worship beyond insulation...

I recently had coffee with someone from a local church, and in the midst of the conversation I shared what we were doing down at the Mustard Seed. To my surprise, he became visibly upset...that we were selling out, watering down faith...and the importance of " church."

I'll get to what we're doing down at the " Mustard Seed " in a minute. But first, let me ask this question....

Have we made church more about us...than what pleases God? Isn't it about comfort. J.I. Packer, years back, used the phrase, " Hot tub Religion." We have a pre-set thermostat, in which no one under any circumstance, is not allowed to adjust the temperature.

The question calls to mind Henry Miller’s book about North American culture, "The Air Conditioned Nightmare". The title refers to our passion for controlling our environments in order to insulate us from direct experience of the world around us. We have come to demand the right to determine the exact environment of every aspect of our lives year round like the flicking of a switch. Sixty years after Miller’s diatribe, our cult of technology and our worship of physical comfort , and our consumer culture in which we shop for satisfaction is steadily intensifying as we weave controlled cocoons around us that we can fine-tune , increasing our comfort, insulation and isolation from the world.

Now, lets read again Miller's words through the context of our " church " culture. In most cases North American " churchianity ", is about our comfort, the consumerist attitude of shopping to find a church that fits " me ", a place where we are insulated from the world. The truth...we're of the world, and not in it.

I can not imagine doing what we do in church on Sunday at the Mustard Seed...it would be unforgivable. It has absolutely no relevance to their lives, it would lack empathy, humility, compassion, and grace...it would lack the living reality of Jesus. The place is filled with the smell of the brokenness of humanity...dirt, filth, feces, urine, sweat, tears. This is the incense of a world alien to many churches. We start with a meal, a blessing...at this table we listen to stories, are moved to tears, hold hands, offer prayer...offer encouragement and hope. At this table we are not alone...Jesus in the midst of it all. Sometimes, after being on the cold street all day and now with warmth and food, some will rest their weary heads on the table and sleep. We do have songs...but, not your traditional hymns, or contemporary praise music...but rough edgy gospel blues. It's worship music that has a horizontal, and vertical reality to it...they find their lives in the music, and find the love and hope of Jesus in the same song. There is no 45min sermon with plug and play bits of wisdom to make your life better. We weave Jesus' stories, of healing, of forgiveness, of radical scandalous grace, and of love for the prodigal son...all through the music. And we pray, and pray and pray.

Rick Meig's over at Blind Beggar reminds me of what worship is pleasing to God, from Eugene Peterson's, The Message, Isaiah 58:6-12...

6-9"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
   to break the chains of injustice,
   get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
   free the oppressed,
   cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
   sharing your food with the hungry,
   inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
   putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
   being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
   and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
   The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
   You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

9-12"If you get rid of unfair practices,
   quit blaming victims,
   quit gossiping about other people's sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
   and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
   your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
   I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
   firm muscles, strong bones.
You'll be like a well-watered garden,
   a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
   rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You'll be known as those who can fix anything,
   restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
   make the community livable again.

I wonder looking at much of the North American " church " through the words of Isaiah...how much of our worship, and faith is insulated from the world Isaiah sees?

Comments

[jim]

Religion never understands Christ eating with the taxcollecter, sitting with the sinners, excusing the one caught in adultery, Ron. I'd rather be doing "church" at the mission or the YDC any day of the week than sitting on a pew within any assembly; and, yet, I long ago learned that the biggest mission field one can find is within our sanctuaries. So I hang around, try to stir up their thinking in a Bible study, and learn from Him, myself, as we go. I often think back to an old Disney movie, "Song of the South", and that rabbit pleading with the fox: "Pleeease don't throw me in that thar briar patch!"...

[don]

uh huh.

btw ... i like the new look.

[ron cole]

Briar patch...man, there are some weeks Jim that that is just how it feels. But, as painful as it is...I NEED IT. Peace...Ron+

[ron cole]

Hey Don, I sent an e-mail to your old e-address at Lambrick...don't know whether it made it through, or whether the account was shut down.Anyways, I'm enjoying your thoughts during your time of transition. Peace...Ron+