Music in New Covenant Worship

Over fifteen years ago, at the height of the worship wars in my part of the country, I began to think... to think a lot about music in the context of worship. Most of you know me well enough to know my preferences, so I hope you'll place that aside as you read this post.

It's long been my conviction that since Christ is our example, our duty and joy in meeting together with the body of Christ should be to lay aside our preferences in music for the sake of others. Much like in marriage, church should be a group of people resolutely determined to lay aside their own interests for the sake of others (Phil. 2:4). I'm so certain of this governing principle that I fear the judgment of Christ on our churches in the last Day will see much shame over the selfishness spilled out in worship wars over the past two decades in America (and beyond).

While I've held to these convictions for quite some time, I'm not sure that I could truly articulate the practical implications of my thinking until recently.

First of all, worship is not only for God, though we would all affirm that this is its primary aim.

Paul says in Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19, and 1 Cor. 14:4, 12, 26 that our worship should be for the education and edification of other believers. So the next time you’re at church proclaiming the truths of the gospel or the trinity or some other great mystery of our God, look around. Look around, and then sing. Sing not only to God but to your brothers and sisters. Proclaim the gospel in song to them. They need to hear it from the preacher, and they need to hear it from you!

Second, to expand this idea of education and edification to a global scale by means of the New Covenant is where things really get fun! I'll explain.

Why do we have worship wars? That's easy. We have worship wars (particularly in America) because we have culture wars. If I were to take you to the heart of Africa or China or South America, and we were to experience the vast array of culturally specific worship styles in these contexts, it would nevercross your mind to try and force your church's style of worship into that context. Or it shouldn't.

Why? Because at the advent of the New Covenant, the Kingdom of God burst forth into all nations in a way that had never been seen before; and as this Kingdom advanced forcefully throughout the world, God's intent was not to mold every culture's expression of worship of Him into the Jewish/Middle Eastern forms. Rather, within the constraints of Scripture's commands for orderliness and doctrinal orthodoxy, each culture has the freedom to express worship to God in beautifully unique ways.

Enter the United States... the melting pot of the world. Is it any wonder that at the meeting point of hundreds of cultures and nations we find it difficult to settle into one prescribed musical expression? We war amongst ourselves because we are each absolutely convinced of the spiritual superiority of our own form of musical worship.

It seems that there are only a few possible solutions to this genuinely difficult situation in which we’ve found ourselves. One: we wait for the tide of "modern" music to overtake a church as the older generation dies out and the newer gains control. This may be pragmatic for some, but seems to me altogether unChristlike. Two: we choose to separate ourselves into different local churches based upon cultural preferences. I'm less opposed to this solution these days for the same reason I wouldn't ask an indigenous Chinese church to embrace an African form of worship. Perhaps we are just simply too diverse in our country to expect one form of “blended” worship to appeal to the heart of every single person. Three: everyone in the church could intentionally choose to “suffer” through various forms of worship that are not appealing to them for the sake of others. Of course, when I say "suffer," I'm being intentionally silly. It should be our joy to give up our preferences for the sake of others. I honestly believe that in some contexts option 2 is best. I also believe that in other contexts option 3 is favorable. Each church must discern God’s will for their particular setting.

The point of this post was not to try and fix the problem of conflicts over worship that we experience in this country. My hope is, rather, that we properly understand these conflicts in a biblical way. I pray that we’ll stop venerating musical styles and cultural expressions. I pray that we will love each other sacrificially, and I pray, most of all, that we’ll faithfully proclaim the gospel to ourselves and others through worship, preaching, and mission.

