Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Church on Christmas?!?

That doesn't sound like a bad thing.
But I guess there are churches that simply dismiss services on one of the two most important Christian holidays of the year.
You might think I'm baffled by this, well I'm not.
It's really an indicator of the state of some of the churches and Christians in our country.
Before I throw any stones however, let's be honest.
Church attendance on the other Sunday mornings, and for some churches Sunday nights and Wednesday nights, is becoming more of an option than a requirement for many believers. They seem to be saying I could care less.
Many churches see that their membership rolls are a lot higher than their weekly average attendance. I have heard it said in my own church, "if we could just get everybody here, we would have 300 people".
First let me say I'm guilty. When I was younger and less spiritually mature, I would miss Sunday nights and Wednesday nights because, if I'm honest, I wanted to spend that time doing my own thing. Nothing against church, I just felt like there was better uses for my time, (like watching TV). And remember folks, I was and still am an Elder of the church.
It required another Christian to hold me accountable, and bluntly told me "how can you be a leader of the church and not be here?".
Good question.
Through that other Christian, and a heavy dose of conviction by the Holy Spirit, I realized that if I am going to lead others in a committed Christian walk, I had better be willing to model that walk. I will use this time to urge any Christian leader out there who is reading this to be honest with themselves and ask themselves how important attendance is to their ministry. Are you saying "people need to be in church" but living "I'll go to church when I want and when I have nothing better to do". Pray about this.
Now what about Christians who are not leaders. Is Church attendance important or even a requirement?
In my view..Yes.
Why?
Well the Bible tells us in Hebrews 10:25 that we should not give up meeting together. Why?
Well if we read on it tells us that we need to encourage one another.
Bottom line is that we feed off of each other. That's a good thing.
The reason we don't want to come to church, or we don't want the church to change, or we don't like it when someone is sitting in "our pew", or blah blah blah, is because church is about us.
When is it convenient for us to come to church, where can I park or sit where it is more comfortable. My time and activities are far more important than anything we are doing at church.
What happened to sacrifice? What happened to carrying our cross? What happened to following Jesus no matter the cost?
We all need to remember the cost of our salvation, the agony and death of an innocent man, just so we could have the opportunity to spend eternity in a perfect place. Can you put a price tag on that? How much money and time is that worth to you? What is more important, your comfort or Jesus Christ?
Yes Virginia, we will be having service Sunday morning.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Closet Drummer

To this day I don't know why.
When I was in High School, I decided I wanted to join the band. I wanted to play the drums.
"No" was my Dad's answer.
Now in some houses "no" means just keep bugging Dad until he gives in. The house I grew up in when Dad said "no", it meant the discussion ended.
Period.
So I picked the trombone, which I must say is not nearly as cool as being a drummer. My heart really wasn't in it. I played for a couple of years until basketball became my focus. Then I quit the trombone.
I wonder why Dad said "no". Was he worried about the noise? Did he think I would end up in some rock band with long hair and ear rings?
I mean I really enjoy the rhythms of songs. My taste in music can range across a lot of different styles. Forget the lyrics, how cool is the rhythm.
Growing up in a VERY conservative church, all that we sang was hymns. There was nothing called contemporary worship. You had your song book. That's it.
During my teen years there wasn't a lot of cool Christian bands, in fact I think there was just a handful. None of which interested me in the least.
Christian teens today can enjoy a wide range of bands and styles that have a Christian message, shoot I've found that I even enjoy some of them.
Growing up I tried my hand at writing music, playing the guitar, and of course playing the drums. I played the drums for my friend Brian who played the guitar and sang. Lets just say our band never got off the ground, although I really enjoyed playing the drums for Brian.
That brings us to today.
Being the leader of a Jr-Sr high youth group I have rediscovered how important music is to the younger generation. What they like and don't like. I can tell you this, and don't get upset about this, but they have a really hard time with traditional worship music.
Why?
I think first it is a generational issue. Look I'm sure somebody's Grandma started breaking somebody's Elvis albums. Young people think older people are out of touch. This is not new, as a kid I thought older people were out of touch. Young people think they have most of the answers, although they find out when they get older that older people were sharper than they thought.
The second, and I think more important, issue is that young people are not blind. They see adults sing hymns with about as much passion as a sit in a doctors office waiting room. They watch people worship God in a hollow, perhaps zombie type way. Young people, for the most part, are about life. They are looking for a real, genuine worship experience. That means the music has to be a little more upbeat.
At my church we try to mix hymns with more contemporary music. I know Barna says not to, but I think it is a good thing. It makes the church grow by stretching some of the older folks and letting the younger ones feel more comfortable in worship. We try to make worship better for everyone, which has worked for us, your results may vary.
I have a confession however. Every once and awhile the church turns the Sunday evening service over to my youth group. They have the freedom to do whatever they want in the service. Their music 100%.
Guess what.
I find myself tapping my foot and really enjoying the worship music they pick. Is there any hope for me?
I wonder if they will let me play the drums for them?
Hmmmmm.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Holiday Tree?

