capitalC.10 (worship)

So, for a couple reasons, I've been pondering the word "worship" for awhile now.

Mark ("I put the "fun" back into "fun-damentalist"") Driscoll (one of my man-crushes) says that worship is where-ever your highest devotion lies. That means, whatever it is that you MOST make time for, MOST spend money on, MOST declare as "your team"- that is what/where/how you worship.

Far be it from me to argue with THE Mark Driscoll. He is after all brilliant, and VERY well read. He's a bit of a punk, but he pulls it off. Plus, he's obviously nuts about Je-sus, so, ya know, he's got THAT going for him.

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My academic background is in what is conventionally known as "reformed" or "Calvinist" schools of thought. One of the fundamentals of this school (at least as I understand it, and speak of it) is a remarkable coherence and unity between all things. Schisms are "BAD". Duality is okay- dichotomy is BAD.

Duality means two sides-, dichotomy means two separate things. I like that, because it makes sense. Things are ... one. You are, or are not. You're never "sort of." You know?

I sense that I'm losing my bearings here. Hang on.

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What the world does "worship" mean? Sometimes it means "the time when we stand up and sing songs." Yeah---- no.

Sometimes it means "the time when I smash my face into the ground and moan, and speak the deep inner truths of my heart." Yeah---- (waaiiiiit....)NO.

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I met a few guys yesterday at a coffeeshop. Two of them I had no working acquaintance with whatsoever. The other guy is a FACEBOOK friend. (yeah, yeah, yeah). We'd never met, but I'd been following him for awhile (NO, not stalking, but rather, observing with a caring attitude, from a slight distance, and very, very quietly). #3 guy ended up working with a new church near my old house. One I was very interested in, for the reason that it was in a downtown area, started up by a new pastor, and hot with mission. I had hoped that it would be meeting at a different time than the church where I've been serving for several years, because I was really interested in seeing a "neighborhood" church in MY neighborhood.

So, I felt like we sorta had a connection there.

Well, Chris (#3) hooked me up with an invite to this "capitalC.10" thing. No idea what that meant. I made a mental note to check into it, as it was A) from this guy who moved from California to IOWA for the explicit purposes and sake of Jesus, and therefore clearly mental for God, B) from this guy who was not prone to mass-invitations, C) really, really curious sounding.

I come to find out that if you type in "www.capitalC10.com" you'll be drawn into this sweet, dark website. It just sucks you in. I think it's dark because it's actually sucking light INTO the monitor, rather than projecting it, sorta like a black hole. Now right there's a couple of cool metaphoric images that I could start writing about- but that would be a mistake...

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Another one of my less-likely man crushes (yes, shhh, I'm a polygamist when it comes to the bromances) is Chip Ingram. He seems kinda shallow and feely at the front end, but if you give him time and the benefit of the doubt, you realize that his heart burns with compassion, and that he doesn't waste it preaching to the choir. He's looking for a big harvest. He'll leave the meat-and-potatoes for another time. Oh, and I think he's capable of bringing that. But even grown-ups drink milk. If I'm losing you here, stick with me, I'll be right back.

He did a series on Worship (yeah, I bought a sermon series on CD. You gonna be ok with that?). The basis was from the passage of Romans 12. That's passage, about offering our lives as a living sacrifice, a rational act of spiritual worship, is at the very center of his whole ministry.

HE says that "worship" is what results from the ENTIRE body of Christ in a locality finding and using their individual spiritual gifts, AS A WHOLE COMMUNITY.

Whoa. Wha....?

It means we each have a gift that is unique to us.

It means that we are each unique.

It means that I have something to offer that only I can offer.

It means that you need it.

It means that I NEED YOU before I can be WHO God made me to be, and YOU NEED ME before you can actualize who God has made you to be.

And it means that God has given YOU and ME unique purposes with coinciding uses, and neither of us can FULLY realize those gifts apart from each other.

Whoa, horsey.

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Still waiting for this to make sense yet? Yeah, I get it. Think of how it looks from here. I still gotta make up the rest of this.

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Chris, Jeremy, and the other guy, who's name I've forgotten, but I swear he looks like the guy married to Jennifer Lopez- these guys got together and said, "lets show desmo what the church looks like when it worships together."

