This morning there was a thick fog laying across the marsh behind our house. As a kid I always thought of fog as a cloud laying on… Read more “Heaven Meets Earth”
Tag: Christ
the Light
Isaiah 9:2 reads: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has… Read more “the Light”
…You get what you need!
Oh, you can’t always get what you want; but if you try sometimes you just might find: You get what you need! Mick Jagger & Keith Richards… Read more “…You get what you need!”
His star is rising, the King has been born.
This past Sunday marked Epiphany in the life of the Church. It kind of gets a raw deal as far as the various “days” of the church. … Read more “His star is rising, the King has been born.”
Jesus heals
My morning devotional brought to the light the number of times women who were unable to bear children gave birth to key figures in the Bible. Sarah… Read more “Jesus heals”
that was just dumb…
I was an elementary music teacher when my wife and I were first married. Those four years of teaching were fun, exciting, draining, fulfilling, aggravating, creative –… Read more “that was just dumb…”
Let in the Light
This morning I was woken by a chorus of birds right outside our bedroom window. While it was beautiful, I would have appreciated a few more minutes… Read more “Let in the Light”
No more training wheels
Recently our daughter came to the point when she no longer needed training wheels on her bike. We spoke and I told her when she’s ready let… Read more “No more training wheels”
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
“Lord it’s the same old tune, fiddle and guitar;
where do we take it from here?
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars,
it’s been the same way for years.
We need to change.”– – Waylon Jennings
Those are the opening lines to the Waylon Jennings song Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way. The other afternoon I was enjoying the Florida sun and this song shuffled on and filled our backyard. I was struck by how the song’s criticism of Nashville and country music is just as pointed today as it was in 1975. Waylon was singing about how the Nashville machine had gotten away from the roots of country music – the song – and things like radio play, new cars, and those rhinestone suits had become more important. The same things could be said about any genre of music today. Is the commercialism of the song or artist more important than the songs being written?
But I spend my days playing music in the church and I was struck by how those thoughts might be just as true for our churches, we may also need a change.
Is today’s church using the (metaphorical) same old tune, fiddle and guitar from 10, 20, 30, or even 50 years ago and expecting the same results? Or are we doing the same thing and expecting something new to happen? Are we seeking to be relevant for today’s generation, or are we expecting today’s folks to adhere to the practices of the past? This doesn’t mean that the actions and traditions of the past are no longer valid – quite the contrary – they are highly important because the faith of past generations are what today’s church stands upon. But is today’s church getting a little hung up on the rhinestone suits and new shiny cars?
Many of our churches are at a generational and cultural crossroad. Doing things the same way they’ve always been done will surely please those who lived through the past – but in doing so are we responding to the needs of today’s seeker?
Are we going to journey together into the future or will our churches fixate on how things were done in the past and ignore the needs of today’s generation longing for the Love of Christ.
We need to change.
Let’s end with a little Waylon…
“Neither revol…
“Neither revolutions nor faith can be won without keen suffering. For me Christ was not to be bought for thirty pieces of silver but with my heart’s blood. We buy not cheap in this market.”
Dorothy Day
Red Chair Music 