Emerging Worship Blog

Today’s reading: Romans 5:12-21

Allow me to warn you in advance that this is a difficult passage to read. Take your time and try to absorb what it is saying. Try not to bring your assumptions to the passage, but really try to “hear” it anew.

In the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to the right (click it to see it full size), Calvin asks Hobbes a poignant questions, “Do you think human nature is good or evil?” How would you answer that question? You may have a thought as we’ve been exploring that question all week. Are we good, as originally created by God in Genesis 1? Or are we evil because of the sin of Adam in Genesis 3? Are we trying to press on toward something that we are not? Or are we striving to be the thing we were originally created to be?

In Romans 5 we read about two men: Adam, through whom sin entered the world; and Jesus, through whom grace/righteousness/justification/forgiveness entered the world. As you read this, how do you understand it? How does it work itself out for you?

What do you think of the doctrine of “original sin” (read about it on Wikipedia here)? It is helpful? Is it Scriptural? Is it accurate?

When we talked about the sin of Adam and Eve earlier this week, we noted that in many ways their story is archetypal. If that is the case, how are you and I each our own “Adam” in this Romans 5 passage? How are we responsible for our own struggles?

Certainly God offered forgiveness long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. There were rituals in the Hebrew faith of the Old Testament that brought one forgiveness for their sins. So when Paul says that it is through Jesus that forgiveness came into the world, what is he saying?

Notice how Romans 5 over and over tells us that Jesus gives “life.” In what ways is Jesus giving you life? How can you celebrate it today?

How can you today take a step toward becoming restored to the person that God originally intended you to be? How can we, as the human race, become restored to the original idea God has for us when we were created? Is there hope for us this side of heaven? Or are we just called to persevere until Jesus returns?

Today’s reading: Philippians 3:12-21

In the paragraphs preceding today’s reading, Paul is telling the Philippians about his own journey of faith and the sacrifices he has made on behalf of Christ. So as not to give the impression that he thinks highly of himself and his spiritual “status,” he then writes about where he is and where he is going using the imagery of a sporting event, namely a race.

Paul says that he is not an expert, but just a fellow runner of this race. He runs to the best of his ability and gives it his full attention. When he writes, “I have my eye on the goal” (Msg), or “one thing I do” (NIV), what does he mean? What is the goal? What is the one thing he does? Where should we be putting our attention?

What are some of the distractions for you that might make you lose your focus? How do you get sidetracked?

In what ways does pressing on toward a goal help in your everyday living?

I like that Paul describes his spiritual life as a journey, a race, which he sees himself participating in. In the Church today, we are often asked, “When were you saved.” Some have suggested that may be the wrong question. Maybe it would be better phrased, as John Wesley would have been more comfortable with, “Where are you on your spiritual journey?”

Today is a good day to evaluate just that. Where are you on your spiritual journey? Do you still have the right focus, or have you been distracted? Are you moving ahead or sitting on the sidelines? Do you need more tools, more practice, more conditioning to be able to continue more effectively? Where are you going? Are you looking for the signs, and consulting the map from time to time?

Consider making a list of how you can get from where you are to the next stage in your spiritual life. Need help? I’d be glad to chat. Email me. Then pray over the list, and let’s get back to doing the things to which God has called us.

I’ve been reflecting on the still unfolding “balloon boy” saga. What a mess. I was worried with so many others when the news broke. I was relieved when I heard the balloon was landing, then saddened when I heard the balloon was empty, then angry when I read yesterday that the police said the whole thing was a hoax. How could somebody do something so manipulative just to get their reality show noticed? How could they use their kid as a pawn in such a game?

With a little distance though, I’m coming to a truth that I need to explore about myself. These people went to great extremes to get noticed, to achieve their fifteen minutes of fame, to be in (or return to) the spotlight. They crossed the line. But what about me? What do I do to get noticed? What am I willing to compromise?

I am one who stands up in front of a group of people on a regular basis to speak and/or sing a song. I am also one who writes blogs, devotions, newsletters and articles, and one who would like to write professionally. I also share my thoughts on Twitter and Facebook. I’m not going to put my son in a balloon anytime soon, even though he is 13, but what am I willing to do? Am I just trying to get noticed or am I doing what God is calling me to do? Am I sharing Him, or am I promoting me?

There’s my struggle. What about you? How do you keep your ego in check? Are you willing to bend the rules to get a promotion? Are you willing to look the other way to avoid a conflict? Are you willing to leave out parts of the story so that you look better? Our egos can tempt us the cross the line. It’s probably a good idea to think through where that line is for you and ways you might already be crossing it without even knowing it.   

Not too many of us are going to pretend our child has flown away in a flying saucer balloon so that we might get our fifteen minutes – that’s extreme. But lots of us are willing to bend the rules a little to get what we want.

Maybe balloon boy has a lesson for us all. A lesson in humility.

I just finished reading Donald Miller’s latest book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. I bought it on Friday and today is Tuesday. Needless to say, I couldn’t put this book down. I left Leonard Sweets Three Simple Words at the office over the weekend, and only intended to read a few pages of Million Miles in the meantime.

Miller was given the opportunity to think about story, the story of his life, as his memoir, Blue Like Jazz, was being adapted to be turned into a movie. What an opportunity! He learns that life is all about the stories we write. If we want a better life, all we need to do is enter a better story.

What an inspirational read. Go get it and let me know what you think.

This is a re-post from Pastor Joe’s blog called “Working It Out.”

A new worship gathering is starting at my church, Tri-Lakes United Methodist in Monument, CO. Our staff struggled to find the right descriptive title for this new venture. We wanted to convey that this worship was unlike the two Sunday morning worship services we currently offer. We wanted to stay away from the word contemporary because we felt that connotes a style-only description, and we know this gathering will be much more than the same old church with a band instead of an organ. Eventually we settled on the title Emerging Worship.

Some reading this know that emergent is a church word, and a loaded one at that. Some hear the word emergent in this context and think of pandering to make the Gospel palatable to the masses while giving up too much. Others, like me, are excited by the word emergent because it signals something new and relevant; a holistic theology. While we hinted at the loaded church-word, we didn’t use it. We used a derivative, emerging.

e·merg·ing (adj.) – 1. coming to maturity 2. coming into existence (from Princeton University’s WordNet)

If I do say so myself, I like the name a lot. Whether you have been a Christian for decades, or you just want to explore what it means to be a Christian, your faith is emerging – coming to maturity, coming into existence. None of us has arrived. All of us are in a process of having our faith become known to us and to others around us. Calling worship emerging says that no matter where you are in that process, you are welcomed, accepted, and loved.

I found a quote from Tim Gallwey in Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover quite helpful in my understanding of what it means to be emerging:

When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is (W. Timothy Gallwey (The Inner Game of Tennis) as quoted online).

That’s what I want TLUMC’s Emerging Worship to share with those who attend. None of our faith journeys is complete. We all need to grow, change, and develop. Yet, at the same time, we are perfectly all right where we are.