Anabaptist Acolyte

Extreme Narcissistic Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 14:34:00 +0000

Victoria's secret is now out in the open and Internet has blown up with reaction to the narcissistic statements made by the wife of the the famous pastor of Lakewood Church. For the most part I have ignored the brand of Christianity that is peddled through their "ministry". Their focus on earthly blessings and prosperity goes against what I believe Jesus taught about suffering and about the call for discipleship. So when this clip went viral this past week - I was not at all surprised by the content of the video.

While I would love to join in the virtual dog pile -- I think what is needed is corporate confession. The tempting thing is to try to distance ourselves from this brand of Christianity by calling the Osteens heretics and publically denouncing them from our pulpits. Those of us stooping down to pick up the stones should open up our hands, let the stones fall from our clenched fists and fall to our knees in repentance.

Why should the Christian church repent over the actions of one single church?

Because we are the Body of Christ

The actions of each individual is reflected and held within the context of the Church as a whole. For us to think that we can act independently goes against the notion that Christ is the head of one Church. Our different brands may voice different aspects of Christianity but ultimately we are joined together as the bride of Christ. To the world this is part of the public face of Christianity.

Because we are No Different

Our worship services often imply the same theology made explicit in this video. We may not have church leaders getting up in our services encouraging us to worship for our own pleasure, but we will very easily criticize when the worship service didn't meet our expectations or give us a certain feeling. As worship leaders, we often cater to the expectations of the people in the pew instead of considering the expectation for God to speak to his people.

Because we have Encouraged It

We celebrate big numbers as the primary measure of success. "The _________ (fill in the blank) are doing something right - just look at all the people that are going there." We applaud numerical growth because it is exponentially more difficult to measure qualitative success. We look to leaders of large groups as the gurus worthy of emulating without taking a long look at character and long-term growth.

Because we have Embraced It
John Piper has coined the term "Christian Hedonism" and while I believe that his intention is to motivate people toward righteousness and pursue an eternal perspective of joy - I see the seeds of narcissistic worship that markets the Christian life as the pursuit of joy, rather than an identification/union with Jesus Christ. We are to pursue the joy of God, which does not translate into a popular understanding of joy. As such we make the gospel more palatable to a generation consumed with the pursuit of selfish happiness.

Our repentance should lead toward worship that is Trinitarian in its expression and focused on glorifying our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hearing and Doing - James 1:19-27

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 17:13:00 +0000

As a family, we are reading through James in our morning devotions. Today I read the last part of chapter one. What struck me was the number of times words like "listen" and "hear" are mentioned. I know I'm especially atuned to these words as a result of thesis work but I wasn't expecting to hear this so strongly in this passage. Here are some of the snippets from that passage.

vs. 19 - You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
vs. 21 - humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
vs. 22 - But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says.
vs. 23 - For if you listen to word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
vs. 25 - and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

The phrase 'quick to listen' is an interesting choice of words. Our sense of hearing can never be turned off. Even in our sleep our hearing is providing feedback to the brain. Hearing contributes to our understanding of emotion and our ability to relate ourselves spacially within a given area. With our ears always on, what does it mean to be quick to listen? Perhaps it is precisely that we intend to spend time listening. The contrast given in verse 19 is to speaking and getting angry. We should seek to listen. The content of our listening is found in the following verses. We are called to listen to God's word. But where is it being spoken? Answer: very few places if any. It is hardly even being spoken in church services. So we read it to ourselves. And while that is a good habit, I think there is something being lost when we don't simply listen to the words being spoken.

Listening isn't enough

James says that we must do what God's word says. We need to spend time listening to Scripture and then act on what we have heard. In a way this is why I'm writing. I believe that I need to act on what I have heard this morning. In fact we are encouraged to accept the implanted word (vs. 21). This notion of word of God being implanted is a reference back to Psalm 1 and deep meditation and memorization of the text. We are to receive this text that we have heard being recited from memory and acted out for us by respectable individuals. If you do what it says and don't forget what you heard - We are called to act on what we know Scripture is teaching us, but that comes as we internalize the text and really grapple with it.

New Name for Site

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 01:51:00 +0000

I'm experimenting with a name for my blog. I haven't always taken my writing seriously, but some time away from the college has helped me to realize how much I enjoy/struggle with the writing process. In the past I have toyed with a few names for this site. At first I called it "Shadowland" - a reference to Psalm 91 where the psalmist calls us to live in the shadow of the Almighty. It also reflected my own journey as a pastor/missionary kid living in the shadow of organized Christianity. Another name that I have used more recently was 'Sojourner'. This name came from a desire to describe my own journey as a follower of Jesus, yet the name already identifies a social action group. So I went looking for a new name. Something that would identify my unique contribution to the study of liturgy while keeping focus on my Anabaptist perspective. After trying a cheeky "ex-PATriate" which was more a play on words including my name, I have settle on (at least for the time being) "Anabaptist Acolyte" Anabaptist to describe the core distinctives of my Christian faith and Acolyte meaning "a person who assists with the liturgy." It is derived from a greek word which means follower. My desire is to be a follower of Jesus that assists in the body to worship our Lord and Saviour.

