Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
1.28.2010
Ten Reasons Why Churches Stall
1. The church forgets who we are and what we are for … When we forget that we are the community of disciples for declaring God’s greatness and making disciples, mission quickly becomes just one among many activities rather than the defining vision of who we are as a community.
2. The majority of believers are no longer thrilled with the Lord and what he is doing in their lives. When questions like ‘What is God doing with you at the moment?’ cease to be common currency, it is a sure sign of creeping spiritual mediocrity.
3. … In my view, the single biggest cause of stalled churches in the UK is the belief that material comfort can be normative for Christians. It is the opposite of radical commitment to Christ.
4. When [Christians] see church as one among many leisure activities, usually low down the priority list. They are unlikely to see the Christian community as God’s great hope for the world and unlikely to put commitment above self-interest.
5. … Where people take no personal responsibility for their own spiritual growth a stalled church becomes more likely.
Read the rest here.
HT: Tim Chester
11.17.2009
How Often Are You On Script?
Consider how many ordinary conversations you everyday, ordinary conversations that go something like this:
"Hello, how are you?"
"Hi. I'm fine. And you?"
"Aw, pretty good. What's going on?"
"Same old same old. And you?"
"Yeah, me too."
[Long, somewhat awkward pause here]
"Well, we should get together sometime."
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Right."
"Right."
"Well, I gotta run. Shoot, I'm already late!"
"Yeah, me too. Bye."
"Yeah, bye."
Chances are good that this kind of conversation constitutes most of the public conversations that you live through and in everyday. Most of us probably think of these kinds of conversations as necessary, obligations of "being social." Or perhaps as just rituals of politeness when you run into someone you know in the traffic of an ordinary day. If we ignored them we would be considered to be a snob, right?
But really these sorts of conversation are robing us of our ability to connect with each other in any meaningful way. They are scripts, used to acknowledge others, By using these mundane scripts we are exchanging relatively meaningless communication for genuine dialogue. We say so little to each other because we are so busy to say anything else - and just to strangers, but to our spouses, our children, and to those in our church family (to be honest, I can't think of a social setting that I use and experience social scripts more than on Sunday morning in the church).
"Hello, how are you?"
"Hi. I'm fine. And you?"
"Aw, pretty good. What's going on?"
"Same old same old. And you?"
"Yeah, me too."
[Long, somewhat awkward pause here]
"Well, we should get together sometime."
"Yeah, let's do that."
"Right."
"Right."
"Well, I gotta run. Shoot, I'm already late!"
"Yeah, me too. Bye."
"Yeah, bye."
Chances are good that this kind of conversation constitutes most of the public conversations that you live through and in everyday. Most of us probably think of these kinds of conversations as necessary, obligations of "being social." Or perhaps as just rituals of politeness when you run into someone you know in the traffic of an ordinary day. If we ignored them we would be considered to be a snob, right?
But really these sorts of conversation are robing us of our ability to connect with each other in any meaningful way. They are scripts, used to acknowledge others, By using these mundane scripts we are exchanging relatively meaningless communication for genuine dialogue. We say so little to each other because we are so busy to say anything else - and just to strangers, but to our spouses, our children, and to those in our church family (to be honest, I can't think of a social setting that I use and experience social scripts more than on Sunday morning in the church).
10.26.2009
9.06.2009
We Gospel Because We’ve Been Gospeled
The New Testament is full of practical instructions of how to gospel one another: love one another (John 13:34,1 John 3:11), fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7), forgive one another (Eph. 4:32), accept one another (Rom. 15:7), serve one another (1 Peter 4:10), teach one another (Col. 3:16), be patient with one another (Eph. 4:2), bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2), pray for one another (James 5:16), submit to one another (Eph. 5:21), encourage one another, and build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11).
What if we do not see these instructions merely as commands to follow, but rather reflections of how we as a gospel community display the work of Christ? We gospel because we’ve been gospeled:
What if we do not see these instructions merely as commands to follow, but rather reflections of how we as a gospel community display the work of Christ? We gospel because we’ve been gospeled:
What if we do not see these instructions merely as commands to follow, but rather reflections of how we as a gospel community display the work of Christ? We gospel because we’ve been gospeled:
- We love one another (John 13:34, 1 John 3:11) because God is love (1 John 4:8).
- We fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7) because of the Trinitarian fellowship of our God (2 Cor. 13:14)
- We forgive one another (Eph. 4:32) as God in Christ forgave us (Eph. 4:32).
