Surprised by Hope - Part 2

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Certificate Course with Dan Wilt

(see Part 1 here)

With the issue of the resurrection settled once again in my mind, Wright moves to why a good understanding of Easter is important. Easter is not “Jesus is raised; therefore there is life after death.” Easter announces that “Jesus is raised, so he is the Messiah, and therefore he is the world’s true Lord; Jesus is raised, so God’s new creation has begun – and we, his followers, have a job to do! Jesus is raised, so we must act as his heralds, announcing his lordship to the entire world, making his Kingdom come on earth as in heaven.” [1]

This gives life so much more purpose than waiting and watching for death to come or the end of the world to arrive so that I might go to Heaven. I have a job to do, and the resurrection means that “nothing done in the Lord, in the power of the Spirit, in the present time will be wasted in God’s future.”[2] It brings meaning to everything I do in His name.

The Enlightenment and the Renaissance say that “history is accelerating towards a wonderful goal…[and] we will become what we have the potential to be by education and hard work.” [3] Platonic Dualism that says the physical is evil, the body is a tomb to escape. But Christianity says that the new creation was birthed through the resurrection of Jesus and it is only through the work on the cross that redemption occurs.

Early Christians didn’t believe in progress nor in deterioration of the world with a goal to escape it. “They believed that God was going to do for the whole cosmos what he had done for Jesus at Easter”[4] and that they were to be His instruments for that work. They, along with all of creation, had a forward look to the future in God.

“It looks as though God intends to flood the universe with himself, as though the universe, the entire cosmos, was designed as a receptacle for his love…it is designed to be filled, flooded, drenched in God…”[5] Creation is not yet complete and is waiting for that day when all the forces of rebellion have been vanquished and creation is completely free to respond to the love of the Creator.

In Revelation, joining of Heaven and Earth is not the separation of the world from God, but the right joining of God with creation in a redeemed relationship. Erroneous end-times theology says that this world is doomed for destruction and Christians will be rescued out of it. Judgment is mistakenly seen as vengeful. In reality it is that “God…in the end, [will] put it all to rights, straighten it out, producing not just a sigh of relief all around but shouting for joy from the trees and the fields, the seas and the floods. “[6]

The settling happening deep within me is an echo of that sigh that all of creation will breathe on the last days. It’s the recognition that this process, this journey that I am on is all part of God’s straightening-out plan that He’s called me to be a part of. The resurrection is not all about me and my redemption, although it certainly is a part of it. My ultimate destiny is not the ultimate question. Israel thought that how they were going to be rescued by God was the ultimate purpose of God. But what God was really acting on was how He was/is going to rescue the world through Israel and rescue Israel in the process. Asking instead what my part is in God’s rescue mission of the world puts me in a position for being rescued in the process of the world being rescued. [7]

Jesus was doing in the present what He was promising in the future, giving people the opportunity to experience redemption in the present so that they might enjoy the renewal process leading into the future, becoming co-laborers with Him in this renewal, re-creation, redemptive process. “The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do in the present – by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself – will last into God’s future…They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”[8]

Thus, my whole life, every act of worship must be reordered around the resurrection. “…our present space, time, and matter are all subject not to rejection but to redemption.”[9] I must look at my world with new lenses because of the resurrection. It infuses hope into every situation because God is at work right here and right now through His agents (you and me empowered by His Spirit) to redeem the whole of creation. This world is passing away in the sense that the old is gone and the new is here. It is not awaiting destruction but rather redemption and that work began at the cross and was birthed at the resurrection.

While some days it may feel like my world is sliding into greater and greater chaos and disarray, the truth in light of the resurrection is that it is being redeemed bit by bit through the power of the redemptive work of Jesus. My hope that was being whittled away by the worries and cares of this world so needed an infusion of the Truth that came via N.T. Wright and Surprised by Hope. There will still be days of struggle. There will probably still be days when I find my hope in need of refreshing. But now I stand stronger, wiser, more firmly convinced of Whom I have believed, of the reality of His resurrection, and of the wonderful, redeeming move of God that has been sweeping the planet since the day Jesus rose from the dead.

Glory, halleluiah. What a Savior! I have been surprised by Hope.


[1] Ibid, 56.
[2] Ibid, 26.
[3] Ibid, 81,85.
[4] Ibid, 93.
[5] Ibid, 102.
[6] Ibid, 121.
[7] Ibid, 185.
[8] Ibid, 192-193.
[9] Ibid, 264.

Surprised by Hope - Part 1

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Certificate Course with Dan Wilt

As the wife of an ex-Christian agnostic, there are days when my faith feels shaky, when I wonder (again) if there is any validity to my husband’s doubts, when I wonder if what I’ve chosen to believe is really true. Most days what anchors me is the experience of a relationship with Christ that has sustained me the better part of my life. But there are days when the intellectual arguments replay in my thoughts and doubts creep in.

Enter Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright. I wasn’t having “one of those days” when I started reading it, but as the words began to soak into my soul, I found myself settling somewhere deep inside. This particular season of life has been so crazy that I didn’t even notice the internal swirlings as needing to be settled. I hadn’t even had time to acknowledge their existence, much less analyze the source.

