Thoughts and Musings

Thoughts and Musings

random reflections on faith, music, family, life.

Celebrating church at the Grammys

1/29/2014

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Okay, be honest: if you somehow were able to see this picture before this past Sunday, what would you think it'd be of?  Probably some mega-church/contemporary worship service in America, complete with professional-grade stage and lights, a churchy setup, and a throng of excited, spirit-filled worshippers standing on the tips of their toes, right?

Wrong.  It's the backdrop for the much-talked about Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Grammy performance of  "Same Love," followed by Queen Latifah overseeing the marriage of thirty-some gay and straight couples.  True, the set kind of got lost in the shuffle; the cameras zooming in for closeups on singers and performers and newlyweds.  But it was there, very noticeably there; the television audience catching it in bits and pieces and immediately realizing what would be rehashed on talk shows in the days that followed: a statement was being made.

My first reaction to the church backdrop was admittedly not a positive one, and it had nothing to do with the statement.  It was the knee-jerk response of someone who's been raised in the church and now makes it their calling: that the backdrop was just a backdrop and nothing more.  It was there to fit the bill (the tune certainly has a gospel vibe) and to somehow add an air of legitimacy to the weddings.  Which, as an aside, is interesting; since I do just about as many weddings outside the church as I do in it.  

So my initial negative reaction: it's just a prop and nothing more.  And that got me a little defensive, to be honest, because despite all its warts I personally love the church and consider it to be more than a prop.  It also made me sad, because my heart aches that a whole swath of folks have not shared the same experience with church that I have. 

But a few days later, my thinking evolved.  I thought about the fact that these Grammy people were under no obligation to use this particular backdrop.  They could've just as easily erected a beautiful mountain scene or winery landscape or personal backyard grillout or country club golf course or any other outside-the-church locale I've had the pleasure of officiating weddings (my personal favorite : two people in their mid-40's on a boat in the middle of Lake Norman. Also my first wedding).   

I also realized that this whole event - the music, the wedding, the statement - was a celebration.   The intended joyful atmosphere was clear from the start.  Macklemore, jumping up and down, noticeably enthused to the core.  Singer Mary Lambert, beaming.  Queen Latifah's smile, large enough to be picked up by satellites orbiting earth.  And, of course, the couples themselves; filled with the joy of anyone who has just been united in the bonds of marriage.  You can argue politics or theology or cultural divide; you can even argue the downside of "wedding-as-show" (which is at the heart of the "let's-avoid-the-Broadway-production" conversation I have with brides and grooms to be) but you can't argue the one thread coursing through it all, tying it together: unbridled and pure joy and celebration.

And it all took place "in church."  

I've said before that I truly believe today's generation wants very much for the church to get it right, in some ways demonstrating more hope in us than we have in ourselves.  They would love, absolutely love, to see today's church succeed in living out its mission to help build God's kingdom on earth.  And I maintain that they would come in droves if we did that.

And that's what I began to take away from this Grammy performance the more I thought about it: they were sending us a message.  A very clear and hopeful message about what they long for church to be, what they need it to be, what they want it to be.  And here's what I think they might have been trying to say to us: 

We want church to be a celebration.  And they're not talking about style.  This isn't a "contemporary-worship-or-nothing" ultimatum.  It's a deeper issue.  Can traditional worship be boring, and can contemporary worship be exciting?  Yep and yep.  At the same time, I've been to plenty of traditional services that, through their liturgy and flow, exuded joy; and I've experienced contemporary styles of worship that felt too showy, too forced, too routine.  What this generation is looking for is a genuine joy of the gathering, worship style aside.  Which leads to the next message:

We want a church that's authentic. Nothing frustrates this generation more than coming to church and feeling as if they're an audience member rather than part of a body;  an exercise in ritual instead of participants in the movement.  They want church to feel real.  And not just to them, but to the person sitting next to them - because they understand (sometimes better than we do) that faith isn't a solo excursion but a group journey. If church being "real" causes you to think about the Velveteen Rabbit story, go with it.  That's exactly the thing they're looking for.

