I've been quite busy this week and probably will be for the next few weeks as one of my classes is wrapping up and a number of other things have come up, so I asked Sam and Madeline if they would write the blog for this weeks thoughts on chapter 19. I'm sure you'll enjoy a break from my ranting and a fresh perspective on Kauflin's writing.
-David
Both characteristics of God, His Transcendence and His Imminence, seem like attributes that are emphasized at different times in Christian Church History. It does seem like they are opposing swings on a Master Pendulum. For awhile, perhaps many hundreds of years, the Reverence and Honor due to our Most Holy God was predominant in the Liturgy and Worship in many formal churches. People dressed in their very best attire to go and worship God. Many of our beloved Hymns were written in this period of solemnity and quiet awe.
Currently, though, many of the churches of today strive to be “seeker-friendly”, and thus present God more as a friend and brother and compassionate lover of our souls. We dress more casually, behave more informally, and strive to be very welcoming, just as we remember that Jesus lived among human beings, touching them, crying with them, eating with them. This is a beautiful picture of Him, too.
As Kauflin states on p. 162, “At Calvary we stand in awe of perfect righteousness, holy justice, and unerring judgment. We can offer no excuses or justification for our sin. We’re completely at the mercy of our sovereign Creator and King. Yet the gospel assures us that our sins have been completely atoned for. We’re no longer God’s enemies. We’re His adopted children.” This is a wonderful description of the tension, or the balance, between God’s transcendence and His imminence.
It is especially important to appreciate both of these attributes of God. We do ourselves, and His Church, a disservice if we over-emphasize one, to the exclusion of the other.
-Sam and Madeline
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Chapter 18 - Guiding Principles
Chapter 18 is a brief intro for the next section of the book which will be all about healthy tensions to have in any given church service.
One of the things that made me pause to think was when Kauflin said, "Are we doing what we do on Sundays because it's Biblical, or is it just our preference or simply what we've always done?" (p. 153) This was a good reminder to me because I know that it can sometimes be easy to get stuck in a rut doing something a certain way again and again, just because it is easy and because it's the way it's been done for a long time. Perhaps something that started out as a good idea that was based in Scripture (or maybe not) over time lost it's Scriptural reasoning and it just became a tradition without any real purpose. I'm certainly not against all tradition by any means, but tradition is only helpful if it has reasoning behind it rather than because it's what we've always done. It's good to re-examine the way we do things from time to time and make sure that each part of what we're doing in our services (as well as in our personal lives) has a solid purpose that is founded in Scripture and then perhaps remove, modify, or change up things that have lost their original meaning due to repetition or a drifting away from their original purpose
Another idea that Kauflin touched on in this chapter that was an excellent reminder was the idea of keeping the main thing the main thing and not letting small differences become walls between fellow believers. Instead of criticizing and fighting one another over small issues we should look to learn what we can from one another while acknowledging our convergent beliefs on the core issues. Kauflin says of a fellow worship leader who holds very different views from his own,
"For starters, we agree on the most important issues. The Bible is our authoritative and sufficient standard for everything related to life and doctrine. God alone determines how we approach Him, what we call Him, and how we relate to Him. Jesus is the only Savior, who died and rose for all who would ever turn from their sins and trust in His atoning sacrifice for forgiveness. Worshiping God is impossible without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. These are nonnegotiable truths that aren't open to discussion. But...there are several aspects of worship that we view, or at least practice, differently. Rather than just endlessly discussing disagreements we try to learn what the other might have that we don't. We're trying to embrace what I call the healthy tensions of worship."
When we have disagreements with one another, lets remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Rather than obsess over small things that aren't that important in view of eternity, let's try to learn what can from the differences that we each have while maintaining a mutual respect for one another.
I'm excited to begin reading with you this section of "healthy tensions" and hear what your thoughts are on the various areas that we will cover.
