Brian McLaren on the "Worship Industry"

The video below is really good - Brian McLaren talks about worship, art, propaganda and more. Even if you think McLaren is a bad, bad man (I don't), his words on worship should at least make you think. I especially like what he has to say about worship leaders, since I am one. And I agree that there is a pressure there to please people at church with what I do every week. There's a line somewhere between experiencing God and making sure people are there with you doing the same. Anyway, check out the video. If you can't see the video, go here to see it.

On The Move by Bono

As if I didn't have enough reading material to last a couple of months (at least), I picked up a book called On The Move today. It's by Bono from U2 of course, and it's actually some of the remarks that he made at the National Prayer Breakfast this past year (I think, it may have been the year before that). You can watch all of what he said here.

All proceeds of the sale of this book go to the One Campaign, which makes it a worthy purchase. (I almost put "in my book" at the end of that sentence, but that would have been silly.)

What I'm Reading and Listening To

Just in case you don't look at the sidebar of my blog, I wanted to let you know that I've finally updated it after several months.

Just in case you still won't look at the sidebar, here is the music I'm listening to and what I'm reading. By the way, in case you didn't know, I read a lot of books at the same time. I don't know why. I just do.

What I'm reading:

Jim & Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation About Faith, Churches, and Well-meaning Christians
- I've read through it, but I'm still blogging on each chapter. I'll get back to it, don't worry.

The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church
- The author of this book (Alan Hirsch) co-authored a favorite book of mine called The Shaping Of Things To Come. So far this book is really good. It's one of those books where you read a few pages, and then you have to close the book and chew on what you read for awhile.

The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus
- I love Brennan Manning's books. All of them. I started reading them when I was in college (The Ragamuffin Gospel and The Signature Of Jesus), and have continued to buy his books as he comes out with a new one. It's a lot easier to swallow the concept of grace from someone who was a priest, squandered away everything on alcohol, and then sobered up and started writing about grace.

Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples
- Simple church. Who would have thunk it? This is something that I've been thinking about for at least a year, the idea that less is actually more, and that when you have a million things going on in your church, it doesn't necessarily mean your church is growing. It just means the church is really busy. It's better to do a few things well then to do several things really poorly.

The Passionate Church
- This book is written by a couple of pastors at a church in Arizona that was really close geographically to the church that planted a church that I worked at. I love their concept of "LifeShapes". Perhaps I'll blog about this book next.

Your God Is Too Safe
- Get this book. Now. I'm serious. This is like the twentieth time for me in reading this book.


What I'm listening to:

9
- Damien Rice. Nothing like an acoustic playing Irishman, in my book. His songs, in the words of Chris Elliott from Groundhog Day, "move me, man."

Sam's Town
- I didn't really listen to The Killers's first CD (Hot Fuss), but this CD is great. It's kind of like Bruce Springsteen and M83 getting together. Okay, not exactly. But it's good.

Twilight
- Future of Forestry is a worship band out of San Diego. They are really good. Buy this CD. And if you live in the Cincinnati/Dayton OH area, go to the FoF concert at The Garage at the end of August!

The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Of Me
- Listening to this right now. Thanks Pat for introducing me to this CD. It makes me happy. (and sad. and mad.)

All of the Above
- This is the first Hillsong United CD to be recorded in studio, and I'm not sure if I like that. It has some good songs, however. We're doing "Take Me To The Cross" on Sunday. When I say "we", I mean "me", because it will be just me on acoustic this Sunday.

A Beautiful Lie
- I really like this band (30 Seconds To Mars). Sure, it has that actor guy Jared Leto in it. But they are good. I only wish my daughter would like more than just one of their songs, though, because I have to hear that song (From Yesterday) at least ten times a day.

Neon Bible
- I actually like this Arcade Fire CD better than their first one. And that's quite an achievement, because I really like their first one.

EDIT: I also just purchased The Fountain Soundtrack. Amazing. Truly, amazing.