We want a church that lives out its convictions instead of just talking about them.  The Grammy performance displayed this model as clear as day: they talked about the power of love in a song, and then they actually did something with that conviction.  Action must follow beliefs, they're telling us, or the beliefs mean little more than some common ideologies that bind like-minded people together in a group.  They like the country club when it's time to play golf with their buddies or go swimming with a few families on a hot summer day.  But when it comes to making a difference in the world, the country club won't cut it.  The church needs to.

We want a church that loves and accepts everyone - even us, and especially those not like us.  Granted, not every church is ready for this.  And there's the rub.  Still, this generation will make a pretty good case that doing so is following in the footsteps of Jesus himself.  Disagree?  You can certainly argue it.  What you can't do is ignore it.

Years ago, when my state was voting on an amendment to define marriage in fairly restrictive terms, a small church I would pass every day on the way to the boys' school had two signs in their front yard.  The first was a campaign sign expressing unmitigated support for the restrictive amendment; the church making clear where it stood.  The other was the church marquee, literally just a few feet away, advertising their upcoming Bible School with the tag line: "All Are Welcome."  This generation picks up on these contradictions much faster than we in the church do, and it drives them absolutely nuts.

I'm not saying the church needs to start modeling its music, worship style and ceremonies after an seven-minute Grammy performance.  Macklemore can drop a pretty sweet line or two and Queen Latifah's smile makes me smile, but I'm not going to invite either to fill the pulpit next time I'm on vacation.  And you know what?  I don't think this generation wants me to, either.

What they want from the church is faith, hope and love; and the joyful life each of those things leads us to live.  Come to think of it, that sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

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Darkness cannot drive out darkness...

1/20/2014

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I have a lot of favorite MLK quotes.  I think this one's my favorite:

Darkness-cannot-drive-out-darkness-only-light-can-do-that

Here are some others:

I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who has love has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality. 

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

 

Happy MLK Day, everyone.

 

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My Pastor Top Eight

1/16/2014

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Like a lot of churches, my new church sends a monthly newsletter to members and friends, including a letter from the pastor.  Having been on the field for barely two months, I chose to share my "Pastor Top Eight" (I was shooing for ten but couldn't come up with two others).  My goal with this is to help facilitate the relationship-building and trust I'm working on in these first few months, giving my new congregation an idea of who I am as a person and the kind of pastor I long to be.  

I rather enjoyed the exercise - so much that I'd encourage you to come up with a Top 8 as well - or 5, or 10, or 20.  What things matter most to you?  What guiding principles define how you live your life?  Share in the comments section below if you like.

Anyway, I now present to you...

MY PASTOR TOP EIGHT

1. Call me Steve.  Some churches instinctively use more formal titles to address their pastors.  Often it is simply out of respect, but it can inadvertently create a sense of distance.  I am happy and content with all members - children, youth and adults - calling me by my first name.  After all, we’re in this together!

2. My door is always open, literally and figuratively.  You may have noticed that I moved my desk into the larger room of the pastor’s study.  This way I am more accessible. If the door is closed - a rare occurrence - it probably means I’m on a phone call or in a private meeting.  Other than that, you are welcome to drop in and say hi.  I always encourage folks to call the church in advance before coming by to see me specifically - that way I can make sure to be available to you (and you can always sign up with Becky for one of the Thursday morning coffees). 

3. My calling to be a good husband and good father is as important to me as my calling to be a good pastor.  Incidentally, this does not mean that serving you is any less of a priority - in fact, I’ve found that, by always striving to honor my family relationship and responsibilities, I’m a much better pastor to and with you.

4.  I will make mistakes.  As I do, I hope you will let me know so I can keep from making it again. No one likes to admit they make mistakes. But I can promise you that at some point, I will.  I’m also pretty sure that, at some time, I will do something that may upset you.  By coming to me and letting me know personally, you give me a tremendous gift: an opportunity to grow as a pastor and to build a stronger relationship with you.