- We accept one another (Rom. 15:7) because we’re accepted by God in Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
- We serve one another (1 Peter 4:10) as Jesus came to serve and give his life as our ransom (Mark 10:45).
- We teach one another (Col. 3:16) because Jesus is the true word of God incarnate (John 1:14).
- We are patient with one another (Eph. 4:2) because God’s kindness and patience leads to repentance (Rom. 2:4).
- We bear one another's burdens (Gal. 6:2) as Christ Jesus bore our griefs and transgressions (Is. 53:4).
- We pray for one another (James 5:16) as Christ did for us (John 17) and continues to do (Rom. 8:34).
- We submit to one another (Eph. 5:21) as Jesus submitted to the will of the Father (Phil. 2).
- We encourage one another and build one another up (1 Thess. 5:11) just as Jesus builds his church (Matt. 16:18).
Do we see the gospel as something we do or as something we expect others to do for us? Do we understand that to gospel we must first be gospeled? May we be obedient to gospel one another as a display of Christ Jesus’ gospeling of us.
HT: The Resurgence
8.28.2009
Saving or Swapping Sheep?
Attendees from a representative sample of 12 mega-churches nationwide were asked where they had gone to church immediately before they started going to the megachurch.
44% Another local church
28% Another church far away
18% Had not attended any church for years
6% Had never attended any church
4% Had attended the megachurch most of their life
8.10.2009
Large Churches More Orthodox Than Small Churches?
A new report from The Barna Group, based on interviews with more than 3,000 adults, shows that congregational size is related to the nature of a congregation’s religious beliefs, religious behavior and demographic profile. There are clearly significant differences between the smallest and largest of Protestant churches in terms of the theological beliefs of adherents.The survey results discovered the following:
On 17 indicators of religious belief and behavior examined in the research there were statistically significant differences between churches of 100 or fewer adult attenders and churches of 1000 or more adult attenders. The only item tested in which there was not a distinction was whether the church attender had prayed during the past week.
On all 9 of the belief statements tested, attenders of large churches were more likely than those engaged in a small or mid-sized congregation to give an orthodox biblical response – e.g., the Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it teaches, Satan is not merely symbolic but exists, Jesus led a sinless life, God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe, etc.
On seven of the eight behavioral measures, attenders of large churches were substantially more likely than those of small churches to be active. (These included behaviors such as attending church in the past week, reading the Bible in the past week, volunteering at their church in the past week, etc.) The average difference related to these seven behaviors was 17 percentage points.
There were significant differences on six of the ten demographic attributes examined. Specifically, larger churches were more likely to have college graduates (a 22 percentage point difference between those who attend churches of 100 adults or less and those who attend congregations with 1000 or more adults), affluent attenders, and children under 18 living in their home. Adults attending Protestant mega-churches were also more likely to be registered to vote and to be registered as a Republican (a 16-point gap compared to adults attending churches of up to 100 adults). Those who attend small churches were more likely to home-school their children.
Young adults were somewhat more likely to attend mega-churches than to affiliate with a congregation of any other size. In contrast, adults in their sixties or older were less likely to attend a church of 500 or more attenders than to regularly participate in a smaller church.
Overall, the profile of demographics, beliefs and religious behaviors was strikingly similar between congregations of 500 to 999 adult attenders and that of congregations drawing 1000 or more adults. Similarly, congregations with fewer than 50 adults were generally similar regarding most indicators to congregations with 50 to 100 attenders.
The point at which congregational belief profiles were mostly likely to diverge was when churches reached the 200-adult range. Those who attend churches of 1000 or more adults are significantly different from the congregations of those attending churches of as many as 200 adults in relation to six out of the 10 belief statements explored.
The religious beliefs and behaviors of people who attend house churches, which average about 20 adults in attendance, are more similar to the results for large conventional churches (i.e., more than 500 adults) than they are to the outcomes among those who attend small conventional churches (i.e., less than 50 adults).
Despite the substantial attention focused on Protestant mega-churches, such congregations draw about 9% of adults who frequent a Protestant church. In contrast, 41% of adults attending a Protestant church associate with a congregation of 100 or fewer adults. An additional 23% can be found at churches of 101 to 200 adults, 18% associate with bodies of 201 to 499 adults, and 9% can be found in churches of 500 to 999 adults.
Because the study did not examine the point in life or the church at which a particular theological perspective was embraced by respondents, the research results do not mean that larger churches are more likely to provide congregants with conservative biblical views. The research also discovered that the patterns are different among Catholic adults, who are more likely to attend mega-churches than are their Protestant counterparts.