One of the things that made me pause to think was when Kauflin said, "Are we doing what we do on Sundays because it's Biblical, or is it just our preference or simply what we've always done?" (p. 153) This was a good reminder to me because I know that it can sometimes be easy to get stuck in a rut doing something a certain way again and again, just because it is easy and because it's the way it's been done for a long time. Perhaps something that started out as a good idea that was based in Scripture (or maybe not) over time lost it's Scriptural reasoning and it just became a tradition without any real purpose. I'm certainly not against all tradition by any means, but tradition is only helpful if it has reasoning behind it rather than because it's what we've always done. It's good to re-examine the way we do things from time to time and make sure that each part of what we're doing in our services (as well as in our personal lives) has a solid purpose that is founded in Scripture and then perhaps remove, modify, or change up things that have lost their original meaning due to repetition or a drifting away from their original purpose
Another idea that Kauflin touched on in this chapter that was an excellent reminder was the idea of keeping the main thing the main thing and not letting small differences become walls between fellow believers. Instead of criticizing and fighting one another over small issues we should look to learn what we can from one another while acknowledging our convergent beliefs on the core issues. Kauflin says of a fellow worship leader who holds very different views from his own,
"For starters, we agree on the most important issues. The Bible is our authoritative and sufficient standard for everything related to life and doctrine. God alone determines how we approach Him, what we call Him, and how we relate to Him. Jesus is the only Savior, who died and rose for all who would ever turn from their sins and trust in His atoning sacrifice for forgiveness. Worshiping God is impossible without the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. These are nonnegotiable truths that aren't open to discussion. But...there are several aspects of worship that we view, or at least practice, differently. Rather than just endlessly discussing disagreements we try to learn what the other might have that we don't. We're trying to embrace what I call the healthy tensions of worship."
When we have disagreements with one another, lets remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Rather than obsess over small things that aren't that important in view of eternity, let's try to learn what can from the differences that we each have while maintaining a mutual respect for one another.
I'm excited to begin reading with you this section of "healthy tensions" and hear what your thoughts are on the various areas that we will cover.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Chapter 17 - ...And To Live For God's Glory
In Chapter 17 Kauflin suggests six ways in which "worshiping God on Sunday should transform the way we live the rest of the week." (p. 143).
1. Worshiping God should make us humble
2. Worshiping God should make us secure
3. Worshiping God should make us grateful
4. Worshiping God should make us holy
5. Worshiping God should make us mission minded
6. Genuine worship changes lives
Kauflin supports each of these points well, and I believe they are all excellent points, but I would like to focus specifically on point number 6 (which really relates to all five of the other points). Kauflin quotes Allen Ross as saying, "If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved." (p. 149) This statement really struck me and my initial thought was, "Isn't our first priority to honor, praise, and bring glory to God when we worship?" And after I thought about it some more I realized that if we don't leave a time of worship with a desire to become more like God, to become more holy like He is, then our worship isn't going to honor or bring glory to Him. Our praise would be false and meaningless. So I believe Allen Ross is right when he says, "If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved."
The apostle Peter writes,
"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:13-16)
Now, I know this isn't heaven yet and we can't be perfect. We are going to make mistakes, thankfully we're under God's amazing grace, but we aren't commanded to be holy just when we reach heaven we are commanded right now to "Be holy, because I [God] am holy." God didn't save us so that we could continue to stagnate in our sin, He saved us so that we could become more like Him. God wants us to be seeking Him with our whole hearts and striving to become more like Him in every aspect of our lives. When we do this, when we begin speaking like Jesus, acting like Jesus, loving and caring for people like Jesus, that is when our worship will be beautiful to God and that is when our worship will honor and glorify Him. I pray that every time we leave a worship service and that each morning as we get up to face each new day, that we would be granted the desire to be more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let's allow our lives to be changed by our worship as we strive to be more like Him in all that we do.
1. Worshiping God should make us humble
2. Worshiping God should make us secure
3. Worshiping God should make us grateful
4. Worshiping God should make us holy
5. Worshiping God should make us mission minded
6. Genuine worship changes lives
Kauflin supports each of these points well, and I believe they are all excellent points, but I would like to focus specifically on point number 6 (which really relates to all five of the other points). Kauflin quotes Allen Ross as saying, "If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved." (p. 149) This statement really struck me and my initial thought was, "Isn't our first priority to honor, praise, and bring glory to God when we worship?" And after I thought about it some more I realized that if we don't leave a time of worship with a desire to become more like God, to become more holy like He is, then our worship isn't going to honor or bring glory to Him. Our praise would be false and meaningless. So I believe Allen Ross is right when he says, "If worshipers leave a service with no thought of becoming more godly in their lives, then the purpose of worship has not been achieved."
