Rockin' Worship, Part II

So it's official: Eucatastrophe is #1!

That's right! The youth praise band of Bakerstown UMC took first prize in the first Battle of the Bands here in the North Hills! Over 200 youth gathered at Hampton Presbyterian Church to hear some great youth praise bands and to support the North Hills Youth Ministry Counseling Center!

I was so proud of my band members and the other youth of Bakerstown UMC... they displayed their passion, they got everyone excited, they were respectful of all the participants, and Christ was glorified in their behavior and their worship. What's more, some of my youth invited their unchurched friends, and they all wanted to hang out with us after the evening was over. I get the distinct impression that I'll see those teens again, and that our group will be able to continue to witness to them what life with Christ is all about.

It was such an incredible evening! Kudos to Brian Wallace, youth pastor at Hampton Pres., for organizing the event, and to the other bands that participated.

I agree with the comments of my brother in Christ, Jesse Siefert, who was at the event and who is the youth pastor at Whitehall Presbyterian Church. He said that God is definitely doing a work in this new generation of young people, and he believes that God is going to use them to make a difference here in Pittsburgh!

I heard that other United Methodist Church youth had a great weekend at Blaze in Downtown Pittsbrugh with 400 youth in attendance....even more evidence that Jesse's vision seems to be true.

Will you join me in praying for the young people in this area, that God's Spirit will move in their hearts and will challenge them to do great things in the name of Jesus Christ? Let that be our prayer and our passion!

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." - I Timothy 4:12

Rockin' Worship!

Okay, folks...prayer request for all of you:

This Sunday at 5:00 p.m., our youth praise band Eucatastrophe will be taking part in a "Battle of the Praise Bands" at Hampton Presbyterian Church in Gibsonia. Several youth praise bands in the area will be coming together for some friendly competition, in order to raise money for the North Hills Youth Ministry Counseling Center (http://www.nhymcc.org/). We will be playing some great praise songs like Let it Rise, David Crowder's No One Like You, and Fernando Ortega's Our Great God, as well as contemporary favorites like Relient K's Who I Am Hates Who I've Been and Hoobastank's The Reason (with a distinctively Christian slant on that last one).

I am so grateful for this opportunity. It will give these guys with whom I've worked so hard a chance to be seen and heard by people other than this congregation, to be a witness for Christ through their music, and to help a worthy Christian cause in this community. What more could I ask for?

I don't want you folks to pray that we win the competition (well, if you insist)...

Rather, please pray that God will reveal Himself through us, that we will worship well, and that we will be good representatives of Christ and of Bakerstown United Methodist. If you'd like to pray for specific band members, they are:

Nate Bodnar - Drums
Trevor Ditmore - Vocals
Zack Meuschke (grandson of Revs. Paul Meuschke and Ken McGowan) - Guitar
Derek Platt - Vocals
Alex Shipley (grandson of the late Rev. Ralph Shipley) - Bass Guitar
Eric Zarenko - Guitar
Jeff Kahl - Keyboard

Thanks for your prayers! I pray that all of you experience the same passion in your worship of Jesus Christ!

P.S. - If you would like to know what our band's name (Eucatastrophe) means, there's a post somewhere on my blog that describes it! Look under the heading "Inklings."

How Great Thou ART

Jeff Vanderhoff's remarks in my last post (see below, "No Country for Jeff") have led me to reflect on movies as an art form. As is typical with nerds like me, I ended up pondering an even more philosophical question: What is art? And what is its purpose in our lives?

As Vanderhoff commented in my last post, he would much rather watch a good comedy that gives him a little escape from life, rather than a heavy movie like No Country for Old Men which seems to confuse and frustrate more than clarify and edify.

So what is the purpose of art? Why should we watch movies, listen to music, read books, attend plays? Is it to be entertained? To be instructed? Or to just escape from the "real world" for a while?

In general, I believe there are three views of the purpose of the arts in human existence. I know that we all can come up with many specific reasons for liking specific pieces of art, but what I'm listing are just broad categories about the arts in general.

First, there's the view that art is essentially a "handmaid of religion" - that the purpose of art is almost exclusively for religious expression, worship, and for giving glory and honor to God. In other words, art is justified by its faithfulness in representing religious truth. Simple totem poles, ceremonial dances, and mythical stories in the pre-Christian religions. Gothic cathedrals, passion plays and Gregorian chants of the Middle Ages. Even much of the contemporary Christian music business today. All of those would be examples of this first philosophy of art.

