Recently I've been interested in Biblical Theology, and as I get back into posting this should explain the direction of many of my thoughts. 

Please allow me to try to explain my interest in the Bible and theology. At times, as I seek to find God’s will for my life, these interests have become near obsessions taking on many forms and many questions: (1) What makes a good hymn and what constitutes good worship music? (2) What was wrong with the form of Christianity I was taught as a child such that it did not cause me to find Christ? (3) What is Christianity? (4) How do I understand my story? (5) How are we supposed to live as Christians today? [I always come back to this question.] (6) How do I communicate this to others in an understandable context?

Communication has proven to be the key. In some ways, I feel closer to God in Biblical studies than I do in the music/worship realm. Recently, I have felt close to God by becoming a servant to others by communicating Him to others. In this, I have found the answer to an earlier question about how to be closer to God outside of the worship service, church, and the whole of the institution. It's amazing how God shows up in one-on-one conservations, group discussions, Bible study groups, and other situations when the focus is not on our own selves. The Bible is not a self-help book, but it's a very long story about God's love for us. When I can communicate this properly, not as anthropocentric but as God-centered, away from soterian reductionism, then the whole of the Gospel comes to life. In some ways, we all have a dysfunctional quilt of inappropriately categorized and grouped Scripture, woven together by value appraisal, but largely disconnected from the narrative.

Saturday or Sunday as the day of worship?

Not too long ago I was brought into a discussion about Sabbath, where I was presented with some really bad history, essentially that it was Constantine who changed the day of worship to Sunday.  I remembered a portion of Frank James lectures on the early church, so my initial response was, "sorry I've heard otherwise."   The following is research I did over the next couple of days.

"Paul was concerned about the worship of the Corinthians church.  In 1st. Corinthians 14, he gives his council about how 'orderly worship' ought to take place.  This is not something that emerged later, but it appears in apostolic times.  How did the early church worship?  What went on?  How did it work itself out? 

Well the obvious first thing to mention is that the church service too place on a Sunday.  That was of course the same day that Christ arose from the grave, so the early church met on Sunday."

- Dr. Frank James III.  Introduction, Early Church Life, and Apostolic Fathers.  Lecture.  Reformed Theological Seminar

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The early church:

The Lord's day -

"The expression "Lord's Day" (GK. Kyriake hemera), found only in Christian sources, first appears in Rev. 1:10 as a designation of the first day of the week.  It is not to be confused with the eschatological "day of the Lord" (hemera tou kyriou).  The most plausible explanation of the term is that it derives from the parallel expression "Lord's Supper" (1 Cor. 11:20), since the early Christians gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate this meal as the culmination of their corporate worship.  An account of an early (late 50's) Lord's Day service is found in Acts 20:7-11, beginning with the words  "on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread."  Christians chose the first day of the week for worship undoubtedly because Christ rose on that day and met with the gathered disciples at the time of the evening meal.  At this time He ate and drank with them (Lk. 24:41-43; cf. Acts 10:41), renewing the table fellowship that He had shared with them on the night on which He was betrayed.  Hence the Lord's day worship is the Christian festival of the Resurrection, in which Christians, like the original disciples, have fellowship with one another and with the risen Christ whom they trust as Savior and worship as God.

This conclusion throws light on Paul's reference to the first day of the week when writing to the Corinthians about a collection for the Jerusalem church: "On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come" (1 Cor. 16:2).  Paul did not choose the first day above other as peculiar to the situation of the Corinthians: he said that he gave the same instructions to the churches of Galatia (v. 1).  Nor does the idea of regular saving of money imply that it must be done on the first day of the week.  Hence there must have been some other reason, understood by Paul and his reader, why he expressly designated the first day.  Since in a later letter (2 Cor. 9:12) he called the collection set aside on this day a leitourgia, i.e., a ministration of a sacred character, the choice of the day definitely point to its religion significants."

Geoffry W. Bromiley. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. p.158



Revelation 1:10-11

        "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,  saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”   NKJV

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These letters and documents hold a well preserved record of the church meeting on the Lord's Day.  