The apostle Peter writes,
"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:13-16)
Now, I know this isn't heaven yet and we can't be perfect. We are going to make mistakes, thankfully we're under God's amazing grace, but we aren't commanded to be holy just when we reach heaven we are commanded right now to "Be holy, because I [God] am holy." God didn't save us so that we could continue to stagnate in our sin, He saved us so that we could become more like Him. God wants us to be seeking Him with our whole hearts and striving to become more like Him in every aspect of our lives. When we do this, when we begin speaking like Jesus, acting like Jesus, loving and caring for people like Jesus, that is when our worship will be beautiful to God and that is when our worship will honor and glorify Him. I pray that every time we leave a worship service and that each morning as we get up to face each new day, that we would be granted the desire to be more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let's allow our lives to be changed by our worship as we strive to be more like Him in all that we do.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Chapter 16 - ...To Cherish God's Presence...
"Conversations about God's presence can be confusing. One web site I visited advertised a book that will teach you to 'sing down the presence and power of God.' Can we actually do that? What's the real connection between music and God's presence?" (p.137)
Kauflin points out in this chapter a lie that many Christians have bought into (and I confess that I have times where I foolishly believe it as well). The lie resides in the title of the book that Kauflin mentioned in the above quote. The lie is thinking that we have any kind of control over God. I like how John Chisum put it in his book "The 5 Keys to Engaging Worship". "We must be careful not to turn spiritual preparation into a legal transaction between us and God ('I'll prepare and You will bless'). God is never obligated to us in any way, but we are always obligated to Him." Christians (and worship leaders in particular) often make the mistake of thinking we are the Holy Spirit and must bring God down into people's lives through our music. But this is entirely the wrong mindset.
We learn in the Bible that God is already present everywhere (Psalms 139:7-8). Also we know that it is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we even have the possibility of being in the presence of our Holy God. So, us singing His presence down doesn't really make any sense. If God is already present everywhere, then why do we feel His presence more some times than others and what is our role as a worship team? Well, part of the answer to that is that God is God and He can choose to make His presence more known or "localized" as Kauflin calls it when and where He wants to, such as with Moses and the burning bush. However, another part to that answer is that we often do or don't feel His presence more strongly because of our own quality of vision. We can choose to close our eyes to God's presence and miss Him entirely even when He is wanting to work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. But if we are prepared to worship, if we have taken time to read and study His Word, if we have asked Him to open our eyes to what He is doing, asked Him to show us what we need to learn and hear from Him, and we take the time to look and listen for what He is doing, then we will see the work that He is doing. And that is where we step in as worship leaders for our congregation. Our job is to do everything we can to help them open their eyes to what God is doing. This can happen through the lyrics or music of the songs we play and sing, through the Scripture that we read, through our expressions as we show our love to God through the music we are playing and singing, through prayer (lots of it!), as well as many other things.
However, we have to remember a couple of things as we lead the congregation. First, as I said earlier, we are not the Holy Spirit. Only He can move in people and bring about conviction or an awareness of His presence and each person then has to choose whether or not they will respond to that conviction or awareness. So, even if we are doing everything the way God wants us to and we are prepared to worship and we have planned everything in a way that should lead people to open their eyes to the presence of God, it's possible that no one will respond. That is between the Holy Spirit and each person. We cannot choose for others and we are only responsible for our own choice to respond to the Holy Spirit. On the flip side of the coin, even if we are not prepared, and have not planned well, the Spirit can still move and people can still respond to Him. However, that doesn't make our role irrelevant. We as the worship team, if we are following God's leading, can be a great help in bring people to a place where they are ready to listen to the Holy Spirit or if we are not following God we can be a great hindrance to or distraction from the Holy Spirit. But the point is that we are each responsible for our own choices and our own response to the Spirit, we cannot force our choices upon anyone else and we cannot force God to do anything, so we should not base our view of God's movement upon the response (or lack of response) of others.
