I’m going to be like every other website and give my best of 2008 for the second straight year, only this one will be much simpler. So without further delay, here we go.
Favorite Albums of 2008:
Grapes, Raisins, or a Glass of Wine
January 6, 2009, 12:51 am
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Thlipsis is the Greek word translated in the New Testament as tribulation and/or suffering. It comes from a term used in referring to the pressing of grapes to produce wine. As the New Year dawns and the challenges that await in the coming months come into better focus, I’ve been thinking a lot about this “thlipsis” and how God is using it to shape me.
To clarify, I would not qualify my life as being one defined by suffering and tribulation. Those seem like monumental words in light of my often (by most standards) un-momentous life. I have experienced some levels of trials and tough circumstances, but nothing near what I would consider tribulation or suffering. I do think, however, that there is evidence of a more subtle, subversive “thlipsis” pressing taking place in my life, and in your life.
For me personally, God is using several factors in my life to “press in” and shape me. On one side, there are a few tough relational challenges that are definitely pressing in on me, as God teaches me to love even when it’s not comfortable. On another side, there are the challenges that go with finding my place as a leader and a pastor in my church, and understanding and more clearly articulating who He is calling me to be. This includes taking on some tasks that challenge me and leaving behind tasks that I may feel far more comfortable in. This is certainly pressing in on me.
With something as fragile as a grape, it isn’t long into the process of pressing that a breaking takes place. This is how wine has been produced for thousands of years. Grapes are certainly nice to eat, but the most lasting, enjoyable use of the grape is wine, which becomes more valuable and enjoyable with age. I believe this is why God chooses to press us the way He does, sometimes much more firmly than others. He is in the business of bringing out of us the absolute best. Remember though, this is not at all for our enjoyment. No grape has ever enjoyed a good glass of wine. The fruit of the vine is solely for the enjoyment of the Vinedresser. It’s not worth pretending that the pressing is easy. Sometimes it hurts like hell. But God, in His Soveriegnty, knows how to produce through us something beautiful. It is in our breaking that God brings us to our most pure and intended state.
But if a grape were to avoid this pressing at all costs, as many, including myself, have done, the result is simple. Raisins. Our lives shrivel up to become many times less what we were. Edible? Yes. Enjoyable? On rare occasions. Mostly mixed in, and covered up by, the foods we like. A mere shadow of what they could have been.
I pray that in the coming year that I more fully embrace God’s pressing, in all it’s painful beauty. I believe that it will produce in me (and through me) something far more than I could have asked for or imagined.
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2nd Annual Best List – Best of 08
December 26, 2008, 5:21 pm
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Sigur Ros – Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Coldplay – Viva La Vida
Jakob Dylan – Seeing Things
Ryan Adams – Easy Tiger
Sandra McCracken – Gravity Love
Charlie Hall – The Bright Sadness
John Mark McMillan – The Medicine
Ryan Delmore – The Spirit, The Water, and The Blood
Charlie Hall – The Bright Sadness
John Mark McMillan – The Medicine
Ryan Delmore – The Spirit, The Water, and The Blood
Favorite Books of 2008:
Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
Culture Making by Andy Crouch
Breakthrough by Derek Morphew
Favorite Movies of 2008:
Dark Knight
August Rush
Young at Heart
Favorite Food of the Year:
Grilled Corn on the Cob Guacamole without a doubt.
Favorite Beer of the Year:
Kentucky Ale/Kentucky Light
Honorable Mention: Fat Tire and Spotted Cow
Favorite City I Visited:
Estes Park, Colorado
Note: List is subject to change on or before December 31st, 2008.
Selling Scripture
December 9, 2008, 3:53 pm
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As I’ve wandered the endless, foreboding caverns of shopping malls this holiday season, I’ve peaked a few times inside the doors of your local Christian Bookstore. Now to be clear, I’m not a, well, huge fan of Christian Bookstores, and not because I’m some bitter emergent type as one might expect. It’s mostly because I feel as if the faith/resource/marketing/consumerism line is far too often blurred. This was especially clear when I came upon these fine products seen above. The “official” Mossy Oak Bible (for those pesky times when killing a deer and your ‘quiet time’ seem to coincide) and the beautiful N.F.L. – New Found Life, of course – Pigskin Bible cover (can we EVER go wrong with acrostic?). Now in a sense, the bookstore is responsible for marketing and selling things like books and music to us, the consumer, and therefore are obliged to do so with all the pizzaz they can muster. I can’t complain about such because – and lets be honest – if I had a CD in there, I’d want it to be sold.
