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Friday, July 01, 2011

Why Blog? Why Now?

What's this blog all about and what can you expect to gain from it?

I'm convinced that we are in the middle of yet another major paradigm shift in church history.

One factor that leads me to believe that comes from what I see God doing as a result of our determined efforts, as the people of God, to take the Gospel into the rocky soil nations within Asia and the Middle East.

The indifference, hostility, and overall lack of Gospel impact over the decades has forced us, albeit kicking and screaming, to go back to the Scriptures for a second look at our deeply rooted assumptions about missions and ministry.

This process of reexamining our presuppositions in the light of Scripture is having a profound impact on our understanding of the Church, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God.

More than that, we're all being forced to trust the leading of the Holy Spirit in ways never imagined a generation ago. Something marvelous is happening in the hearts of God's people and calling it a shift in paradigm is but one way to describe what God is doing.

Obviously you don’t need to go to Asia or the Middle East to recognize that right here, right now; in our own society in America; we’re facing some of the same issues that missionaries have faced for decades in the rocky soil nations.

The difference, however, is that unlike the rocky soil nations, the church in America not only enjoys a long, proud history of helping to shape western society, but the protection of the State that guarantees, by law, our right to exist.

In the rocky soil nations, the church has never played an integral part in society and there is little or no protection under the law. The kind of issues we're facing in America and the kind of questions we're asking are, quite honestly, pale in comparison to the kind of issues facing the people of God in the rocky soil nations.

In some ways, this rich spiritual heritage and freedom that we enjoy is both our blessing and our curse.

We understand the need to take a closer look at our deeply rooted assumptions when taking the Gospel into the Middle East, but hey, this is America, right?

Yes, but, for a moment, imagine a day in America when we no longer have the protection of the law and are pushed even further to the fringe of society than we are now.

As far fetched as that may sound, it's probably not hard to imagine how our current perspective on the church, the Gospel, and the Kingdom of God might prove inadequate when something we depend on so much as our "right" to freely worship, or our tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization, is taken from us.

What do we do when buildings, budgets, and programs are ripped from our paradigm of church?

Like the rocky soil nations, we too would no doubt feel compelled at that point to go back to the Scriptures for a second look at our presuppositions about missions, ministry, and who we really are without our buildings, budgets, and programs.

The good news is that we don't have to wait for something quite so dramatic to begin the process of reexamining our deeply rooted assumptions in the light of Scripture.

As I mentioned in my profile, I am first and foremost a practitioner and the number one concern on my heart is the advance of the Gospel. 

Ultimately I'm not as concerned about trying to validate this shift in paradigm as much as I am about grappling with and clarifying the issues we're facing in the advance of the Gospel. 

In fact, if you hold the Gospel in high regard, and there’s even a small chance that we, as the people of God, are somehow hindering the very message we hold so dear, for the sake of the Gospel, can we do otherwise?

The overall aim of the posts on this blog (every other Friday, I hope) and our discussion in the comment area will be an attempt to unearth the implications of a Kingdom Mindset as it relates to us, the people of God, as well as the advance of the Gospel into our everyday relational networks (and, ultimately, into the nations)!

Whether you agree, disagree, or are thinking about this stuff for the very first time, your thoughts and questions are most welcome. Healthy interaction is indispensable to a learning community, so feel free to share your insights, and let's [graciously] grapple with and clarify the issues together.

My main purpose is simply to frame the issue, not to have the final word. In fact, whether you're a professor at a prestigious University or still in high school, we're all learners here, including me! The final word, no doubt, may just rest with the King of Kings Himself!

Finally, let me say that I welcome guest posts! Though I can’t promise how often I'll post the thoughts and questions of others, feel free to submit them for consideration. Also, if you come across a blog, article, book, video, or story that could be helpful to our discussion (or just plain fun), please feel free to send the link to me.

