Yesterday’s post examined the unhealthy result of designing the church service with only the non-believer in mind. While the outward-focused mission of God should be a part of our DNA as Christ followers, if we neglect the followers of Jesus who are a part of the church, we’re not actually making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). Most churches land on the other side of the pendulum, where they are concerned with the congregants over the thousands or even millions of lost people around them. They would consider the Sunday worship service to be the primary means of evangelism, yet there is a language and culture unknown to those outside church walls and only a small percentage of congregants actually invite people to the service. Any examination of liturgy or culture is met with stubborn resistance, often due to unhealthy attachments to tradition or fear of the unknown.

The church overly concerned with their own “needs” will over time begin to develop an unhealthy picture of their relationship to God. They could become modern-day Israelites, who missed their role as messengers of the salvation of God to the world but instead grew concerned with the privileges of being God’s people and the promises they felt they deserved. This entitlement can be found in the modern-day church, and leads people to a place of consumerism on Sundays. They believe the music, aesthetics, preaching and overall experience needs to edify them, or the church is not doing its job. The problem with this view is that each individual will have a different opinion about what serves them. Over time a majority voice will rise up within the congregation, those outside of their shared opinion find no room for their needs to be met and they will leave. As years go by this powerful majority opinion will force newcomers to fit into the culture or go elsewhere. As the ruling majority grows older and resists growth, repentance and change in general, the congregation begins to shrink until it’s down to 30 people meeting in a 700-person venue.

I’m not advocating for constant change or an openness to the voice of every person that enters a church. It’s impossible to serve everyone’s needs, whether they are saved or not. Besides, the role of the church is not to serve people’s needs but to bring glory to Jesus. However, part of glorifying Jesus is by serving others in love; the key is to not let this take precedence over the glory of God. This quote from Bryan Chappell describes how these two are tied together:

“Worship choices should never be segregated into meeting the needs of either those inside or those outside the present church community. Worship priorities cannot ignore the needs of those already gathered in the body of Christ, because the primary purpose of any church is to enable the people of God rightly to honor God. At the same time, leaders must recognize that God’s people cannot rightly honor him if they are unconcerned for the progress of his kingdom and the proclamation of his name.” - Bryan Chappell, Christ-Centered Worship, page 131-132

How do we strike the balance between a gathering that enables the people of God to rightly honor Him and that welcomes those Jesus has not yet brought into his Kingdom? Tomorrow we’ll attempt to find the answer. Have you been to a church that is welcoming and accessible to non-believers but that has not sacrificed preaching of the Gospel and healthy, active response to God? What characteristics stood out to you about this place?

In recent years there have been many churches, Vintage21 being one of them, that have sought to make the language and environment of church welcoming, the culture relevant to the surrounding city and attractive to those outside the church, all in an attempt to bring glory to Jesus. I speak from experience that as this continues, if there is not equal effort, prayer, and time spent making disciples of those who are saved, a development of biblical community where we love one another and bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2), and a continued humility in seeking God’s will, the attractive and welcoming nature may grow, but the depth of the church will begin to wane. Soon what people are being drawn to is a service, a speaker, or social event. The words of Jesus to the Church in Sardis in Revelation 3 may describe the result: “I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

Having grown up in the church, my experience week after week was like the movie “Groundhog Day” – it seemed like every week the same people repeated the same actions. People sat in the same seats, sang the same songs, and the minister said the same things. Rarely did new people attend, and when this occurred those people looked just like everyone else. On the rare occasion someone showed up who looked extremely different and was open about not believing in Jesus, it  inspired discomfort among the congregation. They were treated like a biker uncle who showed up unexpectedly at Thanksgiving – we don’t really have a place set for you at the table, and we aren’t open to you ruining this nice day we’re having.

When Vintage21 Church was planted in November 2002, there was a strong desire to welcome people who did not follow Jesus. In addition to calling followers of Christ to be warm and friendly towards everyone who attended, it was important to address what was said from up front. We examined the language and style of the songs, the liturgy and the sermon. We soon figured out this should not result in a dumbed-down or super-simplistic approach to Scripture. The arrogance underlying such an approach is astounding, as it communicates “You just don’t understand. We’ll make it simple for you so you can see the light.” This implies people who do not follow Christ are idiots, and followers of Christ have arrived at the conclusion that Jesus is Lord on their own merit. In addition, if you preach a dumbed-down portrayal of God and people began to follow this, they will grow frustrated as they’re unable to reconcile Scripture with this compartmentalized snapshot they signed up for. In other words, preach, teach and follow the God of the Bible.

