give.

I have often sought the easy way, have consistently drawn back from the road that is hard.

I have been fond of giving myself to dreams of what I am going to do sometime, yet have been so slow in getting started to do them.

Forgive me for all the intentions that were born and somehow never lived. These, Lord Jesus, are sins, grievous in Your sight, grievous even in mine.

And now I claim Your promise to change me. Do You for me what I cannot do for myself. Lead me into a new tomorrow with a new spirit. Cleanse my heart, create within me new attitudes and new ideas, as only You can create them.

For these good gifts, I thank You, Lord. Amen.