innovation

I wonder sometimes if our technological advances in the church are limited to twitter, facebook, and a clover site webpage. Don't get me wrong, I think all of these things are very useful. I've been on facebook and twitter already today, and I love the site we've built through clover. But is that all?

What other areas of technology can we use in the church? I believe innovation is good for God's church. I believe that I am called to be on the cutting edge of the church's technological revolution. But it seems that there should be more options. What are you using? What else is out there? Which direction do I need to look?

 mike.

Artists part 2

I had an interesting conversation today at the Center. It's interesting on two fronts because to me it is a delicate balance between post modern church and Christendom as well as a balance between artistic and more practical people. This is a slight on neither, just observation and hopefully a conversation starter.

I had suggested that we invite artists in our congregation to take part in our worship by adding their art in whichever capacity that meant. We've been good at recruiting new singers to add their ministry, but what about the artists that used other mediums. the painters sculptors poets dancers etc. And the conversation came up, what if it doesn't match the vision of our congregation?

This is a fair question. What if a given person's artistic vision didn't match that of our congregation. It would be insulting to turn away their gift and that could cause a rift/division that could be harmful to that persons relationship with the church. But on the other side of the coin it would be difficult as a person working at the church to lift up something that didn't fit along with the vision of the church.

The other interesting aspect is those in our congregation that are more traditionalist and interested in becoming "just another Lutheran church." Would they outright reject any new artistic expression during worship or in our worship space?

Lots of potential issues here. I'm certain that this kind of debate has kept creative arts out of worship spaces across the world. What are your experiences with artistic expression in worship? Positive or negative experiences?

i'm going to keep pondering this a while.
 mike.

A New Confession

The 16th and 17th centuries are loaded with confessions. Every major protestant group leaving the Catholic church did so by writing down their particular beliefs and creeds. Looking around today, you don't see much of that going on anymore. Most famous pastors and preachers have great self help books. There are volumes on the post-modern and emerging church. Every political group of Christians has their own writings and you even see religious fiction popping up all over the place.

Are we content with our current confessions?

In her book the Great Emergance author Phyllis Tickle (best author name ever) wrote that we are currently in a time similar to that of the Reformation. That every 500 years or so the church goes through a major overhaul. Constantine, the Great Schism, The Reformation and now here we are, just shy of 500 years later and the emerging post-modern church looks set to explode. Where are our Luther's and Calvin's hanging out? Who is the voice of this movement.

Certainly Brian McLaren and Jim Wallis have found their way to the top of the heap. Reggie McNeil laid out a plan to change the scorecard in the church, but unlike previous movements there doesn't seem to be a defined opponent. Much like the war on terror differs from WWI this movement lacks traditional definition. There isn't an evil empire church we're striking out against, we're fighting on the transformation of ideals. We're bucking a system, not an institution. So where does this leave our tightly held denominational lines?

I still consider myself a Lutheran, but the church I attend and lead worship at doesn't look or sound like any Lutheran church I've ever been to. Am I any less Lutheran because our signage doesn't say Lutheran on it? We've had more missional support from the local Episcopal church than any Lutheran congregation. We've even gotten along with a Missouri Synod congregation. Is this an anomaly or a sign of things to come? Join in this conversation, I plan on writing more about our need for a new Confession as we further our understanding of this new expression of Church. 

Cheers, Mike.

Artists

I posted on twitter yesterday a quote from Robert Shaw that said "In the medieval world, the church saved the artists. i think in the future it may be the artists that save the church." It seems to me that there is a very profound truth to this statement that many people are overlooking. You see across Christendom the resistance to any kind of change. Further there's a resistance to creativity and artistic notion. If we haven't done it throughout history why start now? A pipe organ was good enough for Jesus and his followers, why would we use a guitar. Why would we use spoken word? Why would we use poetry, painting, murals, and mosaics in the span of the church?

Conversely it is interesting that the vast population of the artists in the world are so intently against religious institutions. It's been my experience that people deep in the world of the arts, whether it be physical art or writing or music or theatre or whatever, tend to be largely uninvolved and uninterested in the world of the church. As a worship leader I want to start integrating church and art again. I want to see beautiful new expressions of the gospel without feeling like my tradition is under threat. I want to encourage artists to embrace their medium as a form of ministry for something beautiful.

What forms of art does your church utilize? What would you like to see done in the church? Are artists an appropriate piece of worship? Im interested in your thoughts! Until next time, Cheers.

mike
@MikeCelebrating on twitter

What I Believe

Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying. -Martin Luther

I’ve noticed that as a Christian in this day and age people who are not believers seem to like to tell me what I believe. I had an experience a few weeks ago that I’ve been sitting on and processing for a while now. I knew almost immediately that I would need to write about it but it hasn’t been sitting well with me.

I was at the pub hanging out with a buddy and a girl who worked at a restaurant down the street came in and sat a few seats down. I didn’t much notice as people tend to come and go quite a bit, but she struck up a conversation with the bartender who happened to be a good friend of mine. We talked about geek stuff, sci-fi shows and tattoos and she seemed very pleasant. Strike that, she was very pleasant.

She talked about going back to school and mentioned that she considered Texas A&M. I told her that I had lived in College Station before and jokingly said it would be a great town if it weren’t for all the Aggies. (Don’t get mad Aggies, it’s just a joke, you’re wonderful people… most of the time.) She said it wasn’t the Aggies she was worried about, it was all the Christians.

I chuckled. It’s not unusual to have conversations with non-believers. I have many good friends who aren’t believers, but the way her attitude changed when I told her I worked at a church was disturbing. My position is that if somebody is open to religious conversation or interested in my faith or any faith I’ll gladly have a conversation with them, but I always make sure to be respectful of their place in faith’s journey. Whether it be not believing anything or believing things differently than me, I truly believe that it’s not my place to change their mind, but to live and converse and represent my faith well. This was not her outtake.