A second thing we must remember is that we cannot lead people to a place that we have not been. If we have not prepared ourselves for worship, if we aren't praying expectantly, looking and listening for what God is doing, then how can we expect to lead others to do the same? God has allowed each of us to have a very important role in His church and in leading His people. Let's not treat that role flippantly or apathetically, instead let us embrace it with fervor and excitement. Let's be filled with His Word by reading and studying the Bible. Let's spend time praying daily, talking with God. Let's come to our practices and services with a heart of prayer and expectancy as we look and listen for what God is doing among us, His church, that we might respond to His voice and choose to worship Him. If we do this, I think we'll be amazed by what we see!
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7)
Kauflin points out in this chapter a lie that many Christians have bought into (and I confess that I have times where I foolishly believe it as well). The lie resides in the title of the book that Kauflin mentioned in the above quote. The lie is thinking that we have any kind of control over God. I like how John Chisum put it in his book "The 5 Keys to Engaging Worship". "We must be careful not to turn spiritual preparation into a legal transaction between us and God ('I'll prepare and You will bless'). God is never obligated to us in any way, but we are always obligated to Him." Christians (and worship leaders in particular) often make the mistake of thinking we are the Holy Spirit and must bring God down into people's lives through our music. But this is entirely the wrong mindset.
We learn in the Bible that God is already present everywhere (Psalms 139:7-8). Also we know that it is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we even have the possibility of being in the presence of our Holy God. So, us singing His presence down doesn't really make any sense. If God is already present everywhere, then why do we feel His presence more some times than others and what is our role as a worship team? Well, part of the answer to that is that God is God and He can choose to make His presence more known or "localized" as Kauflin calls it when and where He wants to, such as with Moses and the burning bush. However, another part to that answer is that we often do or don't feel His presence more strongly because of our own quality of vision. We can choose to close our eyes to God's presence and miss Him entirely even when He is wanting to work in our lives and in the lives of those around us. But if we are prepared to worship, if we have taken time to read and study His Word, if we have asked Him to open our eyes to what He is doing, asked Him to show us what we need to learn and hear from Him, and we take the time to look and listen for what He is doing, then we will see the work that He is doing. And that is where we step in as worship leaders for our congregation. Our job is to do everything we can to help them open their eyes to what God is doing. This can happen through the lyrics or music of the songs we play and sing, through the Scripture that we read, through our expressions as we show our love to God through the music we are playing and singing, through prayer (lots of it!), as well as many other things.
However, we have to remember a couple of things as we lead the congregation. First, as I said earlier, we are not the Holy Spirit. Only He can move in people and bring about conviction or an awareness of His presence and each person then has to choose whether or not they will respond to that conviction or awareness. So, even if we are doing everything the way God wants us to and we are prepared to worship and we have planned everything in a way that should lead people to open their eyes to the presence of God, it's possible that no one will respond. That is between the Holy Spirit and each person. We cannot choose for others and we are only responsible for our own choice to respond to the Holy Spirit. On the flip side of the coin, even if we are not prepared, and have not planned well, the Spirit can still move and people can still respond to Him. However, that doesn't make our role irrelevant. We as the worship team, if we are following God's leading, can be a great help in bring people to a place where they are ready to listen to the Holy Spirit or if we are not following God we can be a great hindrance to or distraction from the Holy Spirit. But the point is that we are each responsible for our own choices and our own response to the Spirit, we cannot force our choices upon anyone else and we cannot force God to do anything, so we should not base our view of God's movement upon the response (or lack of response) of others.
A second thing we must remember is that we cannot lead people to a place that we have not been. If we have not prepared ourselves for worship, if we aren't praying expectantly, looking and listening for what God is doing, then how can we expect to lead others to do the same? God has allowed each of us to have a very important role in His church and in leading His people. Let's not treat that role flippantly or apathetically, instead let us embrace it with fervor and excitement. Let's be filled with His Word by reading and studying the Bible. Let's spend time praying daily, talking with God. Let's come to our practices and services with a heart of prayer and expectancy as we look and listen for what God is doing among us, His church, that we might respond to His voice and choose to worship Him. If we do this, I think we'll be amazed by what we see!
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Chapter 15 ...To Proclaim The Gospel...