Those who were open about not believing Jesus was God responded with enthusiasm to the challenging truths found in the Bible, while many who had grown up in church had an amazing ability to hear direct challenges to their lives and promptly ignore those convictions. We soon learned that people were coming to church to see if Jesus was really God, and wanted us to be clear and direct with them. The key to creating an environment welcome to those who do not follow Jesus was not a watered-down message but clarity. In addition, it was a sincere love for God, for others and for the city we live in – the ever-popular term “authenticity”.

Several years in we found the teachings of Tim Keller that brought even more clarity to what we had found true in practice at Vintage21 Church. Below is a video that sums this up well.

We’re honored that God has brought people that do not know Him to Vintage21 Church and given us a heart for those people. We’re humbled by those who have been saved by God who are involved in Vintage21 Church, and encouraged to make sure we continue to shape our service in such a way that those without a church background or who have been “burned” by the church are welcome here.

Here’s the thing: if this becomes the main goal of our gatherings on Sunday, we’re in error. When one aspect receives more attention than Scripture dictates or to the detriment of other duties of the church, the pendulum has swung too far. Like a football team that only recruits and practices offense, the result will be an unhealthy organization. While a football team that only practices offense could argue “The goal of the game is to score points. We’re going to do everything we can to score points”, to win the game you also have to keep the other team from scoring points. The coach in this instance would be taking one command – “score touchdowns” – and blowing it out of proportion to what is needed to win the game. For a church, it’s not about winning or losing, but about being the Body of Christ. We desire to follow the commands of Scripture, the example set for us by church history, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While Jesus commanded us to “go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19-20) this is not our only command. When Jesus speaks to the churches in Revelation 1-3, he said more than “Did you make disciples of all nations?” Therefore, if we make our service entirely about attracting non-believers, we’re missing our call as the church.

Join us tomorrow as we examine the other side of the coin: circling the wagons, and gathering only for the followers of Christ.

]]> http://worship.vintage21.com/2010/08/why-we-gather-on-sundays-part-one/feed/ 1 http://worship.vintage21.com/2010/08/resolve/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=resolve http://worship.vintage21.com/2010/08/resolve/#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:41:17 +0000 Matt Stevens http://worship.vintage21.com/?p=1279

Humans long for resolve. In chaos it’s natural for us to work towards order. We were created in the image of God, and in Him there is no chaos. Mankind has fallen however, and until we are in Heaven with the Father we will live in the tension of desiring order in a chaotic world. This grows tiresome, and apart from the peace and understanding of God this can cause us to become despondent as we try to bring order through our own strength. The United States is an example of frustrated people who are seeking happiness through their own strength by looking for quick resolutions to our longings. Songs, clothes, electronics, and material goods can be ordered and received overnight. Gratification, affirmation and self-serving solutions are mere clicks away. We’re rarely asked to wait for anything. The downside of this luxury of quickly receiving what we want when we want it affirms our belief that we have the power to make ourselves happy. In addition, we’re not often in a place where we have to deal with our longing, because solutions come so quickly. This denies us having to stop and listen to God for an answer – an unwelcome discipline in a world of instant gratification.

In The Long Walk, Slavomir Rawicz recounts being captured and shipped to a prison camp in Siberia, the horrors of imprisonment, his escape and trek across 4,000 miles of frozen tundra, the Gobi desert and the Himalayan mountains. What moved me was the mental and emotional demands of such a horrible experience. For Rawicz and millions of others throughout history and across the world, arriving at a place of rest, comfort, and resolve is not a reality. Faced with such turmoil, most Westerners would die not due to the physical toil but because the majority of us live in a world where resolve is seen as a right. Take away our rights, and we would slip into deep hopelessness. Not only are we insulated from so much of the sharp reality of suffering, but we’ve had it that way so long that now we believe we’re entitled to a life of ease and comfort. That’s why it’s so moving to read stories like what Slavomir Rawicz went through – we are jarred out of our lives filled with easy resolution when we are faced with the suffering of another human being. I’m writing today not to scold myself or others, but to illuminate the danger of complacency, which runs contrary to the biblical calling of a disciple of Christ.