6.12.2009
Suffering Well by Arming Yourself (1 Peter 4:1-6, 12-19)
The majority of Americans spend enormous energy on isolating themselves from suffering and by pursuing a low-maintenance, hassle-free life. In the sermon below, Darrin Patrick challenges us to learn to repent of our Americanism.
Scripture: 1 Peter 4
Preacher: Darrin Patrick
Date: Jun 7, 2009
Series: Exposed
Download
HT: The Journey
Scripture: 1 Peter 4
Preacher: Darrin Patrick
Date: Jun 7, 2009
Series: Exposed
Download
HT: The Journey
6.09.2009
Art That Is Fueled By Faith
By Charlie Peacock
Christians making art need to be concerned with two main things: excellence in their craft—offering our work to God for His glory; and an imitation of Christ—the prime artist, for by Him the Scriptures say “everything was made.”
The artistic journey starts with a simple desire to create, but this is only the beginning. This seed will in time grow into a full-blown philosophy of art-making, whether the artist is able to articulate it or not. And like plants themselves, these philosophies come in all shapes and sizes, from weeds to roses to lilies.
Excellence in Craft
Artists pursue excellence in their craft for a variety of reasons. First among them is the fact that artists are called to live in response to the talent that God has given. They are to cultivate it and to pray for the Holy Spirit of God to fill them with skill, ability, and knowledge. In short, they work hard as men and women doing their work before the Lord, for as the wisdom of Proverbs reminds us, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” They study models to learn why some things work and others don’t—why some work is compelling, lasting, and excellent. They form opinions and cultivate taste.
Often this process involves letting your taste or aesthetic sense guide you to some work you admire. Once the work is before you, you can both enjoy it and ask questions of it. In my work—music—I might hear a song or a particular production style that I enjoy, and I want to know what it is about the music that intrigues me. Why do I find it to be excellent? The process helps me to learn something new about music and to define a standard with which to measure my own work.
The culture around us (beyond the Christian subculture) has standards of excellence that are often very high and worth reaching for. It’s important to be serious enough about our life as a disciple that we don’t let supposed standards of excellence that are incongruent with Scripture pollute our own good definitions of excellence. Christians ought to be able to recognize and name various models of excellence found in the fullness of reality, never forgetting that God has shown great genius, skill, and imagination in Creation.
The ideal for a Christian making art is to be one who is set free to imagine good and to create it. By dedicating yourself to acquiring skill and ability in your craft, to living by a standard of artistic excellence, you greatly increase your chances of actually being able to create all that you imagine. Good intentions will not do, but hard work might.
This is something that jazz hero John Coltrane knew well and lived by. Coltrane possessed an ability to make creative choices that others either did not know existed, were afraid to make, or simply could not execute because they had not prepared for such strange and wonderful possibilities. He stretched preconceived boundaries and erased limitations that many thought to be intrinsic to the instrument. In the world of jazz saxophone, Coltrane narrowed the gap between what a musician could imagine and what he could actually create. The pursuit of excellence—to God’s glory—through practice and study, through the cultivation of God-given talent, for reasons of love, is the way that Christians can and should go about narrowing the gap.
Make the Most of Every Opportunity
True artists purpose not to live in a world of “if onlys,” but instead make the most of every opportunity. They do not wait for a national platform to really apply themselves. They give their best to God in their home church, community, or university—being seen as faithful in the little things that they might be found ready and prepared for the bigger. They recognize that contemporary tools are nice to have but are no substitute for astonishing ideas.
Artists following Jesus pray for humility and don’t struggle endlessly against circumstances designed to humble them. Instead they see that even difficult circumstances can be a provision from God and an answer to their prayers. They welcome the discipline of the Lord because it is a testimony of His fatherly love and a sure sign that He is changing them incrementally into the man or woman He has designed them to be. Remember, God is working in you to make you like the prime artist, Jesus—not to give you your version of the perfect artistic life. Each day is a chance to decide afresh which outcome you are living for.
God has shown great love to people through His plan of redemption. Following this good pattern, love should be at the heart of all excellent art created by disciples of Jesus. And since loving well requires thinking well, true artists purpose to be good thinkers. Philippians 4:8 is their text. They meditate on what is lovely and truthful and desire such things in their art. They are curious to know how things work. They know the power of ideas and pray to use only those whose consequences produce fruit in keeping with the purposes of God. They cultivate the ability to distinguish good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). A good life is framed by discernment, and discernment comes through knowledge of the Word and the power of the Spirit. Study and pray. Great art is created in an environment of freedom, but the fuel of freedom is the substance of truth. The artist learns to watch both his life and his doctrine closely.