You can reach me at: SOTGBlog [at] Gmail [dot] com

17 comments:

  1. I think another part of the problem -- one I have not seen addressed in what I've read, Bill, is the way so many Christians do NOT walk the talk. Cultures may differ, but one can spot hypocrisy a mile away -- and that does nothing to promote the gospel as first promulgated by the apostles. I read in intersting item from a Catholic Church document the other day, one that I believe crosses all Christian groups. It's from Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Second Vatican Council, 1965. One only need to do an intenet search to find it. The germane section is this:

    "But believers themselves often share some responsibility for [the rise of atheism, especially in the West]. For, in general, atheism is not present in people's minds from the beginning. It springs from various causes, among which must be included a critical reaction against religions and, in some places, against the Christian religion in particular. Believers can thus have more than a little to do with the rise of atheism. To the extent that they are careless about their instruction in the faith, or present its teaching falsely, or even fail in their religious, moral, or social life, they must be said to conceal rather than to reveal the true nature of God and of religion."

    This is a sobering point, I think, and one that screams for recognition, repentance and change. We will never stem the tide of atheistic humanism, radical Islam and post-Christianism without a heart change at its most fundamental level.

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  2. Hi Rich, thanks for stopping by! [Full-disclosure: Rich and I, and our families, have been friends a long time and talk about these issues regularly]

    I concur with you wholeheartedly; your point is well taken.

    However, if you could clarify something – are you dismissing the original premise of the post?

    In other words, in your mind, is it only our lack of repentance?

    Or, is it both our not walking the talk AND our “western church system” that potentially hinder the message?

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  3. Proclamation of the gospel is a multi-pronged task. Certainly I agree that we must be wise as proverbial serpents and harmless as doves, that we should be ever ready to give an account for the hope that is within us, yet with gentleness and reverence. My point is, however (and likely not well articulated in my earlier response) that I have seen and heard so many 'methods' of sowing the seed -- all of which are good and right, as is your focus -- but I look around me at the change roiling through the Church -- darkness called light, bad is now good, sin is simply mistake (or old fashioned and out of touch morality) that in many ways God is blasphemed because of the way his alleged servants act, holding the form of godliness but actually clouds without rain and trees without fruit, doubly dead and uprooted.

    I know you and I in our individual calls and ministries can do only so much. I often feel like a lone voice in the wilderness. You probably do, too at some times.

    I'm not sure what I am really saying. Mostly venting, I suppose. We've both been walking with the Lord a long time, Bill. And we've seen a lot of change in the Church. It frustrates. But I suppose there is that rich side -- lift up your heads and rejoice for your redemption draws near. Nothing that we are seeing was not promised by the Lord, apostasy, love of many growing cold, people seeking teachers who will tickle their ears. . . .

    But now I am circling the same subject. So I will stop.

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  4. I’m following you Rich, and you know me well enough to know that I agree with you wholeheartedly, but could I ask you to further clarify your thoughts on the "western church system?"

    Let me ask the question again and try to frame it this way…… Do you remember the opening scene in the movie “African Queen?”

    For those who haven’t seen it, Katharine Hepburn plays the role of a missionary in the remote jungles of Africa and the beginning scene shows her pumping a church organ and singing a gospel hymn while the uncomprehending congregation mouths the obviously meaningless words.

    A bit exaggerated, perhaps, but not necessarily void of truth!

    Have we come a long way since the days portrayed by Hepburn? Yes, we sure have! But, the rocky soil nations have forced us to examine our deeply rooted assumptions far beyond just a pump organ in the middle of a jungle.

    Though we would never do anything as extreme as that today, the premise of this post (and the entire blog, for that matter) is that we’re still learning how to bring the Gospel and not our “western church system” to the nations!

    Furthermore, that, for the sake of the Gospel, we are in fact compelled to take a closer look at these matters.

    So, acknowledging your well taken point that our own hypocrisy is a major hindrance to the message (which, I might mention to readers, is superbly brought to our attention on Rich’s blog) could you clarify your thoughts about the original premise of my post outlining the potential hindrance of the “western church system” itself?

    Would Jesus, if He walked in the flesh today, come to the defense of our western church system and would He find it not only consistent with the message but indispensable?

    Would you say that, if we take Mark 7 to heart, that it is indeed possible for tradition, even so-called “good tradition” to nullify the word of God?

    Thanks, brother, for being so patient with me on this. I almost feel like Abraham asking the angels if they would destroy Sodom if there were but 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, even 10 righteous people in the land……

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  5. I just had half of my response written and then my computer hiccupped, and i lost it all :( :(

    So I am going to type my reponse in my word processor and then paste it here. I should know better than to wax eloquent on these things without the ability to save my words for posterity!

