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Frank thoughts on our times from the view of the Gospel.

Prosper

October 24th, 2009 by Doug Meikle in All of Doug's Articles, Modern, Truth | 4 Comments →

working_man_33927_guild_thumb.jpgOver the last couple of weeks I have been travelling around the Netherlands as the company I work for has begun to communicate a new strategy for the business.  As I have talked about the strategy and taken questions I have been able to talk about my own values as a business leader. 

In the past I have been very fortunate to have as mentors Christian men who were able to keep their faith and work very closely linked together.  One, in particular, I remember affected the way I think about this by talking of his own profession (as an economist) as a way of maximising the usefulness of the many good things God gives us.  You might argue with him, but the good news is that he had a real profound sense that what we do here in life matters.  It really matters.  So, if you will indulge me, I want to write a few thoughts on business leadership and try to put it in the context of my Christian faith.

Most importantly, for me at least, Christians should be happy with the notion of success and prosperity.  Success and prsperity here is not in the sense of MTV “Cribs” where success equals excess.  Instead it is a sense of subduing the earth to make it yield what is best for humankind.  In the early chapters of Genesis mankind are told to “go forth and multiply” and to “subdue the earth”.  I take it that this is our human calling and therefore Cristian calling.  That is, to subdue the earth and have it yield up good things for humankind, recreating a garden of Eden, where all things work together for the benefit of humankind. 

In business, at a fundamental level, this is what the leader does every day.  She tackles the complexity of the human society we live in and, if you like, forces it to yield up wealth.  Wealth which is then used for the benefit of humankind.  I am going to talk about wealth - the money part - in the next post.  But, for the moment, lets keep thinking of this notion of prosperity in the sense of what is created when good businesses are successful. 

When businesses are successful they provide enormous benefits to society.  By creating work for others businesses supply one of the fundamental pillars of meaning in life, meaningful work.  Today, in the Netherlands there is much consternation over the thought of raising the pension age to 67 for men.  To read the debate (my Dutch is getting better!) it would certainly seem that there is certainly some echo of Holland’s Christian past as so many talk about ways in which Adam - who was cursed with trouble in his work - would have found familiar.  But, in reality, work is a good thing. In the Bible it is there before the fall in Eden where both Adam and Eve tended their home and garden.  So, work is good thing, ordained by God even.  And to help provide it and make it fullfilling is a Christian calling worthy of celebration.  Therefore, as a Christian, helping to provide work to others I see as a deeply meaningful calling I take just as seriously as I would any calling to be a priest or minister. 

And, of course, all this hard work is rewarded.  In the next few days I will continue the post talking about how work brings wealth in the monetary sense and how that too is a great social good and the fulfillment of a Christian mission.

NoiseTrade Widget

October 15th, 2009 by Frank in Uncategorized | No Comments →

How to Really Share Your Faith

October 1st, 2009 by Frank in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Truth | No Comments →

salesmanGreetings
“Hey, how’s it going?”

The typical daily greeting often leaves me in an existential dilemma.
I know I’m supposed to say, “fine-how-are-you.”  (Like it’s all one word) But, I struggle.   I have a bit of a mean streak in me - a dark sar-chasm that tempts me to be a jerk.  I’m tempted to reply with a mundane litany of details.  You know - start with how I slept the night before, talk about how busy I am, how my feet ache, how I have a little something in my eye, how my shirt doesn’t fit quite right, my toenails need to be trimmed, I feel like I’m coming down with something, and I think I might have to use the toilet in a few minutes - How are you?  In other words, I am tempted to really answer their question.  But I don’t.  I don’t share those kind of details unless someone is actually asking - and they hardly ever are.

You may not struggle with this at all.  It’s part of our culture.  But, because of this, I think we are all pretty used to not really answering the questions that people ask us.

The Social Contract
It’s the social contract.  It’s the deal that we all agreed to.  The one that says we will not bore each other with medical details, brag about our children, argue about politics, go on and on about our favorite subjects or say disgusting things at lunch or dinner.  Most of us honor the contract, and try to avoid people that don’t - or at least look for the nearest exit once they start talking.

