Worship 5

This last weekend I had the opportunity to worship at three different churches. Two fairly large (over 2000) and one somewhat smaller. So far this summer, in all of the different worship services, I do not remember one hymn being sung. All choruses. Most of these choruses we knew but some were new and some we didn't. In the three churches this weekend, the congregations were all mixed as far as ages went and all seemed to be fully participating in worship.

There was nothing really fancy or unusual about the worship services. One did play a video of the old Batman TV series to demonstrate the use of the belt of truth, but that was only that church and only once. Although prayer was important for these churches, as evidenced by a variety of opportunities during the week, there was very little prayer during the service itself. So far, in these as well as some of the others, there has not been any special music other than the worship team, no skits, minimal use of the screen except to show the speaker and an occasional scripture reference. The more modern of the services this week did include an occasional invitation to "text" the pastor with questions about the message and then provided the number. In these three churches the consistent theme was the importance of scripture, which was stressed primarily in the preaching.

These churches had fellowship opportunities but nothing on that day. They had refreshments but only in a limited way and they provided special gifts for visitors. (My favorite one was a box of home made cookies.) They were friendly enough but despite my comments over the years about Berks County they were really no different than.

I did notice that it is awkward at best to go into a church you know little about and to worship with people you don't know. Keep that in mind the next time you see someone new at church. Most of them would love someone to come up and be their friend - even if only for 5 minutes. A few years ago one of our Stewards suggested a 5 minute rule. The idea was that for the first 5 minutes after the service you did not talk to anyone you already knew but went out of your way to find someone new. It's a good idea, even if I haven't seen it in practice at any of the places I've been.

Worship 4

I really think the Lord is trying to tell us something. This Sunday we celebrated the Lord's Supper for the 5th straight Sunday. In this case it was just their monthly Sunday to observe it. As they celebrated what the Lord has done there were a few interesting particulars. First, they interrupted the Praise time for communion. On the one hand it "felt" early, but then they finished by continuing to sing. It was sort of like an extended doxology, thanking God with our praise for what He had done in Christ.

Communion was served by a group of servers which included men, women and children. This made no statement about leadership but it made a great statement about the inclusiveness of the family of God.

This was a large church, dedicated to the Word and to making disciples. Unlike many newer large churches (this qualified on both counts) there was no snack shop or coffee bar. No refreshments anywhere, except a few in a small room for visitors. No obvious place to gather after the service to hang out. There was a really nice book store in the lobby with a great selection of books. This church emphasized their folks to work together in ministry - of all sorts. From the parking lot attendants to the greeters to the folks at the information desk and at the doors to the auditorium, they all seemed happy to be there and happy to be helping.

On this particular Sunday they were saying goodbye to one of their pastors. He is about 50 years old, has been with the church for 27 years and is well loved and respected. But he has felt burdened to step out in faith and become the senior pastor of a small church plant. Instead of coasting in his golden years, he wants to go out with "his boots on." It was a great send off and the entire church was invited to an all church picnic following the second service.

So what was different about worship in this church. Not all that much in one sense. Except they were serious about studying the Word (I haven't seen this many people taking notes in weeks) and they were serious about doing what it says in a loving and gracious way.

Emerging 1

I read somewhere recently about the need to cultivate friendships with folks outside the church. Not just to wait for friendships to happen but to intentionally make them happen. In some ways this is where the emerging church differs from some other churches. They place a very high value on relationships and on people in general. They (I realize it is dangerous to speak in generalities) seek to value individuals, to actually listen with interest and to respond in Christ-like ways whenever possible. In this regard they tend to be less judgemental and more accepting than many typical evangelical or fundamental churches.

This week we attended a church that was started 25 years ago by Brian McLaren. (Brian is one of the more famous or infamous leaders of the movement) Like all of the other emerging type churches we have attended, they celebrated the Lord's Supper weekly. They changed it up a bit from their norm (whatever that is) and had the folks come forward in groups of 8 or 10 and serve each other - emphasizing community. Following the service, they gave out different color ribbons at the door, instructing each person to find someone with the same color ribbon and get to know them and walk with them up to the ice cream line for an ice cream social. (I passed on the ice cream, 9 AM was a bit early for anything but coffee.)

Like several other churches, the regulars were all wearing preprinted name tags. In other words, the real distinctive of this "emerging church" was that in a variety of ways they were cultivating relationships within the body. Not just waiting for it to happen but doing everything they could think of to help it happen - including weekly life groups that met to discuss the application of the sermon.

So, here is something to think about. How can we cultivate friendships, or at least real relationships within the church? And, how can we as the church be a better friend to our community?

Emerging 0

When I told a friend of mine that I was going to study the Emerging Church, he wished me luck and then laughed. He said, it is so varied that it will be impossible to define. He's probably right.

The emerging church movement, if it is a movement, is a gathering of emerging believers, a cohort of emerging seekers, a church for dissatisfied mostly younger folks, or just something that remains, as my friend suggested, to be defined.

To some degree it is a response to this generation, often referred to as post modern. Generally, this seems to mean a distrust of absolutes, a very high and wide tolerance for other beliefs and faiths and a very high regard for authenticity. It does not mean any particular worship style and the theology embraced by those who claim to be part of this trend, is so varied it is impossible to define anyone as being representative (no absolutes).

One disturbing trend among many is the idea that culture really defines our beliefs. This gains at least some support from Barth, which is why he is a favorite I suppose. On the other hand it addresses a disturbing tendency among evangelicals to proudly claim to be the only keepers of the truth. This is problematic when evangelicals themselves disagree on so many things.

I suspect worship styles to some degree, if not theology as well, are determined by what the particular Church's or gatherings have emerged from. Some, probably from more mainline churches, favor meditation, liturgy, candles, corporate scripture reading (lectio divina).
They value accepting all who come regardless of life style and seek to engage them in spiritual conversation.

One common thread is for them to seek to be missional. To take the body of Christ to those in need wherever they might be - but particularly in the immediate neighborhood. The whole emphasis of missional is to stress the importance of being the church, on mission with God, being God's instrument to serve the world around us instead of just going to church and evaluating what this particular church provides for me - i.e. consumer church.

Part of being on mission is the ability to listen and not judge. To listen and not always give answers. To listen and offer love.

This week we attended a church plant that showed up on some missional webpostings. They were strong for a new church, meeting in a movie theatre. The pastor assured me he was not really emerging and probably not fully missional either but was also listening to the "emerging conversation." Their worship was not structured much differently from most contemporary churches, but they were doing a better job than most of reaching the unchurched and loving them to Jesus.

One of my early takes on emerging is that the movers and shakers of this generation have observed what the church has become. They have observed that too few lives are being transformed. That the church is not having any real influence in the community. That it has become more judgemental than loving. And that it is time for the real church to emerge from all of the traditions that have been added along the way. As they emerge, pray that they do not leave the truth behind with some of the traditions. And pray that we might emerge from any tradition that is holding us back from becoming what God is calling us to become.