The Didache (late first century or early second century)  (14.1)

Is an indication of the widespread practice of Sunday worship being in place in the first or early second century, citing regular Christian meetings on 'the Lord's Day.'


Barnabas. (late first century or early second century)   (Epistle 15.9)

"We celebrate the eighth day with joy, on which Jesus rose from the dead, and, after having appeared [to his disciple], ascended to heaven."

Ignatius. (died 108 A.D.)  To the Magnesians 9 (ANF 1:63)

"Those who lived according to the old order of things have come to a new hope, no longer keeping the Sabbath, but the Lord’s Day, in which our life is blessed by Him and by His death."

"Consequently, if the people who were given to obsolete practices faces the hope of a new life, and if these no longer observe the Sabbath, but regulate their calendar by the Lord's Day, the day, too, on which our Life rose by His power and through the medium of His death - though some deny this; and if to this mystery we owe our faith and because of it submit to sufferings to prove ourselves disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Teacher: How then can we possibly live apart from Him whom, by the working of the Spirit, even the Prophets were disciples and to whom they looked forward as their Teacher?  And so He, for whom they rightly waited, came and raised them from the dead."

Justin Martyr (103-165 A.D.)  First Apology 67  (ANF 1:186)

"But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead."

Clement of Alexandria (192 AD)

"A Christian, according tot he command of the Gospel, observes the Lord's day, thereby glorifying the resurrection of the Lord." (Strom.  VII. p. 744)

"The Lord's day is the eight day."  (Strom V. p. 600)
"Having reached this point, we must mention these things by the way; since the discourse has turned on the seventh and the eighth. For the eighth may possibly turn out to be properly the seventh, and the seventh manifestly the sixth, and the latter properly the Sabbath, and the seventh a day of work. For the creation of the world was concluded in six days." (Strom VI.)

*Stromata, or Miscellanies


Tertullian  (200 AD)  Answer to the Jews, Chapter 4

“The Lord’s Day is the Holy Day of the Christian Church.  Though we share with the sun-worshippers the observance of Sunday, we are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathen.  We celebrate the day after Sabbath in destinction of those who call that day their Sabbath.”

Eusebius

"From the beginning, Christians assembled on the first day of the week. It was called the Lord's Day by John in the Apocalypse. They met on the Lord's Day for the purpose of religious worship, to read the Scriptures, to preach and to celebrate the Lord's Supper."

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Evidence from the NT


1 Corinthians 16:2

"According to v. 2 the money was to be set aside by each individual Corinthian and then collected at each home on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday.  We have evidence here that the day of religious duty and worship for the Christian, even in Paul's time, was Sunday, no the Jewish sabbath.  Acts 20:7 is clearer on this point (cf. Rev. 1:10)."  - Ben Witherington III.  Conflict and community in Corinth...  pg. 315


Colossian 2:16

"The general purport of Colossians 2:16 is that the distinctive holy days of the Old Testament are no longer binding on holy days of the Old Testament are no longer binding on New Testament believers because "these are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however is found in Christ" (v. 17).  Hence v. 16 would seem to be referring primarily to obsolete Old Testament ordinances, of which the seventh-day Sabbath was one, and probably the feast-day Sabbath was another."

- Gleason L. Archer, Jr.  New International Encyclopedia of Biblical Difficulties.  pg. 240


Acts 20:6-7  (they met on the first day of the week)

        "But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days.
   
         Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight."  NKJV

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Paul's reflections on the absence of the Jewish Sabbath.

Romans 13:9-10, Colossians 2:14-16, Romans 14:5-6, 13

We know that Judaizing was a prominent theme in Galatians.  Paul addresses the fulfillment of the Law in Galatians 3:19-26, essentially now Christians live by faith, not by Torah.  In Romans 13:9-10 we find that 'love fulfills the law,' and in Romans 14:5-6 it implies no day is more holy than another, accepting a day of worship is an act of faith, which is a theme in the latter parts of Romans, .  In Colossians 2:16, Paul urges believers to not accept judgment (most likely from Judaizers) based on Sabbath practice, and in Romans 14:16 to also stop judging each other.