So they've got 5 bands from different bodies of worshippers coming out to lead Des Moines Jesus-lovers in engaging praises. AND they're bringing volunteer organizations into the scene so that hands can find work. And they're going to give everything away when they're done.

See, now that sounds pretty cool. And I think there's going to be soup. Friedrichs is bringing coffee.

(bringing it together)

Mark Driscoll is probably onto something. He usually is. As far as I can tell. Chip, I think you're onto something too, so don't get your nose outta joint. (like he's reading this-- psh).

Chris, Jeremy, "Mr. Lopez" (I'm sorry, I'll get your name in a minute), you guys are right too. We're going to worship AND we're going to give all those couches, loveseats, end-tables, and coffee-tables, and lamps and pillows to the Free-store, and all those food-stuffs to Hope Ministries, and the Waukee Area Christian Food Pantry, and all the other cool .orgs that are coming out.

Here's my thing- it's all worship. Worship is an act. Yeah. But worship is also a walk. A way.

Jesus says the greatest commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. AND, love your neighbor. Your totally doing that. Awesome, and I can't wait to help.

What does worship LOOK LIKE? It LOOKS like people loving their neighbor. Is that all? No. They aren't ONLY loving their neighbor. They're loving their neighbor BECAUSE that's how they LOVE GOD. It's more than kneeling, singing, praying--- those are all part of it. But I think it LOOKS like caring for the widow, and the orphan, and the stranger. Giving water to the thirsty, and food to the hungry.

capitalC.10: kneeling? Check. Singing? Check, Check. Watersoupfoodfurnituresocksshoesstuff? checkcheckcheck.

Grace and Peace. Reconciliation.

Yesyes.

The Forest for the Trees; There's Why- and there's How...

Morning yuh'all.

It should be noted that the above is 3 syllables in the vernacular. "All" gets 2.

It's still cold- it's mostly cloudy, and it's monday. Suga' momma has gone off to the big city, and we're all here, playing with boxes, hookin' our thumbs in our suh'spendahs, and spitting out of the side of our mouths. 'Cept "grr". (that's what Mo calls our new baby girl). She doesn't spit so much as just let it run out any which way. ('tell you whut, that Grr's got no direction. Jus' gravity).

If you've been out of the loop, Tigger is 1 month shy of 5 years strong. Mo is about 2 years, 8 months, and Grr, well, she's durn near shiney still, with that new baby smell. She's just now 6 mos.

We're planning (by "planning" I mean we've discussed it, and bought a couple books) to start raising our own chickens this spring. Layers for sure, and broilers possibly. We'll see. But I've been thinking about chores, about responsibility, and how I'm going to trick- I mean TEACH, Tigger and 'Mo to do all the work (under my close direction, of course).

Laundry round here usually gets done on the weekends. It's a-STOUNDING how much better my wife is at folding laundry than me. Seriously. A-STOUNDING is really putting a sort of positive spin on it. Ri-DIC-ulous is really more accurate. Not that we are keeping points or anything. But seriously, she folded 4 baskets of clothes last night, and seperated and stacked them, in, like and hour. I had honestly intended to do it myself this morning. I expect that it would have taken me most of the morning. And the piles would have teetered over.

ANY-ways, I've been working with 'Mo and Tig on seeing the piles as part of their responsibilities. They understand that to mean "to knock down, spread around, and then jump up-and-down, over-and-over-and-over again," so the first thing I have to do really is relieve them of that particular obligation.

So... that's done. Tigger, ever eager to show off, likes to push, run, and in general turns putting well-stacked laundry into the dirtiest, elbow-throw-enest, trash-talking, flopping mean-girl-eye-scratching Roller Derby the 70's could have EVER hoped to produce.

'Mo however, having finer sensibilities and a taste for (melo)drama, is happy to play the victim. The bludgeoned and bloody victim, gasping in the throes of his last breath, broken and poured out on his bed of suffering, clean clothes stacked upon his chest. "It's too HEBBY!"

So, not wanting to allow a teach-able moment pass me by, me hads me a thought.

"Okay, boys. Here's what we's a-gonna do."

I told them they were going to assist each other as a means to achieving the end goal of putting away all the folded laundry.

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Had kinda a neat "A-HA!" moment at church this weekend. Jay's been on a roll. I mean, it's been outta-the-park preachin' anna teachin' for this whole series, but he's really battin' heavy the last couple of weeks.

