Needed: Biblical Lyricists

After all of our nostalgic reminisces about Larry Norman yesterday, I started thinking about other old staples of the "Jesus Rock" era, like Resurrection Band, whose hard-hitting music and lyrics were backed up by their hardcore commitment to the inner city of Chicago, and ministering to "the least of these my brethren" in the ghettos there.

Wendy & I actually travelled to Jesus People USA -- twice -- to explore the possibility of joining their ministry; their radical commitment to actually living what they preached really appealed to us.

Another band that I thought of Petra, a hard-rocking but innovative group that, as I just discovered by reading their website when I looked up the link for this post, is retiring at the end of 2005. (I guess Larry's still a trend-setter, even in retiring!)

What I remember really appreciating about Petra is their high percentage of Bible passages in the lyrics to their songs. I've been lamenting the high degree of biblical illiteracy in the emerging generations for years, and therefore I was a big promoter of Petra's albums to the different youth groups I was involved in during the 1980's. Anything that would get more Bible knowledge into the emerging generations, was fine by me.

What continues to bother me these days, is how shallow and meaningless a lot of current worship lyrics really are. Or, if there's an attempt to say something profound, it's usually a strung-together list of cliches.

Chris Tomlin is becoming one of my favourite worship songwriters; there is a lot of Scriptural content in his songs, and they tend to be written with a good understanding of theology behind them. Considering that biblical illiteracy hasn't really improved since the 1980's, songs that contain creative ways of bringing in Scripture, or teaching biblical concepts, are a valuable tool in spiritual formation. We are a culture that learns much through our music.

There are other good lyricists that are writing great songs of worship -- one of my favourites is In Christ Alone, which has some of the best lyrics written in a contemporary worship song (and the emerging generations absolutely love this song).

What we need are more songwriters who will take spiritual formation into account when they write their songs, and make a point of bringing Scripture into their writing. Stained glass windows were once a teaching tool for a non-literate society -- good songwriting will fulfill the same need for our culture today.

Farewell, Old Friend

Anyone who knows me, knows that Larry Norman has had a huge influence on me, especially as a teenager. The "Street Level" album was the first of Larry's recordings that I was able to find (back in the day when Christian rock was still being attacked as a satan-inspired compromise with the world), and the opening poem "First Day In Church" totally resonated with my own feelings about the intersection (or lack of) between the culture my friends and I were living in, and the culture of the church of that time.

Larry's example, aside from musical brilliance, was probably best characterized as "No Compromise" (much like Keith Green, whose album and biography of the same name are also classics), and his articulate viewpoints, as much a part of his concerts as music, were always challenging and encouraging -- Larry called it "brain music", in answer to some critics saying "stop talking, we just want to hear music".

Anyway, Stephen Shields recently posted a link to a CT article on what may be Larry's last North American performance. "Farewell, Larry Norman" is a good reminder of honouring those who have carried the torch before us. One of the things I remember very favourably was the number of times I'd see Larry after a concert, outside talking with people for hours afterwards. When most Christian "artists" were signing autographs and getting their pictures taken, Larry was talking, sharing, and praying with people. I remember Larry and Randy Stonehill spreading out newspapers on the wet steps of Convocation Hall at UofToronto, so that they could sit and talk after the rain had dampened everything.

I also remember seeing Larry at a huge festival in Kitchener; he performed a couple of times on the main stage, once in a coffeeshop (where you could ask him questions and interact with him during the two hour set), but even more so, I saw him working his butt off for hours -- as the sound tech for a bunch of young bands that nobody had even heard of.

Just... serving. Talking with young band members, encouraging them, praying with them, leading them in Bible studies backstage.

Many people are aware of Larry's recorded legacy, and those who have seen him perform live have had a rare treat, but it was this humble, servant-like man of God that I saw taking time to actually minister off-stage, that impressed me the most.

Well done, Larry. Thank you for your input into my life.