The reality is, though, that my hope had been waning, and I didn’t even know it.

N.T. Wright begins by asking: “First, what is the ultimate Christian hope. Second, what hope is there for change, rescue, transformation, new possibilities within the world in the present?”[1] What is this hope that fuels all we are to do as Christians? Answering these questions is a matter of “thinking straight about God and His purposes for the cosmos and about what God is doing right now, already as a part of those purposes.”[2]

Straight thinking. It really begins there. Having renewed thinking, getting the right thoughts about God and who He is is essential to a vibrant and healthy relationship with the Triune God. In this 2-part post I am going to explore some of the ideas put forth in Surprised by Hope that have helped to restore hope in my life.

My view of death and resurrection are key to sustaining straight thinking about God and His Kingdom. Is death an enemy or “welcome friend”?[3] According to Scripture, death is an enemy that was conquered at the cross. The Platonic view has invaded Christian thinking, however, causing us to devalue this present world, our physical bodies, and to think of them as somehow shabby or shameful. With this view, death is welcomed as an escape from this world.[4]

But is Heaven just a place we go to when we die? If so, then shouldn’t we welcome death so that we can go to heaven to be with God? Wright points out that such a view of heaven limits our understanding of God. Heaven is God’s Kingdom, and it’s not just somewhere we go when we die. Heaven is “the other, hidden dimension of our ordinary life…God’s dimension.”[5] It is His rule coming on earth as it is in Heaven.

So where does the ultimate Christian hope lie? While glorious and certainly wonderful, Heaven is not it. Our hope lies in the event of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new creation that was birthed in that moment.

Not found in paganism, the idea of resurrection was unique to Jewish and later to Christian thought.[6] For the first-century Jew, however, resurrection was thought to be a sweeping event for all of God’s people that would bring God’s Kingdom here on earth as in Heaven. With Christianity, resurrection became two events: 1) Jesus – one person in the middle of history and 2) believers on the last day.[7]

For my husband, the resurrection is one of the key points of contention. Most agnostic literature around our house brings it into question and categorizes it as a tale told by the disciples in order to explain away an awkward situation: the death of Jesus, the supposed Messiah.

What is interesting to note is that the Jews did not ever anticipate a messiah who would die, much less one who would raise from the dead. When Jesus spoke of raising from the dead, it would have confused the disciples who were thinking of the resurrection as one event for all of God’s people, not one that their teacher would experience before them. “No Jew with any idea of how the language of messiahship worked could have possibly imagined, after his crucifixion, that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Lord’s anointed. But from very early on, as witnessed by what may be pre-Pauline fragments of early creedal belief, the Christians affirmed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, precisely because of his resurrection.”[8] (to be continued)

1 N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope (New York: HarperCollins Press, 2008), 5.
2 Ibid, 5.
3 Ibid, 17.
4 Ibid, 26.
5 Ibid, 19.
6 Ibid, 42.
7 Ibid, 45.
8 Ibid, 47-48.

Celebrate!

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Certificate Course with Dan Wilt

We serve a God who celebrates. All throughout Scripture, God is shown as one who rejoices, who dances, who sings over His creation. He set up feast days and commanded the people of Israel to celebrate. Jesus’ first miracle was performed at a celebration. Celebration is not a human idea. It is first of all God’s idea, and He alone truly knows how to celebrate.

Nowhere in Scripture is celebration a dry, rigid event. It is filled with food, laughter, dancing, and rejoicing. The fact that the church at Corinth was reprimanded for becoming drunk at the Lord’s table indicates that the early church’s communion time was a much more festive and abundant occasion than our meager cracker and sip of juice/wine of today. I think the pendulum has swung too far.

“Fundmentally, those who lose their joy when they see dancing or hear laughter in the church have a faulty understanding of God. Subjectively, they cannot truly enjoy such things because they do not really believe that God would enjoy such things. A radical change in one’s view of God should take place at the point of conversion, because celebration is part and parcel of salvation. “[1]

At the heart of our reaction to celebration is a lie that says that God is always somber and that emotion and physical expression in worship is displeasing to Him. We only have to look at the Psalms to see that this is not the case. The Psalms are full of expressive acts of worship and full of emotion. In the Old Testament, celebration was a solemn requirement, not an option. Deut 16:15 “…you shall be altogether joyful.” I guess joy and celebration do not have to spring from a feeling!

High points in the Old Testament were marked by festivity and dancing “especially…when God’s mighty acts were experienced or when the covenant was renewed.”[2] I hate to say it, but in the West, festivity and dancing of this nature are reserved for touchdowns and homeruns by our favorite sports teams. God might get a golf clap or an “amen” or “halleluiah” in church today. The truth is: He deserves a hoe down.

“As the church retreated from the use of dance in worship, it was gradually taken over by secular society, and what was originally created by God for the praise of God became the property of men with no love for God. The secularization of dance is a direct result, not of the renewal of the church, but of the retreat of the church.” [3]

Let’s get renewed. Let’s allow the light of His countenance to shed light on the lies we are believing about Him that are keeping us from joining in the fullness of the celebration that He intends for us to participate in here on earth. Let’s open our hearts and minds to the cleansing power of His Truth and allow Him to reset our thinking about who He really is: the celebratory God that dances wildly with ecstatic jumping and leaping over His beloved bride.