It really sort of solidifies the loss for our congregation when he leaves this summer. Man, I am going to miss listening to him. But I believe that the call he's following is Spirit-led, so I am eager to see what God has in store for those of us who remain.

The moment arrived during the message. I saw it coming, but more like you see the car that isn't going to slow down at a stop-sign, and you begin to read the expression on the driver's face as it comes through your passenger window.

He was holding a staff. The question he asked the congregation was: "What did God ask Moses to do?"

Crickets.

I'm guessing that was the sound of the open desert when God asked Moses, "What's that in your hand?" I can imagine Moses looking at his empty hand, ponderously. Opening and closing it. "uh, nuthin?" Maybe he tapped his forehead with the hook of his ratty, knobby shepherd's cane. You know, I bet that thing was just a pathetic excuse for a staff. Probably all janky and stuff. Hook was partly broken, end is split.

Then he realizes- "whoops, I guess I have a staff in my other hand."

"A staff?"

"Throw it down."

"what? the staff? What in the world does this have to do with "Let MY PEOPLE GO?"

Jay's point was this- God uses ordinary things. All the time. "What, THIS?" I imagine Moses thinking...

And then it turned into a snake on the ground. And you know something? Moses ran like a little girl. Not that I wouldn't. It takes all the manly I can muster to stare down a small spider, so...

Anyways, point #2 was that God does the heavy lifting. Did Moses turn that thing into a snake? No. BUT. He did have to do one little thing. Any guesses?

Throw it down.

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At one point, I had Tigger and 'Mo split Mo's load of pants. The stack was too tall for Mo to carry by himself, and he lost heart about 3 steps up the stairs. That was when my little idea took shape.

"Okay. Tigger will take half your stack, and you'll both put your pants away. Then when that's done, you'll both put HIS laundry away."

That seemed good to them both. And so they began. Well, ever eager to show off, Tig ran down the stairs and was waiting for Mo and me to get back downstairs for HIS load.

I made the assignments, but Tigger objected- "I can carry both piles by myself." He could. I knew he could. But that wasn't really the point. He had helped Mo, and Mo had benefited from his service. I wanted Mo to have the corollary sense of feeling the need to help his older brother, and receive the same gratification.

I wanted them to work together. It wasn't about what they could or couldn't actually do. It was about what I WANTED them to do, and learn by doing.

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I wonder if Moses felt extra pressure. What if the staff hits the floor in front of Pharoah, and just ... sits there?

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I guess I'm sort of thinking we have a tendency to misread the purposes of things that we are sometimes asked to do. I think it's maybe a lot simpler than we think.

God tells us to give to the poor. He tells us to protect the widows and orphans, to correct our brothers, to tell the good news of a man who God raised from death. We see individual tasks. I think that God is simply illustrating what it means to "love the Lord, your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength." He's illustrating the second great commandment, "to love your neighbor as yourself."

So we donate time to soup kitchens, shoes and pants and shirts to the Goodwill, we write checks to UNICEF and COMPASSION, INTL. Or Justice for All. Or...

We wonder, when is it enough?

Then we go someplace, and a man behind a pulpit tells us that the Church gets 10% of our money. Just like that. BANG.

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I've heard people ask the question, again and again: Why does the Church need our money? If God is so great, why doesn't He just do it Himself? Or, another one, Why does the Church need our money? Isn't money the root of all evil?

But I've sorta come to think that yes, functionally the "church" needs money to operate. It just does. But more than that- I think the tithe is more than an exacting of administrative costs. I'll never forget one of those church dramas, hastily put together, and passionately demonstrated, where I heard one character speak to the other-

"I don't think it's so much that God NEEDS our money, as much as it is we NEED to give it."

Hmmmm. I hear that, and it's like strawberry rhubarb. Oh, sooooo good. I can just taste it. There's the sweet of the strawberry, helped by 2 or 3 cups of sugar of course, but none the less. But the bitter tart of the rhubarb. So true.

There's more to the stack than meets the eye, Tigger. It's not about whether you can carry it or not. But your brother needs to help you. And you need to be helped. Just trust me on this. You'll understand in time, I hope. Trust me. Throw down the staff. Just do it.

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