The changing perception of God through worship

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

The Nature of Worship

 

Our perception is our reality. Although it may be distorted (and it always is to a point), it is reality to us. Our experiences and upbringings and learned behaviors all influence our perceptions of ourselves and of those around us. They also significantly affect how we see God.

 

And how we perceive God is the deciding factor in how we live out our lives. Unfortunately our vision of God is generally warped in certain fashions. Certainly we view God much as we view our earthly fathers. Therefore when we hear of our Heavenly Father we naturally attach the stigmas and also the decencies of our own fathers. Our mothers seem to play the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the nurturing, counseling role and also the role of our conscience. Again, this creates good and bad responses in us.

 

If our worship is a response that should befit the personality of God, as Dan Wilt speaks of, (1) then we must open our awareness and grow into the truth of who God is, instead of the small ideas and shapes that we sometimes get stuck in. We must consistently stretch ourselves and open our minds and hearts to the fact that God is always much bigger and more multi-faceted than we will even know.

 

As Dan questions in his video, we have to ask ourselves if we are presenting the full colors of God in worship. We need all pieces of the simple and complex. (2)

 

How do we transform our view of God to include His whole personality? One of the ways we do this is through worship. In Peter Fitch’s writing (3) he says, “worship provides a place where we can be transformed by God”.  This is also expounded upon by Don Williams (4) within the context of Romans 12:1,2. He describes the worship experience in the way that we surrender ourselves, offer ourselves, and God transforms us and shows us His will. It is very clear that when we are active to surrender, God meets that surrender with transformation. He reveals His will, and in this reveals Himself. The more we come to God in worship, in this bowing down and offering our lives in sacrifice, the more opportunity we have to be transformed by the living power and love of God.

 

We also change our perception by diving into the life of Christ through the Word of God. The scriptures lead us through his life of humility and grace, of power and righteousness, of love. He challenges us to follow. “Did you see the way I lived and died? Well that’s what it means to be human. That’s what it looks like to live well. Now go and live like that.” (5) Our view of God should involve not only the Father, but Jesus as well. He lived His life on earth as a man but in His divinity gave us a perfect example to strive toward. To go on from what is behind and pressing on to what is ahead (see Philipians 3:12-14). Jesus’ life shows the many sides of God, and all of His attributes need to be reflected in our worship to him. His Word transforms us.

 

We also see the changing power of God in the work of the Holy Spirit through community. To have an accurate insight into who God is, we have to take in the dynamics of each person around us and who they are in our communities. God has given us each gifts and personalities and roles to play in our lives that show His likeness. As we have already talked about in the recent weeks, we are made in His image and it’s His glory to be shown through us. And so we look to one another to learn about the fullness of our God. In this we also see ourselves more clearly and where we need to adjust our own thoughts and ideas. “As with any family, the members discover who they are in relationship to one another.” (6). As we become more ourselves, we become more like our Creator.

 

This also plays into our worship together as we each bring a different piece of the pie in our expressions of worship. We all have the opportunity to learn from each other and experience God more completely.

 

In each of these places of transformation: worship, scripture, community, (and the combination of these) liminal moments come about (7) where “we are literally creating a ‘place’ for people to encounter God”. When we worship together in all of these elements, our vision becomes clearer. As heaven and earth intersect, we find revelation and our eyes are opened to greater truth. Our perception of God is more whole. We begin to see Him less out of our prior experiences and history and more of the continual revelation of who He truly is.

 

And since our perception is our reality, I want mine to be as close to the real thing as possible. 