But the Bible is different. It seems like marketers are working overtime to produce Bibles for individualized sections of society – sailors, cowboys, firemen, Charismatics, Reformation enthusiasts, Black women, hunters, soccer players, teens, and your typical men’s and women’s Bibles. In a recent trip to Barnes and Noble, I counted a total of 67 different Bibles marketed at a specific audience. For some of them, I actually checked to see if they had the same number of books, or if they had added a few specifically aimed at their target audience, because surely with this type of variety you have to out-market your Bible to catch the eye of Joe Consumer.
I shiver at the thought of what this communicates to people, but it actually fits with a predominant attitude in many evangelical circles – that the Scriptures are molded and presented to fit you and your specific needs. We’ve come a long way from the world where one copy of the Scriptures was shared among the community. Today, many Bibles are bought with the same mentality used for iPod accessories and bootleg jeans. In essence, instead of conforming our lives to the Scriptures, we are often conforming the Scriptures to our lives.
Eugene Peterson, in his incredible book on the Scriptures, “Eat This Book,” says: “What is surprising today is how many people treat the Bible as a collection of Sibylinne Oracles, verses or phrases without context or connection. This is nothing less that astonishing. The Scriptures are the revelation of a personal, relational, incarnational God to actual communities of men and women with names in history.”
Too often our culture removes the transformative power of the Scriptures in it’s relational context, settling for a flowery, pithy guidebook for a vague and lifeless Americanized pseudo-Christianity. In doing so, we rob ourselves of everything the Scriptures were meant to be. If this is all we seek in the Scriptures, we may be better off spending our money on something else.
Lately….
November 26, 2008, 4:13 pm
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Here we are – the week of Thanksgiving 2008 already. I thought I’d take a cue from my wife, who talks a lot more about what’s happening in her life in her blog, and give an update on all things in my(our) life for the 4 of you out there that might look at this.
The last few months have been incredibly busy, as I’ve taken on a few new things I’ve never done before. The primary time commitment was writing our big-emphasis series for the year, “Kingdom,” which explored what Jesus really meant about the kingdom of God. Along with writing the messages, I also wrote the small group curriculum, which I must say was much more demanding. Kingdom Theology is central to the theology of the Vineyard movement, and we’d never really addressed the topic specifically, so I felt a lot of pressure to accurately and faithfully communicate such a huge, all-encompassing Biblical theme in a 6 week message series that’s understandable and practical. Were it simply a series on a book of the Bible or a certain topic it would have been a lot easier. I wrote our Christmas series this past year entitled “God Is Here” based on the Incarnation and it’s implications for missional living (I didn’t put it that way, however. That’s a vocabulary we are still learning.) That series was much simpler to put together. But overall, I thought the series and curriculum went well, and there was definitely some fruit from it, praise God.
I’m in the process of putting together our January series that will lay out our new mission statement through three weeks. I’ve not always had these responsibilities – but luckily through some great hiring (Kyle, our communications director), pretty much all of the website and graphic design load is off my shoulders. I’m free to lead and equip the worship bands, cultivate an arts community, and develop teaching series and curriculum when needed. That’s been awesome for me.
Erica and I are still living south of Lexington in Richmond, our college town. We’ve been planning to move to Lexington now for about 4 months, but pretty much all of our housing possibilities have fallen through. We know God is leading us in all this, so we’re taking it slowly and trying to discern where exactly God wants us. With the possibility of a VCC Richmond Campus coming sooner than we thought, we just might stick around. Who knows.
Whatever the case, we’re growing closer to one another and closer to God. We really sense that in some way this coming year will be a transitional year for us; what that means – well, we don’t know yet. I love being married – she’s more fun than ever to be around and she’s more beautiful everyday.
So that’s that. We’re crashing forward into whatever God is doing next. Can’t wait to see…
Justin
READ THESE BOOKS!
October 20, 2008, 10:08 pm
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Culture Making by Andy Crouch. This is a book I’d recommend to everyone, but in particular those “creatives” within the church. There really hasn’t been a book that’s articulated the necessity of creativity and our calling in creating culture better than this book.
The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. This is another book I highly recommend for Christians who want to get a glimpse of what living missionally and creatively can look like. This book is inspiring and energizing, especially if you are tired of archaic ministry paradigms.
“What’s Wrong With Worship Music?”
October 20, 2008, 9:56 pm
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This post is in response to this article here.