Secondly, there's the view that, fundamentally, the purpose of art is to entertain...that art exists for the sake of the audience. The justification of art is, therefore, its ability to reach people subjectively. In this view, what is being said/portrayed is much less important than how it is being said/portrayed. Most of popular music/literature/art falls into this category, although there are excellent exceptions (U2, The Beatles, etc...). Take pop music for example: most of what is actually communicated is trivial, pedantic, and vulgar, yet it is presented with such fanfare and sensationalism that the audience is simply taken up in the experience of the "show."

Finally, there is the philosophy that art is the concretization of the artist's fundamental views of life: that in the specific media of music, painting, literature, etc..., the artist is communicating a basic understanding of human existence, inviting the audience to enter into that understanding, perceive, and enjoy. In this view, the audience can not sit passively and expect pure entertainment. They must engage the work of art with their mind and heart and, in doing so, attempt to discover the major themes that are actually being communicated.

Take two of my favorite films: Hugh Hudson's Chariots of Fire and David Fincher's Seven. In my opinion, each film presents a certain view about the nature of humanity. Chariots of Fire presents humans as having all the potential to be heroic, to live with integrity, to maintain their core beliefs even in the face of opposition, and ultimately to achieve great success. Seven, on the other hand, presents human life as being hopelessly depraved, in which even those with the best intentions are doomed to either failure, cynicism, or despair. Both films use their stories, characterizations, and cinematography flawlessly to present these views. Neither film is "entertainment for its own sake;" but each, in my opinion, is brilliant in what it seeks to achieve.

In Genesis we are told that God is a Creator, and that humans are made in His image. Therefore, I believe that it is in the nature of human life to want to create, to express our deepest longings and beliefs, and to share those with others. I thank God for the brilliant artists, past and present, who have added much to my mind, heart, and life.

No Country for Jeff

So two events happened in the past two weeks that prompted these reflections:

1). On March 2, I turned 35 years old, the age which many people associate with the beginning of the male mid-life crisis.

2). This past weekend, I splurged with some of my birthday money and went to see the movie No Country for Old Men, which recently took top honors at the Academy Awards and which features riveting performances from Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, and Kelly MacDonald.

If you want to read a first-rate review of this film, go to Eric Park's website and check it out. I won't even attempt to equal his analysis of this incredible flick, but I do wish to comment on the three major characters.

1 - First there's Llewellyn Moss, a young man who unexpectedly happened upon a suitcase filled with money at the scene of a botched drug deal. With no moral framework that would help him to do the right thing (turn the money in to the police), impulsively he decided to keep the money for himself. Throughout the course of the film he reveals his propensity for making stupid, spur-of-the-moment decisions that end up doing more harm than good. He even puts his relationship with his wife second to doing what is necessary to keep the money. Llewellyn represents opportunism at its worst.

2 - Then there's Ed Tom Bell, the old sheriff who represents not only law and order but also a sense of decency and morality that was typical of an older America but seems to be fading. Ed Tom even hints that he once had a high hope in God. And yet that hope has long since disappeared for Ed Tom, who observes a culture around him that has no more use for his moral and ethical ideals. Rather than resisting the trend towards moral decay, I sense that Ed Tom chooses instead to wallow in cynicism and merely wait for retirement and death.

3 - Finally, there's the serial killer Anton Chigurh, who I think will go down in history with Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates as one of the finest villains ever portrayed on film. For Anton, life is senseless and arbitrary, almost a game of chance, and human beings are indistinguishable from cattle if they deter him from his goals. He values nothing beyond his own survival. I'd characterize him by his nihilism. Is he crazy? Evil? Or is he the only person who knows what it takes to survive in a world where there is no objective standard of truth and goodness?

So here I am, 35 years old, looking out at the current culture in which I find myself, and in many respects, these three characters represent the only three options that a secular agenda could offer us. Opportunism, cynicism, and nihilism -- what else is there in a life where God is seen as irrelevant, where truth is reduced to opinion, and where morality is relative?

None of these three options is appealing to me. I pray to God that the moral universe implicit in No Country For Old Men is not the moral universe to which we are headed. There are many signs that it's happening. But there is hope.

Just like there was hope in the movie, embodied in the character of Llewellyn's wife, Carla Jean, beautifully portrayed by Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald (who, in my opinion, should have been nominated for an Oscar). In spite of her husband's opportunism, she shows unconditional love and faithfulness to him. In spite of Sheriff Ed Tom's cynicism, she puts her quiet confidence in his ability to uphold law and order. And when she is face to face with the serial killer Anton's nihilism, she poignantly pleads with him to realize that he is capable of making a better choice.

