When Worship goes Bad

When I saw this I knew I had seen it before... in a nightmare.



(Note pet peeve: the congregation does not stand for the processional cross, but does for the priest.)

When I was at St. John's University (Collegeville MN) studying Liturgy, I observed that the same malaise can afflict worship leaders of many different backgrounds and preferences. That sickness is a self-centered attitude brought into worship. This self-centeredness is shown differently in different traditions. The video clip shows an multicultural/internationalist (think UN), liturgical, feminist, performance art approach to worship.

A different version of the same problem is shown in the pop-culture, non-liturgical, individualistic, sexualized entertainment approach to worship shown here:

(Note pet peve (at 1:41): teenage girls doing pelvic thrusts does not constitute worship.)

What is common between these two? Look again and see the dancers drawing attention to themselves as "entertainment worship." The liturgical dancer swinging around the gospel book and the break dancing teenager have this in common. Their actions (and also the music, setting, entertainment focus and whipped up emotional response) do not direct us to the Word of God. They direct us to individuals and, yes, into ourselves. This is the problem with entertainment worship no matter what form it comes in.

The same sickness can be seen more subtly in worship services where the preacher wears an academic gown to show his learnedness, or a suit to show his wealth and high social status, or a polo or Hawaiian shirt to show his easy to relate to personality, or a black gown to show his austere seriousness, or faded jeans to show his rebellious youthfulness (immaturity).



It is a continual temptation to a preacher or worship leader to direct the attention to oneself. A sermon that fails to preach the law to convict the hearer and fails to preach the pure gospel will often receive positive comments after church: "Good sermon! Someone ought to do something about those people." But if it does not bring the listener to the cross, grave and resurrection of Christ, it too has failed to direct the worshiper to the Word of God.

Beware, many forms of the malaise lurk in the shadows waiting to slide in and subvert the worship of the Lord in Spirit and Truth. We worship Christ, the Lord and Him crucified, though is be a stumbling block to some and foolishness to others. Let Milli Vanilli puppets, self-agrandizing preachers, Solid Gold dancers and David Letterman's band step aside. The Lord is present among us. Let all foolishness, entertainment and self-worship fall away.

Subway apologizes to homeschoolers

In a timely reaction, Subway issued this apology concerning their snub of homeschoolers in a promotional writing contest:

Regarding your concerns about the Subway contest that excludes home schools from contest eligibility, Scholastic and Subway apologize to all individuals who have taken offense at this. Our intention was never to make independent schooled children feel discriminated against or excluded from this specific promotion.

Throughout the course of the year Scholastic runs a number of contests and sweepstakes that are open to all teachers and students. The eligibility of this contest in particular was solely put in place to award a large group of children with the grand prize of $5,000 worth of athletic equipment. We do however understand how home- schooled children could benefit from this type of prizing and will make sure eligibility is open to everyone in future promotions.

We appreciate your feedback and will make sure a similar situation does not happen in the future.

The promotion is still not open to homeschoolers, but there is a promise to include them in future promotions. I think this may show that the people who put together the contest do not know any homeschoolers. They likely did not think that a homeschool family who won would share the equipment with others. What family would hoard $5000 worth of equipment in their garage anyway. The simple solution would simply be to change the specification on the prize to something like this: $5000 worth of fitness equipment to be donated to the school or organization of their choice. Certainly equipment would get plenty of use if donated to a youth club, church, boy scout troop, city park, et al. We'll just have to win it for camp Lutherwood next time!

Subway vs. Homeschoolers

The Subway chain of sandwich restaurants is having a writing contest for elementary school children. However:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted. [Emphasis added]

Perhaps their reasoning is that the grand prize is $5000 worth of fitness equipment for their school. Homeschoolers, however, also play sports. The equipment could be given to a community organization, church, city park, etc.

Boxing out homeschoolers may be necessary to get the equipment into a school. Recently homeschoolers have dominated academic competitions:
National Mock Trial Invitational
Reader’s Digest National Word Power Challenge
Lego League Robot Challenge
GSN National Vocabulary Championship
Intel International Science & Engineering Fair
National Geographic Bee
Scripps National Spelling Bee
Honeywell Fiesta Bowl Aerospace Challenge
NASA Odyssey of the Mind Competition

If they were not worried about a homeshooler winning the Subway contest too, they would not have had to exclude them.

Sermon Podcast May 25, 2008

Click here to play or right click and select "save as..." to download for playing from CD or mp3 device.