1 Derek Morphew, "The Restoration of Celebration," Inside Worship.
2 ibid.
3 ibid.

Disciplines of a Worship Leader

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Certificate Course with Dan Wilt

I love the way that Peter Fitch describes the disciplines of worship leaders:

Foot-washing: we are to love and serve in humility and grace those whom the Lord has placed in our care. We can only do this out of the overflow of our relationship with God. “…the quality of the water in the basin will have something to do with the quality of the leader’s secret inner life with God.” Amen.

Loaves and fishes: we are never to become dependent on our gifts to get the job done. “…we are ultimately in a position of inadequacy no matter how gifted we are…Human musicianship…does not have the capacity to touch the soul and set it spiritually free. Jesus does. We offer the loaves and fishes of our songs and ideas; He adds His Presence in a mysterious and miraculous way.”

Water-walking: leading worship is risky business. We are often called to get out of the boat and walk out beyond the comfortable places into something we can only do in His strength.

Cross-carrying: we must die to self. “…there will be more need for soul-cleansing in the people around you than there will be for you to artistically express yourself.”

Raising the dead: faithfulness to the above disciplines may give me the “experience …of watching people that are lost and hopeless suddenly receiving the Life of God in a tangible way, shattering bondages and bringing them into newness and freedom and joy.”

all quotes from Peter Fitch, "Inner Living, Outer Giving: Spiritual Disciplines for the Worshiping Heart", Inside Worship.

The New Song

for the Essentials In Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Singing is an important part of corporate worship. It’s easy to do together and when a song is familiar, everyone can join in.

There is another aspect to song termed in Scripture as the “new” song. We have been given a gift: “the capacity to respond to the present work of God with a heart song that is fresh, immediate, current, renewing and rebuilding – a song that is pleasing to the One we worship, and by extension is a strength to our souls.” [1] Most often we are a part of the corporate song, but the new song gives wings to what God is doing in this moment and allows a fresh response to His goodness and love in our lives. Most important of all, God must be the source of the new, fresh songs, not the culture.

For too long, now, culture has been given the reigns of creativity that once belonged to the Church. Instead of the Church leading in creativity in just about any arena, the culture has become the one to set the standard and to define what is popular and what is not.

As a worship leader, I have the opportunity to change the tide in small ways within the sphere of influence that the Lord gives me. Jesus “has moored His worship…in human civilization” [2], and we are asked to be vessels of His redemptive power at work within each of us to bring healing and wholeness to the culture, to the world around us. We don’t do this by mimicking culture; rather, we do it through catching God’s heart, delighting in who He is, and releasing the sound of the Lord to the earth through whatever gifts and talents He has placed within us.

1 Dan Wilt, "Exploring Our Roots: The Contemporary Worship Movement", Inside Worship.
2 ibid.

Praying the Prayers of Others

I did not grow up in a tradition that used or truly valued the use of prayers written by others. The only exception would be the Lord's Prayer which was used because, of course, it was written by Jesus. The spontaneous or "unique" prayer was what I was taught, learning to pray in public, putting my thoughts to God into words to be spoken, on-the-fly aloud in a group. Although I don't think anyone actually ever said this to me, I grew up thinking that this type of praying must be superior to reciting prayers or even pre-writing a prayer to pray outloud at a later time. And this type of thinking has engendered a type of pride within me because I know how to pray aloud, on the spot.

Not pretty.

Today as I was listening to an interview with N.T. Wright, something he said nailed me between the eyes regarding this pride that's been growing in my heart over the years. He says that to use the prayers of others is actually a sign of humility, allowing someone else's words to express some longing within my own heart and learning from them. He further encourages that if the Holy Spirit helped them to pray in that fashion, why not "ride in on their coat tails." [1]

These "old" prayers can serve as a structure, not that restricts or boxes in my prayers. Rather, they give me a framework from which to start, a springboard into areas of prayer and meditation that might not have occured to me before, offering me a fresh perspective of the Lord and His work in my life. The very speaking of them become a form of praise as I join in with another's expression of worship.

In these last couple of years, I have been discovering these ancient prayers and their writers and have been so blessed by them. But, to be honest, a part of me has struggled with using their writings and prayers in my "quiet time" because somehow I felt like it was less authentic since it wasn't spontaneous and uniquely from me.

Like a good friend of mine says: "We sing other people's songs. Why not pray other people's prayers?" I am looking forward to this next year, to discovering the prayers of the ancients (anyone older than I am) and being blessed by the move of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

1 "Reclaiming Worship: a training interview with N.T. Wright"

Who We Worship

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt


The Trinity is one of the greatest mysteries and most important tenants of the Christian faith, and I am becoming more aware of how that Community and my understanding of it impacts the community I am a part of here.

As a worship leader, it is important to become “a prayerfully and thoughtfully informed Trinitarian” [1] through study and meditation of the character of God. I am reconciled to Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.

For most Christians who we worship is obvious: God. But by God, who do most Christians focus on? Father? Son? Holy Spirit? Depending on your particular church, you will probably find an emphasis leaning more towards one or the other, and yet to worship God is to worship all 3 Persons of the Godhead.