But, there is one subject that can make any awkward conversation even more awkward.  Next time someone is boring you to the brink of pain - breaking the social contract, try this - ask if you can tell them about Jesus.  That should send them running.  Jim Gaffigan says even the Pope tries to get out of a conversation when people start talking about Jesus. “Easy, freak - I keep work at work!”

It’s true. No one wants anyone to walk up to them and start talking about religion.

Unless they ask.

1 Peter 3:15
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.  Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

Serious As Hell
Anyone who is not in Christ will be lost.  They will die in their sins and if they are not covered by the work That Jesus did on the cross - if they are outside of Christ, then they have no hope.   But, no one wants to hear that!  No one is eager to hear the bad news.  And it is not our job to tell them the bad news.  It is our job to tell them the good news - the Gospel.

Imagine that a woman is late for work.  She gets into her car and it doesn’t start.  She opens the hood and starts pulling wires, taking things apart and pouring gasoline onto the motor.  Go ahead - imagine it, it’s kinda fun.  We want to run up to her and stop her, asking her what on earth she thinks she is accomplishing.   Imagine that her answer is, “Well, the car wouldn’t start - I had to do something! I’m late for work.” *

“Always be ready to explain it.  But do this in a gentle and respectful way.”

Imagine that a man is sitting at a burger joint happily eating a double bacon cheeseburger. Then imagine that a vegetarian-health-food nut walks up to him and tells him that he is going to die if he continues to eat this way.  Will he listen?  Or will it just ruin his lunch? But, imagine that the same man is trying to lose some weight because of health problems so he’s talking to a personal trainer or his doctor.  Now he can hear it.   Now he is very interested - now he’s asking.

“Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks…”

I think this is the key.  Wait for them to ask.

Wait for it
Live a life that begs the question.  Live as if Christ is the Lord of your life.  Work hard at your job.  Don’t complain about your work or your pay or your co-workers.  Clean up after yourself, and clean up after other people. Take the really crappy jobs that no one else wants to do, then do the best you possibly can. Work hard at living the kind of life that Jesus taught us to live.  Love people instead of using people.  Help people instead of seeing them (and their ideas) as a threat. Live a life that shows you have hope in something beyond the here and now.  Live your life as spiritual act of worship before Christ the Lord.

And then listen.

Listen to people’s concerns, their fears, their doubts, their dreams.  When the time is right, and if they ask you a question - Then be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you.

Easy Now
But, even once they ask, you have to be very careful.

“But do this in a gentle and respectful way.”

It’s still not time to break the social contract.  We are not to be so eager to throw Jesus at them like a life saver - that as soon as they say something like,”Why are you so calm about all this?”  We pounce on them saying that, “they are going to Hell and need to be baptized for the remission of their sins!”  Instead, we need to be gentle and respectful.

For Real
The friendships and relationships that we build in this life have to be real.  We’re not supposed to fake friendships with people just so that we can tell them about Jesus.  Yech! We are not selling fake-plastic-Jesus-answers door to door like aluminum siding. We’re bringing the real truth and love of Jesus Christ to hurting people - The Gospel.  We’re sharing the hope that we have in our God with the people that God has put in our lives.

Some people do have the spiritual gift and calling to be an evangelist - Someone who makes cold call sales for Jesus. Maybe you have that gift and calling, and if you do - then get to it.  I ain’t stoppin’ you.

But, for the rest of us - Let’s live our lives in such a way that people will be moved to ask.

AMEN

* Props to Pastor Douglas Wilson for this analogy.

 Discussion
- Tell me about a time when someone asked a question that led to a faith conversation.

What is The Great (co)Mission?

September 25th, 2009 by Frank in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Modern, Truth | 2 Comments →

Modern AltarWhat is the mission of the church? 
This is actually a hotly debated question.  Is the mission of the church to worship God?  Is the mission of the church to reach out to the lost?  To maintain a faithful and Biblical people of God?  What about feeding the poor and helping the needy?  Is the mission of the church to transform culture and society?  Is it all of these things?  Is it none of them?

