A few issues within the modern day church in a post-everything America

I've spent the last few days working through a book that is causing me to reconsider some of my positions style-wise when it comes to how I plan and lead worship gatherings week in and week out.

The book is called "The Emerging Church" by Dan Kimball. I know, I know... the words "Emerging" and "Church" in the same sentence tends to give people the heebie-jeebies! Let me calm your fears and concerns when it comes to that, and understand that this isn't about a theological stance. It is, however, a thoughtful look at the upcoming generations that are very much a different breed. The following discourse is a set of three issues the modern church in America is facing as it comes to the problem of how to reach a generation that seems to not be interested in being reached.

In reading through The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball, there are many issues facing today’s modern church. One of these issues facing the church today is what appears to be the final loss of America as a “Christian” nation. Our society is no longer strongly tied to Judeo-Christian values, and therefore, our claim as “One Nation under God” would seem to be invalid. In fact, it might read better as “One Nation under A God… or No God, which ever you prefer.”

So many pastors cling heavily to the idea of the upcoming generations returning to their roots, which for them, are the Christian backgrounds of the founding fathers. Kimball articulates the problem with this stance very well when he questions such a pastor about children who grow up in a family system that doesn’t have roots in a Christian background. What roots will they return to? As a pastor, this is a frightening thought! How am I supposed to bring people to Christ who have no inclination as to who Christ is?

Another issue facing the church is exactly how to reach these upcoming generations with the message of Christ. Here in the Midwest, many churches are just now getting on board with the “seeker sensitive” movement. This has been driven by the examples of mega-churches like Saddleback, Willow Creek, and Northpointe. Each of these church bodies have grown almost exponentially in size due to following the seeker sensitive approach. They have all built large state-of-the-art auditoriums with the latest in technology, and removed many (if not all) of the religious icons in worship so as not to offend the non-believer. This type of worship style has found a home in many mid-America churches of all sizes, and is working well in many areas to bring young families into worship each week. However, Kimball speaks to a growing rejection of this type of worship simply because of its “chain store” feel. Many non-Christians are seeking to have a “spiritual” experience with Christ, but feel they can’t get there in the modern day American church setting. He states that some even feel like we are hiding what we are doing and what we are all about by removing the symbolic images from our worship settings!

This is a new concept for me, as I’ve been part of the push in ministry to become more seeker friendly. Apparently, I’ve missed the boat on what seekers are actually seeking. As I read through this, I actually found myself tearing up and having to repent for keeping people from experiencing God in a real and tangible way because of my own agenda. It’s no wonder people look past Christianity to other religions! While Buddhists, Hindus, and other ancient and New Age religions gladly embrace their icons and practices, we’ve turned worship to God into a trip to Wal-Mart.

The final issue I will address here is one that I find to be the most prominent one among the modern day church. Christians are getting in the way of people experiencing Christ. We who claim to follow Christ have literally shot Christianity in the foot by living lives that are contradictory to His teachings. We have given people reason to walk away from the saving message of Jesus because of our condescending delivery. Too many Christians continue to assume that we live in a time where everyone in America has roots in Judeo-Christian values, when this is simply not true. That assumption leads to evangelism that looks more and more like the Bible-thumping hypocrite rather than the hands and feet of Jesus. Kimball spoke of a non-Christian student at a Christian retreat who had been completely turned off to the message of Christ due to a guest speaker’s portrayal of homosexuality. Later in that section of the book, he recounts meeting up with that student as they were about to graduate college. That one experience soured their entire countenance toward anything Christianity had to offer, and they were still completely uninterested in anything remotely connected with Jesus. Christians are the vessel God uses to tell the world about Him in word and deed. Sadly, many of us (me included!) are missing the mark more often than not.

Are these issues we can't overcome? Absolutely not. Remember, with God all things are possible! Let us rely on God to give us the ability to work through and give the upcoming generations an opportunity to learn the solid truth of Christ in the midst of a world that continually tells them that truth is what they make it.

A Psalm of Praise

Part of what we were asked to do in this current class module was to read through and identify several types of Psalms. They generally lay out in one of 5 different categories:

Psalms of Praise - Celebrate who God is, putting primary emphasis on God's moral character and attributes.

a. Introduction: a call to praise

b. Body: the reason(s) for praising God

c. Conclusion: renewed call to praise

Sub-types of this would be about Creation, focusing on God as creator / Diving Kingship & Enthronement, focusing on God as King / Confidence & Trust, focusing on God as an ongoing provider.

Psalms of Thanksgiving - Thank God for deliverance from a bad situation.

a. Introduction: the intent to give thanks and praise

b. The Narrative: the story of crisis - 1. distress, 2. prayer, 3. deliverance

c. Conclusion: renewed vow of praise or testimony

Psalms of Lament - Appeal to God for help in an ongoing bad situation.

a. Invocation: prayer addressed to God

b. Complaint: the crisis described

c. Petition: the plea for help

d. Conclusion: expression of trust, confidence, or promise

NOTE: Laments sometimes include a confession of sin, an assertion of innocence, or a curse of an enemy.