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  6. I can definitely, relate, Rich - ugh!!!

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  7. You wrote: “Could you clarify your thoughts about the original premise of my post outlining the potential hindrance of the “western church system” itself?”
    -------
    I believe your premise is correct. Sometimes I am convinced the Church is xenophobic, that unless everyone on planet earth does it the way WE do it, it is suspect. Actually, if we want to go back to the early Church (primarily Jews, until decades later when Gentiles began filing into the Body), we’d be worshiping within a liturgical framework, like synagogues still do to this very day. But, I digress.

    You asked, “Would Jesus, if He walked in the flesh today, come to the defense of our western church system and would He find it not only consistent with the message but indispensable?”
    -----
    I don’t think anyone can answer the first question definitively. I don’t think He would find anything wrong, per se, with Western worship. But I don’t think that would be His focus. As He said to the woman at the well, who believed Samaritans has worship right, Jesus said neither did Samaritans, nor Jews for that matter, have it “right.” Only those who worship in spirit and truth (I view that as with holiness and reverence) do it ‘right’ – because those are the ones who worship the way the Father want us to do so.
    As for indispensable – I doubt it. If there really was one way and only one way, then we’d be doing it the synagogue way. And, I might add, doing it in Hebrew. (That last was tongue-in-cheek).


    You asked, “Would you say that, if we take Mark 7 to heart, that it is indeed possible for tradition, even so-called “good tradition” to nullify the word of God?”
    ---------
    That happens a lot, I am sure. But, in my view, this all begs a question. As much as I know of Church history (which, admittedly, is deficient), I believe there has to be a divine reason virtually the entire Church worshiped in similar fashion for the first 1500 years of its existence, and why a huge swath of the Church today worships in that same way. I am speaking, of course, of liturgical worship illustrated best perhaps in Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches, but also practiced in other denominational churches such as Anglican and Lutheran.

    That might make an interesting discussion at some point as to the value (if any) of that form of worship as opposed to the more lax form found in many of the Pentecostal and non-denominational churches Nancy and I came from.

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  8. As always, Rich, I appreciate your insights. I can’t help but wonder whether even our attempt to ask and answer a question on Jesus’ behalf is nothing more than a reflection of our own foolishness.

    But, fools that we are, I guess it at least gets us thinking in the right direction, so thanks for your gracious response to my questions.

    I’d like to take your thought on “worship in spirit and truth” and expand on it a little more from both a kingdom perspective and a rocky soil nation perspective.

    I’ll be blogging about this in the coming months, but for now let me just ask a couple of simple questions (not necessarily directed at you, Rich, I’m just thinking out loud here).

    Do the Scriptures even remotely suggest that “ritual” is the gatekeeper to spirit and truth worship? Is ritual even capable of producing spirit and truth worship?

    Furthermore, is ritual good and necessary?

    Well, that all depends. If the ritual produces spirit and truth worship, than I suppose it can be deemed as “good.” But what if it only produces, well, more ritual?

    Is it truly enough to just tell people: “Now this morning, you better worship in spirit and truth or this is going to be an absolutely meaningless ritual for you!”

    In other words, is scolding people into “proper” worship the secret to preventing ritual from becoming, well, ritual?

    What do the scriptures say about ritual? Is ritual itself more prone to produce spirit and truth worship or is it more prone to destroy spirit and truth worship?

    If we’re going to be thinking about this from a kingdom perspective we must ask these kinds of questions.

    It’s not that we don’t try; it’s just that the default answer usually boils down to either “tweaking” the ritual to try to produce the "right kind" of worship; or scolding people for not being able to worship properly using the rituals we produce; Or worse yet, deeming it "good" because the singing was long and loud!

    The question we fail to ask is whether ritual itself is even capable of producing the kind of worship that God demands.

    What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? Now there’s a question that we must grapple with from scripture and are, in fact, compelled to do so when going to the rocky soil nations, for no better reason than the sake of the Gospel itself!