Know Mission and Destination
True artists know their mission and destination. Years ago William Barclay wrote, “It may be said that there are two great beginnings in the life of every man who has left his mark upon history. There is the day when he is born into the world, and there is the day when he discovers why he was born into the world.”
In this Barclay is quite correct, and it’s here that Christians have the advantage. We know why we were born into the world. We know the kingdom story and how it’s meant to inform our own. We know that we are the Church, the ecclesia, the called-out ones. We are called not to our own purposes but to God’s.
The words of John Henry Newman add to this idea even further: “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me that He has not committed to another. I have my mission. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain.”
This is the kingdom perspective. It is the perspective that God has called all artists to seize. The kingdom perspective is a perspective fueled by faith, freely expressing itself through love in response to the grace of God.
Imitate Jesus
True artists imitate Jesus in His serving and His storytelling. They pursue greatness in craft in order to give the Lord the best fruit of the talent He has given them, not to build themselves up. They understand that true greatness is found in the heart of the servant.
After Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples He told them, “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them”(John 13:15–17).
True artists purpose to love the Church despite indifference or opposition to their work. They are eager to find their place in the body and do not consider themselves exempt from fellowship and church stewardship responsibilities. They love the Church and do all they can to build it up, for how can you love Christ and hate His Church?
You are made for relationship in all its variety. Genesis 2:18 instructs us in the need for community: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” It is impossible for Lone Rangers to produce fruit of a comprehensive nature—they’re too selfish. In addition to caring for the artistic needs of his or her community, a good artist will make other significant contributions as well, for example, serving through prayer for others. In a natural way, prayer for others is a spiritual discipline that gives birth to good art.
Other-centered living (after the model of Jesus) is at the very heart of good art-making. The arts have the ability to serve people in a number of healthy ways, from worship to our need for beauty. Care for others through your talent, and be imaginative about what caring and serving might look like. The possibilities are wide, high, and long.
Christian art should be what Eugene Peterson called the “observable evidence of what happens when a person of faith goes about the business of believing and loving and following God”—not “a rulebook defining the action” but instead “a snapshot of the players, playing the game.” Good Christian artists make snapshots of all of us playing the game.
In his book, Rainbows For A Fallen World, Calvin Seerveld has this to say: “Christians of the historic Reformation will be wise if they understand art to be like clothes: a gift of the Lord to cover our nakedness, to dress our human life with joy, to strengthen and enrich our labors of praising God, serving the neighbor, and caring for the world.”
Praising, serving, and caring—these concepts should be as much a part of the artist’s life as oils and brushes, guitars and word processors.
Telling a Good Story with Your Life
As my son Sam once said, “The way I see it, if you’re old and don’t have any stories—then something must have gone wrong.”
In making art that is glorifying to God, the Christian artist must imitate his Lord in storytelling. God has spoken in history, giving His people a narrative which not only frames our view of the truth, the Church, and the kingdom, but reminds us that God acts in history on behalf of His people, and that these acts are stories worthy of being told again and again. He is still acting on behalf of His people today, and we should be telling today’s stories (which is why all God’s actions in history represent good and worthy subjects for art-making).
Scripture teaches us that Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives” (Titus 3:14). The unproductive life is one in which you end up with nothing to show and nothing to tell. One sure-fire way to reach such an unproductive end is to give little credence to the life of the mind, the imagination, or holy, kingdom-perspective living. Live to tell the story as only you can tell it. Don’t miss your cue.
Telling a good story with your life is about faith that gives birth to action. It is about the object of your faith inspiring you to love responses or love actions. Remember, the storyteller of good imagination seeks to leave the world and its inhabitants tangibly better than they were before the storyteller arrived on earth. Make this your goal.
Some part of a good story is about imitation. It’s doing the Father’s business. As Jesus said, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful“(Luke 6:35–36). In addition, heed Paul’s advice and “take note of those who live according to the pattern laid out by the apostles” (Philippians 3:17).
