Christ the Lord is Risen Today

What a celebration! Church this morning was so beautiful. The bells, the choir, the brass, the tulips, the lilies, the tapestries, the butterflies--all to praise our risen Lord. I've always wanted to take some pictures in the sanctuary at North Park Covenant, and I though this would be a good opportunity.


The kids had a quick Easter Egg Hunt on the platform!

The choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus and invited the congregation to come to the front and join in
Multicolored butterflies were a new addition this year

Jesus lives, and so shall I. Death! thy sting is gone forever!

The Second Week of Advent

For a variety of reasons, I have been in a fairly significant spiritual "desert" place for the last few weeks. Life's circumstances, frustration, and guilt have taken their toll on my soul. As I felt my soul sinking lower and lower, this morning I was graced with the worship of the Church in Advent season. I have been gifted with some hope.

It was a morning where the hand of providence seemed to conspire circumstances that spoke significantly into my darkness. A time when many things come together from the music, the scripture, the sermon, and even the treasurer giving a stewardship report--all these things combined as the Spirit stirred something inside of me. It was something like this: though the checking account is precariously low, though the future is uncertain, and though my past is marked with pain--the dope is that there is still hope. You don't belong to this world and its vision of life, you belong to Jesus and his Kingdom- a place where money doesn't matter, where power doesn't influence, where status is out of style and all belong and are loved. We who are baptized into Christ have died to the old self and now live a new life. I need to live that new life.

The hours we spend on Sunday Morning in worship are a symbol and a sign that we believe the world is not as it should be. We bend ourselves to a breaking point to see the world beyond ours, to see the world through the eyes of Jesus. To look beyond the chaos and the sin and the tragedy and say, "there is meaning in this!" There is something out there beyond us! Trust, believe, and repent... and together we will wait for God.

So this morning was a time for me to hear the message of two prophets, Isaiah who says, "Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God... He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep," and John the Baptist who cries out for the people to confess their sin, repent, and be baptized. I needed to hear both. To know that God still cares, but also to know that I need to be reborn each and everyday--to put on Christ and live a resurrected life and reject the culture of death that is obsessed with power, status, consumerism, hollow sexuality, and cold hard cash.

Some refreshed hope makes waiting more enjoyable. Happy Advent!

A gift of charity

You might have noticed the poll I put on the right side of this page about charitable contributions as alternatives for Christmas gifts. So far everyone that responded has said they would prefer this type of gift to something material. There are a lot of days left until Christmas, so please vote because I am really curious about what people think! It's anonymous, and even if it wasn't, I wouldn't judge you based on your answer. :)

This idea was introduced to me when I discovered a website a couple of years ago called Buy Nothing Christmas. I like this idea. Think of the people you buy gifts for, your friends and family. For many of them, if you're like me, you struggle to come up with something to give them because they have everything they need and a lot of what they want. Why not give them the gift of a charitable donation in their name to one of their favorite charities? Or something you put a lot of heart and only a little money into, like their favorite cookies or a craft? I haven't done a Christmas like this yet, primarily because I always procrastinate and then I run out of time to be creative. That's when you find me at Target and the mall. And I probably never will do a Christmas when I truly buy nothing, because I absolutely love gift giving, and even if I craft every last gift I would have to buy a lot of supplies. But I really love the idea of giving to a worthy charity at least for a part of a loved one's gift. I know I'll always end up buying things, and I'm sure most people will, but the idea of a "buy-nothing-Christmas" has got me thinking about how I can be more creative and thoughtful with how I give gifts, especially on the day we celebrate Christ's birth. If you have any ideas to share of how you've given gifts that are: 1.creative 2. frugal 3. unique, please share those ideas!

I'll be sharing some posts in the upcoming weeks about some of the charitable organizations that I think are impressive. I'd also love to hear who you like. In the meantime, speaking of charity, this website (WARNING: includes near-nudity) is quite funny if you are familiar with the Product(RED) campaign. Please know that I absolutely don't think there is anything wrong with the Gap or Dell or whoever giving a part of their proceeds to charity. I just like buy(LESS) for their tongue-in-cheek take on it.

