Praying is...?

I read Shane Raynor’s blog about group prayer (You can too. Click here) and share his questions about why we miss out on the power of prayer. For me, prayer is hard to keep within a prescribed definition, just as it is hard to define having a conversation with someone.

My friend Brandye and I don’t get to see each other often, but we do talk on the phone and email each other. Sometimes our conversations are short, sometimes long, sometimes about our children, our joys, our frustrations. Sometimes we chat about serious heartfelt issues, and sometimes we yammer away about goofy things. It all depends upon the day, the emotions involved, and/or the subject matter. And, that is only one person in my life. Add to that my daughter and other friends and family, and the varied discussions multiply exponentially.

My prayer life is similar in that I don’t believe there is one way or style or occasion to pray. Everyday begins with a quiet time of talking to God and listening for His guidance. Then there are the concerns that others share with me, the little things that come up during the week, and the things that God has given me to pray passionately about each day. Each prayer is different. Sometimes quiet and still, sometimes joyful and running, sometimes deep and full of impassioned pleas. And each answer is different. Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and sometimes…. wait.

Why do I pray? I try to put this down in concise words, but they just can’t encompass what I know and feel. Think about what it is like to spend quality time with someone whom you adore and adores you. A truly loving relationship like that has you wanting to just be there with them, talking, listening or sitting in a glowing momentary silence. You come away feeling loved, strengthened, valued, encouraged, guided, and assured of the bond between you. THAT is how I experience prayer. Enough for now… off to jog, plugged into good tunes and a good God.

Open to a New Thing?

If you're lost you can look, and you will find me, time after time. If you fall I will catch you, I'll be waiting, time after time. -Cyndi Lauper

A friend of mine asked me to work on some music with him. It’s not for a worship service or even planned for inside the church building, but for the sheer joy of playing for other people in other settings. On our dream set list (still in progress), you won’t find a single hymn or praise song, but you will find The Police, Cyndi Lauper, and a number of very eclectic things that are new to me.

“What? No God songs?” some of you may query. Some may gasp, “Isn’t that leaving God behind?” Granted, many years ago, I set a “Christian music only” rule in my house for a while because I felt like the smarmy lyrics just didn’t benefit my daughter and me. In the years since, I’ve recognized that I can be selective about lyrics, without cutting myself off from good music with great lyrics. I’ve had youth tell me about a great “Jesus” song that merely repeated the name somewhere, and have heard hymns that were so archaic that the meaning once understood by past generations flew past me. So, can God take something old or secular and make it new? Can He take something from the today's world and use it to talk about hope, joy, peace, and the fullness of His love for us?

Jesus came to make things new. At the last supper, he sat down with His disciples for a Passover meal, a celebration that had been passed down through generations. When I say “passed down”, I mean each little detail of it, all those words, gestures, and acts which made a Passover meal, a Passover meal. Everyone knew what to expect. Everyone knew each prayer that would be said and when and how each item of food would be eaten. Traditions that one just doesn’t stray from… until…

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. -Jesus (John 13:34)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! -Paul, the Apostle (2 Corinthians 5:17)

...Jesus interrupted the flow of things by saying something that was not written in the script. He said to them, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” and "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” I can almost hear them gasp. “What? No traditional Passover prayer? Aren’t you deviating from what God said we are to do right here?”

Ahhh, but God’s plan was right on track. They didn’t understand that then. Some of us today barely understand it now. I won’t go into the cultural or theological stances on that right now (i.e., the Middle Eastern customs of sharing a meal, or Christ’s atonement, both of which are highly relevant in this discussion) but I want to take note of how Jesus stepped beyond the accepted description of a Passover meal. That celebration was never just about the format and details of the meal itself. What about the freedom from slavery to Pharaoh that God was providing Moses and the Israelites, and the freedom from slavery to sin and death that Christ offers us. The idea of freedom was taken past being a story, and into a hopeful present and future.

Jesus wasn’t ignoring God during the Passover meal that night, just because he was doing something new and different. Jesus was obeying God and telling us about God’s deep love for all of us. Just because one listens to 80’s rock or has friends outside the church, or spends time doing things that some wouldn’t label “ministry”, doesn’t mean that God is not involved. If you are seeking to love God with all that you are, and then love people the way He loves you, then chances are you don’t tend to ask God to have a seat and wait while you do “secular” things. The labels of “church” and “secular” become less important, because your relationship with Christ is constant. You want to go where He goes, wherever that is. The labels we put on proper prayer or a worship service becomes less of the focus, and the question of discovering or rediscovering Spirit-led worship becomes the central theme. In the midst of it all, something new can happen which honors God and renews His people.

The truth is that we all have struggles and issues. I know that the only way I make it through them is because I believe the Christ goes with through it with me. I feel his real presence, comfort, strength and unconditional love. Time after time, when I’m lost, falling and need to be caught, He is always there. Time after time, He waits on me, pursues me, renews me and makes things new, time after time, after time, after time…

Mom the Tech

The Recoup Tour ’09 is now officially two weeks old. For those of you keeping a score card, my mom’s “ER day” was September 28^th (see my post “In the General Hospital”). Thank you for all the prayers and kind words so many of you sent in. For the past week mom has been recouping at my house (last week was my sister’s house). She’s been getting stronger day by day, and though she’s been here for the express purpose of healing, I’ve enjoyed her being here. During this time, we’ve had great talks, out of which came her decision to make the move into a more technical savvy world.