Live your life in the context of what God is doing and you will live a life that tells a good story, an eternal story. Rise every morning to talk with God about what He’s doing on that day. Have what author Dallas Willard calls an “intelligent conversation about matters of mutual concern.” Ask God where the kingdom is being advanced, where the invisible is being made visible, where the battles are being fought, and ask Him to let you be a part of what He’s doing in kingdom history. Ask this with great confidence, “for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Here’s what I’ve figured out for myself: My life and my art are going to tell a story whether I try to or not. They will tell a story that says: “This is what a follower of Jesus is. This is what he is about. This is what he believes. This is what he thinks is important.” Because this is going to happen and can’t be stopped, I had better make sure I know my role and my job description: a Christian is a living explanation. I will make the teaching about God the Savior attractive by living out what it is. It’s attractive without me. My life and artistic work is to represent it accurately and not do violence to its beauty. I’ll be doing well if I can become the kind of person He’s teaching me to be.
Gratefully, there is immeasurable freedom in Christ as we work and play. I am free to be who and what I am—a prepared and active participant in God’s universe. My freedom serves to remind me that an heir does not live like an orphan; a subject in the kingdom does not live as if there is no authority higher than himself; an object of affection does not live as if she is not deeply loved. These things are true, as true as shadow and light or melody and rhythm.
Be who and what you are. There is no truer starting place for making good and true art.
Charlie Peacock is an artist/songwriter, producer, and author. He was named by Billboard as one of the 500 most important record producers in music history, is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, and three-time winner of the Gospel Music Association’s Producer of the Year award.
This article is adapted from a chapter in It Was Good: Making Art for the Glory of God, published by Square Halo Books. The publisher’s founders are actively involved in PCA churches (Wheatland Presbyterian, Lancaster, Pa.; and Abbot Memorial Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Md.). The company is, they say, “thoroughly and unashamedly a child of the Reformation.” And their objective is “to supply practical theological/biblical instruction or useful insights in some part of life where believers are (or should be) actively involved in bearing witness to our sovereign God and His kingdom through their lives, words, and vocations.”
In Christian art, the square halo once identified a living person presumed to be a saint. Square Halo Books, formed about a decade ago, provides a platform for living saints who would handle biblical texts properly and in context. Square Halo authors share a belief in the infallibility of Scripture, but often lack the name recognition needed to attract a larger publisher. And often, these authors speak about orthodox ideas that fall outside the interests of mainstream religious book publishing companies.
HT: byFaith Magazine
Christians making art need to be concerned with two main things: excellence in their craft—offering our work to God for His glory; and an imitation of Christ—the prime artist, for by Him the Scriptures say “everything was made.”
The artistic journey starts with a simple desire to create, but this is only the beginning. This seed will in time grow into a full-blown philosophy of art-making, whether the artist is able to articulate it or not. And like plants themselves, these philosophies come in all shapes and sizes, from weeds to roses to lilies.
Excellence in Craft
Artists pursue excellence in their craft for a variety of reasons. First among them is the fact that artists are called to live in response to the talent that God has given. They are to cultivate it and to pray for the Holy Spirit of God to fill them with skill, ability, and knowledge. In short, they work hard as men and women doing their work before the Lord, for as the wisdom of Proverbs reminds us, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” They study models to learn why some things work and others don’t—why some work is compelling, lasting, and excellent. They form opinions and cultivate taste.
Often this process involves letting your taste or aesthetic sense guide you to some work you admire. Once the work is before you, you can both enjoy it and ask questions of it. In my work—music—I might hear a song or a particular production style that I enjoy, and I want to know what it is about the music that intrigues me. Why do I find it to be excellent? The process helps me to learn something new about music and to define a standard with which to measure my own work.
The culture around us (beyond the Christian subculture) has standards of excellence that are often very high and worth reaching for. It’s important to be serious enough about our life as a disciple that we don’t let supposed standards of excellence that are incongruent with Scripture pollute our own good definitions of excellence. Christians ought to be able to recognize and name various models of excellence found in the fullness of reality, never forgetting that God has shown great genius, skill, and imagination in Creation.
The ideal for a Christian making art is to be one who is set free to imagine good and to create it. By dedicating yourself to acquiring skill and ability in your craft, to living by a standard of artistic excellence, you greatly increase your chances of actually being able to create all that you imagine. Good intentions will not do, but hard work might.
This is something that jazz hero John Coltrane knew well and lived by. Coltrane possessed an ability to make creative choices that others either did not know existed, were afraid to make, or simply could not execute because they had not prepared for such strange and wonderful possibilities. He stretched preconceived boundaries and erased limitations that many thought to be intrinsic to the instrument. In the world of jazz saxophone, Coltrane narrowed the gap between what a musician could imagine and what he could actually create. The pursuit of excellence—to God’s glory—through practice and study, through the cultivation of God-given talent, for reasons of love, is the way that Christians can and should go about narrowing the gap.