Who are we going to trust to give us an authoritative answer?

Here’s a novel idea - How about if we look to the head of the church, and see what Jesus Himself told us our mission was to be?  Maybe that will help clear things up for us.  All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him, so He should be able to speak with a degree of influence.

The Great Commission  (Matthew 28:16-20)
“Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!”

(Ah, so they were worshiping right away.  Good.  And it is comforting to notice that even when they were standing face to face with the “just raised from the dead” Jesus Christ - some of them doubted.  Let’s assume that whatever else we are to do, it is to start with worship.)  … continuing …

“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So, as we are worshiping (doubts and all) we are to take Jesus at His word that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.  Cool.  Then we are to go make disciples from every group of people on earth, making them citizens of heaven. How are we supposed to make disciples?  What is the means? Well, this is where it starts to get interesting.

How to Make Disciples
We are to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them - Word and sacrament.  This is the work of the church.  And, here’s what’s really interesting about that -  We start as worshipers, we go and make more disciples (followers), we baptize them and teach them, so that there will be more worshipers!  More worshipers to GO and get more worshipers!  And not just worshipers for the here and now, but more worshipers across all time and space, world without end, until the end of forever, AMEN!

This is really clever.  A perpetual worship machine.

It’s Not My Job!
But, some people might say Jesus wasn’t talking to us, He was talking to them.  The disciples that were in front of Him 2,000 years ago.  THEY were the ones who were sent, not us.  Well, let’s look at that.

Jesus said that He would be with them until the end of the ___(what?)___.  If we fill that blank in with “day,” then fine, Jesus was only talking to them and we can ignore Him.  But, Jesus said until the end of the age.  We might not be the actual END of the age, but we are certainly in there somewhere.  Jesus was talking to us, and He will be with us, we might want to pay attention.

I Like My Church Better!
But, what about all those other things?  Aren’t they also the mission of the church?   To preserve a style of worship, to maintain a faithful and Biblical people of God, to feed the poor and help the needy, to transform culture and society?  Well, I think that depends on how you look at it.

As I have said, it all starts with worship.  The Bible says that the disciples were worshiping the risen Jesus.  But, how were they worshiping?  Were they singing Chris Tomlin songs or hymns?  Were they reading from the Book of Common Prayer or spontaneously praying in the Spirit?

What is Worship?
The Greek word translated “worship” is proskyneō, which means to bow, or prostrate oneself.  They were bowing before Jesus in an act of worship, showing that He was their LORD and GOD by their actions.  This is what we should be doing when we worship, too.  Whether we are singing rock songs or classic hymns, praying hundred year old prayers or making something up on the spot, we better be doing it in an act of reverence.  We better be worshiping Jesus as our LORD and GOD, and not worshiping ourselves (our musical tastes or preferences in liturgy).  It all starts and ends with worship, because worship is everything we do in response to who Jesus is - showing by our actions that He is our LORD and our GOD.

High and Dry
So, should we worship with 500 year old liturgies?  Should the preservation of a particular historical setting of worship be a priority?  Maybe, but not if it takes your focus off of the actual work of the church.  (Worship, make disciples, baptize, teach, worship.)  If you are part of a confessional movement, an Anglican communion, or any other “high liturgical” church, please remember this.  The liturgies are beautiful and deep, but if we don’t welcome the guest to understand and appreciate what we are saying and doing, if we are not careful to contextualize what we are saying and doing for the people that are actually in front of us, then we are as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.

Loud and Proud
Should we worship with passion and reckless abandon?  Hands raised, eyes blurred with tears, tongues wagging, praise songs rocking the walls?  Maybe, but not if it takes our focus off what the LORD we are worshiping has told us to do.  It’s great that we are thankful for what He has done in our lives, and it’s wonderful when we connect deeply through the Holy Spirit to our Holy God.  But, if our ecstatic praising looks like madness to the guest and drives them away from Jesus Christ shaking their heads, then we are missing the point.  (Worship, make disciples, baptize, teach, worship.)