She began telling me what I believe. She criticized the weak minded and archaic systems I believed and railed against the oppressive systems that I believe in. She looked at me with genuine pity in her eyes and tried to console me for being such a sucker. It was one of the most insulting moments of my life. Clearly she has had some incredibly negative experiences with the church in the past but why she felt the need to take it out on me was mind boggling.

Now I’m not recounting this story to belittle this woman. I still believe she is a perfectly pleasant person. I tell this story because it has occurred to me that there are so many misrepresentations of what Jesus actually taught. It is my goal to move more in the direction of what Jesus taught and commanded of us rather than to appease Jesus’ followers. I also tell this story because it points out something that I believe Christians everywhere are guilty of. I don’t like being told what I believe. My experiences and the direction my life has taken shaped my beliefs and regardless of what the perception of the church is, my personal beliefs may or may not be in line with that. They certainly are not defined by popular opinion.

Because of this and other similar experiences I think it is time that we as members of the body of Christ decide that we adjust our perspective. This woman looked down on me because that’s how somebody in the church had previously done to her. I think it’s time that we call out all Christians to start treating everybody with the respect we expect to be treated with, the respect I was denied. I have long been anti-conversion. Rather than looking for souls to save, maybe its time we let our lives be the beacon. Strive to be more Christ-like in your actions and let that be the influence for others to convert. Meet people where they are in their faith walk and don’t assume you know what they believe. I’m not saying this will significantly change the world, but I do recall Jesus saying something about treating others the way you would be treated. Maybe this can be one small step in a more peaceful and understanding world.

-mike
follow me on twitter @MikeCelebrating

Small Groups and Intersections

So anybody involved in the modern or postmodern church understands how involved we have become in making small groups central to our activities. At Celebration we say that small groups are central to the core of who we are. Having never been fully involved with a congregation that had small groups I have to admit that I don't know if they are central to the core of how I see the church, but we're going to give it a try. 

Rather than a Bible or sermon study I decided to organize a group based on film study. The flicks I chose aren't necessarily "Christian" movies which would make waves in some congregations I've been involved in before. There will be harsh language, violence, sex, drugs, rock and roll, and a number of other things that aren't considered acceptable in polite Christian circles.

I picked the movies because I think we need to stop pretending that we are not living in the world in which we are. Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Clearly we're told that we aren't to be "of the world" but we are in the world so how do we as 21st century Christians comply with scripture but also avoid a compound lifestyle somewhere in east Texas? 

I believe it is my job as a minister in a postmodern setting to sit at the intersection where the church and the world meet. My interpretation of this passage tells me that I am to be transformed in Christ without succumbing to the pressures of the world. My interpretation of the life I have lived tells me that people outside of the faith aren’t interested in believing in a God that doesn’t understand them where they are in their life. So how do I as a minister introduce the two?

On facebook my minibio says that I am a fan of Jesus and Beer and anyone that partakes in either regularly. That’s true. I’m a believer that beer brings the world together and have had more theological conversations at the pub than I have at any church. These experiences have pointed out to me that I need not be of the world to be a citizen of the world. I can set my sights on Christ while having my feet planted firmly on terra firma. So here I am, a citizen of the world ever changed by my experiences and relationship with a God I can’t understand. I don’t know how I will reconcile the two, but I believe that God isn’t only found in the church. So we will watch controversial movies and I’ll keep you updated on where the Lord shows up. I do believe it will be in surprising and unexpected ways.

Cheers! Mike.

follow me on twitter @MikeCelebrating

Big C, little c

Forgive me father for I have sinned. I have never been to confession and the last time I attended mass was when I was 10 for my Aunt's funeral. The fact of the matter is I'm not a Catholic, but on the first Sunday of every month when we say the creed I confess in the holy catholic and apostolic church. Now before you lose interest this is not another Lutheran-centric Pope bashing session. I actually don't have a lot against the Catholics. Like I said my Aunt was a devout follower and influenced my faith in ways I'll never be able to express. One of my favorite stories of my childhood is kneeling down to pray with my aunt at my uncle's funeral and without missing a beat, my aunt producing a second rosary for me to hold while we prayed. I can't say I knew what I was doing, but I do know the symbolism of the moment was profound for both of us. 

So I have a very healthy respect for the big-C Catholic church. That being said there are very specific reasons I am a Lutheran. I believe that most of them are either political or dogmatic and pale in comparison to what we have in common, but they are differences nonetheless. The part that strikes me is the language we use. The word "catholic" very simply means "universal." It comes from a root in greek and as Wikipedia put it protestant churches use it that "believe that their churches are catholic in the sense that they are in continuity with the original universal church founded by the Apostles."

I truly believe that the universal church is far more expansive and amazing than I could possibly understand. It is in this church, the joint body of Christ, in which I believe. After watching the Tom Hanks movie Angels and Demons tonight I found myself feeling slightly nostalgic for the pomp and circumstance of traditional Christendom (as strange as that sounds for an emergent worship leader.) I remember the impact the church had on my aunt and on myself as a young person. Its because of this nostalgia that I think its of the utmost importance for us to continue in the conversation of the missional and emerging church. What I now call church may not have a confession or rosary or pope, but it is a genuine expression of the body of Christ. I believe it is unique in the Lutheran movement and hopefully it will be contagious and catch on as a new expression of Lutheranism. But more than any of this, my prayer is that the catholic church will continue to grow and thrive in the post modern world. Not my church, but the church - with a little c. 

follow me on twitter - @MikeCelebrating