Annual Meeting Reflections

This past week I had the privilege to attend the Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church. The annual meeting is the yearly gathering of churches, leaders, and pastors from the denomination. In a supremely democratic church culture as the ECC, the annual meeting of the Covenant church is the highest authoritative body. No pastor, bishop, council, president, administrator, or superintendent has any authority granted them greater than the annual meeting where every church is invited to send delegates to voice and vote on the life of our denomination. In essence, the three-hundred plus people gathered for those three days are "the Pope" of the Covenant.

I did not attend as a delegate. I went because I had the time off, it was only a 3-hour drive, and the historic nature of this particular annual meeting was appealing. I knew it would be a chance to see some old friends as well as get some face time with some important people to further help discern where I might end up serving the church.

For the next six years the annual denominational events are focusing on the Covenant Affirmations, this year is "The Centrality of the Word of God". The first night of the meeting my friend and professor Dr. John Weborg knocked it out of the park with a powerful sermon on the "capital" of scripture--that in the Bible is great, great resource for life and truth that we are far too unfamiliar with. The evening concluded with a celebration of the concluding work of outgoing president Glenn Palmberg. Presenters highlighted a number of Glenn's achievements and contributions to the ECC (presidential seminary scholarships, a new department of Compassion/Mercy/Justice, church growth, Congo missions, etc.). Glenn was rightly praised for his great work on big important projects. But I admire Glenn for another reason. Glenn spoke to us graduating seminarians this spring about earning the trust of the people we serve by faithful service. Glenn had earned my trust in this way. The president of a denomination spends a lot of time with people who have great influence and deep pockets. By comparison, I'm a nobody. Yet though Glenn keeps a busy schedule with important religious leaders, on a cold December night he came down to the small Benson funeral chapel to share his condolences with us after Evie's death. Glenn didn't know me from Adam, but he came anyway with genuine care. He earned my trust. Congratulations Glenn, thanks for your work-- for your faithfulness to things both big and small.

The next day our incoming president was voted in and in a moving ceremony that night Gary Walter was commissioned and anointed by the living former presidents of our church. I think Gary will be a great leader for our denomination. His perspective is a good and needed one, as he was not born into the Covenant tradition but came into it as an outsider--one not raised Christian but converted to the faith. By his story I think he'll have insight as how the Church should engage an increasingly post-Christian world. His inaugural sermon that night was on a text from the Epistle of James, "be doers of the Word" and he highlighted the doings asked of us in scripture as an integrated mission of evangelism, compassion/mercy/justice, and church unity. There are great challenges in our denomination already here and still coming for all three of these arenas. Here's hope and prayer for Gary and all of us who will lead this family of the Christian church.

The annual meeting was sometimes quite boring, but I had the fortune of not being a delegate, so I could skip out on some of the meetings for a round of disk golf or a walk by the lake. I was glad to be there to see many friends, worship alongside sisters and brothers from across the country, and to be a part of looking forward in our collective mission.

More than Good Luck

Today is the feast day of Saint Patrick. Its also Holy Week, the week preceding Christ's crucifixion. Holy Week trumps Saints Feast days, that's why most of your local parades and municipal celebrations were moved back this year, because of the early date of Easter. The typical revelry one indulges in on St. Patrick's day is not very consistent with the penitent meditation we should make on Christ's journey to the cross.

Still, I always like to say a little something about St. Patrick on this day. Before it was an excuse for Fratboys to get hammered on green beer, this day celebrated the "Apostle to Ireland". Behind the legendary tales about shamrocks and chasing the snakes out of Ireland there is a fascinating historical figure. Patrick was not actually Irish, he was a Roman-Brit who lived in Britain until he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and became a slave in Ireland. After six years he escaped and returned to Britain, but Patrick then returned to his captors as a missionary. Before Patrick's ministry there, Ireland was an entirely pagan nation. Patrick baptized thousands of new believers, and within a generation the island was nearly completely converted and the practice of slavery was outlawed.

