The musings of an incorrigible loyalist

In recent weeks, World Cups and screaming for Bafana, Greece, Ghana and Spain apart, Psalm 119 has stirred my soul, and tempered my actions:

74 May all who fear you find in me a cause for joy,
for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, O LORD, that your regulations are fair;
you disciplined me because I needed it.
79 Let me be united with all who fear you,
with those who know your laws.
80 May I be blameless in keeping your decrees;
then I will never be ashamed

I have been musing for some months about our purpose for existence as a movement, which, let me remind us all, is the planting of effective, culture-current churches that make disciples that evangelise their communities leading to the planting of effective, culture-current churches…

But the above purpose / goal statement assumes some things: that there is a thing called a “church”, and that such a thing serves a purpose beyond just being. Churches do not exist for their own sake – they make disciples of Someone. Their evangelisation of “unchurched” people is penultimate, and the assumption is that the ultimate purpose, or end, of it all is God Himself, His Presence and Glory.

That is why you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. You, too, are being built in him along with the others into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The Church exists for Him, and makes disciples of Him. The church does not measure its effect by “how many” or “how effective” or “how relevant” or “how much money”, but by this single criterion: “Are we making Jesus famous?” Are the lives we are shaping, causing Him delight? When people in the community think of us, are they, even mildly, intrigued by what we’re up to, why we do what we do, what makes us different? Do our children want to imitate our lives, our worship, our conversations? Are we leaving footprints that remind people of Someone else? I have often said I think there was a link between what the church in Antioch was like, and what the community called them: Acts 11:26 says “When (Barnabas) found (Paul), he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians).” Something about the gathered community of worshipping, Christ-following lives reminded their observers of Someone else. They earned a nickname (“little Christs”) – a nickname of which we would be proud, and to which we should aspire.

Remember that church is for God. Remember that our first priority is the Worship of God. I am including a piece from Dan Wilt, on the “WorshipTraining.com” website, which asks and answers a relevant question:
Are We Winning In Worship?

As of this writing, Spain has just been declared the winner of the 2010 World Cup. Now, I’m not sure how many of you follow this high and lofty sport (or shall we call it “athletic art”), but it takes determination, speed, agility, endurance and some fancy footwork to achieve this kind of win in the soccer world.

As the post-game celebrations took place, I asked myself, “What does it mean to win in worship?” In other words, what is the measure of our success on any given Sunday morning or worship time?

I might suggest our barometers, in many communities, are way off – there may be a different measuring stick than we’re currently using. I myself have measured the success of a worship time based on the tightness of the band, the flow of the songs, the enthusiasm of the congregation and even just how I “felt about the experience” on a personal level. Heck, if the photocopier worked and the set wasn’t frantic, I sometimes called that a win as well!

According to the teaching of Jesus, it seems, this is neither an adequate nor helpful way for any worship team or leader to view a worship experience as a “win.”

Here are some criteria I might suggest for determining if we are “winning,” over time, in worship. This measuring stick falls apart if measured only Sunday after Sunday, but rather, should be measured over the course of a year in a community.

1. Are we telling the redemptive story in a way that is engaging the congregation and reinforcing where the human experience is headed according to the Scriptures, the reality of Jesus life, death and resurrection, and the New Creation that will one day come to its full fruition?
2. Are we telling a compelling creational story, one in which justice is called for, the Church is released and empowered, missionally, the weak are being protected, the poor being fed and clothed, and the ecosystem is being well-stewarded?
3. Are we turning people’s attention to God as their Provider and Caregiver, their Source of hope and life?
4. Are we creating “beautiful space” musically, symbolically and creatively for our particular body to listen to God, to receive prayer, to celebrate, to rest in God’s peace, to receive healing and strength from God?
5. Are we giving our community words, memories and music that stay with them, and continues to empower them toward wholeness and mission?

When the timeclock has run out, and the New Time begins, we want to be winners in the ways that God intended us to be. We help to shape this winning life in the world of every believer we influence as we lead others into living worship. Ole’!

NEWS, ADVERTORIAL AND SUCHLIKE:

“THE CHURCH HAS LEFT THE BUILDING” – GARIEP DAM, SEPTEMBER 27 TO OCTOBER 1
You will have received the details of this exciting event (our National Pastors’ / Leaders’ Conference 2010), which is a response to what we believe the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church – that discipleship is DOING, that the meat is still in the street, and that we have only really transferred the mandate we received when everyone has been equipped to do the Kingdom in the marketplace. Mark Marx, from Ireland, is well known throughout the movement as an equipper in the area of power evangelism. We will be doing practical ministry in the streets of Colesberg as our “Workshops” for this conference, so you will not only be trained, but be a trainer by its end. Register now!

VISION 2020
Every Vineyard Pastor in SA will be mentored through a training process over the next 2 years, focused on transferring the Vineyard’s DNA in repeatable form. The “Pastors’ Pack” which contains everything you need to know / be able to do as a Vineyard Pastor, will be launched at Gariep. We are asking every church to purchase one of these packs at the amazing price of just R1000. It contains 8 books in hard copy format; 10 DVD sets; and CD’s containing the “Pastor’s Manual”, a manual on “Worship Essentials”, all relevant documents a church needs, and MP3 recordings of “Doing Church”, “Different but Equal” and “The Church and its Leaders”, plus many more aids and resources for the local church pastor. It would help us with production if you could send your R1000 to the office as soon as possible. You can then collect your pack at Gariep.

LINKS MINISTRY
You will be receiving, in the envelope containing “Cutting Edge” magazine, a brochure and newsletter of “Links”, which is a ministry founded by a friend of mine, Mike Godward, of the UK. It is self-explanatory, and obviously you should not feel any pressure to engage, but respond as God leads you. I just wanted you to know that Mike, and this ministry, is sound of mind and doctrine, reliable of character and has borne good fruit in Africa over many years. I commend it to you for your consideration as a ministry you could well partner with.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 16th, 2010 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Front Page, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.