The Evangelical Liturgy 7: The Invocation

WARREN_G_For beginners, read the Introduction to this series, then visit the categories menu and hit “Evangelical Liturgy” for all previous entries. In a sentence, I’m walking through all the parts of the traditional Protestant worship service and discussing the value of recovering our own liturgical tradition.

The invocation has the distinction of being one of the most included and traditionally placed remnants of the Protestant liturgy, but also of being one of the least seriously considered parts of the worship service. We can always count on an opening prayer, but there is no predicting what we’ll hear. (Unless you are in a church where it is completely predictable what you will hear, no matter what else is happening.)

The invocation reflects a congregation’s theology of God. The God addressed in the opening prayer must be the God of scripture and his relationship to the worship service that is beginning must be that of the God who calls his people together around Jesus, his Kingdom mission, his Word and his sacraments. This is the God of all the Biblical story, but also the God Jesus taught us to address as Father.

The invocation is a prayer. It is not a sermon addressed to the congregation but using God as the excuse. One of my pastors once called a prayer in our morning service “The finest prayer ever prayed to a Highland congregation.”Continue reading “The Evangelical Liturgy 7: The Invocation”

Jesus, Faith and a Universe of Fear

ferWhen I started studying Mark’s Gospel many years ago, I learned that, in Mark, faith is not contrasted with unbelief, but with fear.

The command to “not be afraid” was common in Mark. The disciples are constantly choosing between faith and fear as they journey with Jesus. It is fear, not unbelief, that cripples the community of Jesus-followers.

I don’t believe Christianity is a mind-game where we force ourselves to think happy thoughts. Far from it, I believe Christianity allows- even insists on- a full embrace of the difficulties, obstacles and deadly realities of life.

What does concern me, however, is the response of disciples to the media universe we live in, a media universe that uses fear in ways that are crippling to the mission of Jesus and detrimental to the work of the Holy Spirit.Continue reading “Jesus, Faith and a Universe of Fear”

Rerun

andRead Luke 18:9-12

“He expects us to make mistakes. He gives us millions (indeed billions and trillions) of chances. If anything, God likes our weaknesses because it enables him to exercise his infinite mercy. When Paul prayed earnestly to be delivered from a particularly annoying weakness, God said to him, ‘My grace is enough for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9) According to this text, we do God a great favor by accepting our weakness. So there is no reason to be saddened by the fact that we do not measure up to our idealized image of ourselves and of how we should perform in the spiritual journey. That obviously is an ego trip.” (p. 104, Manifesting God by Thomas Keating) Thanks Lurker Joanie

“Lord, I thank you that I am not like other men.”

Of course, we are like other human beings. The Pharisee’s prayer was an exercise in self-deception. Informing God that we aren’t like other people is a particularly pointless endeavor, though it made enormous sense to the Pharisee, whose entire religion was based on separation from others.

“I’m right and you’re wrong.” How far should we go down that road? It does take us somewhere, but where does it ultimately take us? If you get out the map, it eventually takes all of us to the place where we’re all wrong, in one way or another.Continue reading “Rerun”

Frank Viola’s New Book “Finding Organic Church”+ My article at Mod Ref + Theology Program

FOCFrank Viola’s new book “FINDING ORGANIC CHURCH: A Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Sustaining Authentic Christian Communities” (David C. Cook) releases today at a discount from Amazon.com.

This is the practical follow up to all of Viola’s other books. It’s also a stand alone book exploring the subject of organic church planting in great detail. Here’s an early review:

The author of “Pagan Christianity?” (with George Barna), “Reimagining Church,” and the bestselling “From Eternity to Here” has written a detailed manual on how to start and sustain an organic church. Everything from what to do with the children, to the developmental stages of church growth, to the diseases of an organic church and their cures are all covered in this comprehensive volume. Church planting principles for organic styled churches are packed together with the author’s practical experience of living in and starting such churches. Each chapter is full of advice, outlining the unique problems that such churches will face and their solutions. Church planters of all types will benefit from this book as well as those wishing to explore an alternative way of church gathering. — Christian Book Reviews, 2009

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You’ll see a Theology Program ad in the “Endorsed” section under this post. I know that Michael Patton’s Theology Program has received many students from this website and I hope that it will receive many more. And here’s why: As a new theology program affiliate, I will receive a nice affiliate fee for everyone who enrolls in the program or buys the entire DVD/workbook set from Renewing the Mind using that icon. So click, enroll and help me buy new tires.
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You will also see a new ad from Modern Reformation magazine. I have an article on discipleship in the current issue and they have a nice introductory offer for IM readers who click through from the ad. This is a great time to subscribe to the magazine. Liturgical gangsta Eric Landry is editor and I appreciate his support of IM and of the opportunity to contribute to a journal that is way above my pay grade.