 

 

 

 

 

(1)  Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of Worship, Video, 2008

 

(2)  Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of Worship, Video, 2008

 

(3)   Peter Fitch, The Supreme Value of Worship, Inside Worship Magazine, Vol.45, p.4-5

 

(4)   Don Williams, The Language of Sacrifice, Video, 2008

 

(5)   Brenton Brown, The Wonder of the Cross, Inside Worship Magazine, Vol.49, p.7

 

(6)   N.T. Wright, Simply Christian, Why Christianity Makes Sense, HarperCollins Publishers, 2006, p.211

 

(7)   Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology, The Nature of Worship, Essentials Blue Online Studies, p.4

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Living Fully Alive

For: The Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, St.Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt

Exploring the Nature of Human Beings:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Nelson Mandela

 

To be fully alive means embracing all of who we truly are, and using our energy to further that quest. To know ourselves is to know the greatness that God has placed in us. We are in His image, and therefore meant for greatness in our lives. I don’t mean great in the way of fame or perfection, but in the way of “unusually large in size or dimension”1 as the dictionary states.

 

Jesus says he came so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly.2 What does that mean to us? Many of us live day to day working at jobs we don’t enjoy, in marriages we may or may not be happy in, doing hobbies to keep ourselves busy either so we don’t have to think about our unsatisfied (and sometimes miserable) state, or so that we can have some small piece of the greater joy that we don’t even realize is available to us.

 

That is not life. That is existing. Why settle for merely existing when we can be fulfilled and joyous in life, have peace and wonder, be creative in deed and influence?

 

That is the life I desire. And that is the life Jesus wants to be abundant. Abounding in his glory. Abounding in the fullness of his attributes and nature.

 

So how do we find the attributes that God has placed in us that reflect him most definitely? We can begin by recognizing very simply what brings us joy. Is it teaching a child a song? Training for a race? Writing? Helping a friend move? Helping them cope? These desires are the gifts God has inherently placed in us. For so long the church has called these things “unspiritual” because they only have an “earthly” value. But we are human beings who live in flesh on the earth and also overlap with heaven,3 and therefore all gifts are spiritual and physical. We also recognize now that being made in God’s image gives his value to these gifts in us.

 

In the midst of this recognition we must be careful not to build ourselves up so much that we fail to remember it is God that is the initiator of the gift.4 It is his to give, and after all, his image that is imprinted on us in the existence of the gift. I think the most effective way to keep a healthy mindset when pursuing greatness in any area is the attachment and giving of ones self to community.

 

I know community is a trendy word right now, so I will explain how I view it. Community is a group of friends. Friends who love each other, who are willing to listen to and walk through the beautiful and ugly places of each other’s lives together, to live out the mundane and the exhilarating times together. When people love each other like this, honesty and vulnerability are possible. And there growth is also possible. These are the people that know one another well enough to cheer each other on when they are growing and achieving true greatness, but are not afraid to speak caution and address sin issues at the same time.

 

There is no fear in love.5

 

In a community such as this, we find accountability in a very healthy way. In this place as we pursue greatness and give our best to grow in what God has given us (and pursue God in this process) we have the checks and balances necessary that come from trusted sources.

 

To grow, to become more Christ-like, and thereby more fully human, there is no room to shy away from our gifts. We cannot be afraid of how it will make us look or seem to others. If we have something to offer, and we do, then we must be obedient and live out the glory of God that is in us. As the above quote states, “we were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us”.

 

Let’s live fully. Let’s passionately love life and it’s greatness. And let’s love each other in the midst of this, in true community that the Trinity itself models for us. Giving permission to be great in each of our unique gifts and callings.

 

Let us become alive!

 

“When you gaze in love and gratitude at the God in whose image you wre made, you do indeed grow. You discover what it means to be fully alive.”6

 

1 greatness. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/greatness (accessed: July 16, 2008). 

2 John 10:10, the Bible, NKJV

3 Tom Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006), 63

4 Ed Gentry, Podcast: Two Brothers on Righteousness

⁵ 1 John 4:18, the Bible, NKJV

6 Tom Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2006), 148

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The Nature of God

For: The Institute of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.

It is such a healthy and uplifting feeling to be able to more accurately present the reason for the hope that I hold (1 Peter 3:15). To read in another’s words what I have felt for so long but not been able to put into words is so freeing. That is what I saw this week in reading about the Nature of God in N.T. Wright’s section on Staring at the Sun.