Traversing the Mount - Memorizing the text

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

After one of the presentations of the Sermon on the Mount someone will inevitably ask me how I can memorize that much text. At first this question annoyed me. It seemed to draw attention to the exterior matter of me as the presenter rather than focusing on the interior matter of the sermon itself and its impact. I don't get annoyed anymore. I have come to realize that the question comes as a compliment because of the profound impact that the Sermon has had on the listener and the desire is simply to thank me for the presentation.

I have struggled in how to respond to this question. How do I describe a process that seems so impossible to most people. My thesis supervisor suggested I check out this little book. You can search for it under two titles. The one that I have is pictured above. The more creative title is The Bread Store is Always Open. Charis does a fabulous job of linking memorization with the understanding of the text. She describes the process of memorization by comparing it to the development of a film. Charis leans away from rote memorization which often fails to communicate meaning and focuses on a five step process for memorization.

Research the Relationships
See the Movie
Tell the Story
Attach the Words
Impart to Others

The goal of the first three steps is to engage the right hemisphere of the brain (responsible for image, ideas, and creativity) prior left brain work of remember the details. The key is to make sure that the work is done well in the first section before wanting to attach the words.

In memorizing the Sermon on the Mount I did a fair amount of visualization and storyboarding to get the sequence of ideas into correct form in the sermon. I found myself needing to do constant research. I think the imparting it to others is critical not only in ensuring that we have it memorized but that we understand the nuance in the words that we are saying. When we are forced to communicate it to someone else we get the chance to see someone responding to the words that are coming from our lips and as such we get a better understanding as to the way in which certain parts of Scripture should be understood.

For anyone wishing to memorize Scripture - I would recommend purchasing this little book. The $3 you spend and the hour that it takes to read it is time and money well spent.

Singing Our Theology - Little Words Matter

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:02:00 +0000

Words are critical; even more critical when joined to melodies and sung together by a community of faith. The relationship between what we sing and the theology we profess is not strictly causational in nature; rather, it is a dance that happens somewhere between two extremes. One extreme sees songs as strictly reflective of theology and the other would see songs as primarily formative in the process of theology. So in the dance between our theology and the songs that we sing it is still important to make sure that what we sing reflects and shapes our theology in a way that strengthens the Church.

As an illustration allow me to place the song Brokenness Aside on the examination table. Written by David Leonard and Leslie Jordan this song speaks to God's grace being offered to a sinful world. In this song, the beginning of the chorus has the congregation confessing their sinfulness.

('Cause) I am a sinner

If it's not one thing it's another

Caught up in words tangled in lies (oh yeah)

But You are a Savior and You take brokenness aside

And make it beautiful beautiful (oh yeah)

It is the last two lines of the chorus which illustrate the importance of little words. Two little words make a world of difference in the theology of this song. The first is found in the line "But You are a Savior". In the metre of the song there is a need for a single syllable prior to the word Savior. So the song writers decided to put the article "a" in there. I'm not sure of the intent of the composers (I emailed them and asked with no response) but placing the article "a" before savior would imply that there are other saviors. In most evangelical churches a statement like this would be met with serious concern due to its universalism theme. I'm not so concerned with the composers' intent but rather the use of this song in churches that clearly deny a universalist perspective.

The second little word comes in the next line. "And make it beautiful..." In the English language we don't have a gender neutral pronoun to refer to persons. The word "it" is typically used when referring to an inanimate object. In the rules of grammar the pronoun replaces the closes noun. In this case "it" refers to the noun "brokenness." The question to ask is whether God makes sin/brokenness beautiful or whether God makes us who are broken beautiful. I believe that God through his mercy and grace which was poured out on the cross makes those of us who are broken beautiful. Our sin is always revolting to God and it is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ which allows us to be beautiful before him.

I know that these are two very small little words and yet they communicate a theology which leaves the worshiper with the idea that Jesus (one in a stream of saviors) will magically take all my blunders, all the ugliness in my life and magically make it all better. It leaves little to no room for an understanding that there are consequences that come as the result of our sin and that they don't magically become beautiful.

Assuming that the composers did not have this meaning in mind perhaps it might be helpful to change these two little words. Replace "a" with "my" and replace "it" with "me". While we struggle with having too many songs that are individualistic in tone, perhaps keeping the chorus in first person creates a unity within the song and makes the confession all the more personal and powerful. You will also have a host of people who struggle with self-worth singing that God makes them beautiful. Isn't that worth singing about?

Take it for what it is worth. Every word that we hear spoken or sung in worship is important. In the well-worn words of one of my favorite professors. "There are no throw-away words in worship." Thanks Constance for teaching me this critical truth.

Wishful Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 14:51:00 +0000

This letter was sitting in my mailbox this week. With the winter that we have had this year it made me wish that I could be "missent to Barbados". What made me laugh was when one of my co-workers pointed out that this must happen fairly often to warrant a stamp.

Gate 41A - Steinbach
Gate 41B - Barbados

Thoughts on Ordination

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 02:58:00 +0000

On Wednesday, January 29, 2014 my good friend Colin Bell was ordained into pastoral ministry at the Austin Evangelical Fellowship. It was a wonderful ceremony chalked full of wonderful gestures of calling and appreciation. I even had the joy of participating in the service through song and prayer. It was an important day for the Bell family and the entire congregation of Austin Evangelical Fellowship.