“And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” – Luke 9:58

Jesus Christ was homeless for the majority of his ministry, and only on the cross did He speak the words “It is finished.” Upon being commissioned the disciples spent the remainder of their lives spreading the Good News in the face of severe opposition. The history of the Church is filled with people who saw that their lives were no longer their own but Jesus’, and only in Heaven would they find resolution once and for all. In the West today, the reality of living in a chaotic, fallen world has been overshadowed by entitlement and pride. Nowhere is this more evident than on Sunday mornings, when Christians gather. Here our main concerns deal with the music, aesthetics, preaching, kid’s ministry, parking, temperature, chairs, programs, etc. At the heart of most people is not a desire to glorify God or represent Him, but an opinion based on their own desire and comfort. Most people enter with a thought of “getting fed” or receiving instead of gathering to glorify God and encourage one another. There is great dissatisfaction in the Western Church today as we cling to promises Jesus never made – that we would live comfortable, suburban lives. Our self-serving nature is left unsatisfied, as the Holy Spirit does not respond to our beck and call to satisfy our whims and desires, telling us how wonderful we are. In dealing with most of life we’re able to bring resolution on our own strength, achieve happiness through satisfying our own desires, but in following Christ we find ourselves outside of the center of the universe and our selfish desires are not the primary concern.

We cannot desire God’s will without our hearts being transformed by the Gospel. Without the Holy Spirit’s movement, we’ll remain at the center of our own little universe, and Christianity will become increasingly frustrating. 2010 has been a challenging year at Vintage21 Church for people’s individualized versions of Christianity, which in essence isn’t Christianity at all. As we study the words of Scripture and call people to become a disciple of Christ, our selfishness has no place and we’re left with a choice: Will we continue to harden our hearts against the work of the Holy Spirit, or will we be people of soft hearts who are being sanctified, or made holy, by the Spirit?

This blog deals with worship of God, and almost specifically with theology of corporate worship. Because music is a gift from God and an integral part of our corporate worship, on occasion we’ll look at musical issues, and today is one of those days.

Years ago I read a quote from Charles Mingus that stuck with me: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” Most of the music I would call brilliant is in fact simple. Amazing musicians and producers have figured out how to boil a song down to its essence, and  add only what is necessary in presenting the song. Several bands that stick out in my head who display such taste are Elbow, Radiohead (OK Computer), The Cardigans (Gran Turismo), Daniel Lanois, Feist, Spoon, and Tom Petty. Oh, and Paul Denman, who plays bass for Sade. @TaylorRobertsok is a huge fan, and has turned me on to the  brilliant simplicity of such a capable bassist.

One of my favorite bassists is Colin Greenwood from Radiohead, and his work on OK Computer should be a chapter in any book titled “How To Play The Bass Perfectly”. The taste, sense of groove and use of space he displays is mind-blowing. His basslines are written and executed perfectly, and almost always stick with me long after listening. To illustrate this point, let’s look at “Karma Police”.

For the first two and a half minutes, Colin lays down a simple foundation, rarely departing from the beat of the kick drum. It’s almost like he’s playing along with the song for the first time, following the root on a chord chart. And why not? There is a piano and acoustic guitar filling up much of the space, and Thom Yorke’s lyrics do not leave much room in the verses.

At 2:30, the band introduces a new part where Yorke sings “For a minute there, I lost myself”. It’s a heightened section of the song; the dryness of the effects on the verse are replaced with reverb on the vocals, the piano and guitar play even more, and several elements are added in the background. Greenwood and drummer Phil Selway continue to keep it simple, but THEN at 2:59 Greenwood does this walking bassline that immediately grabs the listener’s attention. But he only plays it once before going back to the normal groove based in the root of each chord. Almost forty seconds later Greenwood plays the walking part again, and carries it out through the remainder of the song.

Yesterday, had you asked me to hum the bassline from “Karma Police”, I would have immediately hummed that walking part; it’s gold. Never would I have guessed that he only plays it a few times in the song. It’s what stuck with me over the past thirteen years, and in that time I’ve found myself humming the bass part as opposed to Yorke’s amazing melody.

The point is this: the temptation for most would be to put that walking bassline all over the song, and it speaks of Greenwood’s taste that he restrained from doing so. It’s an awesome part, why wouldn’t we saturate the song with it? Why play the simple root when you have such a powerful part? In the end, it’s a memorable, powerful bassline because he only plays it sporadically. Instead of focusing on his bassline, he serves the song well. For a band as talented and at times complicated as Radiohead, this makes such a choice even more brilliant.