For so long I have wrestled with the reason behind Christianity. Do we believe because of our upbringing, our reason, our need to see something greater than ourselves? Is it all these things and more? And always the giant cloud hanging over the view of Christianity, at least the way it is presented in our society, is the question of Hell. I heard it even in a conversation last night with a friend who said, “I’m going to Hell anyway so what does it matter?”. I am devastated to think that this is the key element we as Christians have brought to the table of culture. That we have taken the vast beauty of our faith and relationship with God in His Trinity and made it a simple choice of Heaven or Hell grieves me. 

I found such relief in Wright’s explanation that Jesus came into this world not to “offer a moral example”, not “offering, demonstrating, or even accomplishing a new route by which people can ‘go to heaven when they die'”, and not to “give the world a fresh teaching about God himself”.1 But he says that the true reason of Jesus’ coming is because we are lost and He gives us the “freedom to experience God’s rescue for ourselves”.2 What a wonderful story that is for the world! 

That is a very different story than the one we often hear. After all, Jesus said He came so we could have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10), and if that is true, then we had better get on with living and loving this life that we have been so graciously given, and stop being so concerned about the one that we are not yet in. As Dan Wilt says, 3 “we will still be human when the eschaton comes – so learn to enjoy it.”. Since God created us in His own image, then the gifts and desires that we have ultimately come from Him. If we are not living life exhuberantly in those desires, then we are not propelling a sense of God’s goodness and joy. 

There are of course times where we share in Christ’s suffering, when life is not all roses, but there must also be a pursuit of life in it’s fullness. The church for so long, maybe even since the reformation, has made our own desires too “fleshly” to be right. But we are made up of flesh and bone and since even Christ shared in that humanity, it can not be entirely written off. When I hear in churches that someone is acting “in the flesh” I have always though, “Isn’t that what we do?”. We are flesh, and of course that will come into play in our worship and teaching and walking out of life in general. Without the giant separation of body and spirit, of heaven and earth, but the overlapping and interlocking, of these things, there is a much wider grace. 

In knowing that Jesus came for more than the issue of morals, the question of hell, the giving of information about God, but that He came for rescue and life, I have an answer for hope. There is hope in the understanding that He is the Savior, the Healer, the vortex in which heaven and earth meet. Because He lives in us, that rescue is accessible. It is imminent. It is life.

There lies my hope. 

 

1. N.T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, HarperCollins Publishers 2006, p.92

2. N.T. Wright,  Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, HarperCollins Publishers 2006, p.92

3. Dan Wilt, Essentials in Worship Theology – The Nature of God, p. 24

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more about the four echoes (ECEWS eb 2008)

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt”

The songs that I have heard sung in many worship services in many churches vary distinctly depending on  what each community is dealing with at the time, and what echo the worship leader is hearing in his/her own life.

On a whole, the theme of relationship is quite significant. But often it is far more about us needing the touch of God than of us being an active participant in the relationship. Intimate songs are very important and there are definitely times that we need to sit on the Father’s lap and allow Him to simply hold us. But my hope is that we do not get caught in that place and not want to leave. Our theology should allow for much more than that. 

Often we have come out from our embedded theology, as Dan Wilt talks of (Wilt, Essentials In Worship Theology) of discipline and works oriented thinking to the other swing of the pendulum to relationship only. Or relationship mostly. Of course the pendulum will swing, which is completely natural, and we find ourselves not necessarily with good theology, but with reactionary theology on the other end.

I value a certain amount of tradition that has been lost among our protestant reformation. Again, a reactionary movement that was wonderful in some ways, but lost the beauty piece that Catholocism knew so well. 

There are some songs that bring beauty to the forefront in our worship. Songs such as ” Creation Calls” or “More Than Oxygen” by Brian Doerkson, or “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin. This is part of swinging back to a theology of the wholeness of life; the integration, not separation, of ourselves (body, mind, and spirit) and the world and Spirit around us. Our North American answer to idolizing beauty has separated it so entirely from Christ that we see the extremes of invalidating beauty in the church and extorting it outside of the church. Part of this call of the worship artisan is to bring these worlds together in respect and admiration of beauty in a healthy way.