Make the Most of Every Opportunity
True artists purpose not to live in a world of “if onlys,” but instead make the most of every opportunity. They do not wait for a national platform to really apply themselves. They give their best to God in their home church, community, or university—being seen as faithful in the little things that they might be found ready and prepared for the bigger. They recognize that contemporary tools are nice to have but are no substitute for astonishing ideas.
Artists following Jesus pray for humility and don’t struggle endlessly against circumstances designed to humble them. Instead they see that even difficult circumstances can be a provision from God and an answer to their prayers. They welcome the discipline of the Lord because it is a testimony of His fatherly love and a sure sign that He is changing them incrementally into the man or woman He has designed them to be. Remember, God is working in you to make you like the prime artist, Jesus—not to give you your version of the perfect artistic life. Each day is a chance to decide afresh which outcome you are living for.
God has shown great love to people through His plan of redemption. Following this good pattern, love should be at the heart of all excellent art created by disciples of Jesus. And since loving well requires thinking well, true artists purpose to be good thinkers. Philippians 4:8 is their text. They meditate on what is lovely and truthful and desire such things in their art. They are curious to know how things work. They know the power of ideas and pray to use only those whose consequences produce fruit in keeping with the purposes of God. They cultivate the ability to distinguish good and evil (Hebrews 5:14). A good life is framed by discernment, and discernment comes through knowledge of the Word and the power of the Spirit. Study and pray. Great art is created in an environment of freedom, but the fuel of freedom is the substance of truth. The artist learns to watch both his life and his doctrine closely.
Know Mission and Destination
True artists know their mission and destination. Years ago William Barclay wrote, “It may be said that there are two great beginnings in the life of every man who has left his mark upon history. There is the day when he is born into the world, and there is the day when he discovers why he was born into the world.”
In this Barclay is quite correct, and it’s here that Christians have the advantage. We know why we were born into the world. We know the kingdom story and how it’s meant to inform our own. We know that we are the Church, the ecclesia, the called-out ones. We are called not to our own purposes but to God’s.
The words of John Henry Newman add to this idea even further: “God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me that He has not committed to another. I have my mission. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain.”
This is the kingdom perspective. It is the perspective that God has called all artists to seize. The kingdom perspective is a perspective fueled by faith, freely expressing itself through love in response to the grace of God.
Imitate Jesus
True artists imitate Jesus in His serving and His storytelling. They pursue greatness in craft in order to give the Lord the best fruit of the talent He has given them, not to build themselves up. They understand that true greatness is found in the heart of the servant.
After Jesus had washed the feet of His disciples He told them, “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them”(John 13:15–17).
True artists purpose to love the Church despite indifference or opposition to their work. They are eager to find their place in the body and do not consider themselves exempt from fellowship and church stewardship responsibilities. They love the Church and do all they can to build it up, for how can you love Christ and hate His Church?
You are made for relationship in all its variety. Genesis 2:18 instructs us in the need for community: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” It is impossible for Lone Rangers to produce fruit of a comprehensive nature—they’re too selfish. In addition to caring for the artistic needs of his or her community, a good artist will make other significant contributions as well, for example, serving through prayer for others. In a natural way, prayer for others is a spiritual discipline that gives birth to good art.
Other-centered living (after the model of Jesus) is at the very heart of good art-making. The arts have the ability to serve people in a number of healthy ways, from worship to our need for beauty. Care for others through your talent, and be imaginative about what caring and serving might look like. The possibilities are wide, high, and long.
Christian art should be what Eugene Peterson called the “observable evidence of what happens when a person of faith goes about the business of believing and loving and following God”—not “a rulebook defining the action” but instead “a snapshot of the players, playing the game.” Good Christian artists make snapshots of all of us playing the game.
In his book, Rainbows For A Fallen World, Calvin Seerveld has this to say: “Christians of the historic Reformation will be wise if they understand art to be like clothes: a gift of the Lord to cover our nakedness, to dress our human life with joy, to strengthen and enrich our labors of praising God, serving the neighbor, and caring for the world.”
Praising, serving, and caring—these concepts should be as much a part of the artist’s life as oils and brushes, guitars and word processors.
Telling a Good Story with Your Life
As my son Sam once said, “The way I see it, if you’re old and don’t have any stories—then something must have gone wrong.”
In making art that is glorifying to God, the Christian artist must imitate his Lord in storytelling. God has spoken in history, giving His people a narrative which not only frames our view of the truth, the Church, and the kingdom, but reminds us that God acts in history on behalf of His people, and that these acts are stories worthy of being told again and again. He is still acting on behalf of His people today, and we should be telling today’s stories (which is why all God’s actions in history represent good and worthy subjects for art-making).
