The Internet Monk Archives

A Fight Of Faith

Last year I wrote about struggles I was facing, and compared them with a boxing match. Today, I feel like I am in the twelfth round of a fifteen-rounder. Â I thought I would revisit this again. Does anyone else feel as if they are in the ring right now?

It stood to reason that a struggle with the Devil meant aÂ spiritual struggle â€¦ the notion of a physical combat was fit only for a savage. If only itÂ were as simple as that.Â (Perelandra by C.S. Lewis)

I have been watching a lot of boxing on TV lately. Iâ€™ve always liked boxing-â€“â€the sweet scienceâ€â€“-but had not really watched much in the past few years. Not much has changed though. You still have two men (I have yet to watch two women square off in the ring) who are nearly equal in weight spend three minutes at a time trying their best to hit the other in just the right way to knock him to the ground, hopefully to stay. While it can look brutish and needlessly violent, there really is a lot more science and math involved in boxing than there is raw strength. A skilled fighter can take down a stronger but unskilled fighter every time.

I have been watching a lot of boxing, but I feel like I have been in the ring myself much of this week. The past several weeks, in fact. Maybe the last couple of months. And I feel neither skilled nor strong. I have been battered and beaten, and right now am struggling to make it to my feet before the referee counts to ten. Who knew that when Paul wrote to Timothy about fighting the good fight of faith he meant it would be a real fight.

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Worship Music: A Further Discussion

By Chaplain Mike

For three Saturdays now, we have posted Michael Spencer’s series on “Worship, CCM, and the Worship Music Revolution.” A foundation has been laid for further discussion.

The American evangelical church has come a long way since 2002, when Michael’s articles first appeared. It is my opinion that the “revolution” is mostly over. We can look back over the past ten years with even more perspective. Doing so, I feel comfortable making the following general statements:

In terms of style, “contemporary” music has clearly triumphed and is the music of choice among a majority of evangelicals and their congregations.

In terms of content, contemporary music has been maturing, and some of it is characterized by more biblical and theological depth. This includes more adaptation and use of hymns and traditional songs in contemporary styles.

In terms of presentation, there are still many problems. Some of these grow out of a deficient understanding of corporate “worship.” Others grow out of the “concert” setup and style of presentation.

Commercialization is not driving worship music as much as it used to, but it is still an issue.

I remain saddened by the lack of imagination in contemporary church music. At no time in history has the church had more access to historical information, other Christian traditions, the world Christian community, facilities in which music and the arts could be studied and practiced, and technologies which make all kinds of creativity possible. And yet music is used for two primary purposes: (1) to make our churches accessible to people we want to reach who we think won’t like anything “traditional,” and (2) to “touch the hearts” (i.e. guide the emotions) of Christians. Music in many churches is primarily a pragmatic tool for church growth and revivalism, and thus the range of music we use and the ways we present it are incredibly limited. Music in the Christian community ought to be the most diverse, creative, and excellent music in the world.

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The Liturgical Gangstas Talk about Church History

Presented by Chaplain Mike

Our regular feature with friends from different Christian traditions continues today with a question about the place of church history and traditions in our current practice. There are a couple more Gangstas who have said they may want to chime in addition to those represented here. When I get their posts, I will publish part two.

Oh, and just for the record, Pastor Daniel did NOT ask nor authorize me to put a picture of John Calvin with his post. I did that on my own. Just for you, Dan. Â : )

TODAY’S QUESTION: What part does the teaching and understanding of church history have in your tradition and in your local parish or church ministry? How well versed would you say your congregation is in the history of the church? What suggestions would you have, from your experience, on helping believers know more about our past and traditions?

Rev. William Cwirla (Lutheran)

History plays a pivotal role in our Lutheran tradition.Â The Lutheran confessional claim before the church and the world is that we have received and introduced nothing contrary to the Scriptures or the church catholic.Â This is a hefty claim and a matter for historical reflection and critique.Â Our manner of worship is historically rooted in the early centuries of the church.Â Our creeds are historic documents – the great baptismal creed of Rome, the conciliar creed of Nicea and Constantinople and the magnificent summary of the catholic faith in the Athanasian creed.Â Our hymnody is a mix of the churchâ€™s past and present, reflecting our view of the tradition as living history.

History is theology for us, in that we believe that God works â€œin, with, and underâ€ history and that the pivot point of history between the Beginning and the End is the death and resurrection of Jesus.Â The One who was and is and is to come is the Lord of history.

