I don't normally reblog an entire article in full but this is worth the read...

From InternetMonk:

One of my major premises in the writing I’m doing these days is that evangelicals have become a movement actually destroying itself.

At no point does that seem more obvious than in the recent evolution of worship within evangelicalism.

Does anyone- I mean, really, seriously- have any idea what is actually happening within the worship culture of evangelicals?

We have, within a matter of 50 years, completely changed the entire concept of what is a worship service. We’ve adopted an approach that demands ridiculous levels of musical, technical and financial commitment and resources.

We have tied ourselves to the Christian music industry and its endless appetite for change and profit. We have accepted that all of our worship leaders are going to be very, very young people. Traditional worship - a la Tenth Presbyterian in Philly- is on the verge of becoming a museum piece.

The reformed- of all people- have led the way in this revolution. I attended a seminar last week where a room full of reformed were instructed in why the optimum worship leadership option was “the band.” Not the choir, the worship team, etc. But “the band.” Does anyone realize what that means for public worship?

Diversity, generational compatibility, even simplicity are all being blown up. Worship is now a major audience event, led by skilled entertainers, aimed at a demographic and judged by the audience reaction.

God? God has been moved around to be things like a reluctant Spirit we sing down with our songs or a divine innovator always blessing as much radical change as possible.

Why do I call this a goof? Because there is no way for this to end well. This is like a NASCAR car with the throttle stuck open. We’re stuck on a roller coaster and we can’t get off.

Worship has now become a musical term. Praise and worship means music. Let’s worship means the band will play. We need to give more time to worship doesn’t mean silent prayer or public scripture reading or any kind of participatory liturgy. It means music.

Even singing is getting lost in this. As the volume and the performance level goes up, who knows who is singing?

And who can stand for 20, 30 or 40 minutes?

We have a lot of happy people right now. They have no idea what Biblical worship is outside of the context of their favorite songs played by a kickin’ band. They have little idea of worship in vocation, in family, in ordinary work or in silence. They credit their favorite songs as major spiritual events.

We have goofed up. Simple, plain liturgy. Diversity and inclusion. Appreciation and full Biblical understanding. Cross generational intentionality and suspicion of the profit motive. Renouncing the spirit of competition. Hearing the prophetic warnings about God’s disgust with much of Israel’s “big show” worship culture. We need all of this.

We need Jesus shaped worship, and we need worship that promotes a simple, direct, uncompromising Jesus shaped spirituality.

I know my blogging is sporadic at best and I still sometime wonder if it's worth it or why even bother.  But, here I am... unfiltered, uncensored and certainly unpolished.

The statement above (the title not the one about sporadic blogging) is so in contrast from the way I lived my life for years.  Most of my life, I was told to "dream a big dream."  Dream a big dream of doing something great... something big... something awesome for God.  And, make sure your dream is bigger than anything you can accomplish on your own or else it's probably not God which is code for you are doing it all in the flesh and without faith and... you get the point.  You've probably heard it too.  Heck... I even preached a couple of these in my day.

And, like most things in life, I'm evaluating everything.  It's just where I am these days and at this point in my journey.  So, I've been thinking about these statements and more importantly these concepts that we throw off on people in the Western church.  And, I've been looking to the Word (there's a novel idea) and comparing this line of thinking to the examples we find in there.

By and large, I don't see this as the line of thinking in the examples the Holy Spirit, in His limitless wisdom, decided to hand down for all generation to benefit.  Most of the men of faith had a measure of contentment rarely seen in church leaders in America.  You don't see the pressured "build it as big as you can, as fast as you can" stressed out, "why isn't this working, so let's try the next thing" frenzy that a lot of church leaders exist in.

I don't see the "big dreams" beginning with man at all.  It's always been initiated by God.

• God comes and taps Noah on the shoulder and somehow this drunkard of a man saves the planet and repopulates the earth.
• God comes to Gideon and his response is, "Certainly, not me."
• God comes and hits Moses up and Moses argues for three chapters why God got it wrong and he's not the guy.
• God chooses mere fisherman who are content at working the family business to launch a global movement.

The only figure I can identify with a lot of ambition and "big dreams" to do "great things" for God is Saul... before God knocked him off his horse and he became Paul.  He was killing Christians in the name of God and in the name of doing "great things" for God.

So, somewhere along the line, we have to stop the madness of it all and stop the frenzy of it all and just walk.  Struggle if need be.  And focus on what's most important.  And if somehow God taps us on the shoulder for something extraordinary then fine.  And if not, that's fine too.