Well, that's about it. Comments? Questions about my sanity? Let me know.

American Idol

Not a big fan. At all. I haven't watched any night of any season, although last night my brother-in-law showed me a couple of the songs from the finale.

But, I was surprised to hear of all of the Christian connections that some of the top twelve finalists have. From GMA contests to songwriting, I was surprised. As for Paula Abdul's strange behavior (although I heard she was sick or something), not surprised.

---

On Wednesday night, Jordin Sparks, who is just three years removed from winning the Spotlight Overall title at the GMA Academy in D.C. event, was crowned this year's "American Idol" in front of a live audience of 4,000 in the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, and the 30 million people who were watching on FOX. A record 74 million votes were cast to determine Sparks as the winner over Blake Lewis. And in a storybook ending that could only be appreciated by those involved in the Christian/gospel music community, Sparks, a 17-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., capped the evening by performing "This Is My Now," the winning song in the "American Idol" songwriter competition, which was co-written by veteran Christian artist/songwriter Scott Krippayne. The GMA has followed Sparks' journey, along with several other contestants, during an "American Idol" season that seemed to be filled with Christian/gospel music connections. Besides winning at GMA Academy in D.C. in 2004, Sparks also competed at GMA Music in the Rockies that summer where she placed second in the Southern Gospel vocal category. She also befriended Michael W. Smith and family and traveled as a singer with his Christmastime tour. When she became a finalist for "American Idol," she included her GMA Academy win as one of her proudest moments in her life. Sparks was not alone among the Top 10 "American Idol" finalists with such ties to he GMA. Chris Sligh also competed at GMA Music in the Rockies, placing first in the Pop-Adult Contemporary/Inspirational song category in 2003. He also served as the worship pastor at his South Carolina church, the same position held by Phil Stacey at his church in Jacksonville, Fla. There also was Melinda Doolittle, from Brentwood, Tenn., a long-time background vocalist for many Christian/gospel artists, never betraying her own powerful vocal skills. Even LaKisha Jones, while having no "professional" ties to Christian/gospel music, often declared her love for it and the influence it had on her life. So, while only Sparks won the title of "American Idol," all five of the finalists that GMA followed throughout the competition returned for Wednesday's finale, all five will participate on the "American Idol" tour this summer and all will most likely be offered the opportunity to record their own projects. As the winner, Sparks is already confirmed to sign a recording contract with Sony/BMG. In addition to Krippayne's song, which he wrote with his pastor and friend Jeff Peabody and is already among the top downloads on iTunes, Wednesday's finale featured an on-stage reunion of BeBe and CeCe Winans, who joined Doolittle, one of their former back-up singers, for an electrifying performance of "Hold Up The Light." The finale also served as a reunion of sorts for previous seasons' winners and finalists with Mandisa and George Huff among the many in attendance.

Great Quote on Pastor Professionalism

"Pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and heart of the Christian ministry. Brothers, we are not professionals! We are outcast. We are aliens and exiles in the world (1 Pet. 2:11)...You cannot professionalize the love for His appearing without killing it. And it is being killed."

- John Piper, as quoted in "The Passionate Church"

Element - Re:flect (05/20/07)

Here are some pictures from the latest Element worship service we had. We did a prayer labyrinth, and I think it turned out really great.

Jim and Casper's Church Visit #3: Mosaic

Before we begin, I need to tell you: I'm a big fan of Erwin McManus and his books. An Unstoppable Force is probably in my top ten "Emerging Church" books. If Mosaic was around when I was in college in Southern California, I would have most definitely wanted to go and be part of an artist community like that. I'm excited because I get to hear him speak this summer.

Mosaic has several locations I believe, but their main "facility" is actually the Mayan Theater, a bar.