In Christ,

Andy

Regeneration

"Awake, sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." -Eph. 5:14 (NASB)

     I really only had one request of God as I boarded an airplane for Moldova almost two weeks ago. I prayed that He would show me regeneration. This was, no doubt, a selfish request, but I asked nonetheless. Essentially I wanted to see more than decisions for Christ (as much as I wanted to see those too!). My desire was to see radical repentance and faith.
     As in previous years, it was very hard to tell in the first few days of camp if we were really making any kind of difference at all. Maybe the Lord does things this way on purpose, so that we'll know that it is not ultimately us doing the work.
     We gave an invitation on Thursday night and many stayed at the chapel after the service to talk about following Jesus. This was super encouraging! Perhaps some were coming forward because it was a cool thing to do at the moment, but anyone could tell that most of the students who made a decision had been touched by the Holy Spirit.
     I took four guys aside and asked them to describe what was going on their hearts. One said, "I know I am a sinner." Through tears another said that he was so thankful for what Jesus had done for Him! It was obvious that God was moving.
     The next morning I asked my Bible study group to give testimony to what God had done the night before. Honestly I was wanting to test things a bit and see the results after all of the emotion had died down. Student after student explained with powerful articulation how God had worked in a unique way in their heart. Then one student, making a motion with her hand, said, "It was like someone grabbed my heart and said, 'Wake up!'" 
     Needless to say, I was overwhelmed and thankful that God had been gracious enough to answer my selfish prayer. In that moment he showed us all regeneration.

Praise Him Through the Darkness

     Last year (2012) in Moldova I felt the Lord lead me to share some specifics from my personal testimony that are less then easy for me to recount. After doing this I felt foolish, questioning God’s leading and even questioning God. The next day I was a little encouraged to hear that my testimony had impacted a particular student at camp. I’ll call this student Joe. I came to find out that this student’s father had taken his own life just one week prior to camp, and what I shared apparently helped him in this time of grief. So I left Moldova still discouraged but hoping somehow that God might use the ministry I had done there in spite of my weaknesses. 

     After arriving at camp this year, I was pleased to find that Joe had been placed on my team! Joe follows Jesus, he is an older student, and he was a huge help to me throughout the week. However, on Wednesday morning I noticed that Joe was not himself. During the entire Bible study he had his head buried in his Bible, specifically the Psalms. So after our team Bible study was over, I pulled him aside and asked him what was wrong. It had been one year since his father’s death, and he was broken. Many in the camp grieved with him that day. We held our brother, and we cried together. We prayed, and we asked for comfort from the Lord. His grace was abundant, and Joe returned to his normal energetic self the next day.

     The rest of the week was amazing. We saw the Holy Spirit draw many to salvation. God moved mightily among his people. Friday night came, and with it our last worship service. All week long we had been singing a song written by Martin Smith entitled, “God’s Great Dance Floor.” It’s a party song, and we were in a party kind of mood! Everyone was dancing and clapping and singing at the top of their lungs. It was a special moment that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.

     But then Linda (on the American team) cried out, “Something’s wrong with Joe!” Several of us rushed over to check on him. His eyes were open, and he was sitting up, but he could barely communicate with us. Someone said that he had a heart problem, and we began to worry. Then he passed out.

     I don’t know that I've felt the full weight of a mostly grown man who was seemingly lifeless before, but I do know that I never want to again. We laid him on the ground, and Linda checked for a pulse. Initially none was found, but we quickly realized that his heart was still beating and he was still breathing. But he was not conscious. One of the Moldovan leaders splashed some water on his face and tried to wake him. Another leader pulled his car up to the site, and six people picked Joe up and placed him in the vehicle. An ambulance had been called and would meet the car half way. Joe started regaining consciousness after being placed in the car, but as they drove off, we all worried about his condition. The whole camp was shocked. Many wept. How could this joyful night and life-changing week end in the darkness of such uncertainty?