A subtype of this Psalm would be an Imprecatory Psalm, which specifically requests violence upon human enemies.

Human Kingship/Royal Psalms - A poem which concerns the human king in Israel.

a. This is not strictly a literary type, but a classification based on the subject involved.

b. These Psalms generally involve various settings in the life of the king.

A subtype of this Psalm is the Zion Psalm, which celebrates Jerusalem (the royal city).

Wisdom Psalm - A poem which serves primarily to teach. It is not strictly a literary type, but a classification based on the following items:

a. Subject Matter: these include fear of Yahweh (God), love of the Torah (the "Law" found in the Old Testament), the contrast between the righteous and the wicked, and instruction for daily living.

b. Typical Wisdom Forms: these include "better" and "blessed" sayings, warnings, and formal addressing of those who are reading.

The subtypes of this Psalm are:

1. Torah Psalm - Exhorting the reader to follow the Torah for success.

2. Existential Psalm - Wrestling with and solving theological issues.

As I read through these, I thought I might try my hand at writing a Psalm, using one of these forms. To that end, I believe I've come up with what appears to be a Psalm of Praise according to the major category types. Take a read through it, and let me know what you think!

A Psalm of Praise

1 Praise be the Lord Almighty,

for he is worthy to be praised!

2 Give him the glory due his name

for the wonderful things He has done.

3 Let the streets resound with music and singing;

let the deeds of the LORD ring from the heights!

4 He brought me out of my despair

and set me in the palm of his hand.

5 He covered me when others were aiming to take my life;

he protected me from their wicked intent.

6 His glory thwarted the plans of the evil one that were against me,

for his light shone like the sun, revealing the truth.

7 Those who were against me had no choice but to flee

as the light proved me blameless in the public eye.

8 Oh, let us come and give glory to God forever

and sing his praises from the mountains to the sea!

9 Let us not remain silent in his presence,

but instead, break forth into joyous praise!

10 May the LORD shine upon us for all time

as we give him thanks and praise! Amen.

Wow...

Thanks to my friend Wyatt Johnston and his photo blog (which you should follow!), I realized that I haven't posted anything here since LAST AUGUST!!! That's kind of when the junk hit the fan for a while here in south central Kansas... In that time, I've launched a new website for Glenn Park Christian Church where I work, assisted in implementing a new family focused ministry strategy, completed another 5 modules toward my degree through Tabor College, and am still in the process of breaking in my new favorite youth minister, Seth Taylor.

As I was thinking (sheepishly I might add...) that I really should put something out here, I took a look back at some of the work put into the classes I've been taking. One of the assignments we were given was to write out our faith story. Call it a testimony if you wish, but I think the idea of a faith story is much more appropriate. Below you will find just a small glimpse into the road that led me to become a pastor.

While attending my "home church" at the age of 7, the pastor brought in a puppet ministry that really brought the saving message of Christ down to a level that I could understand. When the invitation was given, I went forward to receive Christ in my heart. I knew He was with me, and wanted to serve Him in whatever capacity He needed me to. This led to my mom, seeing that I had a knack for music, giving me a shot at directing the choir when I was 14. God and I were at odds during my adolescent years. I had the "Sunday Christian" thing down pat. On Sunday morning, I was the model picture of saintly goodness in my burgundy satin choir robe, but the rest of the week was filled with worldly things.

In 1998 at the age of 20, I had hit rock bottom. Luckily for me (and all of us!) God never gives up. He moved me to Manhattan KS, where I attended Manhattan Christian College. It was there that I met my wife, Lora, and was asked to help start a church in Salina KS. Through starting that church, God began a transformation in my life that is still affecting me today. I had formed a band during this time, and we were 6 months from getting a record deal when God tore the rug out from underneath me. The "Rock Star" image was one that had been a dream of mine for many years, but it wasn't what He wanted from me. The facade of selflessness was covering the true selfish nature within, and I still had to learn that.

In 2000, I moved back home, and began working with a band in Topeka. This band was full of young guys that were seemingly on fire for Christ, and it was a great place to heal from the wounds left over from the Manhattan band. We had record labels sniffing at us as well, and God once again tore it apart. The facade had some cracks, but was still intact for the most part.

As I mentioned earlier, God never gives up. He has helped me realize that, if I don't allow the facade to crumble, then I don't allow His work to fully continue. If I don't pull the walls between myself and others down, then there's no connection... no way to lead, or be followed. I had always used music as a way to hide my faults, instead of as a way to glorify the One who makes me strong where I am weakest. It turned me into a fraud, and was a detriment to everyone around me. He put people and events in my life to bring me to a place of complete surrender and brokenness. He is my very breath now, and my soul goal in life is to help lead others to that point of total surrender to Him, so that His grace, mercy, and peace can flow through those cracks in our lives, and make us whole again.

I hope you are encouraged by this look into what God has done in my life. I hope you see that God never gives up on us, no matter what we do or where we go. I hope you'll take one more step toward Him today, and if you fall, you'll remember that God is your safety net.