Questions for Leaders

Len Hjalmarson emailed me recently with this challenge:

"Rob,

"You have one hour to tell 25 pastors and leaders what they need to know about leadership in this transitional time (as I write this I am thinking... not possible. so ok)

"What are you going to ask them?

"What things do you want them to know?"

Because I really like the example of Jesus, I think I'd respond to any questions by asking more questions. Even if I could get something condensed down to one hour, why would a talking head (especially mine) be helpful? Questions that would make them think, long after the hour was over, would be preferable (admittedly, these are just a wee bit on the "pointed" side).

Assorted Questions

1. Are you listening to me? Really listening? (Matthew 11:15, The Message)
   
2. Are the emerging generations (teenagers & 20-somethings) attracted to your church, or are they leaving?
   
3. If they're leaving or have already left, to what do you attribute this?
   
4. Have you actually asked any of them?
   
5. On what Scripture passage do you base the idea that "leaving our church = falling away from God"?
   
6. Listen to the following quote from a 20-something friend of mine in Winnipeg; she is articulating a common theme:

   "I am not really interested in where the church is going per se, but if there is a safe place for my parched and weary soul."

   (a) How would you respond to her statement?
   (b) When was the last time you read the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7)?
   
7. Have any of you created a flowchart or diagram to demonstrate your effectiveness as a leadership team in living out the following verses?
   1. "Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'"(Matthew 20:25-28)
      
   2. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)
      
   3. "When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'" (John 13:12-15)
8. Are you listening to me? Really listening? (Matthew 11:15, The Message)

I Couldn't Decide...

Between the available labels from the MIT Survey for Bloggers, so I'm posting them all.
Like all surveys, there are some questions that are hard to answer, and some of the unique things about "bloggers of faith" aren't really addressed, but it's from MIT, so I'm sure it has some deep significance somewhere -- maybe the Mensa Society or something.

Maybe I'll understand it better after I stop off at Tim Horton's.

---

Update:

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.'" (Proverbs 31:28-29 NIV)

While I was rummaging around in Greek lexicons for some further understanding of the use of the words "rhema" and "logos" in the New Testament (can you guess which part of the Post-Charismatic research/writing I'm on now?), my beautiful wife went to Canadian Tire, got the parts required, performed her own version of "Bob the Builder", and now we have a fully functional BBQ!

Life is good. My wife ROCKS.

Vision is not Optional

I mentioned last week that I'd post something on "vision". For those who think I've forgotten, let me say that I'm still buried in research and writing on "Post-Charismatics". If all goes well, Lord willing the final product will be online sometime in July. Brother Maynard has been a great help in proof-reading and beating me up offering helpful advice on the content and the writing, as well as sending me encouraging emails to keep at it. Thanks also to Tim Mitchell for his invaluable input!

Anyway, with that disclaimer, on to "vision"...

During my stay in Kelowna recently, the topic of vision came up repeatedly. A popular verse that speaks of vision is Proverbs 29:18. Different versions of the Bible yield different emphases on this tiny verse, but each contributes something worth considering.

The King James Version renders this verse in probably its most well-known wording: "Without a vision, the people perish."

Two years ago, we had a long discussion on this blog about dreams and vision getting beaten out people, to the point of them not daring to dream anymore. Unfortunately, Haloscan doesn't archive comments beyond a certain point, which is unfortunate because the honesty and vulnerability of the 40+ people who commented was amazing.

But the death of vision, for many of them, left them feeling directionless and hollow -- another way of saying "the people perish". Vision is (or should be) life-giving.

The New International Version words the same verse in this way: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint."

Once upon a time, when I was worship/youth pastor at Eastgate Vineyard in Victoria, I remember our senior pastor, Jim Inkster, commenting on this verse to the effect of vision "restraining" people, much as athletes are restrained by their vision of Olympic gold, so they say "no" to things that would deflect or prevent them from reaching those goals. Vision gives us a grid of restraint, as we say "yes" or "no" to things (legitimate things, too) that don't move us towards our goals. Without a revelation from the Spirit as to what we're called to do, we have no parametres of restraint.