"Let me ask you a question".
Frank usually didn't start our conversations like that, I was kind of worried about what the question was going to be.
"Sure", I said.
"At your house do you have a Christmas tree or a holiday tree?"
Frank obviously doesn't know I'm a Christian. "I have a Christmas tree", I replied in the nice but firm voice I'm famous for.
"See, that's what I say, but my wife wants to call it a holiday tree."
"Wow", was about all I could get out.
I have heard about this "holiday tree" garbage, the stores saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas". But I never thought I would actually talk to anyone who even knew anybody who bought into this stuff.
Maybe that's a problem.
I have to admit that I can really get steamed at the minority in this country, who, through shear intimidation, can ruin one of the greatest holidays there is.
I'm not usually one to scream the sky is falling every time some nut in this country tries to change how we handle God. I actually respect the rights of people who don't want anything to do with God. Why? Because God gives people the opportunity to live their life without Him. It is a simple choice and God loves you enough to let you decide. Heck, live your whole life that way and guess what, God will let you spend eternity without him, but that really won't be a pleasant experience.
But mess with Christmas?
I guess what gets me steamed is that the same minority that wants God out of their lives wants me to put God out of mine. If you don't want to celebrate Christmas the way I do, fine. Call your tree whatever you want, erase Christmas from your calendar all together if you like. That's what living in a free country is all about, you can decide how you want to live your life.
But don't mess with mine.
Why are people so afraid of Christ? Why are we so scared of the Ten Commandments? We don't keep them anyway. Why do some homosexuals try to push acceptance of their lifestyle choice on others? You can do whatever you want, just don't think that just because it's you that God is going to be okay with it.
Maybe the problem is right there.
To many people, to many churches try to create God in their image. We want a God to be okay with us, instead of us being okay with God. It is a lot easier that way.
Jesus said something that really caught my eye, Luke 6 verse 46, He said "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?". This cuts both ways, it warns Christians to be following the teachings of Jesus, and if we are going to be followers of Christ, we must obey ALL of His teachings. Not just the ones we like. What is the use of saying that Jesus is the lord of our life when we simply live life the way we want to?
In reading this some may say that I am uncaring, a homophobe, self righteous or, gasp, even conservative. But I submit I'm none of the above.
I am simply a Christian man, that fails his Lord every day. The difference is that I am trying to conform my life to what God expects, not making God see things my way.
Jesus said that if we love Him, we must obey him. Everybody runs around saying they love Jesus, but do they love Him enough to deny themselves and their desires to follow Him? It is a question we all must be brave enough to ask.
In the last times we are told not to be surprised at the events we witness, yet I can't help but be surprised at the direction we have taken as a country. At one time being a Christian was a positive thing, now it is something to be feared. Is hate that far off?
I want everyone to accept Christ as their savior, I don't want anyone to suffer hell. The Bible tells us that the road to hell is wide. The majority of people will choose to live without God.
And God loves them enough to let them.