What Would Jesus Do?

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he “Worship Wars” have brought us some frustratingly shallow in-fighting in the Evangelical community of believers. We fight over presentation style, appropriate instrumentation, intentional quality or lack thereof, use of technology, musical genres, and so much more. And in the midst of the ongoing struggle, we seldom hear anyone ask the clichéd but appropriate (in this case) question: “What would Jesus do?”

Exodus 34:4–8

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

So as I was reading in Exodus this morning I noticed that God has given us a very good example of what he wants to hear in our worship. It seems to me that it might be good to ask God his opinion.

Moses had gone up into the mountain to receive the Law. God had given him the law on the tablets and Moses had returned to find the people worshiping the golden calf. Aaron told Moses that he threw the people’s golden jewelry into the fire and “out came this calf,” an amazing story, to be sure.

Moses then asked that God show him his glory. God (Yahweh, which I believe refers to the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ) tells him that he can’t look on his face without dying, but that he will allow him to observe his back.

So Moses goes to the spot the Lord tells him to go to and there is Yahweh, the pre-incarnate Christ, praising God with these words:

“The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

So there we have it. This is God praising God. This is God demonstrating what we should be doing when we praise God. And he is not saying, “you thought of me above all.” He is proclaiming God’s attributes—both positive (merciful, gracious, steadfast, faithful, forgiving) and negative (will not clear the guilty and will exact punishment for iniquity).

In the English Standard Version, I don’t see any mention of the use of organs and pianos or of the avoidance of guitars or drums; I don’t see any mention of genre or musical style; I don’t see any mention of liturgical cadence or avoidance of liturgical methodology. I see only God’s attributes and acts being proclaimed.

This is not just what Jesus would do; this is what Jesus did. And it is what we should concern ourselves with as well, rather than being distracted by our own man-made ideas of what makes worship good and enjoyable.

Blog Header - September 1, 2009

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s morning breaks
I look to you, O God,
To be my strength this day

As the days grow shorter and fall approaches, we are waking up before the sun crests the hilltops. This morning we woke while the sun was still hiding behind the crest of the Shenandoah Mountains as seen from our bedroom window. Kim asked me to get my camera because the effect of the low-lying clouds between the mountain peaks was quite beautiful.

Psalm 121:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

In the few minutes it took me to get my camera and tripod, the sun had risen a bit more and much of the fog had dissipated. But I took these photos anyway.

God’s creation is glorious and we are thoroughly enjoying the view that God has provided from the house that God has provided. His love and blessings are beyond imagining.

Sharing the wealth

American Idol has brought us some very painful auditions. But apparently these are not unique to the United States.

Here’s a stellar audition for Australian Idol.

Looking for God in America

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fter 47 years of regular committed church attendance I have found myself to be somewhat cynical and jaded. The biblical characteristic traits that a student of scripture would expect to find among Christians are not often found in churches.

I have seen love displayed by members of the Kiwanis clubs. I have seen care for others above self displayed by folks who unite in protection of the environment. I have seen patience and understanding displayed by schools, and bowling leagues, and garden clubs, and hunting clubs, and fishing clubs, and knitting clubs, etc. But these traits are often the opposite of what one finds in local churches.

Of course, I should not cast all churches in the same light when I have attended just a handful of churches. Certainly there are some churches out there where one might find marks of the presence of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The church we attended this Sunday

So now we’re in a new town and must find a new church in which to worship and fellowship. Last week we visited a church that proclaims the doctrines we hold dear and seems to live in a manner one would expect of those who love Jesus Christ and recognize the sovereignty of God. And this may be our new church home. But I have always been very careful to research the churches we have attended in the past. I have checked out their doctrinal statements, their constitutions, their mission statements, and their core values. I have questioned the pastors about their commitment to the ministry of the Word. But more often than not, I have put my family in churches that don’t seem very Christian once you get past the statements and creeds and begin to look at the conduct.

Not the sanctuary we’re accustomed to
Perhaps because we’ve not known sanctuary before?

So this week, to be careful, we tried another church—just to make sure we’re checking out the possibilities properly. While Baptist, this church is unlike any church we’ve ever attended. Much more liturgical in style, it actually felt somewhat Presbyterian. But the people were attentive to the Word, friendly to us and each other, and seemed to display the love of God. The pastor presented an excellent sermon titled “Uncomfortable With Jesus” from John 6. Kim commented after the service that she got more out of this message than she had gotten out of any sermon for quite some time. I felt the same.

Perhaps all my careful researching of doctrinal statements, adherence to creeds, and core values is not producing the fruit I was seeking. Perhaps I just need to wait upon the Lord and allow him to guide us limping into safe harbor.

Blog Header - August 30, 2009

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took today’s header photo at the 7-11 that I pass just before getting on the highway to go to work. This gorgeous car was at the pump getting gas the day that we traveled from Lynchburg to Front Royal to look at the house that we now live in.

Kim and I took quite a few photos of this car and the driver even posed the car for a few of them. It was a lot of fun.

But when I got the photos onto my computer, it seemed that something needed to be done on a few of them. I experimented with black & white, sepia-toning, increased and decreased saturation, and eventually ended up with this photo that is a mix of a few different thing. The background is sepia-toned after I decreased the contrast a bit. I also added some noise to the background to simulate film grain.