Eugene Peterson's The Message presents another facet of this verse: "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves."

If you want to see conflicting agendas and people running into/over each other, just take a look at any group or church that has no clear sense of what God has called them to do. Vision/revelation/seeing what God is doing gives a real point of community-shaping and direction. Shared vision, and common goals, are community-building.

Of course, in the name of "vision-casting", many people have felt artificially forced into a "church vision" that feels more like an agenda than a life-giving vision; some have suggested that if they hear the term "vision-casting" one more time, we'll see their latest meal in our laps.

We should perhaps devote some more time later to the concept of leaders encouraging multiple visions versus (or maybe in addition to) a one-size-fits-all corporate vision. But for now, I'd like to suggest that vision is extremely necessary to the building of healthy communities of faith. If there's been abuses of vision-casting, the antidote isn't to have no vision/dreams, it's to weed out the man-made additions and see what the Spirit really is saying to churches, home groups, and individuals.

Leonard Sweet once wrote, "Do you believe in what you're doing? Better yet, do you believe that what you're doing is what God is doing?"

Monday Morning

Several blogs have posted links to Billy Graham and his upcoming New York crusade, which many believe could well be his last. The Tall Skinny Kiwi (Andrew Jones) had a brief post about it, which made me want to write one of my own, but Brother Maynard has written one that the Kiwi is recommending as the best post. I agree.

On another note, the Kiwi has also linked to an article by Alan Roxburgh (Bob Roxburgh's brother) that is an excellent critique of the current state of the emerging/emergent conversation/movement ("Movement" is becoming more of a reality now that Tony Jones has been named "National Coordinator" of Emergent US).

Alan's article is also noteworthy because he, like Jason Clark in his Love/Hate the Emerging Church post from last August, also writes as a thoughtful insider.

B.C. and Book Tag

My mission to British Columbia was successful. Partly because I was able to actually spend analog time (@ Starbucks, because The Bean Scene was closed that late at night) with none other than Len Hjalmarsson, with whom I have enjoyed digital friendship and co-authoring adventures for the past three years.

Mostly, the mission to B.C. was successful because I was able to find a house for our family to move into later this year when we join the ranks of Youth With A Mission.

I was also able to, as a diversionary break from house-hunting and all the related hassles of relocating across the country, spend numerous hours providing bass tracks for a CD by a local Christian artist, at the invitation of producer Andrew Smith, who also provided much laughter as we recalled "on the road" stories from a tour we once did in the Maritime provinces.
And to top it all off, I had the awesome privilege of reconnecting with friends from our Winnipeg and Vancouver Island days, who are now involved in the Kelowna Vineyard church plant, and not only laughing about some of our favourite memories but also sharing dreams and vision for the future (that'll be my next post).

On a different note, Brother Maynard has tagged me with the book list meme that has been making the rounds, much as the theological worldview quiz did earlier this week. So, since this is some form of digital "tag", I guess that means I'm "it" (proof positive that there's always time for some levity and fun), so here goes:

1. Number of books that I own?
   
   Like Bro Maynard, I shall have to amend this question to include books that I used to own. Several church libraries and used book stores in Victoria and Winnipeg now have larger quantities of books as a result of our many cross-border and cross-continent moves. I find myself more ruthless about which books I hang on to, based on the criteria of: (a) those I read or refer to more than once, (b) any might serve as a research tool for later writings, or (c) that I might loan to a friend (which also sometimes accounts for why my book numbers go down).
   
   Currently, I think I own in the neighbourhood of 200+ books, but these would be my "A-list" books because I've donated the rest to the aforementionied libraries and book stores. If I still had every book I've ever owned -- Christian or otherwise -- the number would be well over 1000.
   