Sadly, this approach of “serving the song” is not commonplace in most churches. Too often the case is that each player is listening only to himself or herself, and when a “cool” riff is created, it’s overplayed out of excitement for creating such a good part. Oftentimes, it’s understandable – a rotating group of musicians are playing a new set of songs with people they haven’t played together with in weeks or months, if ever. This is one of the reasons we operate out of a band model at Vintage21, but regardless it comes down to the person leading the band and the individual musicians. No matter what context you play in, challenge yourself constantly whether or not what you’re playing is necessary or simply a distraction. In looking for sites to link to the artists above, I came across an interview with Paul Denman. The quote below captures well what our outlook should be:

“Early on, being young and eager, I was more outfront— slapping and taking solos live. Robin Millar and Mike Pela, our producer and engineer at the time, liked what I was doing, and they encouraged me to step forward and try ideas. However, I hadn’t really learned how to hear a song or listen to what the others were doing; that came with time and maturity. As the years rolled on, I started to get more into dub and reggae, using off-beats and playing less, and it fit with Sade’s melodies really well. I’m always listening to the melody; I won’t play anything without the melody in my head, because I don’t want to get in the way with some insignificant fill. Now, I’d rather play one note for three minutes than trample on somebody’s feet with two. You eventually learn to find your pocket, and sometimes that pocket is filled with space.” – Paul Denman

What are your thoughts on overplaying in music? Are there other artists you would characterize as serving the song well?

copyright 2009 Geoff Wood Photography http://geoffwoodphotography.com/ @geoffwoodphoto

Yesterday was a new lineup of musicians playing together, and the hope behind this group was to explore a more ethereal sound, similar to our approach to Maundy Thursday. I really enjoyed playing with these people, and think the combination made for some beautiful moments.

In The Shadow Of The Glorious Cross
Words and Music by Rebecca Bales and Brooks Ritter

An amazing song by the talented musicians of Sojourn Church in Louisville, KY.

Love Me To The End
Words by Samuel Medley
Music by Jeff Koonce

This hymn can be found on the Red Mountain Church album “Help My Unbelief”, taken from the Gadsby Hymnal. The lyrics were inspired by the account of the leper begging Jesus for mercy in Matthew 8 and Mark 1. It was a beautiful fit to the sermon by @PastorTyler, which contrasted the prideful approach of James and John to the humble approach of the blind beggar in Mark 10.
Our arrangement capitalized on the first two minutes of the Red Mountain song instead of going to the more upbeat feel that kicks in. The congregation seemed to pick up on the melody, and I look forward to singing this one again in a few weeks.

Sermon: Mark 10:35-52
Pastor Tyler Jones

Help My Unbelief
Words by John Newton
Chorus and Music by Clint Wells

This song has been a favorite over the past six months, and I’m really enjoying the feel, particularly with Heather Pond singing. The honesty of the song, both in melody and lyrics, seem to help people confess. At least, it does for me.

Love Me To The End
(We repeat new songs in the second set)

Your Love Is Strong
Words and Music by Jon Foreman
This poetic song was a welcome change after two rich old hymns. No less true in content, but it allowed us to declare God’s love for us. How different life would be if we truly believed God when he says “I love you.”

Band
Steve Banfi – Sound
Scott Andrews – Keys
Heather Pond – Vocals
Josh Phillips – Bass
Steven Suits – Guitar
Kevin Donnelly – Drums
@MattStevensNC – Vocals, Guitar

copyright 2009 Geoff Wood Photography http://geoffwoodphotography.com/ @geoffwoodphoto

If you are a musician at Vintage21 Church and you have a desire to help people worship the Lord with music, we hope you’ll consider auditioning for one of the bands, including new ones that are forming soon. Whether you play bass or bouzouki, percussion or penny whistle, strings or sitar, we’d love to meet you.  Auditions will take place on Tuesday evening, June 22.  Email matt@vintage21.com for details and to sign up.

copyright 2010 Cade Bowman

We held baptisms at the Raleigh service of Vintage21 Church yesterday, which always makes for a beautiful reminder of what God desires to do through the church. The short statements made by two men being baptized were so honest and real, all of us on stage were moved by their heart behind their desire to be baptized.

I Boast No More
Words by Isaac Watts
Music by Sandra McCracken

We took this meaningful song and created a slightly more upbeat arrangement based around a solid 4/4 beat. The bridge was dropped several years back, as its not ideal for congregational singing.