For the car, I put the photo through my HDR software and tone-mapped it. I then bumped the mid-tone saturation significantly, which leaves the reflected 7-11 sign glowing in an almost fluorescent way. I kinda liked the resultant contrast.

Stop and smell the roses

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any poets, philosophers, and regular folks have tried to point out the importance of being alert and enjoying the little pleasures in life. One of my favorite examples of this is the line from “The Color Purple” from which the movie gets its name. Two girls are walking through a field. The tall grass is brushing against their legs as they navigate through the weeds. Then one girl stops to look at a small purple wildflower. She says something like, “I think God gets really mad when we don’t notice the color purple.”

When we moved to Lynchburg, we began to take in some of the local flavor and quickly came to appreciate the small city. We found seemingly hidden gems tucked here and there throughout the city of Lynchburg. The gems came to characterize the city in our minds. Places such as the White Hart cafe that I’ve spoken of here on this blog, and places such as Daddy Bim’s Pit Barbeque formed my image of the city.

We now live in Front Royal and are beginning to find the same hidden treasures. Not really hidden; but hidden if you pay attention to the big city (Washington, DC) and don’t stop to notice the little splotches of the color purple scattered all around—little pockets of excellence that may frankly be found anywhere, if only we take the time to look.

I was reminded of this just today when I found a video of one of my favorite musical groups. This group isn’t well-known. And they aren’t rich and famous. But they are one of the best vocal ensembles I have ever heard.

More Return 2 Zero

Click here for more awesome music

But you won’t find them if you’re not looking.

If you happen to be in the right place (Disneyworld’s MGM Studios in Orlando Florida) at the right time (just prior to the presentation of Beauty and the Beast Live), you may notice a stage hand walking across the stage checking microphones. He looks the part—kind of geeky, looking a bit socially inept, and probably making a modest, if not poor, income for his age. If you pay attention to this geeky stage hand he will introduce you to his three friends—all dressed in MGM Studios staff uniforms. And then you will be in for the impromptu concert of your life.

You’ve just found the color purple in a quiet corner lot in one of the most bustling and talent-filled places you could ever visit. And you’re about to hear musical magic. Here’s Return 2 Zero:

Check out the great analysis of the words of this song at Lydia’s Extra Thoughts.

Tim Hawkins - “The Government Can”

A new stage of life

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new home. A new town. A new church. New friends. New neighbors. New schedule. New school. And on top of it all, it’s high school. Today is a very important day in my son David’s life.

Kim and David standing on the porch of our new home

This summer has been a time of many changes and of excruciating expectations. But the summer is drawing to an end and we are now living in our new home, which we love; in our new town, which we love; and we are beginning to settle in.

The entrance to David’s new school
—Skyline High School—

David was really looking forward to high school and was expecting early in the summer to attend a highly rated high school in Lynchburg. His favorite one-on-one assistant is the football coach at this high school, so David was very excited about actually going to Mr. Moseley’s school and being able to see him regularly.

But then God moved us to Front Royal.

God’s purposes are always the best and he promises that he will work everything to the best for those who love him. So we know that this is the best school for David at this point in time. And we have heard many good things about the school; we have been impressed with the school representatives that we have met so far; and we were amazed at the beauty and extent of the school grounds and facilities. It looks like it will be a good school.

One of David’s classmates’ cars

So now we place it all in God’s loving hands and pray that this will be a stellar year for David. He is entering a very important time in life and he needs to buckle down and make it all count. We’re praying that this school and the teachers and friends he makes will help him toward that goal.

Blog Header - August 25, 2009

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n Saturday it rained. The rain provided us with a whole new experience here in our new home. It was wonderful to sit on the porch and listen to the raindrops fall. It was great to look out at the mountains shrouded in mist.

But we even noticed a big difference early on Saturday morning when we looked out of our bedroom window at the mountains. The humidity was high and some clouds hung low, like the cloud you can see in between the two mountain tops in this photos taken this past Saturday morning from our bedroom window.

God’s creation is truly magnificent!

Transmitting the Word

John Piper’s pointers for approaching the Bible

1. Be open to the fact that it is the Word of God.
2. Revere the Bible when you discover that it’s God’s Word.
3. Have a sense of conviction that you are a sinner in the view of this Word.
4. Know that the Bible meets you with forgiveness because Christ is at the center of the book.
5. Have hope that you can press on in life because the Bible will give you all the guidance you need.

ohn Piper is one of my heroes of the faith. He’s an outstanding communicator of the Word of God and seems to be very genuine in his pastoral ministry—something that is uncommon in today’s world and is probably a primary contributing factor to the apparent success he has had.

The current issue of Bible Study Magazine features a very encouraging interview with John Piper about personal Bible study.

The interview covers such questions as:

• How do you keep from growing indifferent to the Bible when you’re so familiar with the Bible?
• How do you approach the Bible?
• How can we make time for the Bible?
• How do you memorize Scripture?
• Is the Bible easier for you to understand than for other people?
• What would you say to someone who hasn’t read their Bible in a long time?

Read the John Piper interview here (in PDF format).