Daniel Gibson, who I assume writes for Burnside Writers Collective (a brainchild of a number of writers including Don Miller) wrote an interesting article which apparently was originally intended to be a review of Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall’s newest CD’s. Instead, he responded by questioning whether or not it was possible to write a good worship album, or Christian album, as opposed to a collection of losely connected songs.
In regards to his actual opinions on the CD’s he sees them both as average. As for myyself, I thought Tomlin’s latest (Hello Love) was overproduced to the maximum and a little too sugary-CCM-sweet for my taste. As for Charlie Hall, I think it’s a great listen, creative and accessible. I usually judge a worship CD based on the album’s ability to maintain the tension between true creative artistry and the number of songs that have corportate worship potential (you may disagree with this approach, but it’s kind of my job).
These types of albums are few and far between (Crowder’s “A Collision” being and example, as well as Phil Wickham and Ryan Delmore’s latest stuff).
As far as writing a good worship “album” as opposed to just some good worship songs, I hope to be able to accomplish such a feat at some point, but I understand the limitations of worship writers, who usually write as a response in a particular situation instead of the weight of planning out a full disc and writing accordingly. This of course requires a ton of time and creativity. But it’s certainly something for worship leaders to aspire to. I hope that as the Church moves foward into the future, the world of creativity and artistry and corporate worship collide and become a regular part of the culture of the Church.
Jesus, “Community Organizer”
September 24, 2008, 7:51 pm
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I hesitate to even write this. Being critical of a member of any political party often means you are associated with the other, which I can”t bear the thought of, honestly. But the more I’ve thought about this statement made by Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, equated Barack Obama with Jesus because both were “community organizers.” I have a few thoughts on this thought-less comparison.
My issue is not with Barack Obama. His claimed allegiance is to Christ, and while I strongly disagree with many of his views (and strongly agree with others), I am in no position to judge otherwise. What strikes me as strange is the manner in which both political parties trumpet their religious connections in order to drudge up the support of those who mindlessly follow rhetoric deliberately used to manipulate, a practice that has long been used by both parties. In Obama’s Convention speech, there were two Scriptures vaguely quoted. I fell asleep during McCain’s, if that’s any indication.
As I think on this issue, I can’t help but hear Jesus’ words to Peter blaring in my ear – two distinct questions:
– “Who do they say I am?”
– “Who do you say I am?”
Because it is extremely easy to create a “Jesus” in our own image to push our own agenda. I’ve recently been re-reading the Gospels, and for the life of me I don’t see any “community organizing” at all. There are no disciple-driven bake sales. He doesn’t send out the twelve handing out flyers for a local festival. In fact, there are some cities that outright ask him to leave, if not try to kill him in the process.
This isn’t to say, however, that Jesus is disinterested in the inner workings of the local community. Quite the contrary. He sent His disciples into every culture, to bring the Gospel that would transform the culture from the inside out, beginning in the local community. Christians should be intimately connected to the inner workings of their local community, being salt and light as Jesus taught.
My point is this: as I read the Gospels, I find a Jesus that refuses to be downsized to fit my (or anyone’s) agenda. In fact, there are moments when He makes me feel uncomfortable. The Jesus of Scriptures is simply irreducible, mysterious, and downright inescapable. Irresistible. Even as His words completely pull the rug out from underneath everything I know about my life, I am drawn to Him. I don’t want to make of Him anything besides who He truly is, because that Jesus – the real Jesus – is more than I could hope to wrap my heart around in a thousand lifetimes.
So while some may call Jesus a “community organizer,” Jesus still speaks directly to each one of us and asks: “Who do you say that I am?
How we answer this question is absolutely everything.
The Scary, Sobering Truth
August 26, 2008, 9:23 pm
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It’s amazing how fast news travels around the world.
Recently I bought the Hillsong Worship CD “This is Our God.” It’s your typical Hillsong CD, full of ups and downs and emotional highs – basically what Hillsong is known for. This is the first actual Hillsong (not United) CD I’ve ever bought, being encouraged lately by the growing theological depth in the songwriting, despite the desperately AC radio production. In the middle of the CD is a song called “Healer,” written by the guy you see above, Michael Guglielmucci, who had supposedly been battling terminal cancer. The crowd cheers at the beginning of the song, as they apparently see him walking out to perform his death-defying worship song. He apparently was known to have performed with oxygen tubes in his nose as well.
So if you haven’t heard, he made the whole thing up.
According to his own admission, which was a surprise even to his immediate family, the elaborate hoax was his psychological responsive cover up of a porn addiction. Obviously in our modern era of pastoral scandals this is far from a surprise, but it certainly is heart-breaking in return.