Soup For The Soul
Should our churches be involved in feeding the poor, helping the needy, the down and out, reaching out with mercy and compassion?  Should the church be involved in social justice and humanitarian relief? Yes.  But, first we should help those who are counted among us.  Seriously.  It sounds wrong, but it isn’t. In Acts the deacons were established to help the orphans and widows that were in the church.  II Corinthians is largely about taking up an offering for famine relief - to help the churches who were starving.  Churches.  It’s just like your family, you take care of them first.  Once you make sure that your family is taken care of, then it is very proper to help others.  And remember who Jesus said our neighbor is, our neighbor is anyone that God puts in front of us.  We must help those who are within our reach.  This can be a powerful way to love people, and serve God.  But, it must never get in the way of our primary purpose.  We worship the LORD (bowing before Him, declaring that He is our God), then we do what He has told us to do.  We go into the nations and make disciples.  It is perfectly fine to offer them some fish and bread from time to time along the way.

The Other Kingdom
Should the church be involved in transforming culture and society?  Absolutely.  That is exactly what God is doing through the church.  All authority in heaven and on earth was given to our LORD.  Jesus HAS all the authority in heaven and on earth.  It is all His.  We bow before Him (worship) in response to the authority that He has been given.  We declare that He is the authority in every area of our lives, too.  There are no little nooks or crannys where He is not Lord.  We are completely His.  So, as we walk out of our churches each week, we continue our worship by living out the truth that we have been taught.  Our worship overflows into our communities like the water pouring from Ezekiel’s altar, flooding the desert, and turning it into a living garden.  Transforming culture and society? Indeed.

Sometimes people in my circles talk about “two kingdoms,” which is all well and good as long as we remember that there is only One King.  His name is Jesus.

The Mission
So, no matter where our churches are, we all have the same job.  We all have the same mission.  We are to bow all the way down, and worship the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Then, we are to listen to what He has told us to do.  Look around, find some people to teach and baptize, and continue our worship knowing that Jesus is with us, even to the end of the age.

AMEN

Discussion
- How do you see your current church community living out the mission?
- Is your church more high and dry, loud and proud, soup for the soul, or culturally relevant?

Inspired

September 16th, 2009 by Doug Meikle in All of Doug's Articles, Modern, Truth | No Comments →

vienna.jpgI have been very busy at work and dont have time to turn around and do a lot of reflection about anything.  But some things have broken through the fog of busy work to inspire me.

The first is my friend Frank Hart’s thoughts on Christian worship.  I am glad that I know Frank and glad that I have been under his care as he has led us in worship at Crosspoint the last couple of years or so.  As he now thinks about how to deepen the Christian life of our people I am inspired by how he creates a whole world of faith where each parts links with another and unfolds the mystery of our relationship with the one true God.  Solo Deo Gloria!

There is probably no connection from Christian worship to the following and yet I am not so sure.  http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/the-150-space-camera-mit-students-beat-nasa-on-beer-money-budget/  Here is the awe-inspiring pictures taken from the edge of space for less than many of spend on a round of golf, six golf balls and two cold beers at the turn.  There is a theme that runs through my posts that the observant notice.  It is something along the lines of I, for one, cannot imagine how the sheer creativity of human beings is the result of a infinitesimally small chance happening in a pool of single cells millions of years ago.  No way.

There is definitely no connection between all of what I have said up till now and the uniquely BBC television program “The Choir”.  The past few weeks I have started to appreciate the BBC again.  It definitely makes programs that no other organization would make.  Sometimes that means they make opinionated drivel that makes you want to kick the TV set.  Other times however what seems like a ridiculous reality TV show turns up something moving, inspiring and uplifting.  http://www.garethmalone.com/index.php  The presenter of “The Choir” Gareth Malone has now done several series where he takes a local group of people and turns them into some form of choral singing group.  In the latest series a group from an UK housing project are taught to sing a part of a classical requiem.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008y125  It is a shame you cant see this outside the UK because when reality TV seems uniformly focused on dragging us down to the lowest common denominator here is a fascinating piece of reality TV that seems to affirm the biblical concept that we are “one body” and built for something greater than our own appetites. 