   
2. The last book I bought.
   
   Much easier to answer: It's The Shepherding Movement by S. David Moore. It's part of my primary sources research for the writing I'm doing on Post-Charismatics. While the Shepherding movement was discredited a long time ago -- and some of the main proponents publicly repented of it -- the concepts of "covering" and "who are you submitted to" have survived and continue to cause devastation.
   
   
3. The last book I read.
   
   Again, quite easy, and also connected to my Post-Charismatic research, although from a historical theology angle: A History of Christian Thought Volume 3 by Justo Gonzalez.
   
   

   Another re-read -- to unplug my brain from history, theology, and research -- was one from my complete collection of Bloom County books, Billy & The Boingers: Bootleg.

   
   
4. Five books that mean a lot to me (or, if I'm interpreting this question's intent correctly, have impacted me a great deal):
   
   Brethren, Hang Loose, written by Bob Girard in 1971, is still a favourite; it was the book that first put into language the things that Wendy & I, as young believers, were trying to articulate. Also, since it was written many years before the "emerging jargon that we find ourselves in", it's refreshing to see that we're not the first people to have questioned what Bob called "The Glorious Evangelical Status Quo".
   A New Kind of Christian, by Brian McLaren. While I'm not comfortable with some of the theological directions that Brian has delved more deeply into these past few years, it would be a form of revisionist history to not acknowledge that Brian -- much like reading Bob Girard's books 20 years ago -- put into words the kind of things that we were observing and questioning in the late 1990's. And it was my dad who let me borrow his copy of the book, when I was living under a rock somewhere and had never heard of Brian McLaren.
   The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection is still a favourite, many years after it being one of our textbooks at Providence College. We used Brother Lawrence's teaching as part of the discipleship of the interns who served at the two senior high retreats we did earlier this year (total attendance: 950 senior highs), and gave the book to each intern as a gift -- they loved the book, learned a lot from it, and were exemplary in their servanthood during the retreats.
   The Quest for the Radical Middle by Bill Jackson, is the unofficial history of the Vineyard movement, of which I have been a part and/or friend of for many years. It's been extemely beneficial in developing the Post-Charismatic material, and also showing how new movements tend to have pendulum swings that initially draw criticisms, but eventually balance out.
   The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer, is still one of my favourites. While just about anything by Tozer is a good read, this one rocks. And a favourite memory of mine comes from the mid-90's, when I repeatedly observed many young Christians, with all manner of hair styles, tattoos, and body piercings, enthusiastically devouring Tozer's books. Truly a man whose writings continue to speak eloquently to today's generations.
   
   
5. Two major books when I was a kid. I'd like to suggest Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, but I think I'll re-interpret this one to be "two major books when I was a young Christian" (circa grade 12).
   
   Peace Child by Don Richardson.
   Bruchko by Bruce Olson.
   
   Equally infuential on me at this point in time, as a musician, were these albums:
   
   Street Level by Larry Norman
   No Compromise by Keith Green
   Colours by Resurrection Band
   
   
6. People I want to tag (that haven't already participated, to the best of my knowledge):
   
   Rivertribe Mike
   Johan the Bassist
   Dan Edelen
   Jamie Arpin-Ricci
   Maryellen Brokop

Prayer for Jordon Cooper

On a much more serious note, Jordon Cooper has requested prayer from all of us. Jordon has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, and is currently experiencing a lot of pain.

I remember quite clearly the powerful and effective prayers of many who visit this blog, during my own health crisis last October, so I want to pass on Jordon's request for any and all who visit this blog to pray for him.

May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
- Against the snares of the evil one.

May Thy Grace, Lord, always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen. (St. Patrick)

Existential Angst

Brother Maynard made me do it. He digitally brain-washed me into taking one of these online quizes -- for people who don't believe our personalities are determined by the stars, we sure do find these quizzes irresistable.

