Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Built to fail

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FailHow many times have you seen a building on which the name of a bank or some other business is engraved in stone only to find that the building no longer houses the institution that built it?

They did not build the building with the intent of making it available for another business. The founders of that bank did not begin with the intent of failure. But most human institutions do eventually fail.

Some in our day are ready to announce the church as another institution that will be on the list of failed ventures. While there are individual congregations and local church organizations that do fail, it is somewhat premature to order a burial plot for the church as a whole.

I must admit that sometimes it saddens me to see beautiful church buildings that are now museums, shops or restaurants. But I am quickly reminded that the building is not the church. While a local congregation may dwindle to the point where it cannot maintain a building and must sell it, that is not an indication that the church as a whole is dying.

As Christians, we should understand the reason why this is the case. Men did not found the church. Jesus makes this clear in his statement to Peter in Matthew 16:18. It is Jesus that is the founder and sustainer of the church.

The church is not an organization that is built to eventually fail. In fact, when Jesus gave us our mission of making disciples, he also told us that he would be with us as we do it. Jesus began it, Jesus sustains it, and Jesus will complete what he started.

Failure is not an option.

Shame on you . . .

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no-shameI have previously written about how truth is the antidote for shame. In that post, there is some discussion about a shame based culture that exists within some churches. Shame is antithetical to the Gospel and should be rooted out of the church culture whenever it is discovered.

That being said, I have become increasingly aware of how I have been negatively affected by shame. This has been a process of discovering how deeply ingrained and how insidious shame can be. Recent awareness came in response to a few events that could not be considered moral failings, but produced shame in me.

The more silly of the events that caused shame happened on Saturday morning. I was up later than usual on Friday night and somehow slept through my alarm on Saturday. As a result, I was late for the Men’s Bible Study. Of course, I got some good natured teasing about being late.

later in the day I realized that being late tainted all of my interactions during and after the study. I felt obligated to explain why I was up late and how I must have turned down the volume on my alarm, etc. Feelings of letting people down led to feelings of shame. Shame lead to defensiveness.

Why should I feel shame at being late? There is no good answer to this because shame should not have played any role whatsoever. Perhaps it was a feeling that I set a bad example by being late. Perhaps it was just shame at failing at something (being on time). Perhaps it was because I felt that I had let my brothers down.

Whatever the cause, it inhibited my ability to interact with my brothers. It caused me to hold back in some interactions and to be defensive in others.

Call it shame, call it condemnation, whatever you call it, it should not have any effect on my self image or how I interact with others (Tweet This).

This is where the Gospel does its work. Jesus came to Zacchaeus’ house before he cleaned up his act. Jesus came to the woman at the well while she was still in an extramarital relationship. The Gospel dispels the illusion that we should clean ourselves up to come to Jesus. Furthermore the Gospel dispels the illusion that we even have the ability to clean ourselves up.

A proper understanding of our standing before God apart from Christ should make us realize that we are all equal at the foot of the cross.

This realization will displace shame wherever it is found. Like spiritual chemotherapy, the Gospel goes on a seek-and-destroy mission against shame.

For that I am grateful.

On the singing of old hymns

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HymnsAt the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I have to say that sometimes I miss the old hymns in our worship. I do not miss how the hymns were executed, but I do miss the lyrics.

Let me explain.

Often, the singing in the churches of my youth made funeral dirges seem celebratory by comparison. It is no wonder that the 3rd stanza was often skipped. Because of the slow pace and the lack of vitality, shortening the process was an act of mercy.

That is not what I miss.

What I miss is the well-thought-out lyrics that often speak to me in a time of need.

Recently, I was working through a difficulty and a stanza from How Firm a Foundation came to mind:

When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie
my grace all sufficient shall be thy supply
the flame shall not hurt thee I only design
thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

OK, I could do without the King James English and it would be beneficial to freshen up the pronouns to make it more contemporary. But whatever form of English we use, the spiritual meat-and-potatoes nature of the lyric shines through. I was encouraged by the words of the song.

I have heard some of my favorite hymns recorded by artists such as Chris Rice and Fernando Ortega. You can listen to Fernando’s rendition of How Firm a Foundation on YouTube. So more contemporary settings for these lyrics can be worked out.

I would encourage any worship leaders who read this blog to examine the lyrics of the old hymns and see if they do not greatly encourage you. Find new melodies or new instrumental arrangements for those precious lyrics and share them with your congregations.

The old hymns have stood the test of time because they continue to offer something of value to those who sing them or listen to them.

It might take a little effort to find that value, but it is worth it.

Actual vs Aspirational

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HymnalI recently read a devotional article where the author expressed his reluctance to sing certain hymns and songs which express thoughts which are not true for him. He cited the hymn, “Jesus I am Resting” as one that prompts such hesitation.

Reflection on this made me see a distinction between singing about what is actually true in the moment and what I aspire to be true. The distinction is between what is actual and what is aspirational (my spell checker does not recognize this as a word but we will run with it).

Who among us lives up to what we want to be true of us? Who among us is qualified to sing the great Christian songs that speak of victory and complete surrender?

Should we hold back from singing “How Great Thou Art” because we are wrestling with God over a lingering illness?  Should we banish “It is Well With My Soul” because we are often troubled and distracted even while we sing it? Can we sing “He Keeps Me Singing” when we’re not feeling particularly joyous? We all fall short of the ideal that is portrayed in these songs..

I do see value in singing such songs to remind us that there is a God great enough to handle our doubts and fears. There is value in acknowledging that even while I am in emotional disarray, there is a God who can bring wellness to a troubled soul. There is value in singing a song that reminds me that joy is not dependent upon my circumstances and current emotional state.

It is not as if we are trying to fool God into thinking better of us than we deserve. He already knows our failures and knows our doubts and knows our struggles.

So while what we are singing may not describe what is actually true of us in the moment, it can be an accurate description of our desire. Our voice can express what is aspirational even though it may not be wholly or even partially true in the moment.

So, sing on. Sing loudly. Make a joyful noise (Tweet This).

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