 | | Nicholas Zork |
Liturgical Lessons from the Decalogue: Angry Worship?
"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court;" (Matthew 5:21-22 NASB)
This past week has been one of the angriest weeks I can remember. Anger over a tragic killing, a grand jury decision and ongoing systemic injustices in the United States has spilled out into the streets of Ferguson, Missouri and cities across the nation. Some protests have been violent; most have been peaceful; nearly all have been angry -- as have so many responses to them. In fact, anger has been everywhere, dominating the 24-hour news cycle, Facebook posts, blogs and many face to face conversations. I've been angry. To be honest, I still am. So what am I -- what are all of us who claim to follow Jesus -- supposed to do with this anger? How can we respond? And how can we prepare to worship a God of peace, love and justice?
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Worship and Pastoral Ministry
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 | | Timothy P. Nixon |
Responding to Ferguson: "Sheep Without A Shepherd"
"When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick." (Matthew 14:13,14)
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD." (Mark 6:34)
I have been asked to reflect on how I would respond to the events of Ferguson as a Minister of the Gospel. My humanity touches the despair of my community, a community that has seen the death of so many young African Americans finding no justice and being criminalized. When human systems fail, our only alternative is God. And the place where people come to seek answers is the church.
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 | | J. Nelson Kraybill |
A Robe Dipped in Blood
"Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True . . . He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. . ." (Revelation 19:11-15)
Today a life-size statue of Archbishop Romero stands at the spot where he delivered his last homily in the chapel of Divina Providencia hospital. When he finished speaking, he stepped to the altar in the background and died from a bullet fired from the rear of the sanctuary.
In October an unscheduled airline layover in Central America gave me a day to explore sites related to the life and death of Archbishop Oscar Romero. I saw a robe dipped in blood-vestments worn by Romero when he was assassinated in 1980 for daring to confront abuses of a right-wing dictatorship in El Salvador.
The nation was in civil war, its military government aligned with the rich. Romero used sermons and radio messages to denounce death squads and other means of intimidating the poor. On March 24, 1980 he said this at the Divina Providencia hospital chapel in San Salvador:
"I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the military. Brothers, you come from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, 'Thou shalt not kill.' No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. . . In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression."
As Romero stepped to the altar to celebrate Eucharist, an assassin's bullet cut him down. When I visited Romero's nearby humble house this week, a nun showed me his vestments still stained with blood. Romero confronted powers of oppression and violence with nothing but the "sword" of the Word of God. He charged into spiritual and political battle with inspired words and changed the course of Salvadoran history, helping end dictatorship and war.
Alexander the Great charges into battle against King Darius of Persia in the fourth century BC. This mosaic found at Pompeii is at the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
A mosaic from Pompeii (ca. 100 BC) shows Alexander the Great also charging into battle-in this case against the Persians. But Alexander has a literal sword in hand, and he intends to kill. Roman emperors in the first century routinely put similar images of themselves on coins.
Such Greek and Roman military propaganda-and Old Testament precedents-stand behind Revelation 19. But John of Patmos completely transforms the imagery! An equestrian Christ in John's vision wears garments splattered with blood-his own blood shed at Calvary. Like Romero two millennia later, Jesus confronted powers of death and violence with the Word of God-not physical violence-and laid down his life in love.
Never underestimate the power of the spoken Word of God to bring down oppressive powers and point the way to healing of the nations.
Editors note: J. Nelson Kraybill is Lead Pastor at Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana and President-elect of Mennonite World Conference. He will be a featured presenter at the upcoming Andrews University Music & Worship Conference, February 26-28, 2015.
See more articles by Kraybill on mission, peacemaking and Bible interpretation at www.peace-pilgrim.com.
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CALLED Convention Features Seminars on Worship
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NAD Ministerial believes that the knowledge and practice of worship is one of the core competencies of effective pastors. Therefore many seminars on the topic of worship will be presented at the June 28-July 1 CALLED convention for pastors and their families. Click the highlighted names below to find out more about the presenters. The password is 'pastor.' Some of the presenters include Pedrito Maynard-Reid who will present Multicultural Worship: Melting Pot or Fruit Salad; Derek Morris, Powerful Biblical Preaching: how to maximize the impact of your preaching ministry; Mansfield Edwards, Worship Matters: Reflections on Worship; JoAnn Davidson, A Beautiful Sabbath: Worship and the Sabbath; and Dwight Nelson, Preaching that Connects: preparation for preaching to current times and generations. These are just a few of the many seminars on worship. Registration for the CALLED convention is now open.
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Worship Guidelines from Revelation 14: 6, 7 for Worship Leaders | | Alain Coralie |
The successful marketing of worship music has introduced new dynamics for worship leaders in our local churches. This new development should encourage us to examine more carefully the essence of congregational worship. Revelation 14:6, 7, a key text in our self-understanding as Seventh-day Adventists, provides an illuminating perspective for worship leaders. It offers a theological ground to forge authentic worship services by providing a solid biblical framework. It is the purpose of my presentation at the upcoming Andrews University Music & Worship Conference to examine how that is in fact the case.
First, two key characteristics of worship are highlighted: its Gospel-centeredness and its global necessity, forming its theological foundation. Second, three imperatives ('Fear God', 'Give him Glory', 'Worship him') are focused upon, outlining clear guidelines on the nature and form of true worship. I will demonstrate how Revelation 14:6,7 can directly help worship leaders connect with the purpose for which they were created -- to worship God and lead others to do the same. Editor's note: Alain Coralie will explore this topic and more as a featured presenter at the upcoming Andrews University Music & Worship Conference, February 26-28, 2015. |
Leading Beyond the Style Wars (Part Two) | | Elia King |
In part one of this article, we talked a bit about how easy it can be to lose sight of Christ, the object of our worship, when we allow ourselves to get caught up in debating stylistic details.
Without proper perspective, our discussions about the details can take precedence over the purpose of our worship, and we can find ourselves entrenched in debates over how we worship rather than why, or more important, whom we worship. History has shown that we can become so focused on the "how" that the practice of our worship itself becomes idolatry (see Amos 5:21).
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Featured Worship Conference
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Andrews University Music & Worship Conference February 26-28, 2015 Hosted across the Andrews University campus, this Conference will provide Biblically rooted training opportunities for church musicians, pastors, worship leaders, and anyone involved in worship ministry. This year's theological focus will consider biblical worship through the lens of the Book of Revelation.
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The ONE Project, San Diego, February 8 and 9, 2014
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During a recent elders board at our church, Jim Christianson was kind enough to share some of the details about the upcoming One project gathering in San Diego next year. He was part of the very first gathering in Atlanta 2011, which inspired him to challenge our congregation:
"For me, the One project was a reminder and an example of what our Church can be if Jesus is central in everything. Jesus. All. This is cannot just be a nice platitude we think and say on Sabbath mornings. We need to be a church that understands that ALL things flow from The One who gave everything of Himself for us. A church where people come and say, 'I was cold and alone and scared...and I came to this place and I found what I needed, His name is Jesus.'"
As I write, I am about to attend the 16th One project gathering, in Auckland, New Zealand. This movement, which focuses on our mission as disciples of Jesus Christ, has gained momentum around the world, with thousands of participants testifying to the life-changing effects they've experienced as they return to their local communities.
Please join the One project in conversation on February 8 and 9 (Sunday and Monday) this coming year. Together, we will explore the vision of church as an expression of worship as well as an integral part of daily life. The San Diego gathering will be based on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
For more information and to register, visit us online.
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