During my stint in pastoral ministry I had a couple of opportunities to do some thinking on the significance of undergoing the process of ordination. I never went through the process of ordination in part because I really have wrestled with understanding the significance of ordination theologically. Perhaps the greatest conflict coming between finding convergence between an Anabaptist understanding of "the priesthood of believers" and ordination.

A high view of the priesthood of believers places all followers of Jesus as ministers within God's kingdom. In addition there is only one high priest and that role belongs to Jesus Christ. (Heb 4:14) Thus how can a church group who believes so strongly that everyone is a minister single out one person to serve in that role? And if ordination is about the recognition of a certain giftedness, why not have an ordination for every role within the body of Christ? Another problem is how ordination is often seen as placing the pastor on a pedestal, thus creating unhealthy expectations on the actions of the one being ordained. Pastoral expectations are already often unrealistic and this only serves to exacerbate the problem.

During the trip to Austin and in the time following that evening, I have had some time to reflect on the nature of ordination a bit more. It was when I ran ordination through the grid of servant leadership that I came to a clearer understanding of ordination within an evangelical Anabaptist perspective. Servant leadership is often simplified as bottom-up style of leadership that seeks to mobilize the larger body to be able to make effective decisions, and accomplish the values of the organization.

I have come to the perspective that ordination is best understood not as raising someone up to a "higher" role within the church, but rather it is a process of identifying, examining and commissioning a servant. The ordained pastor has been set apart, not as a superior exemplar for the church, but as the one who has been selected to wear the responsibility of serving the "priests" who go about doing the work of the kingdom of God. In many respects it is a ceremony of identifying a lifetime demotion into servant-hood.

Ordination is a calling and one that the Church and the individual being ordained should not take lightly. It is an individual committing to a life of servitude and a church committing to be served by the one being ordained. It places great responsibility on the one being ordained while continuing to recognize the entire church as priests tasked to serve God through their gifts and abilities.

Colin's ordination testified to this understanding. Thank-you Austin Evangelical Fellowship for teaching this follower a little more through your worship service. May God bless you as you serve and may you continue to love the man who has committed himself to serving as a servant.

New Office Table

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:34:00 +0000

In 1991 I bought a Takamine 12 string guitar at a pawn shop in downtown Toronto. By 1997 the guitar rendered unplayable due to a broken bridge and broken struts. Since then it has been stored in basements and attics. Over the years Trudy has encouraged me to make something from the guitar. Several of weeks ago while on a shopping excursion I came up with the idea for how to use the old guitar. What has resulted is a table made from that old guitar. The wooden guitar stand that the guitar is fastened to was built by my brother Dale and given to me for Christmas several years ago. As an added feature I installed a bluetooth speaker system into the guitar so that it could once again play some music. The lamp sitting on top of the table is one that I built a little over a year ago.

Here is a video with me describing the guitar in a bit more detail.

Decisions-Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:16:00 +0000

I listened with interest to the Under the Influence podcast entitled Buy Less. I was traveling from Steinbach to Winnipeg having just left a family breakfast discussion on what we should be doing as a family during lent.
Terry O'Reilly begins the poscast by outlining the significant decision-making responsibilities placed on the president of the United States. As he leads up to his tag, "sometimes less is more," O'Reilly describes how President Barak Obama has eliminated some superficial decisions such as clothing and food in order that he may have a greater capacity for more significant decisions throughout his day.

As the podcast continued my mind stuck on this thought and I realized that perhaps the ancient disciplines of fasting and wearing of the habit were meant as a way to eliminate decisions from the life of the Christian disciple in order that more energy could be devoted to godliness. I hadn't thought of the impact of the multiple decisions that one is forced to make during the course of the day.

In the days that have followed I have thought about which decisions I could eliminate. During the season of lent I'm wanting to evaluate the decisions that I make during the day and do better at identifying ways in which I can simplify my decision-making. As a family we are trying one decision eliminating exercise. We have created a weekly menu that we will follow during lent. This way the shopping list stays the same, there is no wondering what we will have for supper from Mon-Sat. It will be interesting.

Statistics are Best for Spinning

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 02:50:00 +0000

Want to sound credible about something? Throw a few stats into an argument and you can sound like a genius. An example happened today coming out of a CTV News item about a young man sticking up for his sister who is being bullied online and at school. While I agree that bullying is a significant issue that needs to be addressed, I'm intrigued that after an interview with the victim's brother and father that the reporter offers that the Canadian public, according to an Ipsos Reid survey, think the schools are responsible for stopping bullying. When I read it, I flinched a little. Really, the responsibility for putting an end to bullying lies completely in the hands of our school systems? While I think that schools serve an important role in the formation of our children, I'm not sure if they are single handedly responsible for the prevention of bullying. I was also pretty confident that I was not a part of a 6% minority who think that perhaps other groups (perhaps parents) could play a significant role. So I went looking for this Ipsos Reid survey. I found it and I also found that Canadians think parents should play a significant role, that mentoring would be a good intervention and that legislation would be a good solution as well.

This chart details some of the opinions on intervention techniques. Yet somehow the reporter wants to pick an easy target - schools - as responsible for stopping bullying. Here is the paragraph straight from the Ipsos Reid site.