Anyway, herein lies the reason for my existential angst:

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists. Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 79% Emergent/Postmodern 75% Charismatic/Pentecostal 68% Neo orthodox 68% Reformed Evangelical 50% Roman Catholic 50% Fundamentalist 46% Classical Liberal 43% Modern Liberal 14% What's your theological worldview?(created with QuizFarm.com)

See what I mean? I only read Wesley's "A Plain Account Of Christian Perfection" for the first time a few weeks ago; I don't think I've ever even met a Wesleyan face-to-face (unless Anabaptists count as Wesleyans... I know lots of Mennonites; I'm married to one); I was raised in a Dutch Reformed town where John Calvin's name is spoken with genuflective breathlessness; and how do you have charismatic and neo-orthodox score a tie? Or Reformed and Roman Catholic? The emergent/postmodern and charismatic/pentecostal makes sense, but...

You see why I have angst? It's almost as discombobulating as when I, believing myself all these years to be Gen X, first discovered that I was, in reality, a part of Generation Jones.

Y'all excuse me while I go drink some Tim Horton's coffee and ponder the deep meaning and implications of all this.

Wisdom from "Somewhere in Canada"

Just wanting to respect Brother Maynard's anonymity.


Here's a link to Brother Maynard's excellent post on the Emerging Conversation. Bro Maynard continues to find a knack for putting things into perspective with clear, concise, and gracious wording. This is a great post (and not just because he links to me two times).

Have a gander (or a penguin, perchance) and tell 'em Robby sent ya.

P.S. Speaking of penguins, Madagascar is absolutely hilarious. You'll love it. Your kids will love it. You'll be singing the Lemur song for days to come. If you need a mental health break from heavy ecclesiology and theology, this is it.

Missional Grid

When I was still in college (20 years ago already), I remember asking our Missions prof, "If missionaries who contextualized the gospel are heroes on the foreign mission field, why are those of us who contextualize the gospel in our home mission field villian-ized? Why is it okay -- admirable, even -- to adopt the host culture and language in foreign missions, and yet anathema to do the same in our own culture?"

Never one to avoid speaking his mind, the prof replied, "There's no difference at all. Or at least, there shouldn't be, and shame on us for creating such a double standard."

Hudson Taylor was roundly criticized in his day for adopting the traditional dress, hair-style, and cultural expression of the Chinese nation that he ministered in. Hindsight has recognized the genius of Taylor's approach, and also the fruit of his efforts.

Bruce Olsen (author of mission classic Bruchko) also joined the tribe -- literally -- and began a work that resulted in many Motilones becoming followers of Jesus. "Contextualizing the Gospel" became widely advocated and practiced in recent history.

In his book Aqua Church, Leonard Sweet addresses the same approach in his comments about the need for differentiating between "content" (the Gospel) and "container" (our methodology/missiology/ecclesiology).

In the wake of seven prominent members of Emergent posting a response to their critics, Andrew Jones was challenged to defend certain theological questions at his blog. Andrew, being much brighter than some of us, wisely chose to quote sections of various well-known missions documents (including the Lausanne Covenant, the Manila Manifesto, and the Apostles Creed) in his answer. In doing so, he reminds all of us that the grid we are working from is missional, and that we must not lose sight of the goal of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to a foreign culture that has been heavily impacted by postmodernism.

Several books that I'd recommend reading, which speak to this issue of contextualizing the Gospel in foreign cultures, include Don Richardson's Peace Child and Eternity In Their Hearts, as well as Charles Kraft's Christianity In Culture and The Anthropology of Christian Witness. (Gerald Arbuckle's Earthing The Gospel is another good resource, written from a Catholic perspective, post-Vatican II.)

Richardson's books are less technical (and less expensive) than Kraft's, and therefore serve as a great introduction (and "Peace Child" is a modern-day missions classic). All of these books have insights on how our own culture has become foreign territory to us, and of our need to learn all over again how to contextualize the Gospel for our own (postmodern) culture.

Thanks again, Andrew, for pointing us back to our missiological roots.