In Hebrews 10:25, which was written to a Jewish-Christian community, you find evidence of that not everyone was coming to the service on Sunday. (1)  Earlier in Hebrews ch. 3-4 this topic of Jesus being greater than Moses, and Jesus as great High Priest was discusses in length, along with rest from law, phrased in a somewhat humorous paradox 'of actively and vigorously seeking and pursuing rest.' (2)  In 8:1-13 we find a new covenant in place of the old (cf. Jer 31:31-34), and this covenant is an adequate entity in itself. (3)  The book was to provide comfort and encouragement to Jewish Christians who were struggling with persecution, and also who were defecting back to institutions and rituals of the Old Testament, which are fulfilled in the work of Christ.  Commentators have argued that in the eyes of its author, going back to such institutions is apostasy.

(1) Laurie Guy.  Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of its Live, Beliefs  .p 121
(2) Ben Witherington III.  Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians: A Socio-Retorical Commentary on the  p. 183
(3) Jim Girdwood, James Girdwood, and Peter Verrkuyse.  Hebrews. pg. 138-139.



A summery of how Sabbath finds fulfillment in Jesus, in Tom Wright's 'Scripture and the Authority of God', via Scot McKnight.

1. In the OT Sabbath was a strong commandment, it was the day YHWH took up abode in the temple of creation (here he chimes in with John Walton) and asked image-bearers to enjoy that same rest.

2. Sabbath shows that history is going somewhere, it is a temporal sign that creation is headed toward that final rest, and it is sacred time.

3. Sabbath has to be connected to Jubilee, and therefore to justice and compassion for the poor, and that means Sabbath and Jubilee point us toward the restoration of creation.

4. Jesus thought the entire Sabbath principle pointed toward himself. Time was fulfilled in him; a new kind of time begins with him. Paul does not seem to care about Sabbath, and he observes its absence in Romans 13:9; Col 2:14-16; Rom 14:5-6. I have to be brief: it’s about time’s fulfillment. Sacred time finds its way to Jesus Christ and new creation.

5. To continue celebrating sabbaths is to focus on the signposts when we have already arrived. Thus, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” You don’t need the alarm clock when the sun is flooding the room with its light.

6. The early Christians didn’t transfer Sabbath to Sunday. (because Sabbath was fulfilled)

7. We don’t need to back up into a Sabbatarianism.

8. We “celebrate” instead of “rest” — a kind of celebration rest. We reserve this day for new creation life. Music, the meal, family, service, peace, justice, love — these are the notes of Sunday for those who see the fulfillment of Sabbath in Jesus.

Baptism

BB&Q and Baptism 2011

Outdoor worship service.

1. Those Who Trust - Waterdeep

2. Your Grace Is Enough - Chris Tomlin

3. Song of Hope - Robbie Seay Band

4. Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster

5. Happy Day - Steve Fee 

After two years of thinking about it I finally got baptized.  Thank you Damian for the nudge, Mike for the words of encouragement, and Jenn for coming out from Ohio to cheer me on.

When self checks become ritual

Late last spring I was convinced by a friend to institute self-checks as part of good practice in spiritual preparation for entering into worship.  The best worship environment happens when we let go of the world and the focus on God, so for the last year my self check has been Luke 10:24.  I found it is a great reminder of who I'm serving, and why the music is much more than just a performance.  It has been very calming in moments of nervous anticipation; a reflecting on the greatest commandment which yields 'self' to the service of God and others from the depths of my heart.

Today I didn't feel any peace accompanying the creed.  In fact I found myself in a moment despair; realizing for the last month or so the creed had become a ritual.  The count down to beginning of the service was close and found only seconds left, and suddenly that overwhelming nervous feeling has resurface in a new way.  'Oh come on now, what a strange time for the realization that I've going through the motions.  I don't have time for this..  Ok so how do I best serve God in this moment?'

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

 'With all your strength'..  I am bass player, I need to be strong, be a conduit for energy, drive the music, and make some joyous noise.

It turned out to be a great worship service.