When it comes to different groups responsible for the prevention of bullying, Canadians believe the onus is equally spread among different groups. Three-quarters (74%) believe parents are ‘very responsible’ for the prevention of bullying, while one in five (22%) think parents are ‘somewhat responsible’, and 4% cite parents as being ‘not responsible’ (1% not at all/3% not very). Majority (55%) believe teachers and administrators are ‘very responsible’, while two in five (39%) think this group is ‘somewhat responsible, and 6% think they’re ‘not responsible’ (1% not at all/6% not very). A similar proportion (54% ‘very’/40% ‘somewhat’) believe peers are ‘responsible’ for the prevention of bullying. Seven in ten (72%) believe government through legislation ‘responsible’ (29% very/42% somewhat), while three in ten (28%) believe government is ‘not responsible’ (6% not at all/22% not very).

So Canadians actually think that parents are the most significant factor in preventing bullying. In fact Canadians believe that the repsonsibility lies with everyone to stop bullying. Why is this message not communicated? It makes me wonder whether the reporter (or maybe perhaps the editor) has an agenda of their own that they are trying to get across. I do find the conclusion of this article interesting in light of bill 18 introduced in the Manitoba Legislature.

My plea is that those who use stats do so with careful judgement, but equally I ask that all who read/hear stats do so with a bit of careful judgement.

Descent - Song Review

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 03:01:00 +0000

On his latest album, Keening for the Dawn, Steve Bell has out-done himself in his ability to craft lyric and music into poetic beauty. Songs have such power to communicate theology in a way that penetrates deeper than the cerebral cortex into the very fiber of our being. One of the songs that has found a home in my soul this Christmas has been the song Descent. With lyrics by Malcolm Guite married to the melodic tune by Steve Bell this song clearly describes the contrast between the gods of this world and the God who became near to us as a child. It tells the Story so clearly and creatively.

Praise God for the creative gifts of his servants.

Traversing the Mount - adding Humor

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 17:57:00 +0000

One of the tough sections of "the sermon" is the discourse on judging. When reading it I have typically understood it as a cautionary segment meant to warn us about taking care of our own junk before looking critical at others. In fact along with Margaret Lee I hear strong language coming out of Jesus' mouth when he says, "You, hypocrites". This is the only direct name calling that happens in the sermon, so it would seem to make sense that this should be very forceful and that Jesus would be animated.

The problem comes when you try to perform the passage. On either side of this passage are texts which appeal to the heart of the listener to seek God. It makes little rhetorical sense to stick a passage that is delivered with stern warning in the middle.

I asked Jeff Barker for some advice and he asked me whether I had ever considered that passage in light of ancient humor forms. Perhaps the whole discourse on judging is meant to provide some levity in the midst of this discourse. So the next time I performed it I changed my tone and my delivery to be much more humorous, with exagerated movement and chuckle and a grin.

It still didn't seem to work, however I was intrigued by the way people responded to text with more emphasis on the follow passage of Ask, Seek, Knock. I still struggled with the line following the judgment passage. "Do not give to dogs what is holy."

A couple of weeks ago Ignite was scheduled to do two performances. The early Sunday morning found me rehearsing the lines as I drove the bus two hours north of the college. When I came to this portion of the text I had a thought - perhaps I could use a prop. What if I used a stick during the judgment passage? I could pretend that it was sticking out of my eye. That would help with making that passage a bit more obviously humorous. But I still wrestled with the "dogs" line.

In an "ah-ha" moment I realized that perhaps there were dogs on the mount listening to Jesus. And when Jesus grabbed the stick the dogs had jumped up in anticipation. Throwing the stick would lead well into that line of the sermon.

So that's what I did. I parked the bus at the church, found a stick and proceeded to get ready. I'm still wrestling with this passage, but I think I'm fairly certain that this part of the sermon comes across better emphasizing the hyperbole of the illustration, than yelling at the people with whom you are wanting to communicate.

Margaret Lee's article, "How Performance Changed My (Scholarly) Life" can be found in the August 2010 edition of the Currents in Theology and Mission journal.

Traversing the Mount

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:49:00 +0000

Lately I've been spending a lot of time in the Sermon on the Mount. You could say that I've been scouring the hillside. The reality is that this year I will be spending considerable time in that passage.
Two things converged this fall. First was my doctoral studies which challenged me to memorize Scripture for the purpose of performing it in worship and the other was planning the presentation that our college ministry team puts on each year as part if our touring.
As a result I ended up memorizing the Sermon on the Mount. As part of this project I want write about my experiences with performing this text. I want to reflect on the way the passage is impacting others and the way in which it is impacting me.
So far I have performed this passage 4 times. The first was in chapel at Steinbach Bible College where I work. The second time was in Storm Lake, Iowa as part if a preaching assignment. The last two times were with Ignite this past Sunday in Morweena EMC and Riverton Gospel Chapel. I want to reflect on each of these opportunities but for now I just want to introduce the project and whet you appetite for the ones that are to follow.
One common question in each of the places has been about the work of memorizing a long passage if Scripture. I really don't want the performance of the passage to be shadowed by the memorization project itself. I would rather have it that the performance of memorized text would be so common that people would not be amazed at the feat but at the message. So to the question of how do you do it. Or to the statement that "I could never do that" I want to simply encourage that at any age and with any background people can memorize and recite with passion if they make the Scriptures their dwelling place the words of God. Here is a link to a video of the first time I performed it. I have made some theatrical changes in the versions that have followed which I will write about later.