I thought it was very interesting to get an atheist's perspective on how they feel when they tell a Christian that they don't believe the same as them. At first, Casper describes it as having a different poker hand than what everyone else at the table is expecting, but then later changes it to what it would feel like if everyone thought he was a man, when actually they find out that he's a woman disguised as a man. At Mosaic, it actually wasn't a big deal, in fact the person that he told actually went and got the man himself, McManus. I thought it was cool that this "celebrity" pastor actually was available to talk. In my experience, when you have celebrity pastors or pastors of large megachurches, they are pretty much unavailable to the general public. I think part of it is because there is no way in a large church that this one person can meet everyone, know everyone's name, or be friends with everyone in the church. But I also think, and this is just an opinion, that when someone gets that well-known or famous or whatever, that a huge distance begins to separate them from the common people, and that in some cases, this pastor actually begins to think that they are better or more spiritual or whatever than everyone else. It was good to see that McManus is not that way.

However, it was interesting that Casper's perspective was that he really wasn't listening to him during the conversation (which was an interesting one, with a discussion about whether an atheist has a belief system or not and whether Casper would understand what's taking place because he was an atheist) but rather trying to control the conversation. This made me pause and really think about the conversations I have with people, especially at church. Do I try to control the conversation, or am I generally trying to listen to what people have to say? I remember hearing someone say once that most of the time when we are talking to people, we aren't really listening to what they have to say, we're thinking about what we want to say next.

I thought that Casper's comments about Mosaic's offering time was really profound, and I want to include it here (along with Jim's comments):

"It was both laid back and insistent. First, I thought it might not be coming. After all, these are mostly kids here with little cash. But he did it with an unusual approach."

I wasn't sure what had been unusual about the offering at Mosaic. "What did you think was unusual about it?"

"Well, he said that for those of us just visiting today, we didn't have to give anything. Then he said that the congregation only gives because they love Jesus and this church. I wondered what that implies then about those of us who didn't give: We don't love Jesus? We don't like this church? Although it seemed so lackadaisical, I think it was actually one of the most aggressive solicitations yet."

It can be dangerous to equate someone's love for God with how or what they give. Perhaps a person gives to the church, but also gives to outside organizations because they feel that those outside organizations do a better job of distributing the money to the poor and needy. Perhaps a person would give to a church but because of things that have happened in their life, they just don't have the resources available to do so. Of course you could counter with the idea that if someone gives to God first, that they will always be blessed financially. I know that has happened to people, but I also know people who have given financially and have been essentially screwed financially because of it. What was the difference? Their lack of faith? Their heart? I don't think it has to do with their love for God.

Anyway, this was an interesting chapter. I would really like to visit Mosaic. I think it would be kind of like the Element worship service that we put together every other month at my church, except probably a lot better and even more artistic.

"Psst...President Putin...here's a breath mint for you."

After 80 years, the Russian Orthodox Church reunited, bringing together factions torn apart by communism. You can read the article here.

If these two groups of Christians can be united, what does that say for churches who split and stay apart over the color of carpet in the worship center or the way communion is served or worship styles or whatever?

And we wonder why they call it the Idiot Box...

I love my T.V. shows as much as the next person (those shows would be Lost, 24, Heroes and The Office), but these statistics were rather disturbing to me. A recent America Online poll revealed these statistics:

77% of Americans can name the Seven Dwarfs,
24% can name two Supreme Court Justices.

60% identified Homer as the father of Bart Simpson,
21% could name one of Homer's epic Greek poems.

73% could name all Three Stooges,
42% could name all three branches of government.

60% knew Krypton was Superman's home planet,
37% knew Mercury was the closest planet to the sun.

23% could name Taylor Hicks as the last winner of American Idol,
11% could name Samuel Alito as the last Supreme Court justice to be confirmed.

Jim and Casper's Church Visit #2: The Dream Center

I had never heard of the second church that Jim and Casper visited, although I remember studying in some class in college (which I graduated from fourteen years ago sometime this month - yikes) the founder of The Dream Center (also known as Angelus Temple), Aimee Semple McPherson as well as the Azusa Street revivals. I had no idea that this McPherson person had that large of a congregation, but it's still going strong.