     And then, God’s people began to pray. We prayed through tears. We asked for healing. We exclaimed our trust in the only One who holds our lives in His hands. What else could we do? Then we began to think that perhaps the Enemy may have a part in this trouble. Who are we to know if he was or wasn’t the source, but a unified thought began to enter our minds. We must return to praising God. After weeping for a moment, praying for a while, and placing our trust in our Father, we were compelled to return to the same praise that we had been offering Him less than a half hour earlier. Only this time the mood was obviously quite different. Instead of dancing with our feet, we raised our hands as a child longing to picked up. “How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God.” Instead of shouts of praise, there was, at first, a humble yet focused determination in our voices. “Blessed be Your Name, on the road marked with suffering, though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name.” We got word that the ambulance had met the car Joe was in and that he seemed to be doing better. He was awake and talking but would still be taken to the hospital for testing. “Lord I need you, every hour I need you. My one defense, my righteousness, oh God, how I need You.” At this point the Moldovan worship team came up and did a couple of songs. The mood was changing. What was moments ago an intentional yet difficult decision to praise God in spite of our circumstances gradually returned to a free and joyful expression. Even the clapping started up again. Voices became louder and louder. And though the language was Romanian, there was a heart-felt adoration that transcended human dialect.  

     Then they asked me to sing another song in English:

            You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger.

            Your name is great, and Your hear is kind.

            For all Your goodness I will keep on singing.

            Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.

            Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul.

            Worship His Holy Name.

            Sing like never before, O my soul.

            I’ll worship Your Holy Name.  

One more Romanian song was sung, and we dismissed. As I walked back to my cabin, I had the overwhelming thought that perhaps I had just been a part of the most significant worship service I would ever experience this side of Heaven. Whether or not this is true or even if such a comparison is possible doesn't really matter. Heaven had touched earth in the midst of suffering. God’s Spirit had led God’s people to praise Him in the middle of a storm that could have very easily diminished the impact of a week beautifully orchestrated by God. Darkness had fallen. But the light of Christ shone in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it. The enemy had struck his blow, but Christ had won.

     The next morning the students and leaders loaded into buses and headed into town. Camp was over, and it was time to return home. As the buses pulled up to the church, there was Joe, standing outside waiting for everyone to arrive. The hospital could find nothing wrong with him, and so they released him. He had stayed the night at church, and now he was reunited with his spiritual family, the ones who had worried about him and the ones who had prayed diligently for him.

      I wish I could have been there to see that scene. I wish I could have hugged Joe one more time and thanked God together with him for the happy ending to this story, but I was on another bus headed toward home.  As I peered out the window that morning and looked across the rolling hills of Moldova, I realized that my faith had grown. Without even knowing it, God had carefully painted another sanctifying stroke on the canvas of my life. Our verses for the week were Ephesians 2:8-10. Verse 10 reads:“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,” and oh how masterful an artist He is!

The Mark

I've always heard that the "Mark of the Beast" described in Revelation 13 will most likely be a microchip that is placed in the forehead or hand of anyone who wants to buy or sell at the end of days. I realized a long time ago that trying to guess at what Revelation means when it describes future events (or even past events) is well beyond my pay-grade, and so for me to say that the Mark is not a chip is not my purpose here. Chip or no chip, I hope my point stands.

Over the past couple of years, I've been shown a new (new for me) way of reading the Bible. This view rejects a disjointed, piece-meal, application-centered, me-centered, handbook-for-life attitude and embraces the intentional arrangement of Scripture which shows us the plan of God for His creation and His redemption by grace, through faith, for a purpose (Eph. 2:8-10). With this perspective, Revelation can be seen as a theological retelling of the whole of Scripture. In other words, when you read something in Revelation, you've probably seen it before in the Bible. 

Revelation 13:16 says, "Also (the beast) causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666."

And the most central and important passage in all of Scripture for the Jews is Deuteronomy 6:4-9: "Here, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command to you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." Deuteronomy 11:18 repeats this idea.

Could it be then that what believers are to be warned of at the end of days is not merely a physical mark - though we certainly wouldn't rule that out as part of the plan? Are we to reflect back on Dt. 6 (the Greatest Commandment, according to Jesus in Mt. 22) and recognize a particular, man-centered worldview that has or will saturate the globe? Just as Israel was to love the LORD with heart, soul, and might, could the "mark" of the Beast's system be identified through man's own fierce devotion to himself? Is man loving himself with all of his heart, soul, and might the mark that is bound on his hand and forehead?