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  9. You wrote, “Do the Scriptures even remotely suggest that “ritual” is the gatekeeper to spirit and truth worship?”
    --------------
    Only perhaps insofar as we humans need some sort of order – in our lives in general and, by extension, worship. I am reminded of Paul’s comment to the Corinthian church (chapter 14). You know the context so I won’t take the time to go over it. But the point Paul is making (esp in verse 33) is, I think, God wants order. Another comes to mind now, that being the construction of the Tabernacle, with its meticulous attention to detail, and the likewise meticulous attention to how they were to worship, what to wear, how to wear it, when to sacrifice, how to sacrifice, etc, etc. I think there too we see evidence that God wants orderliness. So, while ritual in and of itself might not fit the requirement for spiritual worship, I have to think ritual lends itself better to that kind of worship. It should go without saying – I think you know my heart – that ritual without a Christ-focus is dead ritual.


    You wrote: “Is ritual even capable of producing spirit and truth worship?”
    -----------
    As I suggested above, yes, I think ritual – if it is Christocentric – can guide the worshiper toward spirit and truth worship –albeit, not produce it. I believe such is produced only by God’s grace in the hearts of those disposed to truth.

    (rest of my answer follows. Your blog said my full answer was too long).

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  10. (Continued)

    You wrote “Furthermore, is ritual good and necessary?”
    ------------
    Necessary? Clearly not. There is an abundance of historical evidence that so-called ‘free worship’ (without liturgy or ‘form’) has produced glorious results of salvation of souls and the maturation of others. My Christian faith was raised up in those kinds of church services. So, no. Not necessary. Valuable? I believe absolutely yes. Frankly, I think the Church post-Reformation (and more specifically post-19th century) has lost a lot of the grace, grandeur and value of formal (liturgical) worship, probably as a ‘baby and bathwater’ kind of reaction against Catholicism in particular.


    You wrote “If the ritual produces spirit and truth worship, than I suppose it can be deemed as “good.” But what if it only produces, well, more ritual?
    ---------
    Then that is not good, in my view.


    You wrote “Is it truly enough to just tell people: “Now this morning, you better worship in spirit and truth or this is going to be an absolutely meaningless ritual for you!” In other words, is scolding people into “proper” worship the secret to preventing ritual from becoming, well, ritual?
    ------------
    I think you would know my answer to those questions. The only way to prevent worship – ritualized or free-form – from becoming dead is for people to continue to grow deeper in love with Jesus. That occurs not so much in corporate worship as it does in the privacy of one’s prayer closet.


    You wrote, “What do the scriptures say about ritual? Is ritual itself more prone to produce spirit and truth worship or is it more prone to destroy spirit and truth worship?”
    -------
    I think I already answered this above.


    You said, “It’s not that we don’t try; it’s just that the default answer usually boils down to either “tweaking” the ritual to try to produce the "right kind" of worship; or scolding people for not being able to worship properly using the rituals we produce; Or worse yet, deeming it "good" because the singing was long and loud!”
    ---------------
    I propose another solution: Teach people to meet God as their personal, intimate, loving Lord who requires certain things of us, such as holiness, honesty, integrity, humility and true repentance. And teach leaders they are even MORE responsible to do likewise, lest they cause scandal and Satan rush in and cause harm to the Body of Christ.

    You asked, ”The question we fail to ask is whether ritual itself is even capable of producing the kind of worship that God demands.”
    ----------------
    I think I addressed this above, too.


    You said, “What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? Now there’s a question that we must grapple with from scripture and are, in fact, compelled to do so when going to the rocky soil nations, for no better reason than the sake of the Gospel itself!”
    ------
    True. Which is why I think your asking the question(s) is a good thing. In nursing we call such a process. “critical thinking.”

    rich

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  11. Rich, I’m going to give others a chance to chime in and will further my part of this discussion tomorrow, but let me say for now that my questions go way beyond the age old argument of so-called ritual vs. so-called free form in the “worship service.”

    As I stated as best I could in my July 15th post on Assumptions and Absolutes, we can save ourselves a lot of headache if we can just learn to distinguish between function, which is absolute, and form, which is disputable (in fact, it’s so disputable, that in a paper put out by Gordon-Conwell Seminary, the estimates are that we now have over 42,000 denominations in the world today).

    I guarantee you that the believers in North Korea and Iran are not debating the issue of so-called ritual vs. so-called free form.