Scripture teaches us that Christians “must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives” (Titus 3:14). The unproductive life is one in which you end up with nothing to show and nothing to tell. One sure-fire way to reach such an unproductive end is to give little credence to the life of the mind, the imagination, or holy, kingdom-perspective living. Live to tell the story as only you can tell it. Don’t miss your cue.
Telling a good story with your life is about faith that gives birth to action. It is about the object of your faith inspiring you to love responses or love actions. Remember, the storyteller of good imagination seeks to leave the world and its inhabitants tangibly better than they were before the storyteller arrived on earth. Make this your goal.
Some part of a good story is about imitation. It’s doing the Father’s business. As Jesus said, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful“(Luke 6:35–36). In addition, heed Paul’s advice and “take note of those who live according to the pattern laid out by the apostles” (Philippians 3:17).
Live your life in the context of what God is doing and you will live a life that tells a good story, an eternal story. Rise every morning to talk with God about what He’s doing on that day. Have what author Dallas Willard calls an “intelligent conversation about matters of mutual concern.” Ask God where the kingdom is being advanced, where the invisible is being made visible, where the battles are being fought, and ask Him to let you be a part of what He’s doing in kingdom history. Ask this with great confidence, “for we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Here’s what I’ve figured out for myself: My life and my art are going to tell a story whether I try to or not. They will tell a story that says: “This is what a follower of Jesus is. This is what he is about. This is what he believes. This is what he thinks is important.” Because this is going to happen and can’t be stopped, I had better make sure I know my role and my job description: a Christian is a living explanation. I will make the teaching about God the Savior attractive by living out what it is. It’s attractive without me. My life and artistic work is to represent it accurately and not do violence to its beauty. I’ll be doing well if I can become the kind of person He’s teaching me to be.
Gratefully, there is immeasurable freedom in Christ as we work and play. I am free to be who and what I am—a prepared and active participant in God’s universe. My freedom serves to remind me that an heir does not live like an orphan; a subject in the kingdom does not live as if there is no authority higher than himself; an object of affection does not live as if she is not deeply loved. These things are true, as true as shadow and light or melody and rhythm.
Be who and what you are. There is no truer starting place for making good and true art.
Charlie Peacock is an artist/songwriter, producer, and author. He was named by Billboard as one of the 500 most important record producers in music history, is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, and three-time winner of the Gospel Music Association’s Producer of the Year award.
This article is adapted from a chapter in It Was Good: Making Art for the Glory of God, published by Square Halo Books. The publisher’s founders are actively involved in PCA churches (Wheatland Presbyterian, Lancaster, Pa.; and Abbot Memorial Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, Md.). The company is, they say, “thoroughly and unashamedly a child of the Reformation.” And their objective is “to supply practical theological/biblical instruction or useful insights in some part of life where believers are (or should be) actively involved in bearing witness to our sovereign God and His kingdom through their lives, words, and vocations.”
In Christian art, the square halo once identified a living person presumed to be a saint. Square Halo Books, formed about a decade ago, provides a platform for living saints who would handle biblical texts properly and in context. Square Halo authors share a belief in the infallibility of Scripture, but often lack the name recognition needed to attract a larger publisher. And often, these authors speak about orthodox ideas that fall outside the interests of mainstream religious book publishing companies.
HT: byFaith Magazine
6.01.2009
Revitalizing a Church By JD Greear
A Church Revitalized
I've been asked to speak on church revitalization at the Advance Conference this year. Six years ago when I was called as a pastor, Homestead Heights was a declining 41-year-old Baptist church. Attendance was down to about 350 people, and more were leaving. Today, the Summit Church consists of four campuses spread across Raleigh-Durham. To God's glory, this past Easter we had 4400 people in service and saw 160 profess faith in Christ.
Revitalized To Be Gospel-Centered
I've entitled my talk "Planting is for Wimps: Revitalizing a Church around the Gospel." That is, of course, tongue-in-cheek; we believe, and are heavily involved, in church planting (and if not, I'd never admit it at an Acts 29 conference)! We have started a church planting center at our campus called SendRDU, and our goal is to plant 1000 churches by 2050. But at the same time, America is rapidly becoming a boneyard of emptying churches, and our situation cries out for pastors who can lead their churches away from the idolatry of traditionalism and back to the centrality of the gospel.