We all have our part to do in raising our families.  Doing the simple work of caring for others.  Loving... truly loving our neighbors.  Being generous and humble.  Expressing devotion to God in simple service.  And, I think in those things, God may just be more pleased than us getting all worked up about fulfilling the "big dreams" and building it as big as we can, as fast as we can.

Some may say, "that's a cop out" but honestly I pity those that still live in that completely unbiblical, stressed out, fear-filled world of Amercian church leadership.

I for one, am living the dream and it may not be big to others but it is big to those closest to me.  And I've never been more content.

Ok... so let's talking giving, or better yet, the "T" word... tithing.  A friend and I are having an ongoing conversation about this issue lately.  It came up when he told me the associate pastor of his church asked him, in front of some other people what "his deal" was.  And by that I mean... asking if his family had been giving cash in the offering because he looked at the tithe records and said there's no way they were tithing regularly.  So, this pastor was asking him... in front of people... what the problem was and why he wasn't giving and it's biblical and what's the deal and blah blah blah.

After I got over my shock at how brazen and stupid this associate pastor was, we began an ongoing dialogue about giving and what it's for and what the Bible says about it.

Some people say tithing (10%) is a requirement.  Others say that's a good target but not required.

What do you say?  Where do you stand on the issue?

It's Tuesday... Let's Talk: Giving

• Happy Birthday to the coolest kid on the planet!  Benaiah turns six today.  So proud of you son.
• Just read the most incredible blog post.  I wish I had written it because it sums up succinctly what I think and feel about Western church life.  Challenging personally as well.
• Had a great time with friends last night at the J Clyde.  Happy birthday, Cody.
• Now that Ben has a "real" light saber that glows and makes noise... he wants a Ben Kenobi outfit.  Me too, son... me too.
• Looking forward to next weekend when Wade, Christian, Adam, and Jerilyn come up for Fourth of July.  Blue Water is the place to be.
• Really hoping to do little Sporting Clays blasting with the boys.
• Don't take this the wrong way but: Is it just me or does it seem like Ed McMahon died soooooooo long ago.
• If you didn't see my Tweet.. you must watch this: The Worst Moonwalk Instructional Video Ever.
• Looking for a house to rent in the Helena area.  Anyone know of somebody who's renting?
• I like iPhone 3.0.  When you use this thing like I do, all the enhancements they just added make life even easier.
• So we took Benaiah to the Southern Museum of Flight this week.  Maria saw a hat with the letters WTF and had to buy it.  It stands for Women Take Flight.  I don't know what you were thinking.... sinner.
• Just in case you've never noticed... if you like the stuff on DNSLNS then you may be interested in the stuff I come across daily.  You can find the best stuff on the homepage down at the bottom under My Deliciousness.  Those are my Delicious bookmarks.  I'm just saying.
• I know it's everywhere but I gotta ask...

What's your favorite MJ song or video?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut, fireman, policeman, and pastor... all at the same time.

What about you?  When you were a child, what was your dream?  And, how did that turn out for you?

It's Tuesday... Let's Talk: Childhood Dreams

A couple months ago I commented on a post about Philippians on friend’s blog. Here’s the passage that was up for discussion... Paul writes in Philippians 1:12-14:

I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I'm in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they've learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.

“...my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect.”

• I'm enjoying pizza and Newcastle on Father's Day with my wife beside me and Star Wars with Benaiah.  How about you?
• I'm fiending for some Wagamama but don't want to have to fly to London.
• Missing my Irish friends.
• Synecdoche, NY was a weird movie.  Fell asleep with 10 minutes left.  Need to finish before the ATV rental runs out.
• Looking forward to Highlands at 6.
• I'm wanting to blog more seriously.  So stay tuned.
• Thinking about my friends Art and Lisa... and little Eli.
• It was good to reconnect with my friend, Jay Pesek, this past week.  Looking forward to more of it.
• The first episode and trailer for LifeAfter rocks!  Great job guys.
• Looking forward to taking Benaiah to the Anniston Museum of Natural History.  I think he thinks everything is going to come to life like on Night at the Museum.
• Ben turns six next Sunday.  I'm excited for him and yet this particular one is bittersweet.
• Sooooo looking forward to the 4th of July when I'll have true friends close by.  Nothing better.

It's not what you think but first I want to apologize for missing last week's It's Tuesday... Let's Talk.  Things were a bit crazy but I will say I did enjoy the break from blogging.  But now, I'm glad to be back and really looking forward to interacting with everyone that drops by.