Running Obsession in Relation to Culture

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:00:00 +0000

My natural disposition to the activity of running has its starting point in the basement of enjoyment. An inseam measurement shorter than my sleeve length makes running seem like such a primal activity, comlete with knuckles dragging on the pavement. So it should come as no suprise that this slightly tongue-in-cheek post looks at running from a critical perspective. Perhaps it is my own way to justify my lack of participation in the 'sport'.
Our house is located along a popular running route through Steinbach and I have noticed the rising number of spandex clad people passing by our place. (Good thing we put up a fence this summer.) I wonder why so many choose to punish their bodies in a way that places significant strain on every joint, can cause iron deficiency, and from demonstrated facial expression, appears to be extremely painful. But there are many other activities that have inherant risks, and are painful.
What I find interesting about running is the obsession that accompanies many who take up the activity of running. They tweet daily results thinking, "certainly the whole world is interested in how far and fast I ran today." I have a theory. My theory is the that the rise in people running is a reflection on the current cultural millieu. We North Americans live in a world that is obsessed with two key principles, immediacy and individualism. We are willing to trade indebtedness for the latest ___________, as long as we get it today. We want to be able to customize every aspect of our lives, live at our own schedule, and make sure that our preference is the one that matters most. So it makes sense that running is rising. I promises immediate result. If you are overweight (like me) you will shed pounds if you run. The transformation is usually very significant, yet it comes at a cost. (I know - no pain, no gain.) The point that I'm making is running provides quicker results than cycling, swimming, etc. Running is also individualistic at its core. You compete against your own time and distance. It is the idealistic individual sport, you can do it when you want, where you want, in whatever weather you want and for as long as you want. There is no need to wait for conditions, or have a facility to participate in. While some choose to run with others, if you are really serious, it is about maintaining your pace, achieving your PB, or finishing your goal.
I have heard it said that fight or flight is wired into us at creation. I'm not so sure, because I know that I will never outrun. In our world today what do we really need to run from? The only people that need to know how to run are runners who go for a jog in the Rockies and get chased by a bear.

(Now for the disclaimer to hopefully ward off the complaint emails.)

For those of you runners who are feeling attacked at this point, go for run. The pain you will inflict on yourself is more than I will ever give you on this blog. Seriously, I'm impressed that you can run and perhaps a bit jealous that your stride covers twice the distance as mine. I, like the culture I am a part of, seek ways to justify my involvement, or lack of, in certain activities.

For those of you obsessed with running I hope this post reminds you that there are still many people in this world who really don't care how far you ran today, this week, or lifetime stats.

"Run the race so as to win the prize" - I know it is biblical. See you in the gym, pool, or on the road.

Psalm 91 - Performance of Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Here is a video of one of the scripture passages that I 'performed' as part of my latest project. I know performance seems like a dirty word to use to describe worship. We don't like the word performance because the most popular performances by our 'idols' are meant as self-serving, record selling shows. Despite the negative connotation that this word has when describing what happens in worship, I think it is a fabulous word to use. It is because when a performance is done well, the audience recognizes that it is being taken to another dimension of reality, it is seeing characters come to life and communicate powerfully. In a theatre, great performances allow you to forget your current environment and be transformed to another place and time. I use the word performance not because I think I do that great a job (although I want to get better each time), but because I want to hold before me a goal to allow people the opportunity to hear the words of Scripture with a fresh perspective. I also want these words to come out of a life that is living the words was well. But that is for another post.

Poetry in Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Came across this video - just getting around to posting it. What a fabulous use of poetry in communicating biblical truth. This is a wonderful artform put to use in a worship setting.

Sex in the Liturgy

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:23:00 +0000

Theo-orgasmic (adj)

def'n - to think or express ideas about God using sexual imagery
First allow me to give some background and definition to the term. The term was first coined by a colleague of mine after hearing a song in chapel that had made both of us a bit uncomfortable. Theo-orgasmic worship is best described as a category of congregational song intended for worship that uses sexual imagery in the lyric and musical composition of the song. So with every good definition I would suggest that there be an example to demonstrate.

You Won't Relent by Cassandra Campbell, David Brymer, Misty Edwards
You won’t relent
Until You have it all
My heart is Yours

I’ll set You as a seal upon my heart
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
And many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me
Come be the flame upon my heart
Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one

You can listen to the song here on YouTube.