Once again, Revelation, for the most part, feels well beyond my reach of understanding; but when I noticed these two marks in the Bible, I thought I should at least share them so that you can think and draw your own conclusions.

In Christ,
Andy

More Significant Than Yourselves

"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." -Phil. 2:3

Those whose minds are set on this world incessantly pursue significance. Some seek it in religion, others in the accumulation of material possessions. Most seek it by means of belittling others (at least in their own minds), so that they can feel more significant by comparison.

As we know, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the great equalizer of all humanity. We have all sinned and are all under the judgment of a righteous Judge, apart from His grace. To compare ourselves to one another in an effort find significance is ridiculous. Apart from our Creator and Redeemer, we have none. All is dust and ashes. But - good news - with our Creator and Redeemer, absolute and eternal significance are imputed to us!

Therefore the gospel is not merely the great equalizer of humanity, it turns humanity's vain search for significance on its head. Paul says, essentially, "Now that you have significance in Christ, you are FREE to live the rest of your life considering others more significant than yourself!" Why? Because in Christ we've gone from zero to infinity with three words: "It is finished." We've gone from meaninglessness to concentrated purpose and direction with "Make disciples of all nations" and "Love your neighbor as yourself."

We are free to take our minds off ourselves and our personal pursuit of significance because He has given us all that we will ever need. We are free to count others as more significant because that is a reenactment of Messiah's cross on which He said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing."

Believer. You are free to count others more significant than yourself.

Gospel-centered Obedience: Moving Toward Spirit-led Obedience

Once we see the need to filter all of life through the right-standing and power that Christ gives us, the final two steps in this model for Gospel-centered Obedience should seem more natural. The examples I gave in the previous post should help you on your journey of exploring His boundless grace. Even though I've only been walking it a short while, I can tell you that it's a great path to be on. For the first time in my life, I truly understand what Paul means in Romans 8:1 when he says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death" (ESV).


Step 4: Grace and the Spirit Transform My Heart
Step 4 in this model for Gospel-centered Obedience recognizes that remembering the gospel changes our motivation. The what and how (the actual act itself) may not change, but all of a sudden the WHY has become empowered by the Holy Spirit and the truths of Scripture. Galatians 5:18 declares that "if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." In other words, the unrighteous deeds and failure to do good things in the life of the believer do not lead to eternal consequences. This is scandalous nature of the gospel. It is not fair that my sin (as a believer) does not condemn me... but it no less true.

Does this mean that we should just keep on sinning because we now have this free pass? Well, Paul would say that if you think this way you're probably not regenerated (saved) to begin with (See Romans 3:8 and its context along with Romans 6). It is unlikely that people could have leveled such a charge against Paul if he had not been saying  at least something like what we're discussing here today... grace is scandalous and unfair... and that's what makes it grace.

For the unbeliever who thinks he has grace and continues in sin so that grace may abound more and more... he stands condemned because he doesn't understand that the gospel sets him free from both the consequences of sin AND the power sin.

But for the believer who responds to grace with a grateful heart, the upward cycle of denying the flesh and putting to death the sin in the flesh is NATURAL. Please note that I did not say it is easy. Taking up our cross and following Jesus should be the greatest form of freedom known to man. It should be a joy! But it is not always easy. The grace of God exhibited in the cross and resurrection and the Holy Spirit of God work together to transform us into new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) - "the old has passed away; behold, the new has come." Because of this new creation, obeying rightly has been made possible. Not only is it possible… it is now natural… it is who we are. Rehearsing the gospel helps us remember who we were and who we now are in Christ.