So, here we go... It's Tuesday, Let's Talk... What Would Jesus Wear?  No, we're not talking about modesty either (that might actually be next week's).  We're talking about this...

A church in East Sussex has unveiled a bronze statue dubbed "Jesus in jeans" depicting Christ as a man of the 21st century.  Christ is wearing jeans and a shirt billowing in the wind while his hair and beard are neatly and fashionably trimmed.

Marcus Cornish's sculpture was funded by money left by a member of the congregation who passed away last year.  Father David Buckley unveiled the £35,000 (US$57,000) seven-foot high bronze statue at the Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Catholic church in Uckfield.

Father Buckley said: "You are always looking for new ways to enrich people in the experience of Christianity and it is good people can be open-minded to appreciate it.  On the continent you often encounter modern representations of Jesus but it is not so common over here. We wanted a figure of Christ not in suffering but dynamic and welcoming.  We felt this design summed up the spirit and activity of Christ perfectly and I think it speaks for itself."

I have my own thoughts which I'll reserve for the comments section.  I don't have any springboard questions.  We just want to hear your intial reactions... go.

via Telegraph UK

Well, it's been a full week since anything has popped up on DNSLNS.  That's the longest hiatus since the relaunch.  We had a slammed week in production on LifeAfter, the TV pilot for Halogen.  80 hours in 6 days.  So, you can image that tweeting, blogging, and Facebooking took a backseat.  But, to fire things back up again on this rainy Sunday morning... Here's a little randomness for you.

• I have 6128 unread RSS articles in NetNewsWire.  We'll see if my OCD kicks in requiring that I process them instead of just marking them all as read.
• Ben wants a space-rocket birthday coming up in a couple of weeks.  He's going to be an astronaut when he grows up.
• It's rainy cats and dogs outside right now (as opposed to inside).
• I love saving the world on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  Sorry geeking out there on everyone.
• I'm really wanting to get another TV show going that's travel based exploring urban culture.  Tyler... let's do this.
• My record in solving the Rubik's Cube is 2 minutes 28 seconds.  Slow by "cubing" standards but I find it therapeutic.  Sorry again, for geeking out on everyone.
• Looking forward to reading Jim Collins new book, How the Mighty Fall.  I need to read more.
• I wish Amy Winehouse would get some real help.  She really needs it.  And, I need a new album to listen to.
• I was going to blog how cool I think it is that Hillsong United's album was No. 2 on iTunes Top 10 right behind Eminem.  I think it's cool.
• Rediscovered Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches as of late thanks to @mariadelpilar.  So good.
• I got hit up on Facebook chat by one Karrie Detwiler asking for money because she was stuck in Heathrow Airport in London.  Wanted me to wire her the money.  Then she went to DNSLNS which was a mistake because I saw that the IP was actually from Nigeria.  Anyone out there actually know this chick cause she's friends with a bunch of you.  Weird.
• Happy Flag Day everyone!

It's Tuesday, Let's Talk... nothing.  It's blank up there in the post title, because I don't have anything to talk about.  I don't feel like I have anything to give.  I've been grappling with purpose and how I can make a difference in the world.  The honest question really is: can I make a difference in this world?  Do I have what it takes?  Has my time passed?  I mean, I blog about cool sneakers for crying out loud.

I know, I know... we really shouldn't be blogging about this sort of thing.  Don't be so open.  Keep it light.  Keep it simple.  People might misinterpret what you're saying here Dan or DanisLinus or DNSLNS or whatever.  But really, I think it's a valid question.  I think we do need to evaluate where we are and what life is all about.

I can certainly tell you what it isn't about.  It isn't about building it as big as we can, as fast as we can.  Whether that be a church, a program, or a business.  There are more important things than whipping ourselves up into a frenzy and stressing out about why something is or isn't "happening".

If I'm honest, I think all of this mid-morning wrestling comes from a lack of truly exercising a Sabbath.  I like what Rob Bell says, "The ultimate rebellion against this Western culture is to consistently exercise the Sabbath."  And I don't merely mean going to church and all of the rushed activity that brings every Sunday morning.  I'm talking about truly being quiet.  Unplugging.  Like on an airplane... "If it has an on/off switch... turn it off at this time."

What about you?  Have you ever struggled with drifting on auto-pilot?  What do you do to find the quiet and get some perspective and focus?  Are you intentional about it?  If so, what does it look like and how often?  Help me out here.

It's Tuesday, Let's Talk...