Hymns for June 1 -- Second Sunday after Trinity -- Third Sunday After Pentecost

TLH p. 15 Holy Communion

 

Gospel: Matthew 7:15-29 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

 

TLH 370 My hope is built on nothing less (LSB 575)

TLH 381 I know my faith is founded (LSB 587)

TLH 473 The Church’s one foundation (LSB 644)

TLH 467 Built on the Rock the Church shall stand (LSB 645)

TLH 262 A Mighty Fortress is our God (LSB 656)

 

Hymns for the second Sunday after Pentecost

TLH 541 O Blessed Holy Trinity

LSB 712 Seek Ye First (As Hymn of Praise)

TLH 425 All Depends on Our Posessing (Sermon Hymn/Hymn of the Day)

Choir sings “Create in me a Clean Heart” as Offeratory

TLH 430 What is the World to Me

Choir sings “A Choral Benediction”

Hymns for Trinity Sunday

LBW Communion

543  Praise to the Lord the Almighty
230  Lord Keep us Steadfast In Your Word
535  Holy God, we praise Thy name
233  Thy strong word did cleave the darkness
467  Eternal Father, strong to save

Hymns for Pentecost

May 11, 2008

 

O Day Full of Grace                                             LBW161

Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord                     LBW 163

Come, Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire               LBW 473(Distribution)

Hail Thee, Festival Day                                       LW 159 (also in LBW 142)

Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling                                  LBW 523

Come Down, O Love Divine                               LBW 508

 

California homeschool update

The court ruling by a California Appeals court that made homeschooling illegal in California has been given a new hearing.

a ruling concluded parents in the state held neither a statutory right nor a constitutional right to provide homeschooling to their own children.

That ruling from the California Court of Appeal for the 2nd Appellate District was vacated when the court granted a petition to rehear the case, and the new filing is from the Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Sunland Christian Academy, the private school that offers the independent program in which the family's children were enrolled.

It is important to know that the ruling is simply being reheard -- not reversed. Related bad news:

In an ominous move, the court has asked various parties attached to the public education establishment for their opinions on homeschooling. This includes the California Teachers Association, the State Board of Education, and the Los Angeles teacher's union, among others.

And some:

find it fishy that the court began challenging Californians' right to homeschool just one month after a coalition of Christian and pro-family organizations called for a mass "exodus" from California schools, due to troubling new curriculum requirements.

The Governator has promised to protect homeschoolers if the courts do not overturn the ruling -- he could start by eliminating the whole appeals court that overstepped its authority to make the ruling in the first place. Such justices should be impeached.

Even students are getting their say.

"The court cannot 'make' something illegal – that's the legislature's job. Sheesh!" wrote Jon Chi Lou, of Heritage Christian High School.

And Hye-Sung F. Gehring added, "This is ridiculous. California is retarded. Always has been."

Just in case the Animal Rights movement was not enough

In Switzerland, there is apparently a movement to protect the dignity and life of plants. The Weekly Standard broke this story:

At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology to figure it out. The resulting report, "The Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants," is enough to short circuit the brain.

I support the ASPCA and carry spiders out of our house to safely relocate them to a more agreeable habitat, but I never for a moment think that a plant, spider or even my dogs are of equal or more value than a human life..

What has happened to bring us to this: guilt over picking flowers, eating lettuce, pulling weeds? We have had a shift in world view that has led us to explore "new standards of morality."

People really are different from all the rest of creation. We were created in a special place and for a special task. Man was created to be the image of God and to care for his creation:

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

The issue in the creation of man is not just one of purpose, but ultimately one of relationship. Man was created to be in communion with God. When in communion with God man knows his place in creation and can be a good steward of God's creation. God creates man to have dominion and to keep the garden. Weeds, thorns and thistles are a consequence of the fall.

Elevation of weeds to a status equal with man is a consequence of secularism and the "enlightenment." When this communion with God is broken and when God's plan for man and creation is denied then man is no longer the pinacle of God's good creation, but must be considered to be "nothing more than an animal. By rejecting the biblical world view, mankind was lowered to the level of all animals. Some environmentalists consider man the worst of all animals because we modify and damage the environment.

A "Plants Rights movement" is only a natural extension of the same train of thought. The next step in this train of thought is that eating would be immoral. Dr. Kenneth Korby was fond of saying that eating is a violent act, "Look at what happens to the tomato!" Yet, man's gift of dominion is part of God's "very good" design. Within the understanding of how God designed and ordered the world, however, such "violence" is natural and even good. God gave us the creation as a gift, both to serve us and to be conserved by us.

It is the lack of connection to God and His original plan that drives people to despair; despair about how man doesn't seem to fit or belong. The despair is real and true and right if they are apart from God. Man was created to be in communion with God. When that communion is broken and lost, we are the most pitiable of beings and the worst of all animals. But where that connection, purpose and communion exist, man lives harmonious in and above creation to do God's work.
(Photo HT: Michelle Malkin)