In the Trinity, each Person who “abides in the other, remains uniquely what He is…Each has a unique role to play in redemption and should be praised for His unique work. To lead the Church in worship, the worship leader must join with the persons of the Triune God in praising them according to their unique glory and work.” [2]

In the West, we tend to be very individualistic in our worship, in our faith practices, but God shows us the value of community by revealing it within Himself. It is not the Father alone, nor the Son alone, nor the Spirit alone. It is all Three working in community with each other: “the three persons, in perfect harmony, giving without reservation to one another, independent, bound together in love, all involved in a celebration of life, love, peace and joy.”

How does this play out in leading worship? First and foremost, I must choose songs that resonate the truth of the Trinity. The songs we sing are more often than not remembered far longer than the sermons we hear. As such, it is vitally important to choose songs and write songs that accurately depict the Triune God.

It also means that the way I participate in community will reflect my understanding and view of God as Triune. [3] Just as the Trinity works together without fear, competition, condemnation or shame, so I need to learn to live and work with those around me in a spirit of love not fear, being all I’m called to be while encouraging and supporting others in being all they are designed to be.

1 “Leading Trinitarian Worship” by Berten Waggoner, Inside Worship.
2 ibid.
3 “Who Is the God We Worship?” by Dr. Don Williams and Brenton Brown, Inside Worship.

What Is Worship?

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

What is worship? Is it music? Is it dance? Is it songs? When we say "let's worship" we typically mean something to do with music, but worship, in it's most truest form is so much more than that.

Worship is expression, prayer, compassion, proclamation. It is practiced within our relationships with family, friends, strangers, our culture. It requires character growth and holiness and a pursuit of truth. It resists compartments and embraces wholeness at every level. Worship invades every aspect of our lives and reveals who it is we are focusing on because we become like what (or who) we worship. [1]

As a Christian, I worship God. And I can only worship Him as He chooses to reveal Himself to me. He loves me, and I get to love Him back, pulling from the love He deposited within me. Worship belongs to Him and I can only do it out of what He has given me.

It's not a show to impress Him, to let Him see how hard I can work. It's a healing, restoring, beautifying experience that He initiates and I respond to. It's my whole life living in response to His love for me. [2]

N.T. Wright says that it is the task of humans to relect God into the world like an angled mirror. [3] Then I get to reflect back to God the "inarticulate praise" of the inanimate creation by articulating it through prayer, song, dance, art, words...

Matt Redman says that the revelation of God is what fuels the fire of worship. Without revelation there is no worship. [4] It is my responsibility to press into God and to watch for Him to reveal Himself to me. I must determine to keep my eyes fixed on Him so as not to miss the revelation, particularly in challenging circumstances when the temptation is to turn my eyes to the challenge and try to figure out a way to work things out. Worship means keeping my eyes fixed on Him, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, and trusting Him to strengthen and deepen my faith, praising Him and declaring His eternal attributes of faithfulness and goodness, knowing that He will work all things together for my good and that He will lead and guide me in the way I should go.

As I purpose to do this day in and day out, intimacy with God grows more intimate. Relationship with Him is the real adventure of worship and is never boring or dull. Brian Doerksen says, "Real intimacy is real adventure." Amen.

This intimacy allows me to have a life formed by Jesus that is at peace whether He is speaking or is silent. It allows me to be confident in the light or in the darkness because regardless of how it feels, I know that He is with me, actively loving me. It enables me to carry His image into the world and to show compassion in practical ways that change culture, establish justice, redeem brokenness, and free captives. Intimacy is the fount from which worship in spirit and in truth flows from me to the Father, Son and Spirit, relecting His image to the world around me. [5]

1 What Is Worship? a DVD Training Experience. Dan Wilt. 2006 Vineyard Music USA.
2 ibid.
3 ibid.
4 ibid.
5 ibid.

The formula for worship

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Certificate Course with Dan Wilt

One of the things I have absolutely loved about my experience at worshiptraining.com has been the absolute gems that are the course spines. Amazing, thought-provoking, deep and wide...I wouldn't have discovered them otherwise as they weren't even on my reading radar.

For e*b Certificate level, I had the choice to read Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright or Worship by Evelyn Underhill. Sometimes an overachiever, I am choosing to read both at a slow and thoughtful pace. As I said in yesterday's post, I've finished Surprised and will be writing an essay (sounds so bookish and official, like I'm back in school or something) on it as soon as I process a bit more.

Wright I "met" last year and now want to read everything he's written. Evelyn is a brand new friend, and I think I'm really going to like her. She writes with great depth and passion on my greatest passion: worship. I am taking small bites and chewing many times, so I've barely made it past the intro.

"Worship," says Evelyn, "is the response of the creature to the Eternal." [1] God shows up. I respond with worship. If there is no revelation, there can be no worship.

So often, though, worship gets wrapped up in me: my posture, my position, my thoughts, my heart. That's called self-focus, and however holy it may seem to "examine myself", it's about the farthest thing away from worship. Not that a realization of that within me which is not right won't occur when God shows up. But that should never be my focus. If anything, it should bring me to a realization of the goodness and greatness of God, creating a desire in me to draw near to Him so that I might be more like Him, leaving that old stuff behind and embracing His holiness and righteousness that He has placed within me to make me more like Himself.