Let's take a look at the lyrics of this song. The second stanza is pulled out of Song of Songs making it at least allude to the Bible. This book is one of the more controversial books in the Old Testament as it is argued either as an allegory depicting Christ's love for the Church or purely as a love story found in Scripture. Most songwriters, who use this text as material for songs (think "His Banner over Me"), consider its message to be allegorical. It is interpreted to point to the great love of God for his bride. So for the sake of argument let's assume this is the most accurate way to interpret this book of the Bible. The passage alluded to here describes the consummation or the sexual act to seal the marriage. If you look a few verses earlier there is a description of the embrace of the lovers engaged in foreplay. The romance of this part of the book is full on sexuality, the kind that makes young boys marvel that such words would be included as canon. So under the allegorical motif we understand this passage to mean that God loves the Church as a husband loves his bride. Paul talks about this in Ephesians as well. John also in the Revelation he receives from God describes the great wedding feast. So that imagery seems consistent throughout Scripture. No problems with it so far. Where the authors of this song wander is that the affection and love for the Church is superimposed upon the individual rather than actuated within the context of the entire body, the Church. Instead the lyrics read "My heart is yours." I wonder together with Robert Webber in his book Who Gets to Narrate the World, whether narcissism is one of the greatest harms infecting the church today. This is an individualized song and if the authors mean to follow the allegory motif, then they have supplanted the individual for the corporate expression and made it about the love of God for me. It has made the individual more significant than the Church.
Now if you read the Song of Songs as purely a love story found in the Bible, I would question using its text as corporate worship. Perhaps I'm too Elizabethan to think this appropriate for public, family friendly worship service. I would suggest that this is more appropriate for a private intimate setting. In that case I'm arguing that the song be used for private enjoyment rather than corporate expression. Replace the Kenny G album with this song (and others like it) when you really want to set the mood.

There are a few other things disturbing about this song lyrically. The first stanza uses overtly stalker language. "You won't relent until you have it all." If this song is truly allegorical and it is God that we are talking about, then I'm not sure if I want my daughters to be picturing God as a someone who will hunt them until they are finally cornered and submit out of shear fear and shame. I pass along the words from Debra Reinstra's book Worship Words where she writes:

One of my students, while we were discussing this, passionately reminded us all that the world is full of people who wish not only to make women yield but to violate them. We as the church have the opportunity, she said, to answer that terrible fear by showing how God heals, protects, and shelters women. Therefore, she pleaded, let's not describe God as a seducer. Women deal with far too much of that already. We want God's presence to be a safe place of wholeness and integrity. (pg 129)

Earlier in the same chapter she writes how romantic language in worship has some inherent difficulties. One, it places the worshipper and God on an equal relational footing. Not sure if we can theologically support that. Secondly, our modern notion of romantic love is often wrought with hyper-emotionalism, and at times quite fickle. She also warns that romantic worship songs can reinforce the notion that our Christian experience needs to be equated with the emotional high that comes with a romance. The reality is that our Christian lives had better be marked by a more substantive devotion then that of a romantic fling.

And then there is the final stanza or the bridge of the song. The intercourse innuendo in this stanza is overt and rightly it should be based on the context of the previous two stanzas. This is where we tie in the musical considerations of the song. The repetitious anticipation found in the first and second stanzas finally comes to its climax in the third as the music swells to the pinnacle of the experience. I have less of a problem with the notion of the Church being "one" with Christ as Brian Lusky defends in his blog post. What I do struggle with is the picture of God and I being one in such a sexual way.

There are other songs that fit into this category. "Your Love is Extravagant" by Darrell Evans is one that Debra Reinstra uses as an illustration. Some songs are more blatant than others. My challenge is for us to think about the appropriateness of these songs for congregational use in worship. Let's actually think about more than our own lusts and desires, even if they are couched in personal piety.

Who Gets the Credit

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 14:12:00 +0000

The room was packed with people as I made my way to the back to sit in on a presentation by Henry and Tina Redekopp. They were giving a report on the ministry taking place in the Old Colony community of Shipyard, Belize.

I first got to know Henry when he began studying at Steinbach Bible College. Henry, along with his wife Tina and their kids had moved from Seminole, Texas in order to study at the college. He came with the stated desire to know more about the Bible in order to be a better leader in their church. He graduated, accomplishing his goal, but with a pastoral heart for people who needed to hear the gospel.
As I sat there listening to a well-prepared presentation, a bit of pride began to well up as I thought about how we had helped them get to the place they are at today. I was hoping that in the midst of the presentation he could slip in a little plug for the place that helped give him the communication tools he was now putting into practice. I was wishing that he would talk about how the biblical teaching at SBC had helped him teach the spiritual warfare series that he did in Shipyard. I wanted him to tell the nearly 70 people packed into the room that they all needed to send their young people to Steinbach Bible College for training in how to build relationships and communicate the gospel. But he didn’t, he didn’t say anything about us at the college, he just talked about what God was doing and how they were seeking openings for ways to build relationships in the community.

Over the years of working at SBC I have heard people comment that we are the best kept secret in Christian Higher Education. That kind of flattery may get you a SBC mug or some other paraphernalia; however, it is bothersome to think that our students and alumni don’t talk about SBC as much as I would hope. As I reflected on this a bit more, I think the reason is that we have trained them too well. Our mission states that we are training servant leaders. The glory does not go to the servants, but to the Master. We train our students to watch God at work and to attribute to God what is his action and hide ourselves under the shadow of the Almighty. It is not about the individual, the program, the organization, or the college that trained them; it is about the glory and the honour being returned to the One who gives the ability. Our churches are full of people who could be walking billboards for the college, yet we are excited that they choose to take the role of a servant as they minister in whatever capacity God gives them.