God Of This City
Words and Music by Richard Bleakley, Aaron Boyd, Peter Comfort, Ian Jordan, Peter Kernaghan and Andrew McCann

The value of this song lies in the outward focus that it brings. Where corporate worship can often become inward-focused (“I’m a worm, woe is me, I’m a worm, me me me”), this song declares both God’s power outside of our own personal life and praises His sovereignty in all things. That we are actually in downtown Raleigh always stirs my heart when we sing this song, and I wonder: Do churches in rural towns sing this one?

Sermon: Mark 10:13-34
Pastor Tyler Jones

Before The Throne Of God Above
Words by Charitee Bancroft
Music by Vikki Cook

The version we sing is by the musicians from Sojourn Church in Louisville, Kentucky. We changed the chords slightly this week, which brought a minor-chord feel to the first two stanzas, and resolved back to the original for the last one. I never grow tired of singing this melody and these words.

In Feast Or Fallow
Words and Music by Sandra McCracken

This new song by Sandra McCracken was introduced last month, and already the congregation is picking up on it. Especially the “Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel” part. Wow – that is a picture to me of the voice of the church.

In Christ Alone
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend

Seeing as it was baptism Sunday, in which we often have both scheduled and spontaneous baptisms, I wanted to sing songs that reminded us just what baptism commemorated and celebrated. This monster of a song by Getty and Townend was sung with gusto, and hopefully was a reminder to those who follow Jesus and a challenge to those who do not.

Band
Keith Hibler, Thomas Dameron – Sound
Rob Fisher – drums
Jerry Updyke – bass
Andrea Updyke – vocals
Dan Rood – keys, vocals
Matt Stevens – guitar, vocals

copyright 2010 Lachlan Payne http://www.lachlanpayne.com

The Psalms stand alone in Scripture for their unique contribution as poetic verses and songs that speak of God’s character and our humanity. Arguably the most beautiful aspect of the Psalms is that they run the gamut of emotions. God knows we are living, breathing, weak-minded beings. He knows that we will struggle, that we will get angry, depressed, joyful, lonely, peaceful, and to all of that he says “yes! I know!” by the Psalms. The key is worshiping him in all of these things. For thousands of years countless people have been drawn to the Psalms for comfort and reassurance. Certainly for me; the Psalms are a regular part of my time of prayer and reading scripture, as they often help me find the words and posture in going before God.

Each May we enter a four week sermon series before beginning our long summer series, and this year it’s a look at the Psalms. With only four weeks/Psalms, it seemed appropriate to contrast two aspects: worship in sadness and joy, and worship in your day-to-day life and gathered together on Sundays and in Community Groups. Those are two areas that often become compartmentalized and end up as an “either/or” instead of a “both/and”.

Here are the Psalms we’ll study together. Join us for all four weeks:

Psalm 66 “Worship God With Joy”
Pastor Nate Williams
5/9/2010
The “joy” psalms are often based in the fact that God delivered David. The reason I chose this one is that it seems to set a tone of joy for the church, not just one dude saying “My life is good now, so I’ll have joy”. It’s saying “God is good, and has been good to Vintage21, and will be good through us, so we have reason for joy. THEREFORE, we should be people marked by joy, so that the city takes notice.”

Psalm 22 “Worshiping God In Sadness”
Pastor Tyler Jones
5/16/2010
This is a fantastic Psalm because it’s also what Jesus quotes on the cross. Not only does it give words to those who are lonely, depressed, oppressed, struggling, but it points to the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, as this is what He quoted on the Cross. He knows your suffering, as we find in Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Psalm 34 “Worship Is A Response Of Your Life”
Pastor Tyler Jones
5/23/2010
The first verse of this Psalm sets the tone of a life of continuous worship: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth”. It then goes on to touch on many things to back this up: I sought the Lord and he answered me, those who look to him are radiant, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. It should provide a good foundation to teach on living your whole life in response to God- not only is he worthy, but he’s good and provides like nothing else can.

Psalm 95 “Why We Gather And Sing: Worshiping In Community”
Pastor Matt Stevens
5/30/2010
The key to this one is not the opening “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord”, but verses 6-7 “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” If we gather as people expecting to be fed, hardening our hearts and saying “Prove yourself!” to God, we will not sing on Sundays, and it’s a waste of time to try. We should be thankful, grateful sheep, praising the name of our Shepherd and Savior, Jesus Christ.