Scripted AND Authentic?

My friend Paul led worship the other night using a DVD. Frankly, I have always considered this a second rate option at best. Afterall, with the musical talent available here at Calvary, was this really necessary?

It's made me rethink something...I always viewed anything canned as inauthentic in worship. But, in recent years I have begun to value and enjoy written prayers being read aloud as a part of worship, responsive readings (1 part read by leader, rest of us read the 2nd, then repeat until end), etc. Why do I resist some things while embracing others...i guess i'm just wondering where the balance is...

This weekend we're doing a young adult worship gathering called: ya worship. I guess this'll end up being a learning lab for all of this.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit

OK, this has been historically controversial, but frankly, I don't care. I know firsthand its power in my own life.

What place does it have today? I want to see young adults filled with the power of God so they can live out this crazy faith of ours. Jesus is the baptizer, not me. And I want to depend on Him to see hundreds of young adults filled and overflowing with the power of God. Church isn't worth my time unless it's infused with the power of God.

Maybe a better question would be "what place should it have?" We've often moved it to the back porch when it should be on the front porch--not as a right of passage, but as an unashamed, empowered and empowering experience of the living God.

3 streams

I'm blogging live...so forgive any mess ups...

Earl sees 3 streams of young pentecostals

1. loyalists--grew up in church, haven't moved on doctrinal distinctives, just ready to go work more

2. post distinctive leaders--love the movement but have a few qualms about doctrine like initial physical evidence
they're saying:
problem is i see non-tongue speakers flow in the gifts more than tongue speakers
"i've always struggled that we've made a doctrine out of a manifestation"
"give us some room to figure this out--without kicking us out"

3. post-denominationals--had it with abuses in the institutional church
left or are leaving the AG--often end up in house churches


Earl's pneumatology -- "more is good" Romans 15
if having the Spirit is good, more is always good

A question we must ask ourselves:
Are we doing anything dangerous enough to require the Spirit to show up?

young leaders are not looking for something to live for, they're looking for something to die for

pentecostalism must be more about the edge and less about the center
the church must be driven out of its Jerusalem (center) by the Spirit and to the people at the margins

Lobster Religion

A few points of interest (sorry Earl, I don't mean to infoer that the others are not of interest!)

same Gospel

people desire connection

boomers aging

consumerism in church free market - every SUnday church members can choose between going out to see you or in to see TD Jakes!

Everything is changing...
things that haven't changed
1. We bring our culture to church
the problem is not MTV infecting the church, the problem is north american church culture--it's more caustic to the Gospel!!!

2. We need to dismantle deficient theologies
a) service times that don't make sense-who's up at 10 am? Church people!
Thought: I'd like do late night services...it's hard to go at 11am and 8:30 is way too early

b) two stage conversion to be a good christian you need to first become a good Jew -- by that Earl means that we want people to act right according to our legalism/church culture/law
immediately circumcising new male converts is laughable today, but that is part of the struggle in 1st century Judaism/Christian relations
?What things do we require of new converts that might be equally crazy sounding?

3. counterfit nodels need to be demolished
a) the church in north america seems to belive that if we hold the fort, then the enemy will surrender

b) if we are holy enough, revival will come--maybe while we're waiting on God, He's waiting for us

c) if we build it, they will come
# with all 3 is that they are non-missional--Christian culture has more influence on us than the Gospel--OUCH!

Things to ponder:
How am I not receptive to people that God brings in?
If tongues is the initial physical evidence, what is the final/continual evidence? Where's the power?
(I know some presumably spirit-filled people who don't live in power!)


Thoughts on the service:
At what crossroads am I? What does God have for my future?
There are a lot of choices with the ya-s, community groups, Berean, etc.

Prayer:
God, give me more power in preaching & teaching. Fill me again, and again, and again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

btw, Lobster Religion...read Acts 11...remember that shellfish were unclean...and think about Peter's reaction to God's command...do we make our own lobster religion?

Carlisle Again

I'm going to try to blog the whole conference with Earl Creps up here in Carlisle, so here goes...

Blog #1
proximity...a very talented young lady sang tonight--she won a national fine arts contest for teenagers. From the picture, you can guess how far back I am...?what does our distance from people in church communicate? I love the large celebration service with 100 people, but the linear relationship established by the distance tonight does affect my perceptions...if this were my only setting in which to interact, I can't help but think that my view of God would subtly change...interaction and distance...hmmm...