Guest Worship Leader

Next weekend Aaron Niequist is coming to lead worship at The Orchard. He is one of the Worship Leaders at Willow Creeks, and you might know of him from a song called Changed. I looked at his bio, and then read his blog for a few hours trying to get an idea of what to expect. I found out some interesting things, most notably that he was the Worship Leader at Mars Hill under Rob Bell.



Around the beginning of this year, Mike suggested a book called Velvet Elvis, and I really dug into a lot of what Rob Bell had to say. He also produced a series of videos called NOOMA. Later I found his podcasts. I still occasionally listen to the Mars Hill sermons, but I've expanded outward to all the old Tim Keel Jacobs Well podcasts, Tim Keller, anything I can find from N.T. Wright, the Veritas Forum, Michale Hyatt, Carson Weber, Worship Central, and I just started downloading the Willow Creek study classes. Sometimes I listen to an audio bible instead of podcasts when I go out for a walk or run. This started back in February with the discovery of the Mars Hill podcasts.

Did I mention that I also read a lot? Keeping a journal on what I'm studying has been the best way to organize my thoughts. I have a pretty good handle on the New Testament, no where near what I'd like to have, but in terms of context and wisdom, I've found a great love for God's word.

Yesterday I found the music posted on Planning Center for the weekend. Our giving back song is a hymnal version of Take My Life; a live version that Aaron preforms in a style I find unfamiliar. Over and over I start the track back to the beginning, trying to lock onto the accent shift going out of the verse into the chorus, and then into the refrain. Finally I let the track finish to hear Aaron closing with a prayer, "may you, my brothers and sisters of the Mars Hill community.."

Wow, talk about the good kind of chills. I confess that at one time I thought playing praise music at Mars Hill would be the coolest thing in the world.

I've felt pretty somber since Mike left to take on a new role out in California. Mike is a spiritual leader, a nurturing type that brings out the best in you, and he was the rock of the arts team. I'm pretty confident that God has a plan for his church, and I'll support whatever direction we take. Still I was left very fearful of the future; for one I find a big difference in playing praise music for ones merit, which is very different from using spirituality to create the worship environment. Over the last 16 months I've really developed an awareness of God's presence in our worship, and it has pushed me to try and understand why there are times when it feels so strong and so powerful. This will be my first weekend playing without Mike, and I was still a bit uneasy that it might not ever feel the same. So when I listened to Aaron's recording of Take My Life, it really felt like God was reaching out to show me how far I've come, and to say, "hey buddy it's going to be ok."


Btw, we are playing Changed.

Changing minds with spirituality.

Changing minds with spirituality.

Around April a strong feeling set in; I needed to at least be practicing in a band setting every week. After hearing stories from other musicians who split time between churches, I was considering splitting time between the Orchard and another local church that was short on bass players.  There was conflict with the theory of placement, and the issue of loyalty, so I prayed a lot for guidance.  Then came a call, which was completely out of the blue, with an offer to audition for a cover band.  Their band practice was Thursday night, fitting perfectly into my schedule, so I accepted.

Initially it was a lot of fun to learn new songs, tighten them up every week in practice, and then talk about available gigs. The band members were easy going; everyone shared the idea that we were out to have fun playing music that we like.  No egos, no rockstar mentalities, none of that diva stuff.  It was a guys night for them; low stress, have a few beers, and practice the songs they are in a mood to play that night.  Honestly it was the cure to midlife crisis through being part of a bad.

Something interesting happened this weekend.  We played at a toga party thrown as a 20th high school reunion alternative to the actual event, hosted by my drummers at his beautiful house in a very upscale area. His friends are all new money, self-absorbed, status conscious people, and while I liked most of them, I really didn't feel like I fit in.

Later in the afternoon they were having a weird conversation about the world ending, that's when he turns to me and says, "you're the most holy person I know, and the day the world starts coming to an end I'm going to find you." I give him a shrug and he adds, "if there is anyone that God is going to save, it is going to be you. Maybe you can put in a good word for me."