About 9 years ago, while pregnant with baby #4, I attended a conference in Fort Worth. The worship leader was gifted and anointed to lead us into the presence of God. People were freely worshiping all over the auditorium, all the way right up to the stage. The first night, I sat about as far in the back as I could get...up in the balcony on just about the last row. I found it terribly difficult to engage with the Lord in worship, so I examined myself, was found wanting, and focused on what I had done wrong and needed to do better.

The next day, I sat closer to the front. Engaging was a little easier, but again, I was focused on the things I had done wrong and needed to do better in order to be a more worthy worshipper. I remember very clearly the moment the Lord broke into my reverie: "Who is worship about anyway? Why don't you try looking at Me for a change. Go up front and focus on Who I am."

In an instant I realized the subtle deception I had been under, thinking that somehow I was worshipping by recounting, and even repenting, of what I had done wrong. Now, repenting is not wrong, but I and the things I have done wrong should never ever become the objects of my focus. That, pure and simple, is idolatry. The Lord revealed the lie. Replaced it with His truth. Repentance came. My heart turned and focused on the One. And as a physical act of the change in perspective my heart had just undergone, I went up front, and I danced before the Lord.

Such freedom! Such glory! What a Saviour!!!

Evelyn says it well: "'I come to seek God because I need Him,' may be an adequate formula for prayer. 'I come to adore His splendour, and fling myself and all that I have at His feet,' is the only possible formula for worship.'" [2]

God revealed Himself to me that day. I flung myself at His feet, and in His light, I saw light. [3] I worshipped in spirit and in truth, and I have never been the same...because all of that stuff that had captured my attention before was turned to beauty by just one glance of His eye. [4] I don't need to look at it. I just need to look at Him, and then, and only then, will I find myself being increasingly transformed into His image, from glory to glory [5], a new creation washed and made clean by the power of the blood of the Lamb, made perfect through His perfect sacrifice.

My eyes fixed on You
Revealing Yourself to me
I'm changed by what I see
in You

Your glory fills my heart
Worship flows
from the start
It's You
I see You

I see You
I am new

May my gaze
be ever fixed
on You

May revelation
ever continue
from You

May worship
ever spring forth
to You

1 Evelyn Underhill, Worship (USA, Harper & Brothers, 1937), 3.
2 ibid, 9.
3 Psalm 36:9 NIV.
4 Evelyn Underhill, Worship (USA, Harper & Brothers, 1937), 6.
5 2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV, NASB.

Hope

for the Essentials Blue In Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt


I'm back in the Essentials courses, this time for university credit. Seriously the best "thing" I've spent my time and money on in...probably ever. And it just keeps getting better and better. I can't say enough good things about the people over at worshiptraining.com, and I'm continually amazed at the quality program they have put together for such a great price. I know I sound like a commercial, but this is totally unsolicited praise.

If you can carve out 6-8 hours a week for 4 weeks, head over to worshiptraining.com and sign up for a course or 2. Or talk to your worship pastor about signing your church up. They offer a great church-wide subscription that make it possible for anyone in the church to take 1 course or 6 courses. Essentials courses have deepened and broadened me in ways I didn't think possible, but not in knowledge (although that's been good and abundant) or information. It's been in depth of understanding of the goodness and greatness of God, and it's caused me to draw near to Him, to long to sit at His feet, to relish the privilege that it is to be His favored daughter...

End accolades.

This is my 3rd run with Essentials Blue (e*b). Yes it is my favorite...well it was until I did the courses on worship leading, song writing and spiritual formation. It runs a close 2nd with spiritual formation. I've already done all of the basic course work for e*b, so this go around I'm doing the extra assignment for university credit which is to read Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright. It's a little more cerebral than Simply Christian but oh so good.

It's been a gentle breeze that has blown away some of the fog that slowly and stealthily accumulates whilst unbelief is a part of our household. I don't even know it's there until someone like N.T. Wright comes along and blows a little. The fog moves and I realize: "Oh, I can see more clearly now." And so I step full on into the wind and allow it to relentlessly tear away the bits of unbelief that have tried to intertwine with my thoughts.

The book is done and it's time to put pen to paper to summarize my thoughts. Check back soon. Meanwhile, go to worshiptraining.com and check it out. Be sure to tell them Heather sent you.

fully human (part 2) *eb week 3

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

"We are caught on a small island near the point where these tectonic plates - heaven and earth, future and present - are scrunching themselves together. Be ready for earthquakes!" [1]

I don't mean to make light of the situation in Haiti by referring to earthquakes, although I think there is an analogy here to be explored another day, but this quote from N.T. Wright grabs me because I feel the turmoil of tectonic plates in my life as I've committed myself to the pursuit of being fully human.

Last year while doing Essentials Blue for the first time, I was blown away by the notion that heaven and earth overlap within me and that I am a place where people can encounter God. This possibility of God-encounters only increases as I become more fully human, more Heather.

I always thought I had to be less Heather to be more like God, but come to find out I need to be more Heather in order to most accurately portray the image of the One I bear. To say this has caused upheaval would be an understatement.