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Listening to the Story

ChagallNaomi&dtrsinlaw — Naomi & Her Daughters in Law, Chagall

By Chaplain Mike

Ordinary Time Bible Study
The Book of Ruth (3)

How Did I Miss That? Dept.
Inexplicably, when recommending commentaries on Ruth in an earlier post, I forgot to mention one of the finest: The Book of Ruth (New International Commentary on the Old Testament), by Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. It may actually be the best of the bunch, and it is certainly a good place to start in your study of the Book of Ruth.

The Story of Ruth
As we continue to introduce the Book of Ruth, it is important at some point to consider the fact that, at its heart, this is a story. Of course! you say, but we in this analytical, scientific age sometimes find it hard to disconnect all the dissection equipment and simply listen to stories. We feel we have to do more, and so we get out our pens and paper, check our Bible study software, do our Google searches for additional information, read commentaries and articles, listen to sermons, take classes, have our small group Bible studies, and analyze the story until it becomes lifeless notebook filler.

The writing down of stories has meant loss as well as gain. For we are not, by and large, good listeners anymore. Our imaginations have become stunted from disuse. We don’t delight in the sounds of words and relish skillful wordplay as our ancestors did. Good stories are like well written musical compositions; they “sing” to us. They transport us mentally, emotionally, and imaginatively into other worlds where the air smells clean and the colors are more vivid. We become intimate friends with some of the characters, and mortal enemies of others. We enter into the drama of their lives and it becomes part of us.

This can still happen through reading, but we are one step removed from the storyteller’s inflection, the dramatic pause, the catching of the breath and quickening pace of words during an action scene, the body language and eye’s twinkle that prompts anticipation.

In reading the Bible, however, we are often even more removed because we have been taught so many ways of approaching Scripture that run counter to good story-listening.

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Mike Bell: How My Parents Broke the Mold

By Michael Bell

Quick, think of a stereotypical Evangelical. What attributes come to mind?

Here are some that you might have come up with.

Anti-Union
No Movies
Lack of concern for the environment
Driven by consumerism
Homogeneous
Complimentarian
King James Version only (for some)
Dispensational
Young Earthers
No Alcohol

I used the word stereotypical, because, for many Evangelicals this list is not true at all. It is certainly not true of my parents. I put the list above in the order that I did, because it reflects a sequence of events in my parents life through which I learned that as an Evangelical there were alternatives to these beliefs. This weekend we celebrated my parents’ fifty years of life together. As I have reflected upon my life with them, I have been amazed at how much I have learned from them, as they have broken through so many of the Evangelical stereotypes.

My great-grandfather on my father’s side of the family died when my grandfather was a young boy. As a result my grandfather and great-aunt had to work in a linen mill. My grandfather was twelve at the time, and his sister was eight. She was so small that she had to stand on a box in order to reach the work table. This family history certainly had an impact on my father, and many years later, when I was criticizing a particular union action, my Dad reminded me that, “If it wasn’t for unions, we would still have kids working in the factories.”

In order to escape that life my great-grandmother started to manage a movie theatre, for which she was condemned by the church. As the church did not offer any alternatives she persisted with her new position. It is not surprising then that my parents did not take the hard stand against movies that some evangelicals did.

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A Hymn for Ordinary Time (2)

One of my favorite melodies is the Gaelic tune BUNESSAN, which most people sing as “Morning Has Broken.” Many years ago, we began singing a hymn to this tune in the church where I served as worship leader. It quickly became a favorite.

The words were authored by Canadian hymn-writer, Margaret Clarkson. In my opinion, it is one of the few great modern hymns that captures the nature of our God who is both transcendent and imminent, who created all things by the word of his power, and who also guides history and our lives by his personal, providential love. Through these words, we crown history’s Maker the Lord of each day.

This hymn is another excellent choice for ordinary time worship, both personal and corporate, for it puts our daily life in perspective, setting it within God’s story of the ages.

God of the ages, history’s Maker,
planning our pathway, holding us fast,
shaping in mercy all that concerns us:
Father, we praise you, Lord of the past.

God of this morning, gladly your children
worship before you, trustingly bow;
teach us to know you always among us,
quietly sovereignâ€”Lord of our now.

God of tomorrow, strong overcomer,
princes of darkness own your command:
what then can harm us? We are your people,
now and forever kept by your hand.

Lord of past ages, Lord of this morning,
Lord of the future, help us, we pray:
teach us to trust you, love and obey you,
crown you each moment Lord of today!

Text by Margaret Clarkson, 1915-
Words Â© 1982 Hope Publishing Company

HACKED!!!

Our top-notch web technician Joe the Plumber has spent all weekend thus far working with our hosting company to restore Internet Monk after a hacker’s attack shut us down.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you. We value your partnership here at IM and thank you for your understanding and patience.

It is hoped we will be back to posting new articles later today.