Now I'm really perplexed because I've invited them out to church once or twice and they were quickly avoid the subject, so I dropped it. Through brief conversations I came to know where they stand with religion. None of them want to have any affiliation with Christianity, so I've never tired ministering to them, and I've never played up my status as being outwardly holy. We've had a few conversations about getting paid to play at church, and nothing I could say would change their minds from this exploitation happening every weekend.  Seriously, if I could play praise music seven days a week for free, then I would. I'm confident that God would take care of me.

So I asked why he thinks I'm that holy because I don't perceive myself as being any different than other Christians I know at church. His answer is more attuned to how I carry myself spiritually; being humble, honest, forgiving, patient, and not being judgmental toward anyone in the band for the lack of religious practice. I'm not the typical Christian. But what if..? 



This is what happens when you don't practice for a month.

Mike Jones

About six years ago, Karen, my brother's wife, started randomly calling churches in hopes of finding someplace that would let her host student recitals. She found one that would allow her to have open access to the sanctuary on the grounds that she would play at their services, so started a long journey.

Soon after she began playing services, they decided to move towards a modern growth format, so the elders hired a pastor named Chris.  He recognized need for leadership and brought in Mike Jones to lead worship.  In the next six month the congregation doubled in size. It didn't talk long for Mike to ask Karen if she would play in the modern services, and that led to a lasting friendship. One weekend the praise team was short, missing a lead guitarist, so Mike asks my older brother Ron if he could help. Mike says, "no obligations, just give it a try and see how it feels." Ron enjoyed the experience and has been involved with worship services since that day.

The church never fully transitioned because the elders decided to tone down, if not nearly abandoning the modern services out of prejudice for the old. They let go of Chris, and Mike followed. When hopes in a new church plant never took off, Chris came onto staff at a 90 year old church that had transitioned to a seeker friendly service.

The story of the Orchard Community can be found here in Christianity Today. Scott had taken over a lead pastor role of the church after his father's death, previously he had been leading worship. The Orchard felt the need for a praise leader / music director, so eventually Mike ended up on staff. It didn't take long before Mike approached Karen and Ron about joining the Orchard worship team.

I bought my first bass around the time that Ron started playing in the worship band. Honest I never thought about playing bass guitar until I was in my late 20's, and then the idea kept growing until I finally bought one. After a while Ron was borrowing my bass to fill in on the weekends when the church didn't have a bass player. He kept telling me to work on my chops because the church could use bass players. I told him that I wasn't a church person.

Later that year he gave me a quarter of bass lessons as a birthday present. Initially I was blown away by the really flashy slap style funk rock, and I practiced a lot. After two years of bass lessons my teacher kept telling me to find a band. I was frustrated that I couldn't find one, and then I went back full time to college, so I stopped taking lessons.

Hungering for a reason to pick up my bass again, I accepted the invitation to audition at Ron's church. It was fun, but I was scared to death of the idea of preparing 5 or 6 songs in a few days time and balancing a full class load. Then May comes around and Ron asks me to give Mike a call. So Mike says, "we are really in a spot this weekend, do you want to come out and play? No obligation, just give it a try and see how it feels."

I really struggled at first, but I enjoyed playing on the praise team. Mike stuck with me, always encouraging me forward. I've heard constructive criticisms, but never a negative word out of his mouth. He always has a smile on his face, and he wss never afraid to face any challenge that comes his way. We once played a song that needed both keyboard and rhythm guitar, so he sang, played keys, then swung his guitar around towards the end of the song. It was amazing.

By the end of the summer I had to start confronting my struggles with faith. One weekend in late July I was completely blown away by what I felt during the worship, and my life has slowly changed since that Sunday morning. I've totally become a spiritual geek in terms of theology and ancient Christian writings, but still I accept that I am a layperson.

So this weekend I will play my 92nd service, and it will be the last with Mike. Monday he rolls out to a job at a church in California. I was taken back when he announced that he was leaving, but I understand the reasons. He has been such a great spiritual leader, possibly the most influential person I've had in my life, and I'm so grateful for everything he has done.

Thank you Mike!

Two really huge things we all learned from you; first is that we can change people with our spirituality, and the second is that if God is patient with us, then we need to offer that same patience to others as they grow in faith.