Just don't get it..

Ok, so I am totally new to blogging...Laugh if you want, but I just never saw the need or the attraction. Now that my circumstances have changed somewhat I suddenly feel the need to reach out. To who? I still don't understand how blogging works, so who is likely to read my blog? Why? Who cares? It all just seems so random... I'm not particularly interested in other people's blow by blow commentary of their latest pregnancy or   bowel movement, so why would people be interested in mine? I can's seem to figure out how to search for people who might be interesting, so right now I am confused as to the purpose of blogging. Do we all just have a narcissistic need to be heard, even if by complete strangers? Do we need some sort of existential realization that we matter? Are just desperate for a subjective interaction with something, someone, somewhere? Surely if the purpose of blogging is social, Facebook would suffice? Does the truth lie in a inherent need to either connect with people who share our ideals, or convert those who don't to our little corner of the playground... Its all just so random...

Christian Rock

Christian rock – an oxymoron?

Look, whenever you start the topic of music at your business meeting or church board, you are likely to open the proverbial can of worms and nobody likes worms unless they’re strung on the end of a hook! If you’re in a young and vibrant church, the general consensus would be that we need to liven up our song services – if you’re in a older, more traditional church, the thought of a guitar in the front would make the head elder have an epileptic fit. I’ve been to churches where the song leader is not allowed to move his hand in time to the music and I’ve been to churches where the “praise team” is enjoying themselves far too much! So where do we draw the line? Is there a line? Do we have to stick to the same old hymns that Grannie and Grandpa sang before the war?

Now listen, if we are to be brutally honest here, we can find scriptural references for both sides of the argument here. One the one side we’ll have the conservatives quoting Paul in Corinthians when he says God is a God of order. (2 Cor. 14:33) and on the other side we’ll have the liberals quoting David when he says “Praise Him with tambourine and dancing” (Ps 150:4) Lets not even go to the cultural differences in song since that will open the second can and we only have one hook! So where do we go for answers? Well, let me warn you at the outset – I don’t have them! If you’re reading this in the hope of some miraculous enlightenment, stop reading and go make a tofu sandwich…

The best I can do is to give you my personal experience, for whatever that is worth. I used to be into rock in a big way. It started way back when I stole (sorry, borrowed…) my sisters’ Queen LP’s and played them when my parents weren’t home. From there I moved into everything from Deep Purple to Alistair Cooper. Without giving these guys too much credit, suffice it to say I was well schooled in the school of rock! One thing I remember clearly from those crazy head-banging days: the beat! Not the words so much, but the beat. Those cuckoo-clock-shattering guitar riffs interlaced with Mike Tyson-thumping chest compressions. It provided me with everything I wanted and thus I was ripe for the message it proclaimed! Would I have cared if Marilyn Manson tore pages from the Bible in his live concert? Would it have mattered that Roger Waters spat at someone? No way! I was enjoying the music and the message!

So now I see the same beats entering my church… The beats that Satan undoubtedly uses to create enjoyment is now playing in our churches. Now before you think I am about to start ranting about the young people of today, let me state unequivocally that as a young (er… although bald…) person, I believe that the young people are the most important people in the church! Sorry Granddad, you had your chance! We need to duct-tape our young people to the salvation chair and never let them go! But how? By bringing the beats of the world into the church? Oh, but I hear you say we need to attract people by the music – attract them to what? To be entertained, or to the living Redeemer in Jesus Christ? I have searched my Bible and I cannot find one instance where someone was converted by the music in the synagogue… Now I must be careful since I am not a theologian and perhaps there is such a place, but I cannot seem to recall Jesus starting the sermon on the mount with a band and a drum kit…

Ok, so I now I know I have upset a lot of people and I apologise (not sincerely though). However, truth be told, I also don’t have the answer! (I warned you!) Exactly where do we draw the line between a “lively song service” and an Abba Concert? Is one guitar ok but no drums? Can we flick the switch on the rhythm section of the organ? Frankly, I have no idea where the line is simply because I don’t think anyone has ever drawn a line. So we stumble forward in the dark…or do we? From the pen of inspiration come these words:

“The things you have described ... the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting, with drums, music, and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions. And this is called the moving of the Holy Spirit”. EG White LDE 159.1   (Last Day Events)  

For me the answer is found in 1Co 10:31” Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God”. To the glory of God… Now there’s a thing. So what the Bible is telling me is that it’s all about God? It’s not about my entertainment or how I “feel”, it’s about God! So truth be told – God sits with the most amazing gaggle of musicians and orchestras playing weird multi-vocal stuff in perfect harmony, and I try to please Him with my primitive banging of a drum? How glad I am that God is a patient and tolerant God!

If we are to be brutally honest with ourselves (which hurts mostly), we will have to admit that any attempt to “liven up” the song service is not for the “glory of God”, but for our own entertainment. We want to enjoy it more and God just better enjoy it too! Don’t get me wrong – singing poorly, out of tune, dragging the song like chewing gum under you shoe is just as wrong! Its reflects on how little we think of being in the presence of Majesty! But at the core of it all we need to realise that we cannot “appease the gods” by banging a drum or even by singing loudly! It’s about God and how we respond to what he has done for us in our lives. We need to praise Him, to the best of our ability, but with the distinct understanding that we will never come close to the praise He is worthy of, or used to! We simply plod along under the good graces of a smiling Creator who loves us so much that He smiles at our simple attempts at music. As to the line and where it is – I have no idea but a very wise man once said to err on the side of caution…So for me, I will sing the hymns as they were written and try to remember that it’s not about my own entertainment – it’s all about God. I shudder to think that we might want to bring the world’s music into our churches. The world’s music should stay the worlds music and never the twain shall meet! Christian rock? That’s like a Christian gangster…