I pray that in this country of ours, all Christians can have the character and faithfulness of Carla Jean. For those may be the best things we have to offer.

Serious Business

I was reminded recently of quotes by two of my favorite writers:

"Man cannot exist without having the capacity for laughter." - St. Thomas Aquinas

"Joy is the serious business of heaven." - C. S. Lewis

For some people, having a sense of humor is as easy as choosing a presidential candidate. OK, bad example. Let's try that again. For some people, having a sense of humor is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Now for the record, I do derive much enjoyment from my wife, from working with youth, from reading for pleasure. But if you've read any of my blogs, you know that I sometimes view life with a degree of seriousness that would make the prophet Jeremiah look like Jerry Seinfeld (not that there's anything wrong with that...).

My tendency to dwell on the negative in certain situations, or to over-analyze, is well-documented by my friends and family. Part of it is undoubtedly the result of my status as the oldest-child with the over-achiever syndrome. Perhaps some of it is that Catholic guilt of my upbringing, which I learned while kneeling in the confessional booth or looking up at Jesus' accusing eyes from the crucifix. I'm sure a professional psychologist could unearth tons of unconcious motivations as well.

So what's my point?

I've come to realize that a crucial spiritual discipline in my Christian walk is the discipline of having a sense of humor. I don't think you'll find that anywhere in the writings of Richard Foster or Henri Nouwen...certainly not a systematized discipline advocated by any theological tradition. But that doesn't negate the fact that it is spiritually necessary for me to simply sit back and have a good laugh, to acknowledge that there is nothing on this earth so important that it should fully take away the joy of living as a child of God.

Thomas Aquinas actually argued that the sense of humor is one dimension of the Image of God in human beings; it allows us to rise above the struggles of life and see all of this world with a sense of levity and hope. Likewise, Chesterton once wrote that "laughter has something in it in common with the ancient winds of faith and inspiration...it makes people forget themselves in the presence of something greater than themselves; something that they cannot resist."

How do I attempt (with varying degrees of success) to integrate this discipline into my life?

First, I try to watch some TV just for the sake of the humor. Shows like The Office, Seinfeld reruns, and Mad TV are at the top of the list.

Second, in my journaling I try intentionally to recall the lighter moments of the day: a humorous observation, a sarcastic comment from our incredible church secretary, or my own stupid mistakes that I'm able to laugh about now.

Finally, I try to surround myself with friends who breathe real joy into my spirit, who allow me to take my focus off of my burdens and just be Jeff.

What are some practices that bring joy and laughter into your heart and life?

May God keep us all in the serious business of joy and laughter, so our spirits never become so heavy that they fail to rise in worship of Him.

Feeling God's Pain

During this season of Lent, I am focusing my devotional reading of Scripture on the minor prophets. It's a section of Scripture I haven't read in a while, and so I decided to delve into the words of individuals who may not have written as much as guys like Isaiah and Jeremiah, but whose message to us is just as important.

So I started reading through the first chapter of Hosea. Right at the beginning, God does the unthinkable: He orders His prophet Hosea to marry an adulterous wife and to conceive unfaithful children. The reason? "Because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord." Apparently God wanted Hosea to feel the kind of gut-wrenching emotions that God Himself must feel when His people abandon Him, prostitute themselves before the lifeless pagan gods around them, and ultimately beget children who are faithless.

If I were Hosea, I don't know what my resonse would have been.

You see, I have a couple close friends of mine who experienced this firsthand. They married women, they loved them, but over the course of the marriage, the women's hearts changed and they engaged in adulterous relationships.

In both cases, my friends expressed a willingness to reconcile, to go to counseling, to try and rebuild the trust and intimacy and start fresh. But their wives would have none of it. They had made up their minds ahead of time and chose to sever the relationship rather than work things out. In one case, my friend's wife walked away with half of the financial assets in the marriage, even though she contributed very little financially.

I saw what that situation did to my friends. I saw grown men crying like babies, heart-broken, shocked, angry, filled with both love and hatred. My one friend has three boys, and despite the counseling they have received, I'm sure the scars of that experience will always be with them.

All because one party in the marriage chose narcissism, self-gratification, deceptiveness and unfaithfulness over commitment, truthfulness, communication, and reconciliation.