Step 5: Spirit-led Obedience
In John 15:4-5, Jesus says to "Abide in me, and I in you... for apart from me you can do nothing." There is a CONTINUAL DEPENDENCY implied in this verse. We must remain in Christ in order to produce fruit. Perhaps the overarching purpose of this series of blogs is to argue that one of the best ways to abide in Christ (and in turn bear fruit) is to remember the work of Christ on our behalf. Remember it daily... even throughout the day! Apply it to every situation and circumstance. In Galatians, Paul says it like this: "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (5:16).

 Finally we come to the point of human responsibility. To abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit seem to be the primary responsibilities of the believer. All other actions are an outworking of these. Let's use the greatest commandment as our example: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27).

 In my flesh, I would never love God. Jesus died on the cross to forgive me of all the times that I did not and do not love God rightly. Jesus always loved God perfectly. Because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, God looks at me as if I've always loved Him perfectly. Through remembering the gospel, grace and the Spirit change my heart to WANT to love God rightly. We could even be so bold as to say that the Spirit of God is always loving God perfectly in me; and because of this, the new man (the new creation) that is the new me is loving God rightly. Now I can move forward in confidence knowing that it is not ultimately my love for God that justifies me but His love for me... and this makes me want to love Him all the more.

 This is an appropriate way to end this series of posts: reflecting on the love of God. It is His love for us that fuels the gospel. His love for us compelled Him to make "Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:7-8).

 I hope that these posts have been helpful for you. These are no doubt thoughts from the fallible mind of one man. They are simply how I have come to see things. They are a small picture of how Christ, in recent days, has freed me from the law of sin and death... not just through justification (which He did almost 21 years ago - or 2000 years ago - depending on how you look at it :-) but in sanctification. I pray that none of my words have caused anyone to stumble in any way. I pray, most of all, that these thoughts compel you to dive into the Scriptures for yourself and discover the wonders of His glorious grace.

In Christ,
Andy

Gospel-centered Obedience: The Gospel (part 3)

In part three of step three (wow... this is getting complicated... gotta love models :-), I want to explain why it is typically important to remember the gospel before going out and doing works, and then I want to give two examples of what I'm talking about.

Why Rehearse the Gospel?
It seems that the reason Paul felt compelled to begin "practical" arguments against sin or for good works by pointing to the gospel was due to the human tendency to misorder things. Evangelicals are taught from birth that they could never earn their salvation, but how many of us still try? If you ask 10 people who claim to be believers how they're making it to heaven, I'd bet that 5 of them would say something like, "I'm just working hard to get to heaven." (yes, that's a reference to an Alan Jackson song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV292aZuYEo).

Remembering or rehearsing the gospel combats our human tendency to think that we can earn our salvation (justify ourselves) or pay God back for what He's done for us. I try to point out how crazy this is to my students with the following example: If you eat 3 meals each day and there are 7 days in a week and 52 weeks in a year, by the time you're 18 years old and move off to college to start your own life, given the conservative estimate of around $2 per meal, your parents have provided almost $40,000 in food for you. This is not to mention the power bills, cell phone, insurance, school supplies, extracurricular activities, clothes, shoes, and on and on. I've heard that it takes over 100,000 to raise child to the age of eighteen.

Now imagine that child trying to EARN his right to be a part of the family by being obedient. How many loads of laundry does he have to do to earn his parents love? Maybe worse, what about the child that would try to PAY BACK their parents for all the meals and clothes that they provided? How many plates does one have to wash in order to pay back $40,000 worth of meals? He can't do it! And even if he could, his parents wouldn't want him to because that's not the point. They love him and give him these good things as an overflow of their love.

In the same way, the child should obey out of respect for who his parents are and out of gratitude for what they have done for him... not out of an effort to earn or pay back anything.

If we can't easily calculate the number of chores we'd have to do to pay our parents back for 18 years of food, clothing and shelter, we have to ask the question.... "How many good works do we have to do to EARN salvation or PAY BACK the salvation we've already received?" There should be freedom in this statement: WE CAN'T DO IT! We never could… even if we wanted to. And the amazing thing is that God doesn't want us to! He simply wants our obedience to be a RESPONSE to what has already been done for us.