This has brought a lot of stuff to the surface for me as a Worship Pastor at a somewhat charismatic (with a seat belt) church. If you look back over the years, it seems to me that the majority of the pastoral scandals have come from charismatic churches. I’m not bashing charismatic churches – I’m certainly no stodgy old cessationalist hellbent on boredom. I believe in the activity of the Holy Spirit in these days, seeing as a sign of the continually in-breaking kingdom of God that is here, yet not fully here.
But too often the currency of charismatic churches is experience, especially in my own area of worship. We have (myself included) often sacrificed truth and authenticity at the altar of experience, and when we fail to produce experience, we often feel as if we are failures. So many Christians long for experience far more than they long for God Himself, who might prefer the subtly of a whisper. There’s rarely a whisper that requires an adrenaline rush.
And this experience – a terminally ill cancer patient pastor singing of how God is his “Healer” – that is certainly too good to pass up. I’m not implying anything about Hillsong; after all, if it were true it would be quite inspiring.
What scares me the most is that myself – especially as a worship leader – I am capable of the same. I know what songs will work up an emotional response. I know how to use music to move people. If I want to, I can create an experience. It’s something that comes naturally. And it’s not evil, it’s just easily misused out of a sinful heart. I desperately want people to experience the living God in worship, but we must be wise to distinguish between God and adrenaline.
Here’s the bottom line: a good “experience” can mask a tremendous lack of character. Anyone can get up and sing a song that moves people and yet their hearts can be far from God. I’ve been there.
When it comes to building a worship team (or any team), it seems like you either find someone of great talent or great character, and rarely someone who holds both. But in the long run, character trumps talent. That is a lesson, as a worshiper and a leader, I’ve learned the hard way.
Please join me in praying for Michael. We are a broken people, and I pray that this would push us all toward further openness and authenticity before God and others, because God, in light of our brokenness, is still the healer we need.
Your fellow sojourner,
Justin
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16 TNIV
Worship Advance Workshop
August 18, 2008, 3:52 pm
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Hey everyone. Keeping busy with the summer but will be updating soon. Just a little note on a little venture I’ve started. I’ve been teaching Worship Advances for youth bands and church praise bands that help to cultivate the heart and the giftings of aspiring worship leaders and musicians. There’s teaching on worship, leadership, and simple practical ways to be effective in leading congregational worship. I’m doing one for my church’s youth band on August 30th. If you are interested, let me know! Reply or email justin@vineyardlex.com.
Hope everyone’s enjoying summer! talk to you soon!
Justin
Rethinking Accountability
July 5, 2008, 10:26 pm
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Christianity has it’s fair share of odd and confusing language and concepts, and God knows I’ve got myself hung up on a few of them over the years. One such concept that’s resurfaced in conversations lately is the idea of accountability, and/or the relational action of holding a fellow Jesus follower accountable in their struggle against sin and temptation.
To be frank, I’ve had very little actual “accountability” in this sense over the years, and it’s been quite a drain upon me. From the other end as well, it certainly gets tiresome being the moral police for friends that you are charged with accountability. My experience with such practices has produced little fruit in my life, and as far as I can see, little in those I’ve attempted to hold accountable.
Before instantly labeling me as being soft on such matters, consider what the possibilities of the alternative could be. I do believe we are to help our Christian brothers and sisters steer clear of living a lifestyle of sin, but I struggle with the current context that the Church of the last 20 or so years has laid before us. In other words, is there more to Christian accountability.
Rethinking this concept has been aided by several conversations I’ve had over the years with my friend Steve, a college pastor in Texas. Steve has served as a mentor of sorts to me ever since our days of serving on staff together at a church here in KY. Some of the most instrumental conversations of my life have been with Steve, many of which have given me direction and spurred me on towards becoming fully who I am in Christ. Yet thinking back over these conversations, very little of these times have dealt with my own personal morality, but rather with how fully I am living – how alive I am. I cannot overstate the impact these times have had on me. The irony is that, once God (through Steve) has painted a picture of me being more alive and being more of who I truly am and can be in Christ, that vision has far out-shined my desire for sin and the things of this world.
In other words, I’ve walked away not with thoughts of “my sin is bad,” but “Jesus, this crazy, risky life You are calling me to is far better, and any sin in my life is only keeping me from enjoying that life to the very fullest.” This is my mind, is true Christian accountability, the spurring on to risk living fully in the reality of Christ. This is what we all need – desperately.
And so the question remains, now in my conversations with friends and now, with you, the reader:
Are you fully alive?
Because Jesus – and the life He’s calling us to – is far better.
cultivate 