I reflect on this, and then I think... Is this what I do to God every time I sin? Does God's heart ache like my friends' did when I make my self-interest, rather than God's glory and righteousness, the motivating factor in my decisions? And on a more corporate level: how does God truly feel about the church's relationship with the pagan gods of our culture today, or the church's sometimes selfish agenda? Does He view us as adulterous?

Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann argues that pathos is absolutely crucial to prophetic ministry: the ability to feel, and to energize others to feel, the heart of God that cries out against apathy, numbness, and unfaithfulness. The people of God must be exposed to a candid expression of the way in which their individual and corporate sin has betrayed God on the very deepest levels. This requires more than theological savvy or administrative gifts: it requires a discerning heart driven by a life of rich prayer and disciplined spirituality, as well as a courage to speak deeply and truthfully about unpleasant things. (See Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination)

If the experiences of my friends (and of Hosea) are any indication of God's reaction to His people today, I believe that this season of Lent offers us a unique opportunity. I pray that through my reading of the minor prophets and through my prayer life, God may invite me into a deeper understanding of His heart, and also a courage to know how most effectively to use that understanding in a way that is productive and energizing.

May our Lenten journey give us a fresh understanding of the lengths to which God will go, and has gone, to restore us adulterous people to our rightful place as His Bride, the Church.

Sobering Facts, Real Opportunities

Recently, Dr. Scott Sunquist (evangelism/mission prof at Pittsburgh Seminary) challenged me to read a book as a part of an independent study I am doing with him. He intends to use the text in his regular Evangelism course next year, and I think he's using me as a sort of "guinea pig." The book is entitled Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism by Martha Grace Reese. Meant as a study for church leaders, the book is a result of a four-year study which focused on developing effective evangelism in mainline churches. With endorsements from the likes of George G. Hunter III, Brian McLaren, and Richard Peace, it is definitely a text that commands attention.

For this particular posting, I am choosing deliberately not to comment on the theological implications of Dr. Reese's study, other than to make one observation. Reese notes that theologically conservative Christians have a natural motivation to evangelize, because they still believe in a literal heaven and hell, and therefore are concerned about the eternal state of people's souls. Theologically liberal Christians, according to Reese, must find some other motivation for sharing the Christian message with others, and that can begin only when liberal Christians are able to answer truthfully the following question: "What difference does it make in my own life that I am a Christian?"

This is a question that many mainline Christians (indeed, many mainline denominations) have been incapable of answering of late. Unless (or until) mainline Christians can make a strong case for why belonging to their denomination is any different than belonging to the local Kiwanis or Rotary Club, their evangelism will always fall short.

Here are some of the sobering facts that Reese shares about mainline denominations:

• From 1960-2000, mainline churches as a whole have lost almost 20% of their members. However, looked at as a percentage of the American population, mainline church membership has dropped almost 50% in 40 years.
• From 1972-1993, the percentage of Protestants in the U.S. remained fairly stable at 63%. However, by 2002 the number had dropped to 52%.
• Only 3% of adults born between 1910-1919 were raised without any religion in their lives. 14% of adults born between 1980-1984 were reared with no religion, and 27% of adults born in those years say they have no religious preference. America is clearly becoming a less "religious" country.
• Mainline churches are failing at helping new people become Christians. While new Christians are joining the faith in mainline churches, the vast majority are our own children or new spouses.
• Very few adult baptisms and affirmations of faith are made in the six major mainline denominations.

I know you're probably sick of reading about the ills of the mainline churches. You're probably also thinking (and I agree with you) that "numbers" are not necessarily an indicator of anything. That said, though, I think it's important to recognize that evangelism is something that many Christian leaders (myself included) are simply not well-equipped to deal with. Either because of time limitations or other priorities, we simply do not give significant attention to spreading the Gospel beyond the walls of our church.

I think it is great that evangelism is now a required course of all candidates for ordination in the United Methodist Church (hence my independent study with Dr. Sunquist). I also think it's great that creative new churches in are springing up in our conference with a distinctively evangelistic and missional focus: think Hot Metal Bridge, Radiant Life (at Pittsburgh Mills) and Eighth Avenue Place which Keith McIlwain describes in his latest post. Hopefully these are signs that the winds are changing and that God is challenging mainliners to make the Kingdom, rather than the Church, priority #1.

My prayer for today is that God will make me more intentional about sharing Christ with others, and in communicating to the congregation of Bakerstown UMC a simple but significant strategy to be more about spreading the good news of Christ beyond our community. Will you join me in praying for that kind of renewal?