Do you see the power in remembering the gospel? Yes, it is painful to often remind yourself of your own lostness and hopelessness without Christ, but it is overwhelmingly glorious to consider the fact that He has overcome this helplessness through the cross and resurrection... this is GOOD NEWS!


Remember the gospel.


Before you get to DOING. Remember what's been DONE...

and then your DOING will be as it should...

a grateful response to what's already been DONE.


I am all but fully convinced that this is the ONLY WAY to overcome habitual sin the life of the believer. Remembering the gospel disarms the power of sin in a way that no other thing can; and when sin loses its power, it loses its control... but that's probably another post for another day.


Example – The Struggle to Stop Sinning
Let's say you’re caught thoughts of inadequacy. You beat yourself up because of every little thing that you think or say that's not right. The COMMAND (step 1) of God is to not feel unnecessarily or overly inadequate but rather to be humble before a holy God and allow Him to lift you up while casting all your cares/worries upon Him (1 Pt. 5:6-7).

The typical Christian response to the one who feels inadequate would be: "Remember that you are created in God's image," and, once again, this is not wrong... just incomplete. Yes, the fact that you are created in God's image does say a lot about how God values you. But, the reality is that you have rejected His good pleasure in you by going your own way. You have rebelled against Him, as have I. Because of this rebellion, your whole life is broken, even your mind. So, one symptom of this brokenness is your feeling of inadequacy. The solution is found in the good news of Jesus. He nailed all of your inadequacy and all of the things that make you feel inadequate to the cross so that they are now powerless before you. They are not the truth anymore. They are lies from Satan and your fleshly mind. Jesus has loved you with an everlasting love, and that is why He did what He did for you. Not only has your inadequacy been placed on Jesus, but all of Jesus' adequacy has now been placed on you. That is good news! And finally, you can look forward to the day when even the temptation to feel inadequate will be thrown into hell and you will never have to struggle with it again.

Two more powerful truths to walk in are the fact that even in (and I would say especially in) your moments of feeling inadequate now, you can trust that Jesus is praying for you (Heb. 4:15-16), and He has given you the church (brothers and sisters in Christ) to walk alongside you. They can be the hands and feet of Christ, encouraging you and reminding you of the truth when all you seem to hear are the lies.


Example – The Struggle to Be Obedient.
You know that you need to control your tongue. The COMMAND in James 3 is to control your tongue, yet James says, "No human being can tame the tongue" (3:8). So, what do we do? Give up? Surrender to sin? I don't think so. Obviously, I would agree with James. No man can tame the tongue. But the Holy Spirit of God in man supernaturally can. So how do we get to the point of believing this and walking in it?

First, we recognize, with James, that in our flesh this is impossible (back to the concept of need - this is always the first step). This is a picture of our fallenness due to sinful rebellion. It is a hopeless situation without outside intervention, but that's what Jesus is. He came to the earth and never spoke a cruel, cutting, or sarcastic word. He never spoke foul or hateful language. His death on the cross paid the penalty for all of our sinful words, which disarms their power. They do not condemn us, even when we speak them now. On top of this, we have been given the very righteousness of Jesus, so it is not only as if we've never spoken an evil word, but it is (in the eyes of God) as if we have always spoken the right words. We are righteous in His sight! Now we have been made new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), filled with the Holy Spirit, and God begins the process of unveiling who we are in Christ... ie... those who always speak rightly. This change of heart also compels us to confess and ask forgiveness of those whom we've harmed with our words. You see... obedience flows out of the gospel! What we do is an overflow of what's already been done.

Before... I was trying really hard not to say curse words or hateful things, but I always failed at this and continually felt discouraged by my failure.
Now... I stand fully accepted as one who never has said a curse word or a hateful thing... and that compels me to never say curse words or hateful things.

This difference is subtle but incredibly profound!