"Biblical worship involves proclamation and leads to proclaiming God's truth with our lives. We're doing more than emoting or having a 'worship experience.' We're declaring why God is so great, what He has accomplished, and all that He has promised. We all need to be reminded, and proclamation helps us to remember." (p. 129)
This idea of proclamation was a good reminder for me. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that when we worship we turn inward to a time that is just between me and God, but we are called to "proclaim His salvation day after day" (Psalm 96:2). Proclamation involves more than just me and God, it involves everyone. As we "proclaim His salvation" to one another we can encourage and uplift one another; we can help each other through times of difficulty and know Christ better as well as help others come to know Christ for the first time. As the Psalm says, we should be doing this daily as part of our everyday lives, but that includes corporate times of worship as well. Let's keep in mind that it's not just me and God, but that it's me and God and everyone else.
This ties into last week's chapter well in that we need to be conscious of what we look like as we lead, i.e. are we projecting a positive uplifting attitude that will help others to worship also? We need to be aware of those around us (even when we're not leading from the stage). Are we only concerned about ourselves and what we are feeling or not feeling at the moment? Are we connecting with the lyrics that we are singing or are we just mumbling the words and going through the motions with a scowl on our face? Is our expression and action reflecting authentic worship of God? Others are always around us and what we do or don't do impacts them whether we like it or not. God meant for His church to be a community. Are we acting like a community? Or are we acting like a bunch of individuals who happen to be in close proximity to each other?
So, how do we "proclaim salvation" to one another? I like how Kauflin answers this question. "It's not enough to merely sing about Christ dying for our sins. We want to help people understand the benefits of what God accomplished through that act. His Word tells us directly, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:1). If Christ died for my sins, that means I'm no longer under God's wrath. I don't have to live with the burden of low-grade guilt. I'm completely and finally forgiven. I have been declared righteous in the sight of God--not on the basis of my own works, but on the basis of Christ's righteousness that has been imputed to me." (p. 131) This is what we are to proclaim to one another. Obviously we can get into more detail, and Kauflin does somewhat, but this is the heart of what we want to be proclaiming to one another. We want people to leave our church services proclaiming this: "The gospel of Jesus Christ matters." (p. 130).
These are some of the things that God is working on in me right now through "Worship Matters". What is He working on in you?
This idea of proclamation was a good reminder for me. It's easy to get caught up in the idea that when we worship we turn inward to a time that is just between me and God, but we are called to "proclaim His salvation day after day" (Psalm 96:2). Proclamation involves more than just me and God, it involves everyone. As we "proclaim His salvation" to one another we can encourage and uplift one another; we can help each other through times of difficulty and know Christ better as well as help others come to know Christ for the first time. As the Psalm says, we should be doing this daily as part of our everyday lives, but that includes corporate times of worship as well. Let's keep in mind that it's not just me and God, but that it's me and God and everyone else.
This ties into last week's chapter well in that we need to be conscious of what we look like as we lead, i.e. are we projecting a positive uplifting attitude that will help others to worship also? We need to be aware of those around us (even when we're not leading from the stage). Are we only concerned about ourselves and what we are feeling or not feeling at the moment? Are we connecting with the lyrics that we are singing or are we just mumbling the words and going through the motions with a scowl on our face? Is our expression and action reflecting authentic worship of God? Others are always around us and what we do or don't do impacts them whether we like it or not. God meant for His church to be a community. Are we acting like a community? Or are we acting like a bunch of individuals who happen to be in close proximity to each other?So, how do we "proclaim salvation" to one another? I like how Kauflin answers this question. "It's not enough to merely sing about Christ dying for our sins. We want to help people understand the benefits of what God accomplished through that act. His Word tells us directly, 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Romans 8:1). If Christ died for my sins, that means I'm no longer under God's wrath. I don't have to live with the burden of low-grade guilt. I'm completely and finally forgiven. I have been declared righteous in the sight of God--not on the basis of my own works, but on the basis of Christ's righteousness that has been imputed to me." (p. 131) This is what we are to proclaim to one another. Obviously we can get into more detail, and Kauflin does somewhat, but this is the heart of what we want to be proclaiming to one another. We want people to leave our church services proclaiming this: "The gospel of Jesus Christ matters." (p. 130).
These are some of the things that God is working on in me right now through "Worship Matters". What is He working on in you?
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