This chapter brings up several interesting questions, in my opinion. The first question is "How much money that comes into a church should go towards things for the church, and how much money should go to impact the community?" Matt Casper seems to struggle in this chapter; on one hand, he loves the fact that the Dream Center used a lot of its offerings to start programs for the poor and needy in Los Angeles. On the other hand, he bemoans the fact that obviously a lot of money was spent on what seems (to an unchurched mind) to be frivolous items, like a camera crane and fog machines and stuff. I thought it was interesting that Casper struggled with these items, because most churches would think that the opposite is true: that to really reach the unchurched person in America today who is used to high quality "entertainment", that you have to spend oodles of money to try and imitate high quality, at least the best you can. I personally think this is an incorrect viewpoint for a church to have. I'm not sure that the average unchurched person really cares about all the bells and whistles that churches try to copy - I think they care more about how they are treated when they are at church and if anything is authentic and relevant to their lives. It also reminds me of a statement I heard when I was a youth minister: if you win someone with , that's how you have to keep them. If your ministry is all about entertainment and that makes someone join your church, then that's what you will continue to have to do in order to keep them at your church.

Another interesting question that is brought up in my mind in this chapter is the balance between what I call orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right behavior). There is a lot about Pentacostalism that I don't agree with, although I am probably closer to the center than most people like me who have grown up in the Christian Church movement when it comes to the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts. There are things about The Dream Center that I certainly don't agree with theologically. And I'm a little creeped out by the founder and some of her stunts. Yet they are serving the poor and needy in their community. They are doing what Jesus has called us all to do - and yet some of their theology is kind of whacked. What's more important? Is it more important to know all the right things (or at least think you know all the right things) yet not really act upon what you know, or is it more important to act, even though you may be kind of wrong theologically? To me, Matthew 25 and the parable of the sheep and goats goes a long way to answer the question for me, but I still struggle with this.

The last question that I have is found at the very end of the chapter, where Casper talks about the good and bad of the message. He liked the message (it was Father's Day) because he felt that it was very applicable for him, since he was a Father. But he didn't like the "on cue" emotionalism that was displayed by the minister at the appropriate times. I've always wondered what is more important: the substance of the message or the delivery of the message? I still don't know, but from what I remember, this area is discussed some more in the upcoming chapters.

Jim And Casper's Church Visit #1: Saddleback

If you don't understand what the title means, look down at the post below this one - it should help explain. I want to encourage everyone to buy the book "Jim And Casper Go To Church" - it is a refreshing perspective on churches and what we should be focusing on. Now, on with chapter one!

I thought it was interesting that the first church that Jim and Casper visit together was Saddleback. This church is kind of the poster child these days (along with Willow Creek) for the megachurch movement that has swept North American Christianity. It seems like everywhere you go, new megachurches are popping up. Even in places as obscure as Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.

The reason I bring up Idaho is because my wife's uncle and his wife attend a megachurch there. This particular church got its beginnings less than ten years ago, and this Easter they had over 12,000 people in attendance. More about them when Willow Creek comes up (fourth chapter I believe), because I want to look at the whole megachurch explosion.

I have been to Saddleback twice, both times for conferences. The first time I went, I was a youth minister at my homechurch in Colorado (presently at 3,500 attenders, which makes it a megachurch), and our entire staff went to the Purpose Driven Conference, which is essentially what Saddleback is most known for - and of course they're also known for their pastor Rick Warren and his affinity for wearing Hawaiian shirts. The purpose-driven church idea really has revolutionized the church - for good and for bad. The good is that it has given churches both big and small a structure that they can organize their ministry and mission around. The bad is that churches take the concept and make it their own without adapting it to their own demographic and culture, despite Rick Warren saying not to do so. I swear I've heard of churches that have adopted the Purpose-Driven style so "religiously", that even the senior ministers of those churches started wearing Hawaiian shirts. Scary.