Agree/Disagree: The Next Generation

A couple of great books that I have been absolutely devouring recently are Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and Justo Gonzalez's History of Christian Thought Volume 3.
Grudem does a noteworthy job of presenting his Reformed position, and also provides a solid apologetic for the charismatic gifts. I had earlier read and appreciated his The Gift of Prophecy in the NT and Today, but this book puts his thesis into the broader context of theology.

Gonzalez's three volume set (I have all three and thoroughly recommend getting them all, but they're not cheap) traces the development of theology throughout the centuries, covering the differing philosophical influences that were affecting the Church at various stages, and how they responded to this, and what doctrines were hammered out in the Councils, Reformation etc. Gonzalez works very hard to present accurately the various viewpoints in all of the discussions, pointing out strengths and weaknesses with fairness. It's a fascinating read.

Does this make me a theology geek?

---

Someone in the comments from the last post asked for a few examples of Agree/Disagree statements that I thought "really worked". I tend to not keep notes around for very long, and as these statements are usually scrawled on a piece of paper that gets stuffed into my back pocket even during the midst of the Agree/Disagree, I haven't been able to find any (and my memory appears to be doing the over-40 thing...).

I looked for a youth leaders' training manual that I wrote a few years ago, which detailed the concept of Agree/Disagree and had some examples included, but it also seems to have vanished during one of our many moves across the continent (and we DID lose a number of boxes, or more accurately, the moving company lost some of our boxes when we moved to the Toronto area).

However, I do have a recent example of what I call "The Next Generation" of Agree/Disagree (which, to be historically accurate and give credit where credit is due, I learned from my youth pastor, George Mercado, back in the mid-80's; I don't know where George may have learned it previous to that).

The purpose of the Agree/Disagree (I'll call it "A/D" from now on as shorthand) is twofold: (1) To make the learning/discipleship process as interactive and community-oriented as possible, and (2) to create a learning environment where people take ownership for their own spiritual growth, in the context of community.

The "Next Generation" aspect was alluded to in the previous post: I mentioned that you could score points if participants could back up their ideas with Scripture (in context). I should, for the sake of clarity, point out that we DIDN'T actually, literally keep score -- that would be totally against the ethos we were attempting to create.

Because it's my personal belief that one of the greatest problems facing the emerging generations who were raised in churches is an appalling level of Biblical illiteracy, A/D:TNG is a deliberate attempt to get the emerging generations interacting with Scripture as much as possible. Here's how it went:

I had been invited to speak at a young adults group in Mississauga recently, and the topic they wanted me to address was how to approach life in college/university as a Christian -- basically, how to survive a secular environment. Because there were three different churches joining their young adults groups together for the evening, and because it was built around a "dessert/coffee table discussion" format, I had to get creative.

I arbitrarily divided the group into four (after the worship time), and gave each group one passage of Scripture to interact with at their tables, and then present their findings to the whole group later. The topic, as they had requested, had to do with how to live as a Christian in a secular environment. Each group had to read the Scripture passage I gave them, and answer these questions when they presented:

1. What is the main point of the passage?
2. How could we apply that to our current discussion?
3. What comforts, excites, or disturbs you about this passage?

What I didn't tell them was that I had deliberately chosen four Bible passages that seemed to contradict each other:

• Colossians 2:20-23
• Ephesians 5:10-16
• John 17:14-19
• 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

...and they would have to debate among themselves later how to reconcile -- arrive at a fuller understanding of -- the appearance of contradiction.

The groups had their desserts and coffee while they went over their individual passages, and I found an empty room to pray in, and then we called everyone back together. Each group presented their findings, I reminded them of "Robby's Rules" (see previous post), and we had such a great discussion/debate that the host pastor finally had to shut it down because it was going too long. But the discussion continued informally between individuals after the meeting as well. As I drove out of the parking lot, there were still small pockets of people standing around their cars, animatedly talking together.

The emerging generations really want to grow as Christians. Our goal has to be to involve them in this process in an interactive, community-based way, and to also find creative ways of allowing them opportunities to dig through the Scriptures on their own, learning how to wrestle through what Scripture means, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth (John 16:13-14).