But in the earthquake that has rocked my miniscule part of the planet, old structures (faulty, embedded beliefs) have fallen, treasures of the deep have been uncovered, natural resources have begun to grow again, and I am finding a pace and a peace that draws me nearer to God and releases me to glorify Him more completely.

As we become more fully human in our recognition, acknowledgement, and full acceptance of who we are uniquely created to be, may our lives make this declaration:

“God rules in this place. God’s goodness, love, mercy, kindness and grace are your shield and protection – offer your allegiance to this benevolent Sovereign who will rule us with mutual joy!” [2]

1 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 161.
2 Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, 29.

fully human - *eb week 3

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

creative. relational. just. spiritual.
not compartments or boxes
rather uncommon threads woven in and out
a tapestry of grace
bearing the image of the Master

recognition brings understanding
the creation
wholly reflecting
the creative
relational
just
spiritual
One who made me to be
like Him

in form and fashion
healing the sick
raising the dead
opening blind eyes
setting captives free
freedom for the oppressed

through music
and dancing
and art

through action
and service
and work

through parties
and gatherings
and meals

through prayer
and silence
and being
totally

who He created

fully me
fully human

Is God in control?

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

I've been wrestling for some time now with embedded (things I've just believed without really thinking them through) theology regarding God, His power and authority, and whether or not He is really in control.

We sing about it. We talk about it. We end conversations with "Well, God is in control," as if that somehow is the answer to the struggle of why some things happen the way they do.

But I don't really think God is automatically in control of anyone or anything other than Himself. He gave up that option when He designed free will into creation. Often times when we say that, it is (watch out, I may step on toes here) a cop out when what we really need to be doing is seeking the Lord to see where we need to bring His authority and to repent of where we might have dropped the ball.

Now, before you start throwing things at me, I don't have this all thought out perfectly. I wouldn't mind some good discussion on the topic. I don't want to really argue about it, however. So if you read my blog and you disagree with me, feel free to present your thoughts to me in a kind fashion. I'm really not a bad person.

That being said, allow me to think out loud a bit.

I do believe God is all-powerful. I believe He could step in at any moment and take control. I also believe He has all authority and that He has placed in our hands a large portion (more than we realize, it would seem) of that authority with which we are to rule the earth as He would. I also believe He is all-knowing, loving, just, kind, true. I believe that everything the Bible says about God is true.

I think, though, that Scripture indicates He limits Himself first through giving us free will and then through choosing to work through His creation, through His people, through me. I and others like me are what He plans to use in His renewing-the-earth plan. In a sense, He's placed control in my hands.

Yikes.

N.T Wright says it this way: "...he acts from within the creation itself, with all the ambiguities and paradoxes which that involves, in order to deal with the multiple problems that have resulted from human rebellion, and so to restore creation itself. And he acts from within the covenant people themselves, to complete the rescue operation and fulfill its original purpose." [1]

He acts from within "the covenant people themselves." That's me. And that is some of you. I don't understand how it works, but somehow God is at peace with letting a lot ride on what I do or don't do. And with all that responsibility, He lets me know that He works all things together for my good and that my mistakes (and there are many) are not beyond His redemptive power.

So with these thoughts is this dawning of understanding of the utter importance of believing that I am who God says I am. I need to fully know who I am in Christ so that I can be all He has called me to be in this time and place and not be double minded.

He created me and fashioned me and purposed me to bring His authority into every situation, to reestablish His rule and reign on the earth, to recognize that I have the Spirit of the Most High residing in me. That makes me a place where Heaven and earth overlap, a vessel through which God desires to execute His rescue operation to bring things back under His control and authority.

And for this rescue operation of God's to really work, His covenant people can't just sit back and say "Well, God is in control" and just expect it to all work out. I mean, it does work out in the end, but I want to be a part of it working it out because He's asked me to. He designed specific parts of the mission just for me to do!

I want God to so control me (and it only happens if I choose to give Him the reins, wouldn't you agree?), I want to be so completely and willingly possessed by the Holy Spirit that everywhere I go His Kingdom shows up and puts that which is wrong to right...puts God back in control, in authority on earth as it is in Heaven...

I hear God enjoys a good wrestling match. You'll know me by my limp ;-)

Grace and peace.

1 N.T. Wright, Simply Christian (New York: Harper Collins, 2006) 75.

Essentials Blue...Here we go again!

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

I couldn't resist another round of worship theology with my friends Dan and Will over at worshiptraining.com. So when Essentials Blue came around again this January, I had to jump in and swim again in the "ungrippable waters" (thanks, Dan!) with the learning community made up of worship leaders from all over the world.

Although I have read and written about the material before, there is so much to delve into, I could take this course every year for 10 years and still find new gems to hold up to the light, turning them this way and that, watching the light catch the different facets and gaining new insights and an even deeper understanding of what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.

I can't recommend it enough.

May my awareness of who God is and who I am in Him continue to grow and deepen with each moment. May I be diligent to hone my craft and to be all that He has called me to be in the sphere He has called me to lead in.