    The argument is only valid to us in the west because, as I stated in this post, we still enjoy the protection of the state.

    If we’re going to grapple with the question of worship in spirit and truth, we have to move beyond the typical arguments coming from a “free” society.

    Nonetheless, you bring up many good points, and I’ll get back to you again tomorrow.

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  12. And your comment here puts yet another spin on this important question you are asking:

    You wrote:
    I guarantee you that the believers in North Korea and Iran are not debating the issue of so-called ritual vs. so-called free form.

    The argument is only valid to us in the west because, as I stated in this post, we still enjoy the protection of the state.

    If we’re going to grapple with the question of worship in spirit and truth, we have to move beyond the typical arguments coming from a “free” society.
    ----

    I'll also be interested in other's comments.

    rich

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  13. Hi Bill, glad to read your posts, and I find the above discussion very thought provoking. I would have to describe the last several years of my life as "re-examining deeply rooted assumptions", most of those grew out of modern evangelicalism with its emphasis on the individual and a devotion to pragmatism. Interestingly, my preliminary conclusions differ a bit from yours in that I have found ritual and liturgy to be essential to worship. All worship involves liturgy and ritual, being is more or less deliberate and more or less Biblical. While I certainly wouldn't want to argue that there is one correct liturgy or style of worship, I do believe that there is loads of Biblical direction on the subject of worship if we are willing to include the whole Bible and not just the New Testament as our source material. I believe that this direction does not have to lead each culture to the same style of worship. I believe cultures have personalities such that one would not expect African worship to sound like Asian worship, but I would advocate an over arching biblical Christian culture that would be recognizable to any believer--water baptism, the use of Psalms in worship, bread and wine as part of a ritual meal to accompany prayer and preaching. Of course these of themselves do not guarantee faithfulness. This is where Spirit and truth come in. I do not take "spirit and truth" to mean without form, but rather biblical forms enlivened by the Holy Spirit. Too often people say "spiritual" but mean "non-material". I take "spiritual" to mean physical things like water, bread, and wine, used by the Holy Spirit to bind us to Jesus and His people.
    I am only beginning to attempt to wrap my mind around some of these ideas, and certainly don't have it all figured out. I will look forward to following your blog as you flesh out some of your ideas.

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  14. I read an amazing article (amazing to me, at least) how Campus Crusade for Christ is changing its name and removing "Christ" from its moniker. The rationale given by the current president has to do with making their ministry more palatable to others. I know this report is NOT at all related to what you are talking about in your appeal to making Christ more available to different cultures, but somehow it seems to me we must be ever careful to not dilute the message of sin, salvation and judgment spoken of in Holy Scripture to accommodate culture(s).

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  15. Hi Kris, thanks for stopping by. I noticed on the news last night that this heat wave is hitting Minnesota hard. The phrase “100 degree heat” and “Minnesota” just don’t seem to fit in the same sentence.

    I really enjoyed your thoughts. If I recall, you started telling me about this a few years back when we visited you and your family in MN (and then again on the phone when we returned from Japan). It sounds like God continues to deepen your perspective on these matters.

    What comes to mind when I read your post is the same spirit of unity through diversity expressed in the early church.

    I’ll be posting a piece on this in the coming months, but the whole issue of the Acts 15 council was essentially that the Jews were free in Christ to follow the ritual of “mosaic law” and the gentiles were free in Christ not to follow the ritual of “mosaic law.”

    Two very different expressions of the body of Christ yet both “legitimate” from a kingdom perspective.

    What I loved about your post was how graciously you acknowledged the freedom of form across cultures and pointed to the absolute of worship in “spirit and truth” as, well, the absolute.

    If others want to continue to chime in on this discussion, please feel free, but I’ll be posting more on this topic in the months to come.

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  16. Rich, as I mentioned in my comments to Kris, I'll be posting more on this topic in the months to come, so, if it's okay with you, I'll wait to develop this further in a separate post.

    As for CCC changing it's name - I hadn't heard, but that is a bit surprising given their history. The rationale may not be what you think so it will be interesting to hear more as it develops.

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  17. Bill, regarding Campus Crusade for Christ and its name change, I first saw it here: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/21/campus-ministry-drops-christ-from-name/

    rich

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