5. We’re a team!  If you haven’t noticed already, my leadership style with staff and the session centers around a team approach that is founded in mutual trust and respect, and keeping open lines of communication.  My experience is that a church functions at a much higher level, and lives into its vision more efficiently, when this is the case.

6.  The church is not here to meet people's needs, the church is here to meet God's needs.  I once read about a minister who would share this at the beginning of their church’s new member class.  It caught people off-guard at first, but eventually they came to see the truth in it.  I believe churches that understand the heart of this put themselves in a much better position to grow and thrive.  The great thing? When we focus on meeting God’s needs first - in the church, community and world - we find our own needs are met as well!

7. I believe we in the church are called to respond to God's amazing grace and love in three ways:
  • Giving our TIME (being present in the body of Christ)
  • Giving our TALENT (putting our individual, unique gifts in practice for the church’s ministry)
  • Giving our TREASURE (our financial response)
My goal, through my preaching, pastoring, and leading, is to live this out in my own life while equipping you to do the same. 

8.  Love will guide the way.  The guiding force in everything I do as your pastor - preaching, teaching, pastoral care, staff empowerment, church visioning - will always be centered in the love of Jesus and sharing and fostering that love.  If I err, I will always do my best to err on the side of love.

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Resources from The Blaze

1/9/2014

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Had a great time earlier this week hanging out with a hundred or so Presbyterian folk at Montreat for "The Blaze," an annual leadership conference for youth workers.  The conference name took on great significance (and a certain level of irony) as temps got down to digits the valley hadn't seen in a while (I submit THIS as evidence). 

Anyway, I was there because I'd been asked to lead music and worship for the evening services.  I managed to drag my good friend, former MBG bandmate and Presby-by-association Jerry Chapman along for the ride.   Along the way we picked up a few generous souls who happily donated their stellar musical gifts to the cause: Matt on cello, Jay on djembe and Bre with her sweet harmonies.  You would've thought we'd been planning and rehearsing for months, but alas, it was one of those fantastic "spirit-led" things, which is probably why we quickly earned the nomicker, "The Impromptu Band."  T-shirts coming soon.

Some of the folks were asking about the resources we used (songs, liturgy, videos, lyrics/chords, etc), so I'm listing them here.  If you weren't at the conference you're welcome to check them out anyway. All songs except "Greatest of These" were written by other people, and all the liturgy is mine - so if you use them, which I hope you do, thanks for giving credit where it's deserved.   "Let's Confess" is a song by Brian McLaren, and I shamelessly borrowed the idea of  using it as a corporate confession from Andy Acton.

Lastly, if any of you are interested, Jerry and I kinda dig leading conference/retreat music together and I'm always up for keynoting and preaching too (see HERE).  So if you want to inquire about having us come and lead your event, just scroll to the end and fill out the contact form.  I'll be in touch.

By the way, totally kidding about the T-shirts. Or maybe not.  We'll see.


WORSHIP PREZIS


LYRICS/CHORDS FOR MOST OF THE SONGS

Greatest of These
File Size: 46 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Come All You People
File Size: 33 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Let Justice Flow Down
File Size: 37 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

He Came Down
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

God Be The Love
File Size: 33 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Canticle Of The Turning
File Size: 113 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


SOME OF STEVE & JERRY'S MUSIC




"LET'S CONFESS" CONFESSION VIDEO


Interested in Steve and Jerry leading music/worship/keynote/preaching for your retreat?  We're interested too! Just fill out the info below and we'll be in touch.  Thanks!

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    Steve Lindsley

    Child of God. Husband. Father. Minister. Musician. Songwriter. Blogger.
    Keynoter and Songleader. Runner/Swimmer. 
    Almost vegetarian. 
    Lifelong Presbyterian.
    Queen City resident.
    Coffee afficionado.
    Dog person. 
    Panthers/Hornets fan. 
    Mostly in that order. 
    For more info check out stevelindsley.com

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