Romans 10:18 says “The message of God’s creation has gone out to everyone, and it’s words to all the worlds”. A quotation from Psalm 19, which is all about creation speaking. Creation also groans ( Romans 8 ) for God to reveal his children for who they truly are. To see us answer that in our culture would be the coming together once again of all the creation of God to worship together.

Justice of course plays a role in all these things. Even justice in regards to how we have treated our environment and it’s beauty. Without justice there would be no forgiveness, not redemption, and no recourse for our own actions. Again, I believe our view of God’s justice has, until recently, been confused with God’s judgement. We have shied away from singing about the justice of God because we don’t want to be misunderstood or offensive to others. 

But true justice comes from love and mercy. I see this in many of David Ruis’ songs such as ” By Your Blood”, or “Lily of the Valley”. As I see justice first and foremost about redemption through the cross, these are prime examples of that.

There is definitely a sense of spirituality in our worship today. I find that in coming to the throne of God, in songs that sing of His holiness. What becomes difficult in the area of spirituality, is that it is very trendy in our society to be a little bit spiritual. But not a lot. Not enough to be a fanatic. But I have experienced times in worship that time has meant nothing and we have sung about the holiness of God for hours. His presence is so expansive and deep that no words can describe the feeling of being in that moment.

There is a supernatural God at work in our lives. Let us embrace that in our worship. Let us go beyond our typically Western approach and truly dive in without fear. Not without wisdom and listening, but without fear. He is good, He is infinitely better than we realize. 

There are passionate moments of all these types of worship in our midst. There will be times and seasons where one is more prominent than the other, but they are all important and to be valued. 

The most pertinent thing is to know that we are honestly echoing God and not ourselves. To be attentive to His voice more and our muddled ideas less. We will always be a part of this, since He chooses to speak through us, but as David Ruis’ song sings, my prayer is “More of You and Less of Me”. 

How true can our echo be?

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About the four echoes (ICEWS eb 2008)

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt”

Re: N.T Wright’s 4 echoes and how our worship is affected by them

 

The four echoes as N.T. Wright examines them are justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty. Of these, there is one that reaches into the depths of my faith and life in a more profound way than I can explain.

The first time I remember seeing, and I mean truly seeing, the beauty of creation, was when I was in my early twenties. It was astounding to suddenly have the scales fall from my eyes to discover what had been there all the time. I distinctly remember driving through the mountains from Vancouver to Kamloops and being awestruck by the majesty and power of the mountains, the glory of the snow-covered peaks, and the green lush valleys with crystal clear water flowing through them. I had driven that road many times but never before with such clarity.

To be raised in my home was to be disciplined, with some room for movement, but the greater insistence on structure: Bible studies every morning before school, prayer before each meal, running at least two kilometers before breakfast, attending church twice on Sunday, Tuesday for study, Wednesday for choir, Friday for youth group, and the odd pot luck or leadership meeting. At the same time, the four of us kids all took music lessons until we finished school, played sports each season, and never left homework undone. For and artist such as myself, there was not an option to express, save through the classical piano I was studying. Other forms of art were not discussed, as my parents had never themselves been exposed to artistic expression and therefore seemed not entirely aware of it’s existence.

Beauty was not a priority.

I never made it a priority.

I never knew it could be one.

I struggled through school and attended theatre and film colleges to begin to explore that side of me that had been shriveled from disuse. Here I found my niche, but still not the full beauty of art.

It was a few years before my heart was fully drawn by the Holy Spirit to a place of understanding grace and submission. I felt for the first time a depth of love and laughter and care that opened my heart and soul up to God. It all happened in a moment, in a night. And suddenly I could see.

The expression of God’s love and power that was so abruptly obvious cracked open in me an ocean of expression of my own. My art took on meaning beyond myself. I embraced the art of others with a spiritual sight, an understanding that wholeness is spirit, soul and body.

I saw color.

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