Thoughtless Web Sign

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:00:00 +0000

As some of you may know I run another website that posts signs that I (or others close to me) find that show the follies of sign making. As a result I look at most signs looking for the humour that is inherent in the mistakes people make. Once in a while I come across one that just makes me upset. This one I found on Facebook. Facebook has a way of demonstrating how thoughtless we can be when we post and sometimes repost stuff online. It caught my eye the other day as I was wasting precious moments before my dentist appointment. Let me address the most glaring of all. Angles are what you study in grade 8 mathematics. They are used to describe the relationship between two intersecting lines. Angels are heavenly beings ministering upon God's command. Perhaps if formal education was more important to the author of this post this simple spelling error could be avoided. Perhaps it would also mean that "SPRIT" would actually be spelled 'Spirit'. Nevertheless there are other more sinister messages behind this web-sign.

Perhaps the most dangerous assumption put forward in this piece is that there is no need for formal or higher education. I've heard the idea from many people "that all a believer needs is the Holy Spirit to understand all things spiritual." Their rationale is: if I spend enough time in prayer and reading my Bible then I will know all things that I need to live and grow in godliness. The proverbs throughout Scripture demonstrate the value of wisdom and that wisdom is found in all of creation. When we are studying anything within creation we are able to better understand God.

There are some other troubling ideas in this web-sign as well. What does this sign communicate about the Church? Is it really a location I go to, or a place that I consume information and knowledge? It is not a place I go to nor an institution that I pledge allegiance to. It is to be an organism made up of people of God, committed to following Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is described in the Scriptures as a body. Another problem is having Jesus and the Holy Spirit having a hierarchy in their relationship. A small matter, but all matters are important. The Bible is not a study book in the purest sense. It is the revelation of God. Perhaps making "winning souls" assignments creates a project mentality that turns our organic telling of God's story to those people that God places in our lives into a method for getting more bonus points for eternity. Finally the tuition is definitely not free. Yes, we can freely accept God's grace, but don't think for a second that it didn't cost anything for that grace. The tuition is not free, it has simply been fundraised.
Perhaps I'm over-reacting, yet, I've learned recently that there are "no throw-away words." They all count.

Does Cultural Epistemology Impact Social Issues?

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:02:00 +0000

Every once in a while I feel the need to ask a question. It is my way of processing what I'm learning and I'm open to having others weigh in to a discussion. Basically what I want to do is wonder out loud?

Looking back over my junior high years I would have to admit that I experienced what today would be easily identified as bullying. I was called names, made fun of for my religious beliefs and was mocked for the clothes I wore and the music I listened to. But I was not alone. Bullying was rampant, initiation (now called hazing) was also common place in most of the sports teams. The tolerance for these behaviours was much greater then. In fact the initiation rights were seen by the adult as formative. Today, bullying is commonly described as an epidemic in the school system.

Has bullying actually gotten worse or has the way in which culture comes to realizing truth made an impact on how we accept certain behaviours?

Allow me to add some more context to the question. Several presenters at the recent forum that I attended referenced a societal shift in truth knowing from a systematic and intellectual approach to an experience dominated method of understanding truth. The move to basing our understanding of truth primarily on experience helps to understand the pluralistic nature of truth today and relativism that is part of this study. To say it another way, "How can your truth be right if my experience is something else?"

My working hypothesis is this. If our understanding (truth) of ourselves is based primarily on experience then our experiences need to be affirmative in order for us to be "good" individuals. It is not enough to know that I am worthwhile because someone says so, I deduct because of a value statement or because the Bible affirms that I am valuable to God. If my experience (i.e. bullying, harassment, abuse) says otherwise then I must be the person that I experience. It is no wonder that bullying and other abuses must be curtailed at all costs because it is the individual experience that determines personal worth and essence and not a rational, intellectual understanding.

I'm curious.

When Someone Hands You a Rose

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:37:00 +0000

"Don't crush it."
This was the advice given to me by my faculty member in my first year at Ontario Bible College. Sharon Bell was a gentle woman, soft yet firm in her approach to handling students. I had been selected (miraculously) to be a part of "The Octet", a touring musical ensemble. Sharon was our instructor and supervisor and the discussion that day had turned to the appropriate way in which to respond to the accolades that we would receive after a performance. Sharon was uniquely qualified to give us instruction in this most delicate manner. Having spent her formative years growing up in Japan as a missionary's kid she understood what it meant to be polite and how to show respect. She taught us that the humble thing to do when receiving praise was to simply return the praise back to the giver by saying thank-you. It is a lesson that has travelled with me throughout my life. There have been times where I have remembered this little lesson taught in the rehearsal room of the college. Now I get to pass on this teaching as a college professor leading ministry teams.

I was reminded of this story today as I finished Jeff Barker's new book, The Storytelling Church. In the conclusion of the book he writes, "Didactic repsonses can be relationship-stoppers. I prefer a simpler response to the world's honors: you just say thank you." (224) Thanks for that great reminder and better yet for an excellent collection of stories.