The second time I went to Saddleback was for a worship conference, which I enjoyed because Saddleback is in Southern California, and since I miss the ocean (went to school out there), it gave me a lot of opportunities to reconnect with the ocean and the beach. The conference was pretty good as well.

Anyway, let's go back to Jim and Casper's visit. I thought it was very humorous that they talked about the "gauntlet" of happy greeters, because that was my very first impression. They do the exact same thing at their conferences, which made me wonder: 1) Why do pastors and church staff members need to be greeted seventeen times from the parking lot to Saddleback's front door when we're just attending a conference, and 2) Do these people have regular jobs? I mean, it was like a Thursday morning and there were people greeting. As a visitor attending Saddleback for the first time, I'm not sure I would want to be greeted by that many happy faces before getting into the worship service. When I have attended churches for the first time, I have wanted to just blend in and sneak into the door. Maybe it's just my personality or something.

I also thought it was interesting about what Jim and Casper had to say about the music at Saddleback, and this is what I want to focus on. As a worship minister, when I go to a different church, I naturally grade the music and the worship style. I wish I could just sit or stand there and enjoy the music and connect with God through the worship, but I just can't. Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to go to another church in the Dayton area, and I find myself rating the music with the same type of rating that Jim and Casper used to rate the different aspects of their experience at Saddleback (and the other churches). Here is a sample of my rating of other churches I have visited (this should be interesting, I'll star out some of the letters so you don't know what church it is, wink wink):

Sou**roo* - I gave them a 2 out of 5 when I visited them, because although I felt the worship band did pretty well musically, I felt that the worship leaders (there was a guy and a girl who alternated) were trying to be someone they really weren't style-wise (they seemed to be K-Love type worship leaders trying to be more edgy.)

**ngha*sburg - I went at a bad time because it was right before Christmas, and they had this guest worship performer-type person who sounded a lot like James Taylor, and since I don't like James Taylor, I tuned out. So a N/A out of 5 I guess.

Dayton *ine*a*d - 1 out of 5. I didn't know the songs, the worship leader was off key most of the time. Yeah, I can be cruel sometimes.

A**x - 4.5 out of 5. I liked them a lot. I think style-wise, they were the closest to our style, the band was tight, and I knew the songs.

When I went to Saddleback, I had some of the same observations as Jim and Casper regarding the music. Although it was very professionally done, it seemed too slick, too produced.

But here's the thing: Saddleback has a specific target audience. They are primarily targeting the Boomer upper-class business professional, and so it makes sense I guess that the worship style is very slick, very professional, very structured. It also makes sense why I wouldn't prefer it, because I'm not their target. Which brings us to another issue - is it right to have a target audience? (Not an issue to discuss today, however.)

Music is one of those things that is deeply personal to everyone. Churches fight all the time about worship styles and worship preferences. However, I think that Jim and Casper really hit on the main issue of worship: is it authentic and real, or is it showy? I'm not sure if that's an issue with the older generations, but I'm pretty sure that's a huge issue with my generation and the emerging generations who are younger than me. Here are a couple of quotes from this chapter about worship/music that resonated with me:

- "It's awesome. I can see Nick Lachey from here. Well, it's not really Jessica Simpson's ex, but the guy singing looks an awful lot like him."

- "That should attract people, right?" "Maybe people who like American Idol. I mean, don't get me wrong. I see the entertainment value, but when it comes to music, I like it pure. Too much polish and you lose the heartfelt power, you lose the soul of the music, and you're not gonna move anyone."

- "And the lyrics? 'Hope Changes Everything?' What does that mean? Hope changes nothing except your own feelings. Action changes everything."

We showed a video this past Sunday that pretty much encapsulated everything I ever want to say about worship. You can preview it here. It's hard to not be a critic of music when it comes to style, but I think we should be critical when it comes to authenticity and heartfeltness (if that's a word). Saddleback has the performance part down. The question is: how do you combine performance with authenticity in front of 10,000 people?