In Holland we are looking to settle in a new church and try to find a way to serve here in our new adopted country.  The girls are riding their bike to school, my Dutch is improving, and Karen is now in Dutch lessons three days a week.  Come see us in Leiden, Crosspoint friends can expect a warm welcome. 

How to implement Liturgical change - Essential Elements (Part 2)

September 9th, 2009 by Frank in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Modern, Truth | 4 Comments →

Modern LiturgyChange is Good
In the previous article I discussed 15 elements that I believe should be part of any Christian Worship service.  As I have looked at our worship services in light of these liturgical elements, I have worked with some other members of the CrossPoint staff to come up with a monthly plan to incorporate them into what we are already doing.  I will outline the basic plan in this article.

A Little About Us
CrossPoint is a very “missional” LCMS church that has two locations in Katy, Texas (so far), Westgreen is the campus where I serve along with my good friend and partner in ministry Pastor Matt Popovits.  The other location is Seven Lakes where Nathan Huse (myspace.com/nathanhuse) leads worship and serves along side Pastor Dan Hauser (crosspt.org/sevenlakes).  The four of us got together and came up with the list of 15 essential liturgical elements.  Then Nathan and I discussed how we would set them in motion per month.  This is the result of that work.

Not everything is New
Many of the elements have been part of our weekly or monthly services for many years.  For example, we have always had a sermon, praise songs, etc.  Other elements have been included, but not as consistently (which is why we are talking about this.)  We want to be intentional about the components that we include or do not include.  For example, in the past we may or may not have said the Lord’s Prayer in a given month, and in the future we want to include it at least once a month in our services.

The CrossPoint (Great Co)Mission
Another thing to keep in mind is that CrossPoint’s Sunday morning service is an outreach event first and a worship service second.  Both of these ideas are imperatives. Our worship service is always both, but it is important that anything we do on a Sunday morning works through the first imperative to reach the second (not the other way around).  This is actually pretty easy to understand.  If we explain the things we are doing for the guest then the people who have been attending for years will also understand.  If we expect people to understand without explanation, then only the people who have been around for while will get it.  We don’t want that.

As we include these  ancient liturgical elements into our modern worship services we must be intentional, creative, culturally incarnational, and prayerfully diligent to keep our eye on the mission.  Every element must work to reach the unchurched as well as deepen the faith of the people who are already part of the mission.  Our “liturgy” must be attractional, inviting, user-friendly, and authentic, as well as God honoring, theologically articulate, Biblical and deeply Christian.  Horizontal as well as vertical.  Both immanent and transcendent.

With all of this in mind, we submit the following plan:

Every Sunday
• Introit (Entrance) - Opening song
• Invocation - We begin in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  One God.
• Praise songs, Hymns, Spiritual songs
• Salutation (Meet and Greet)
• Hymn or Song of the Day (Feature Song)
• Sermon
• Offering/Offertory
• Confession/Absolution (In response to God’s Word)
• Prayers of the People
• Benediction/Blessing

1st Sunday
• Apostles Creed
• Baptism
• Welcome new members
• Epistle Reading (pertaining to Baptism)

2nd Sunday
• Old Testament Reading
• The Lord’s Prayer (Sung or spoken)

3rd Sunday
• Confession/Absolution - in preparation for Lord’s Supper.
• Epistle Reading (Words of institution)
• Lord’s Supper

4th Sunday
• Gospel Reading
• Apostle’s Creed (unless 5th Sunday)

5th Sunday
• Epistle Reading
• Nicene Creed

Tension
Is it possible to worship GOD in a way that is both reaching out to the people who need to hear the message of hope while at the same time deepening the faith and stimulating the growth of the people who already believe?  Yes, but the two ideas will always be in tension.  We have to intentionally include the components that will both reach outside to people who do not yet believe, and also inspire and nurture the people that GOD has already called to serve Him as part of our mission. Tension is good, with just the right amount of tension we will make something beautiful.  Think of a guitar string.

Now go and tune your liturgy!

 Discussion
- What elements do you think should be added to your worship service?
- What elements are not needed?

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