Proof of Christianity

On his deathbed, Samuel Wesley is reported to have said to his son John Wesley, “The inward witness, son, the inward witness, this is the proof, the strongest proof of Christianity.” Such a view aligned with John’s intuitionist theory of religious knowledge, a view that was often easily misconstrued as one-sided subjectivism. But though Wesley held and preached an understanding of faith as being thoroughly inward, he balanced it with the outward expression of faith: love in action. He described Christian zeal as “the flame of love.” This was the outward expression of the inward work of the Spirit. This understanding of inward and outward faith, then, is the measure of our spiritual life.

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:12-17 NRSV). Text for Wesley’s message, “The Witness of the Spirit I”

It is a good thing to be ardent in doing good … (Gal 4:18 The Message). Text for Wesley’s message, “On Zeal”

Our words testify of the inward experience of our faith. Our works testify by an outward expression of our faith. Both are part of our growth in grace. Both testify to God and the transforming process we call salvation.

Then, it is for us to be attentive to and to nurture both the inward and outward experiences of grace. To be pious apart from works of mercy makes us like a Pharisee. To offer random acts of kindness without living a life of repentance makes us like a social service agency: doing good that lasts only until the money runs out.

Rather, we are called to be the children of God loving God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves (Luke 10:27). This is the proof or our Christianity.

Christian Worship: the Story of the Heartbreak of Defeat Turned into the Joy of Victory

The stories of many Olympic participants are rooted in failure. However, these individuals did not allow this failure to turn them in victims. Rather, these stories became a reference point. Turning failure into a launching pad for greatness is not everyone’s story, though such stories encourage us to endure. It reminds us that what has happened to us does not have to define us.

The Bible tells us that while we were still the enemies of God, God reached out to us through Christ. Through Christ we become part of the story of God’s reconciling act. Christ coming to dwell in us becomes our defining moment. We who were once dead come alive in Christ. Now we are part of the ministry of reconciliation, a ministry that God has given all who have been reconciled to God through Christ. We who were once lost in our failure have found more than momentary glory, we have found eternal life. We who were once the victims of sin’s destruction have become the new creation of God. Now our reference point is real life in the real world which is found only in God’s graceful gift to us all. God looked beyond our fault and saw our need, a need that is met abundantly in Christ.

Christian worship is the retelling of the story of what seemed to be the tragedy of defeat and how it was turned into the joy of victory. It is the story of the Christ who lived victoriously, died gracefully, and was raised miraculously. This can be our story, too. It is the story of no matter what. No matter what has happened to us, in Christ we can find a new beginning. We are no longer victims of sin and death, unless we refuse the hope and life offered to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thanks be to God.

Reasonable Worship Hype

This is Super Bowl hype week. I’ve been thinking about that. Some of this has a sort of uneasy but real connection with how we think about worship.

What is hype anyway? Hype is mostly about style. It is an overt attempt to promote, and maybe it does so at the expense of truth. So and so’s team is gonna do such and such. In reality, maybe they will; maybe they won’t. The Super Bowl game itself has a way of countering all the hype. At some point, a team has to produce. If it doesn’t, it loses, no matter what the hype said. Hype without substance is empty and meaningless. Style without substance is like hearing about an earthquake without experiencing one. You hear a lot about power, about damage, about the fear an earthquake causes. But until you actually experience one, simply hearing about an earthquake is nothing but words.

However, hype says something about style, and there is something to be said for style. Style can be an attractive, if it is not overworked. Substance without style can be uninteresting, even boring. It seems that there is a necessary connection between style and substance, but the horse and cart need to be in the right relationship if the energy of style is going to get to the substance of meaning.

Great worship is energetic, joyful, and intensely interesting. It builds up everyone who shares it, because it is substantial. After all, the Creator of the universe joins in great worship. Creating great worship is a joint venture between God who calls and people who respond. Its style is free, joyful, and satisfying. Its substance is rich, meaningful, and challenging. Great worship has both style and substance, and the source for it all is God who calls for worship, God who is worshipped, God who showers grace upon worshippers who in turn respond with praise and thanks, with worship.

Great worship has substance and provides meaning, motivation, and memorable moments. Great worship is all about style and substance. Great worship is something to get excited about – to get hyped about –to tell others about and to experience wholeheartedly. Great worship makes a Sunday worship gathering super. And that is no hype.

Is it the power of music, or the way that we think about music’s power that most affects us?