Open Mic at the iMonk Cafe: What Would You Say to the Marilyn Manson Audience?

rock_3821First read the story of Christian protestors at a Marilyn Manson concert. (Slow…be patient)

Then, savor the irony: If you read Manson’s biography, he’s the product of Christian parenting and fundamentalist education.

Marilyn Manson was born as Brian Hugh Warner in Canton, Ohio, the son of Barb Wyer and Hugh Jack Warner. His father was a Roman Catholic and his mother was an Episcopalian. According to his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, …He was raised in his mother’s religion. Warner attended Heritage Christian School from first grade to tenth grade.

Instead of owning up to one of the unfortunate possible results of fundamentalism, Christians are protesting and denouncing Manson.

So, imagine through the magic of the Internet Monk Research Department, you are able to place an ad on a website that will be read by everyone who attended the Manson concert and saw the protestors.

What would your ad say? (Limit: 350 words)

From the Classic iMonk Archives (2002): I Have My Doubts

Question MarkNot a piece on atheism, but an honest recounting of doubt and faith in my life. From 2002.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”- Mark 9:24

Let’s start with bugs.

Bugs have always….well…bugged me. They bite me. Wasps hate me. Mosquitoes swarm around me. Gnats head for my ears and eyes like some bad remake of “The Birds.” There are a thousand varieties of bugs that all seem dedicated to devouring me. When I was a kid, my friends called me “bug eyes” because of this curse. Now, I can go for a walk and look up to see a swarm of bugs like a cloud over my head.

Is this right? I mean, even if there is a curse on creation, didn’t mosquitoes always drink blood? Aren’t they designed that way? So why would God make the little bloodsuckers? Why make wasps that sting? Why make me in such a way that bugs want to appropriate my body for their own purposes? Sure, the wonders of biology speak of intelligent design, but wasn’t there some way to do this to the glory of God without eating, stinging and killing me?

It’s one of those thoughts that hit me a few dozen times a day. One of those thoughts that make me wonder if God is real, or if I am a fool to believe that God created and runs this universe of mosquitoes and gnats.Continue reading “From the Classic iMonk Archives (2002): I Have My Doubts”

Re:Atheism

I received two letters this week from friends/readers asking for input and advice on relating to atheists in their workplace/families. It brought to mind a number of things I’ve been wanting to say about evangelicals and their take on atheism.

When I was growing up in a fundamentalist Baptist church, the face of atheism was Madalyn Murray O’Hair. I knew three things about O’Hair: she had taken prayer and the Bible out of our public schools, she was trying to get religious programs off of television and she was a weirdo.

For years, O’Hair provided the face of atheism to America: an angry, ranting, God-hating, bitter old woman who wanted to force her bitterness on the rest of the country. The way to defeat O’Hair was simple: Christians needed to sign a lot of petitions and vote the right way when elections came around.

It was safe to say that few people wanted to be like Mrs. O’Hair, no matter what their case against God and religion happened to be.Continue reading “Re:Atheism”

Internet Monk Radio Podcast #154

podcast_logo.gifThis week: Pushing the theological diversity envelope. Should I let my enemies have a shot at me? Comments to a family whose son has become an atheist.

Support the IM sponsors: New Reformation Press. Reformation theology for everyone. Rockbridge Seminary. Family, ministry and online seminary all coming together. E3 Sudan is church planting and training pastors in the Sudan. The Ministry to Children blog is “information central” for children’s ministry on the net.

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The IM Weekend File: 08:28:09

belushi19411And so it begins. I don’t know if Kentucky is the first Baptist State Convention to see the handwriting on the wall, but I am very, very proud of our executive board for stepping up to the plate and starting the process of saying, essentially, “we are ready to make changes to see more resources, more money and more people sent to the nations via the International Mission Board.” And that’s what this means and we all know it. Less of the “Great Denomination” model at the national and the state convention level. I work for one of those state entities mentioned in that link, and I know what any loss of state funding might mean for us. But I also know that we are all part of the big picture of what Jesus left us to do, and it’s not about protecting our air conditioning or convention provided vehicle. I predict that every state convention will be sending 5-10% more to the national missions boards in the future. If both the national convention and the state conventions can work together to reload our Gospel train with resources, this could be some of the greatest days for the SBC.

And btw, the fact that the GCR meetings are available on Vimeo is another good sign. Welcome to the real world, SBC business meetings. And Baptist Press, too bad we won’t have to listen to you tell us what’s going on.
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