Considering Revitalization?
I am often asked by guys whether or not they should try to revitalize their current church or plant a new one. Only God can show you what your situation requires, but I want to pose two questions that I think anyone considering revitalization should ask:
* Why, exactly, do I want to revitalize this church?
* Has God been preparing my church for revitalization?
We will address the first question here, and the next in Part 2 of this series.
Why Do I Want to Revitalize?
There are a lot of bad reasons to attempt church revitalization. Here are two major ones:
1. To Restore Institutional Glory
Often we want to revitalize a church because we remember how great it used to be. We are saddened to see a once-thriving church in decline, so we want to "save" the institution and restore its glory days. The problem is that a local church is a covenant community, and it's composed of the people who are currently part of that community, not those from its past. Jesus died to redeem the one universal church and will preserve it forever. In heaven, there will be no "Summit Church," no "Mars Hill Church." If you want to revitalize a church, do it for the care of its members or the excitement over those it could reach, not to restore the glory of the past.
2. To Save the Resources of the Church
On one hand, you hate to see the sacrifice of previous generations go to waste and millions of dollars of property "lost." On the other hand, the Bible repeatedly instructs us that we should look to God to meet the needs of what we are doing today. The story of God's provision of manna in Exodus 16 shows us that God does not want us to depend on his provision yesterday for what we need today. Practically speaking, you will likely waste time and money trying to redeem resources that could be better spent starting something new. The most valuable resource of the church, the only one really worth saving, is its people.
Continue reading.
HT: The Resurgence
3.26.2009
Why Satan fears small churches more than megachurches
By Tim Chester
Here's a quote from Organic Church (p 211-212) by Neil Cole. It's a story that made me cry when I first read it.
While doing some teaching in Japan, I had a dream that Heather, my daughter, started a church. In the dream, a room was full of young people who were all seriously worshiping God. When I returned from the trip, I mentioned it to her just to let her know that she was on my mind and in my dreams while I was away.
The next day she said, 'Dad, my friends all want to do it!' 'Do what?' I asked. 'Start a church.' I told her that she would have to do most of the work, and I would coach and lead only a little. She said that was fine. The next day she arranged a house to meet in, picked a night of the week, and found a worship leader; flyers were soon being passed out to friends on campus.
After the church had been meeting for several months, I met with these students and we all sang praises to the Lord. I felt the Lord's pleasure. I asked the students what was the biggest church they had ever been to. Living in Southern California there are many options of megachurches, and a number of churches were mentioned, ranging in size from two thousand attendees to more than fifteen thousand.
I then told them that I think Satan is more intimidated by this little church of fifteen high school kids than by any of those Godzilla-sized churches. They all sort of chuckled and looked around the room at one another with smiles.
I showed them why I thought this way: 'How many of you think you could start a church like one of those megachurches?' No one raised a hand. I asked, 'How many of you think you could start a church like this one?' and all raised their hands. I asked them to look around the room at all the raised hands, and I said with a new found soberness, 'I assure you, Satan is terrified by this.'
HT: The Elephant in the Room
Here's a quote from Organic Church (p 211-212) by Neil Cole. It's a story that made me cry when I first read it.
While doing some teaching in Japan, I had a dream that Heather, my daughter, started a church. In the dream, a room was full of young people who were all seriously worshiping God. When I returned from the trip, I mentioned it to her just to let her know that she was on my mind and in my dreams while I was away.
The next day she said, 'Dad, my friends all want to do it!' 'Do what?' I asked. 'Start a church.' I told her that she would have to do most of the work, and I would coach and lead only a little. She said that was fine. The next day she arranged a house to meet in, picked a night of the week, and found a worship leader; flyers were soon being passed out to friends on campus.
After the church had been meeting for several months, I met with these students and we all sang praises to the Lord. I felt the Lord's pleasure. I asked the students what was the biggest church they had ever been to. Living in Southern California there are many options of megachurches, and a number of churches were mentioned, ranging in size from two thousand attendees to more than fifteen thousand.
I then told them that I think Satan is more intimidated by this little church of fifteen high school kids than by any of those Godzilla-sized churches. They all sort of chuckled and looked around the room at one another with smiles.
I showed them why I thought this way: 'How many of you think you could start a church like one of those megachurches?' No one raised a hand. I asked, 'How many of you think you could start a church like this one?' and all raised their hands. I asked them to look around the room at all the raised hands, and I said with a new found soberness, 'I assure you, Satan is terrified by this.'
HT: The Elephant in the Room
3.09.2009
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