Sometime ago mom began Twitter, and has now added Facebook to her repertoire (yep, I needed another Farm Town neighbor). She’s learning about website forums and how to move easily through YouTube. She has realized that those are some of the ways that her children communicate and play, and she wants to participate in that with us. Go mom.

As a “retired” person, she could sit back on her laurels and play the “been there, done that” card. (I say “retired” parenthetically because she continues to work, travel, teach, volunteer, etc.) There are plenty of us out here in the world that, even though we aren’t of retirement age, we play that card, resigning ourselves to become stuck in the mud. But mom sets that precedent of looking for new and exciting things to do, such as signing up for new ministries at our church and our upcoming trip to Australia together next year. But doing new things means… change.

Change is hard. It’s hard for young and old alike. The alternative is to get set in your ways and stay there. It is always tempting to find comfort in whatever way you’ve always done things, and then utter the pestilent recitation, “We’ve never done it THAT way before.” However, that so called “comfort” is a deceptive comfort. Monotony and apathy follow closely behind, wanting to settle into that “comfort” mindset. I’m not saying that all the traditional things we do are wrong. Nay, nay. I’m suggesting that even those comforting traditions can become a heavy load to carry.

Christ came into the world, bringing a new message of love and hope. He was a Jew who held to the beliefs of his forefathers, yet he offered something fresh. Jesus spoke about a new teaching, a new covenant, and a new life. This new message was not inconsistent with the workings of God, as found in the Christian Old Testament, but was an extension of the love that God gave mankind in the first place.

We must also remember that just because something is new, doesn’t mean it is necessarily better. Just because something is attached to the latest fad, doesn’t mean that it has value or benefits us in the long run. The challenge here is to simply listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Really listen. Maybe it’s time to hold fast to what you have. Maybe it’s time to release your grip on the past and move forward. That goes for what happens in your church, and yes, even in your job, your schedule, your bank account, and your free time (though we claim we never find any).

How open to change are you?

Labels

Labels don’t always ring true.

There’s an old practical joke that has been played on newlywed couples. They arrive home after their honeymoon, and unbeknownst to them, someone has gone through their pantry and switched all the labels from the canned goods. Dinnertime arrives and they go to open the fruit, however there’s corn inside. They wanted corn, so they open the fruit, however it is tomato soup. The labels are deceiving. Even when the labels are on the correct cans (fruit label on the fruit can), what you get when you open the can is not always what you expect. On the fruit cocktail label you see cherries covering the bowl, but when you open the can, it’s mostly peaches with a cherry or two hidden at the bottom. Do we, the church, give a true representation of who Christ is? Do we hide behind the label of “Christ follower” or is that genuine label (and the lifestyle of loving others) something that has become a natural and authentic part of our daily lives?

Labels, Labels, Labels…

I’m a daughter, mother, sister, and aunt. I’m a pianist, guitarist, composer and singer. I laugh at Monty Python, cry over Steel Magnolias, run with Forrest Gump, get adventurous following Indiana Jones, and overcome great odds with Scarlet O’Hara. I am refreshed and challenged by Holy Communion at the seashore (John 21:1-19). I am lifted up and joyful in services where contemporary Christian praise songs are sung (Ps 100:2). I am reminded of my Christian heritage found in traditional liturgy, and thankful for the saints who have come before me (Ps 52:9). I am filled with awe and wonder as I sit in a chapel listening to Bach’s notes and the people’s prayers rise up together as I contemplate the mystery of our faith (Neh 8:6).

And all that… is only a tiny fraction of who I am. How does one perfectly and succinctly describe themselves within the fullness of who they are and how they live out their lives? If I say that being a daughter is the only way to define myself, then I would miss out on the joy of motherhood. If I only play my piano and never sang again, I would feel quite empty. In our complex lifestyles, we move in so many different directions at once and can end up overloaded with information, scheduling problems, and being pulled apart by opposing ideas and values. If you and I lead such complicated lives, maybe it’s time to revisit what it really means to be one who truly follows Christ and get back to the basics of our faith.

Simplify

Is the wearing of that multitude of labels weighing you down? Are you constantly having to justify your choices regarding how you spend your time and money? Are you letting your busy life in the office, in your home, and even in your church steal your passion for Christ? I’m not suggesting that the labels in themselves are wrong. I am suggesting that life is not about the multitude of labels which can build a wall between us and Christ.

When God said that we are to love Him with everything that we are (Deut 6:5), and to worship Him using everything at our disposal (Ps 150), He is saying that He should be our focus. When we make Him the center of everything, then we begin to live our lifves using one big and enduring label, “Christ Follower.” In the simplicity of that heart-set, a new journey begins where the traveler yearns to move according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, instead of self-focused direction. The old labels still exist and many of them retain their value, but they are moved to sub-category status that easily ranks below the authentic desire to please God first.

Different Mindset

So if pleasing God comes first before all things, then my status as a preacher or mother is not the key issue. If I am putting God first, and God has called me to preach and given me the joyful responsibility of being a mother, then God honors that God-centric lifestyle and uses the my labels within His perfect plan. If we are called to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), then should the labels of “contemporary”, “traditional” or “blended” services be the focus of worship? Should they take priority over allowing the Spirit to move beyond our preconceptions and opinions?

What if the church came together to for a unified time of seeking God and praising Him without the labels, or music, or format being the drawing factor or a stumbling block? Are you ready to wear the label “Christ follower” in a bold new way by letting Him be the center of all things? Are you ready for God to do something fresh and exciting in you? … in your community of faith? … in the world beyond your church doors?