"I Believe" Easter Presentation

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Course Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This past Easter, 3 of my friends and I performed the piece I wrote for the Essentials Blue worship theology course titled "I Believe." A couple of months ago, I posted my rough version. Here's the tweaked version we recorded on Sunday.

I don't really know how it is that I was able to write this piece. Originally it was a response to the hardest discussion question I've ever had to answer in my life. It required digging deep and finding words to express the essence of what I believe. It caused me to groan under the weight of wordless thoughts and emotions as I wrestled to make them come into a tangible form. I struggled with the way it was written in comparison to the other classmates. This was supposed to just be the notes for a nice and neat 5 paragraph essay. But I could never get it into that form.

And I'm glad.

It morphed from my discussion question answer to my creative project to a presentation we did on Easter. My heart's desire is that in some way this humble offering would bring hope and healing to the despairing and diseased, plant life and truth into the hearts of all who see it, and bring glory to My God and King...this worship expression of one walking down the path of becoming more fully human, more fully glorifying to My Creator.

e*b Creative Project - Part 2

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Here's the final part of my creative project for spring 2009 Essentials Blue module. To view the pdf of the project script and notes, go here . I chose 3 people to perform this piece as a reflection of the Trinity. The first 2 stanzas as well as the last 3 have movement to symbolize the different aspects of God. We start off in a single file, representing the Oneness of God, and break off into the 3 parts to represent the invidivual persons of the Trinity. We open and end with similar sequences of movement with the intent of visually symbolizing the Trinity's unity as well as uniqueness.

This is a rough idea that I hope to refine over the next few weeks and possibly perform for Easter. With that in mind, I welcome input, creative suggestions, constructive criticism, and fan mail ;-) If/when we perform this in public, we would have it memorized. Thanks to my wonderful friends Erin (center stage) and Tami (left) who graciously met with me today so I could create a video.

e*b Creative Project - part 1

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This is the final week for Essentials Blue . It is actually overlapping with the beginning of Essentials Red. It's tough for me to keep up with the pace, but I'm going to give it a go. I'll continue to update this blog as I go along.

In this final week, we were assigned a creative project...something that would spring from things we learned or that impacted us in such a way so as to overflow in artistic expression.

I decided to take my answer to week 4's assignment and turn it into a dramatic reading of sorts.

My hope is that the words coupled with the visual aspects of interpretive movement at the beginning and the end will help to draw the listener/viewer into an encounter with God.

As it is an expression of me becoming more fully human, I pray that it's affect on the listener/viewer will be that he/she becomes more fully alive or, at the very least, has the desire to become more so.

Go here to view the written portion of my project. Check back soon for the video as the written won't make much sense without the visual.

To check out the other creative projects from Essentials Blue, go here

Worship - e*b week 5

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

wor•ship [\ˈwər-shəp also ˈwȯr-\ ]
noun 1: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power ; also : an act of expressing such reverence 2: a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual 3: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem
verb 1: verb to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion [1]

Webster points in the right direction, but the meaning of worship can hardly be contained in the few words of a definition. Like N.T. Wright says, “The best way to discover [what worship is] is to join in and find out.”[2] It must be lived out, day after day, as we tell the Kingdom Story in compelling ways through worship - exploring justice, creativity, relationship, and spirituality. It is declaring the worth of the One and responding with a flow-of-the-heart to the love the Father has lavished upon us.[3] Worship is what I was created for. It transforms me and makes me more fully human, more like the One whose Image I bear.[4] Worship is a celebration of the One who is Creator, King, Trinity and Savior.[5]

There is something about the creative arts that helps our spirits, souls and minds to connect in worship. When I see a piece of art or hear music or participate in an event where my senses are enticed to engage on many levels, that moment becomes much more a part of who I am than if it were solely an intellectual or physical exercise. When music and art are used in worship, the heart, soul and mind are invited to engage and experience the character of God, to become more fully human, more fully alive. The truths of Who God is and Who I am in relation become more firmly embedded within me when I sing about them, dance them, paint them…express them with whatever creative expression God has called out in me. Scripture is full of examples of creative forms of expression. One of my favorites comes from Psalm 95 (The Message):

“ 1-2 Come, let's shout praises to GOD, raise the roof for the Rock who saved us! Let's march into his presence singing praises,
lifting the rafters with our hymns!
6-7 So come, let us worship: bow before him,
on your knees before God, who made us!”

As I respond to God’s love in worship, others are also drawn to Him. Directly or indirectly, whether from the pew or the stage, at home or at work, I influence those around me through worship. When I choose to offer a sacrifice of praise, lifting my hands and my voice, choosing to proclaim the goodness of the Most High whether inside my heart is doubting and hurting or dancing and rejoicing, I pave the way for someone around me to experience greater freedom in worship. When I celebrate Who God is with all that is in me, I am partnering with God to create a space for my own encounter with God as well as an encounter for others.[6]

We as humans have the role of “lead worshippers of the created order.”[7] As a worship leader, I have the awesome responsibility of participating with God to open doorways for people so that they can step through and be who they are made to be: a new creation.[8] First and foremost, though, I must live a life of devotion. “The quality of the water in the basin will have something to do with the quality of the leader’s secret inner life with God.”[9] The more I cultivate my relationship with God and discover Him in the secret place, the more authentically I am able to lead others into worship, the greater the space I am able to help create for others to experience God.