A rich tradition of deep Christian spirituality has come from the Irish, a spirituality steeped in the Triune nature of God and the immanence of God in creation. Here is one of the more popular prayers attributed to Saint Patrick:

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,

In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels,

In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs,

In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles,

In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins,

In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind,

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Hymn vs. Praise Chorus: A Defense of Blended Worship

Covenant Pastors and theological students receive a quarterly theological journal published by the Covenant Church titled (appropriately) The Covenant Quarterly. The most recent issue is on church hymnody, and my esteemed professor of Church history Dr. Phil Anderson writes an incisive piece on the advantage traditional hymns have in communicating the content of Christian faith. In it he critiques the flaws of contemporary praise and worship music; namely that it lacks connection with the whole story of our faith, its language is abstract, it is subjective, individualistic, and egocentric. I think that in much "praise and worship" music this is sadly true and Dr. Anderson is quite fair in his critique. Still, I would argue that there is a place and a validity for music from the "praise and worship" tradition. As one who has worshiped in both traditional, contemporary, and blended traditions-- and as one who currently devotes a majority of his current ministry energies to worship leadership-- I'd like to offer a defense for the use of "praise and worship" music in Church life that compliments and partners with the "thicker" music of classic church hymns.

First it should be noted that the specific songs which Dr. Anderson critiques are the 47 most popular church choruses from 1972-2000. I think in a movement as young as contemporary praise music, that even in the eight years since 2000 you'll find further maturing songwriting in the praise and worship tradition. The movement is broad, extensive, and rapidly transforming--a limited selection of music from a limited time period may not fully capture the entire ethos of the praise chorus tradition. Some of the newer music of artists like Chris Tomlin and David Crowder have grown better at grounding their content in the full Christian story and capturing deeper theological content than the more shallow, abstract, and one dimensional "love songs to Jesus" that critics are right to judge. There is decent contemporary music that is well grounded theologically to be sifted out from the shallow, just as there are hymns with great theological error that need to be sifted out from the catalog of excellent hymns. No tradition of music is totally immune from this.

I would certainly agree that most "praise and worship" music is "thinner" in communicating the Biblical story compared to the "thicker" content of traditional hymns. But in corporate worship of the Church there needs to be some sensitivity to context. When a congregation is made up of "churched" people who have long sung hymns in their homes and with their families, the content of hymns is familiar and the traditional language and extensive biblical storytelling within them can be very effective at transmitting the message of Christian faith to those participants. But what of worshipers in a "post-christian" context? In my home state of Washington, we have the situation of being the least "churched" region of the United States. Many people who enter the life of a local church do not have a tradition in it. Church and Christian theology are altogether new to these people. There was no hymn singing in their homes. For these worshipers, the "thick" content of the hymns is not fully digestable--they are learning the faith as they go, as they worship. Now this is certainly good reason for us to carefully consider the faithfulness of the content of our songs because they are important communicators of what we believe, but the "praise and worship" tradition has the stylistic advantage of being able to present the Christian story in smaller and more manageable pieces to those who don't have the same cultural repertoire as those who grow up in Christian settings.

Phil Anderson argues that hymn singing transmits the content of Christian faith better because it requires reading the text of the song while praise choruses are typically learned through imitation. I would counter that given what we know about learning styles, significant numbers of people learn best through aural, visiual, and kinesthetic learning over reading. The point is further made when you consider congregants who suffer learning disabilities like dyslexia or perhaps worshipers for whom English is not their first language. Nevertheless, the point remains that the music we use in church transmits the content of faith, and thus it must be evaluated with biblical discernment.

Finally, I'd like to argue that while the music which is thoroughly grounded in the wholeness of scripture's redemptive narrative needs to be a central element to our worship, it is not entirely unbiblical to engage in worship in a more personal and abstract way. Consider the book of Psalms, whose content includes both a corporate celebration of redemption history but also includes songs that are deeply personal and portray an emotive relationship between the worshiper and the living God. One could also point to the pictures of worship in Isaiah 6 or Revelation 4 and the simple song the angels and elders sing. By some standards, these could be called shallow. The biblical vision of worship includes a proclamation of God's historical redemptive work but there is also room for a simple expression of awe inspired by God's presence. Elevating one while denigrating another could leave our worship life a purely emotive affair or a purely intellectual one. Worship needs to be a response of the whole human being to the whole of God's revelation.

Truth be told, I do actually prefer the classic hymns over most praise choruses. Nevertheless, I think that worship leaders who critically and biblically reflect on the material we sing together can find that songs from both traditions can have their place in Christian Worship. The contemporary praise music movement has much to learn from its predecessors in worship, and the well argued points of Dr. Anderson and others should be heeded. But in a world of polarities that divide more than unite, it is good for us to remember that few of our treasured traditions are completely unredeemable or completely untarnished.