Experiencing Scripture

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:51:00 +0000

Sometimes learning is heightened when the same idea gets addressed in multiple ways. In my context as a college professor, I am uniquely interested in the faith development of the generation that has just entered adulthood. It was in this context that I read Planning Blended Worship by Robert Webber. In the introduction to the book, Webber conducts an overview of the leading transmission elements throughout the history of the church. The church moves from a cultural transmission through story and image of the community of faith to a more didactic transmission of Christianity with the dawn of the Reformation and the invention of the printing press. On page 25 Webber writes, “Consequently, Christianity shifted its means of communicating faith from a primary emphasis on an immersed participatory experience of worship to an emphasis on learning through reading and listening to the Word of God.” He goes on to say that the current “audio-visual” context for worship is reshaping the transmission of faith in the Church. While this idea was being given time to develop, I attended a forum put on by Christian Higher Education in Canada. One of the presenters there was discussing his research on the faith development of eighteen to twenty-five year olds. What he talked about was the how this generation of students are forming their theology based primarily through an experiential filter. Another presenter underlined this same concept in her presentation on teaching millennial students. Finally, as I did further reading for IWS, the chapter on authenticity in Debra Rienstra’s book, Worship Words began to crystalize the significance needed in addressing the changing landscape of worship and theological development.

What Webber has identified as the audio-visual age, is turning out to be a shift back to a more experientially based understanding of faith. As a result it is absolutely critical that our worship be one that forms excellence in theology and practice. It is equally important that our worship be reflected in more than just what is done on in the gathering of the faithful, but lived out in the lives of the faithful.

One of the practical ways that this can be incorporated into my context is to communicate the authority and power of the Bible not simply by giving great explanations and proofs, but rather by taking the advice of Webber and developing a scripture reading group.(page 95) My goal this fall is to develop an extra-curricular group of students interested on communicating scripture within the college. This will give the authenticity and experiential basis for what is often simply communicated in didactic lecture style. The pay-off should be in scripture being not only read well, but embodied in the participants.

Learning the Language of Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Mon, 28 May 2012 13:13:00 +0000

I had a chance encounter with a very fascinating and learned man. He is originally from Brazil, he speaks Spanish, Portuguese, English, and Guarani. This past year he was in the process of learning Hebrew, Greek and French. He understands language, its subtleties and complexities. We ended up talking about the process iof learning a language. He mentioned that we learn the structure intuitively as we are immersed in the culture of the language. The two are inseparable.

With this conversation still ringing in my ears, I open up Worship Words by Debra and Ron Rienstra. Debra Rienstra writes, "Our words form us whether or not we pay attention to how they are doing so. Just as children quickly learn to speak with the vocabulary, tones, and inflections of their parents, so we learn to "speak" our spiritual lives with words and tones, with the emotional and theological range of what we experience at worship." Our language of worship is intrinsically formed by the culture of the worshiping community to which we belong. Our ability to articulate, the form, and function of our worship is brought to us through the community.

It also is important to note that we perhaps need that forming before we start dissecting the structure and substance of worship.

How critical it is then that those of us who lead in worship, do so understanding that we are teaching the language of worship to God's people. What a sobering and yet most exhilarating task!

Choir Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:23:00 +0000

There is something very beautiful about waking up before she sun rises. As the sun is making its final approach toward the eastern horizon the birds break out in song. In the distance the songs blend into a beautiful choral sound scape. Then a nearby bird picks up the song as I to call out a solo in the choir. Even the crows try to join but their awful sounds get drowned out among the cacophony of birdsong. It is beautiful. By the time the sun rises the practice is over and the birds go about their more urgent work of building nests and gathering food.

A Reflection on the Appreciation of Discipline

noreply@blogger.com (Patrick Friesen) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:29:00 +0000

I was talking with an advisor yesterday and he quoted Kevin O'Leary when he reminises on how his step father would ask him, "What are you going to do to be who you want to be?" It's a twist on the old, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It reminded me of the words of my own father when I would ask how you he kept up his daily reading and prayer schedule. He replied with, "Patrick, it's all in how you train your body." I would admit that my conversation challenged me to apply some discipline to some financial practices.
Then this morning I was struck by the abruptness of Psalm 94. It begins in such a harsh, almost repugnant tone. "O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance shine forth!" I was caught by the fierceness of these words. Definitely not a "Love Wins" understanding of God. He is a judge that exacts justice and perfect vengeance on the wicked. It is most definitely a psalm calling out to God to judge those who are wicked, those who measure out injustice upon injustice. In the midst of this psalm are four verses which also awakened me. There is punishment for the wicked, but there is discipline for those whom the LORD loves. And blessed is the one who recognizes the discipline of the the LORD.
There is such benefit in discipline. I can do just about anything I want. But, is what I'm doing leading to what God desires for me to be? Discipline actually focuses my attention to do the things that are necessary. The hard things and the good things. Sometimes that discipline needs to come externally and be pressed upon me. More and more my desire is that the discipline comes as my desire for God and his purposes grows. I used to lament about the fact that slowly my bucket list in life was getting shorter and shorter, not because I was so adventurous and successful, but because life was moving on and opportunities were passing me by. I'm starting to think that the bucket list mentality with the "you can do anything you set your mind to" mentality is perhaps missing the point. There is perhaps a greater goal which challenges you to eliminate the distractions to only seek those things which help to achieve the goal.
I need to learn to be more ruthless with my resources and not wish I could do anything, but do what I know I need to do.