As we become more aware of what it is we are called to, who we are truly meant to be, we reflect God’s glory with ever increasing brightness. People are changed simply because we choose to worship. When we all join together in worship, when we purpose no matter where we are to worship God with wholehearted devotion, the space for encounter with God is greatly enlarged and the not-yet-believing stumble into it and find themselves in the Presence of Truth, Beauty, Royalty, and the ultimate Relationship.

And they begin to worship, become more fully human…and the Kingdom Story continues.

1. Webster.com
2. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 143
3. 1 John 4:9
4. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 148
5. ibid, 149
6. Dan Wilt, e*b wrap-up call
7. Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, 64
8. Dan Wilt, e*b wrap-up call
9. Dr. Peter Fitch, “Inner Living, Outer Giving” (Inside Worship Magazine, Master All), 141.

Still More Alive - e*b week 4

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

This week's discussion question was another struggle. Just the magnitude of the possibilities weighed on me. I had to write a Christian "worldview." Distill all this information into a concise explanation of who I believe God to be and who I am in His Kingdom.

Concise? How?

I kept wondering how I was going to be able to put all of my thoughts into cohesive sentences and paragraphs, how I would be able to narrow down the vastness of the subject into a few measly words???

I did my usual - check out what the others are posting, look at their format, how long, what style, etc. I figure that if I can see theirs, then I can get an idea of how to write mine to conform somewhat to the status quo or at least figure out what it is the teacher "wants."

[That last bit hearkens back to school days when the grades were given more on whether you could give the teachers what they wanted (i.e. the "right answer") instead of what your true thoughts might be.]

But I couldn't come up with an essay that pulled it all together. All that kept coming to me were bits and pieces...words and phrases...of what I had read over the past few weeks, thoughts about God and His Kingdom, heaven and earth, Jesus, me, being fully alive.

As I jotted them down, they began to take shape in the form of a poem or some sort of prose. Definitely not your 5 paragraph essay.

I thought that maybe I'd take these thoughts and from there get to an essay because, goodness, no one else had just a somewhat poetic list. (Except for one fellow student who started in beautiful poetry and ended in magnificent paragraphs.)

The more I tweaked and read through what I had written, though, a growing satisfaction began to fill my heart. I pushed through the inconvenient feelings that I might not get the answer "right" to the reality that whatever my answer, it needed to be mine, however it might look.

Just before the midnight deadline, I went to my facebook classroom to post my answer, and this lightness continued to expand inside of me. I hit the "post" button and took note that I had just become more fully human. I had decided to not try to get my answer to look like someone else's (the reality is they are all so very different in content and style; there really is no such thing as "status quo"). I had allowed myself to just be me.

I think I might just have experienced increasing freedom.

Whoohoo! The corks off!

I Believe - e*b week 4

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen's University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

God
Creator of the Universe
Just and True
Triune and Relational
Savior

The great “We”
No beginning and no end
Sovereign and Holy
Loving and Kind
Spirit [1]

Completely His own category [2]

He created humans in His image
And placed them in a garden
Gave them a choice to love and walk with Him forever
They chose to walk alone
To become less human

But God was not surprised
He set His plan of redemption in motion
Even while the world He created
Became broken and lost

All throughout history
He pointed the way
Through lambs and sacrifices
Covenants and blood
Towards One who was coming
To reign as King and Lord.

This One came: Jesus!
Fully God and fully man
He worked out His purpose
Found His divine vocation
Stayed connected to the Father
Guided by the Spirit [3]

He showed us what it is to be fully human
He lived life fully alive
Only doing what the Father did
Freeing the captives, opening blind eyes
Healing the sick, raising the dead

Teaching
Healing
Relating
Saving
Living
Dying
Living again

And because He lives again
The story is told [4]
How He lived
How He died
How He rose again

His resurrection is the reason we tell the story [5] [6]
The reason we are a new creation
Why we are image-bearers with a purpose
To be agents of God’s renewing-the-earth plan [7]

We are part of His Kingdom
Ever increasing, ever expanding [8]
Putting that which was wrong to right
Restoring brokenness with beauty
Releasing freedom to the captives
Exploring spirituality
Bridging gaps and forming relationships [9]

As we worship and reflect God’s glory in ever increasing brightness
We find our way back to being fully human [10]
Becoming all He’s created us to be
We become intersections of Heaven and earth
A place where the two overlap
And God is made manifest [11]

We are
SubCreators
ImageBearers
CommunityBuilders
SalvificStorytellers [12]

Living in the present
As a people called to the future
Of earth and heaven as one [13]

By the Father
Through the Son
In the Spirit

Amen

1. Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, 43.
2. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 67.
3. ibid, 107-108, 118-119.
4. C.S. Lewis, “Voices on Resurrection and New Creation” (Inside Worship Magazine Master All), 313.
5. Don Williams, “Cross and Resurrection” (iTunes U.)
6. 1 Corinthians 15:12-19.
7. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 191.
8. Isaiah 9:7.
9. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), 189.
10. ibid, 148.
11. ibid, 132.
12. Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, 43.
13. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperCollins, 2006),218.