Thanks,

Chaplain Mike

iMonk Classic: Worship, CCM and the Worship Music Revolution (part three)

Classic iMonk Post
by Michael Spencer
Circa 2002

This is the third and final part in our series of classic iMonk posts on worship. You can read or review part one HERE and part two HERE.

LEARNING FROM THE PSALMS
Evaluating Worship Music Using Scripture as a Guide

As I type, I am saying to myself, “Have you noticed that you are making some people fairly upset by publishing your opinions about worship music?” And I answer back, “Yes, I have noticed that, but I have more to say, and I’m going to say it.” A voice- the voice of reason- says “Michael, listen to me. QUIT NOW.” Another voice, the voice of enthusiasm, says “Oh shut up.”

Many years ago, I heard Dr. John Piper say that one should choose a book of the Bible and make it a lifetime passion. As anyone who knows me realizes, I took the advice and invested myself in the study of Mark’s Gospel. The advice was good, because the study of that book has proven to be a gateway into the study of the rest of scripture. Over the last three years, I have expanded my interest to another part of scripture, the Psalms. This has been a rewarding study as well, particularly in the area of worship. I want to apply some of what I have learned in the Psalms to the evaluation of contemporary worship and worship music.

(Let me digress to say that there are some excellent resources on the Psalms that have been very helpful to me. For a detailed scholarly commentary, the three volumes in the Word Bible Commentary by Craigie, Tate and Allen are more than you would ever need. Weiser’s volume on the Psalms is helpful, and Walter Brueggeman as well. On the side of preaching and teaching the Psalms, I would recommend three authors. First, Dr. James M. Boice’s three volume set of sermons on the Psalms, and Eugene Peterson’s little volumes, A Long Obedience In The Same Direction, and Answering God. C.S. Lewis’s Reflections on the Psalms has many important insights. I would also recommend Petersen’s translations of the Psalms in The Message, as well as using two different translations when reading any text, perhaps the ESV and the NASB.)

The relevance of the Psalms for worship music is obvious. This is the hymnal of Israel. Any Christian hymnal, whether ancient or modern, will show the influence of the Psalms over the development of worship music. The New Testament explicitly commands the singing of Psalms in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16. While I do not believe the regulative principle restricts worship to only Psalm singing, I readily admit that the majority of scripture written explicitly for the use of God’s people in worship is contained in Psalms, and they must occupy a primary place in the church’s worship. Even CCM recognizes the primacy of the Psalms, as anyone familiar with contemporary worship music knows. A large segment of contemporary worship music is built upon the Psalms, and many of these are among the best offerings of that genre.

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Saturday Ramblings 7.2.11

One hundred and eight. One. Hundred. Eight. Degrees. I guess I don’t mind the heat so much as the fact that we all have to take turns fanning Chaplain Mike. Anyway, it’s hot here at the iMonastery and we don’t have AC. Reals monks don’t need AC. Ok, maybe we don’t need it but we want it. So we have not done much tidying up around here this week. Be careful where you step, and you’ll need to bring your own fan. Ready? Let’s ramble.

A Mennonite pastor says he does not sing the Star Spangled Banner. I agree with him in principle, but would add another reason: the pop “stars” who mangle it at sporting events have ruined this hymn for me. Please, don’t anyone let Christina Aguilera sing Be Thou My Vision. Ever.

Oh joy. A Pat Robertson sighting. Complete with another “prophecy” of why God is going to destroy the United States. (And it’s not because Mennonites won’t sing the National Anthem.) And of course John MacArthur then has to join the chorus, singing why he thinks America is in for divine judgment. Did anyone bother to tell these guys this weekend is when we celebrate our nation’s birthday?

I guess we are not the only country where the religious lives of our political leaders are scrutinized. South Korea’s president is in hot water for—of all things—praying. Gasp!

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There Must Be a Reason?

I was reading through some of the Archives and came across a couple of paragraphs by Michael that got my attention in the context of where I am personally right now.

To be frank, the wilderness I’m in has gotten hotter, dryer, and seemingly more boundless over the past month or two. It has become more personal, and there are days I feel like I’m dying of thirst. This is not just the “post-evangelical” wildernessâ€”vocational questions, church affiliation questionsâ€”this is full-blown “I’m painfully sun-burnt, my legs are starting to give way, and there had better be a well over that next hill or I may not make it” time of the journey.

Like most American evangelicals, I have developed certain knee-jerk, surface responses to this:

When people ask, paste on a smile and say everything is fine.
Keep playing the tapes of spiritual clichÃ©s in my head that assure me life is not spinning out of control, but God will turn every seemingly bad thing into something good for me.
Turn up the music and hope it all goes away soon.

That all wore thin long ago, to be honest, and it is becoming less believable and helpful every day.

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