Writing in the book Reading Jazz, (Robert Gottlieb, Ed. 1996. London: Bloomsbury), the music critic Gene Lees noted the amazing technique of pianist Bill Evans:

In speaking of the Evans’ technique of playing the piano, Lees wrote, “I kidded him about his rocking finger on a key on a long note at the end of a phrase. After all, the hammer has already left the string: one has no further physical contact with the sound. ‘Don’t you know the piano has no vibrato?’ I said.

“ ‘Yes,’ Bill responded, ‘but trying for it affects what comes before it in the phrase.’ That is more than a little mystical, but he was right.”

Such a view suggests not only the importance of a musical phrase, but how a phrase might be influenced by the player and received by the listener. It is likely impossible that such an “influence” has a physical effect on the sound. Once a bell is rung, it can only sound. Yet, a listener’s expectation of a performer may produce a psychological effect on how the hearer hears, affecting the way the hearer hears the sound, shaping the sound in a way that aligns with the hearer’s expectation. Does the physical sound change? No. Does the effect of the physical sound change the hearer? Yes.

So, is it the power of music, or the way that we think about music’s power that most affects us?

An Interlacing of a Divided Life and Its Importance for Worship Leaders

The worship of God is meant to be an activity that is interlaced with our daily lives. The distinction of gathered worship is not lost when the body of Christ scatters to be Christ in the world, unless their worship is left behind in the gathered moment. This practice of the interlacing of the elements of worship with our daily lives must be rooted in the bringing together of the many selves people sometimes create for themselves. God intends us to be of one mind, one heart, one spirit, one body, and all the while living a social life of holiness through the power of Christ at work in us.

A wholly-minded person is one who has been changed from who they were before they encountered Christ to the person God desires and enables them to be by the power of the Holy Spirit. With God’s help our divided mind and heart can be made one. When this happens one’s loyalty is given over to God and God’s Kingdom. Life takes on a new center in Christ.

This interlaced life is essential for effective worship leaders. A goal of worship leaders is to lead the congregation in worship. This is done in a multiplicity of ways, but none is as effective as when the congregation is led by those who are themselves wholehearted worshippers. To worship God wholeheartedly is to worship God with a heart that is being made whole by the power of God. When this happens we are no longer captured by selfish opinion and desire.

All of us have brokenness in our past. Christ’s saving event in our life begins a healing process. This healing becomes a present reality and continues for the rest of our lives. The question for every believer is whether they will invite God’s on-going healing process to be happening in them. This is the healing that makes one whole. When this happens the many shattered pieces of our lives are taken by Christ who creates a whole person useful in God’s kingdom.

Being wholehearted enables the worship leader to be an effective part of God’s work. This work includes the process of joining together the Body of Christ in a common goal of worshipping God as they gather as well as when they scatter to their daily lives of service.

Rethinking Scripture and Science.

Yesterday in Sunday School class a regular member of the class spoke of their habit of watching the “Discovery Channel” on TV. They had recently stopped watching it because it seemed to them that the programs were always supporting a creation view of the beginning of life as coming from “the crash of an asteroid in the earth and then life just began.” This view conflicted with the one they held based on their view as founded in Scripture. For them, an irreconcilability existed. To continue to watch the TV show created a conflict with their worldview. Their answer to this conflict? Turn off the Discovery Channel. For them, the conflict disappeared. This was their solution over against challenging their world view by asking “How can I resolve what seems to be an irreconcilable difference between Science and Scripture?”

Could the answer have been that the view that was their true difficulty was not one with science but was really with one of how they read, understood (interpreted), and accepted the Scriptural stories of creation? Could it be that such a re-inspection of their creation view would undermine their belief in Scripture or even undermine their faith in God? Or, could it be that with careful investigation done on both a personal and communal level, the riches of Scripture might be better mined allowing for the discovery of a more adequate understanding and fuller realization of the purpose of the Bible and its implications for everyday living?

If it is a given that worship is meant to be a guide for daily living, it would seem that this worship would have to address daily living questions such as these. Though most people do not contemplate creation everyday, their views about creation do inform much of how they live based on their relationship to their understanding of their own source of life.

The Essentiality of Scripture for the Christian Community: Scripture Shapes God’s People

The hearing of Scripture makes up for what cannot be seen in gathered worship. The word of God as recorded in Scripture becomes the presence of God as the text is read and the Spirit carries it to the heart and mind of the listener.

Even better, when the listener is engaged in speaking the text of Scripture there is a breathing out of God’s word. The voice of God is made known to the collective gathering as those collecting gather to hear the voice of God in the collected community. In a real sense the Christian community is born anew in such moments. Thus, Scripture for the body of Christ gathered in worship is essential. God is made present through the reading of God’s word by the children of God.