Real Worship - The Rev. J. Gary Brinn in Constructive Faith

What we do in our faith community only matters if it changes what we do everywhere else. Mouths without hands is empty praise.

God is a powerful force of creativity, compassion, and love in the universe. Our praise or worship is an attempt to align ourselves with that powerful force because it is both our source and our end.

This is all well and good as an abstraction, but what does that look like in our lives? Is it only about interior faith and exterior avoidance of sin? Or is there something more?

For those of us in the Christian tradition, the construct of a God with agency and a passive creation changed radically with the arrival of Jesus, the Hebrew prophet and teacher. We Christians believe that, - in Jesus - the world had a direct experience of the divine.  God was in fact instead a force for healing and justice rather than being other-worldly or a warrior-king. 

If our purpose in praising and worshiping God is to align ourselves with the original force of creativity and compassion - of love and growth, of the ordinary miracles of today - then we should know that this is neither interior and nor static. It is not “give my heart to Jesus.” God does not only need your heart. God needs your hands.

The trajectory of our faith - our growing understanding of God and the event of God’s anointed in the person of Jesus - demands that we no longer be passive lumps waiting for divine intervention. We are the divine intervention. This is how God chose to act in the world, through the beautifully imperfect flesh and blood of humanity. That is how God acted in Jesus. It is how God acts today.

What we do in our faith community only matters if it changes what we do everywhere else. Mouths without hands is empty praise.

The full article is available here

Reflection and Renewal: Be Willing To Be Continually Made New (based on 1 Corinthians 10:13)

based on "Prayer of Confession" by Beth Merrill Neel 

God, we don’t always live out what we claim to believe. We turn away from you, from our neighbors, and from our true selves. We dim your light within us with our pride, our self-righteousness, and our need for control.

Forgive us.

Help us to remember that your love for us is endless, and that you've told us to love others in that same manner.

Help us to have open ears, eyes, and hearts to notice how you call us - again and again - back to love, back to grace, back to your light.

Give us the courage to be willing to be continually made new so that we can fully love you and all of your creation.

Trinitarian Revolution - Richard Rohr

Responsive Call To Worship: God Invites Us To Connection (based on Matthew 6:33)

Reader: Our good and gracious God invites us to come and find connection ...
All: ... may our hearts be open.

Reader: Lord, as we gather now ...
All: ... let us seek you.

Reader: As you knock ...
All: ... may we open the door to you.

Reader: As you make yourself known to us ...
All: ... may we praise you.

Reflection and Renewal: Help Us To Be Tuned In (based on Matthew 6:6)

God, even though we want to have connection with you, the idea of praying can seem weird and uncomfortable a lot of the time.

Sometimes we feel guilty because we don’t think we’re good enough at praying or we don’t it as often as we think we should.  Our understanding of prayer remains limited and we remain stuck.

And sometimes when we pray, we are shallow; treating you like some kind of a vending machine. We can be quick to ask for all kinds of thing, but not nearly as quick to utilize prayer as a time of listening and reflection; as a way to reorient ourselves towards how you’ve asked us to live; loving you and loving others.

And sometimes, we can be so focused on asking for what we want that we miss opportunities to be the answer to other’s prayers.

So God, help us to appreciate the fullness of your love and to remain aware of how you continually move around us, within us, and through us to your world.

Help our eyes to see and our eyes to hear.

Amen

Responsive Benediction: Being The Hands and Feet of God To The World (based on 1 Corinthians 12:27)

Reader: As we go now, to be God's presence in the world ...
All: We will open our minds to understand the needs around us.

Reader: As we go now, to be Christ's servants in the world ...
All: We will open our hands to share with all.

Reader: As we go now, to be the Spirit's hope for the world ...
All: We will open our hearts to welcome those who have no one to care for them.

Benediction: God Continues To Create, Speak, Guide, and Breathe New Life (based on Genesis 1:27)

Since we believe that God speaks to us in all sorts of ways, may we listen carefully for that still, small voice that brings words of hope and love.  

Since we believe that God uses things in our everyday lives to guide us, may we be receptive to those nudges.

In our everyday lives, may we put that divine guidance into action so that we can help to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Responsive Call To Worship: God The Creative Spark (based on Genesis 1:31)

Reader: God is the creative spark of new life.
All: We will seek God in this new day.

Reader: What God creates is good.
All: We will rejoice and be glad.

Reader: God, architect of life and wholeness ...
All: ... open our eyes to your ever-surrounding presence.

Reader: Spirit, creator of awe and beauty ...
All: ... open our souls to your stirring.

Reader: Jesus, through whom everything came into existence ...
All: ... open our hearts to your grace and love.

Richard Rohr - The Divine Dance

Father Richard Rohr on embracing Perichoresis instead of "Mere Monotheism."

Call To Worship: Communion Service (based on Isaiah 40:3)

From far out in the wasteland that we find ourselves in, we cry to you God.  We hunger for Jesus, the bread of life, and we thirst for God's Spirit.

God please hear us! Pay attention to our cries for help! Help us to remember that even though we may feel lost and far from home, there is mercy and grace with you.

Our trust in you is the hope that we're hanging on to and we're taking you at your word God. So we're waiting on you God, seeking.

Benediction: May The Triune God Be With Us (based on John 14:16)

May the grace of Jesus, the love of God,  and the presence of the Spirit be with us all; now and forevermore.

Call To Worship: God Welcomes All (based on Luke 7:36-50)

adapted from Call to Worship: Luke 7: 36-50
by Pastor Seth A. Normington

God, you welcome all of us as honored guests.  You welcome us all - even though we don’t always get things right, even though we don't always show love like you do. You forgive our failures and give us a seat at your table.

For this amazing gift, we give you worship and praise.

Why Worship? The Rev. J. Gary Brinn in Constructive Faith

We worship God because we are toward God and toward God- as-experienced-in others. Moments of communal worship are moments of doubling, of tripling, of giving and receiving; a threefold relationship of self, other, and God.

As many studies have shown, communal worship is in decline. Many of those who were raised in the church no longer regularly attend what the church offers as worship services.

Yet many of those who no longer attend still seek for meaning and still have spiritual lives. It's just that our worship services often tend to fail to both emphasize a communal experience of God and to connect attendees to something larger than their individualism. 

This perhaps isn't surprising - given that we have worked on the how of worship often without ever addressing the why. The failure is ours as the church.

It's inarguably true that experiencing moments of transcendence and being a part of efforts that make a difference in the world can happen in places other in than in church services; perhaps even in better and more authentic forms.

So then why do we gather together to worship?

We do not praise God to bargain with God, so that isn't the reason.

We do not praise God for God's own sake, so that also isn't the reason. 

Praising God should driven by our humanness and our hardwiring for connection and community because we are oriented for that interrelation with God in our being.  Praise is just one mood of this relatedness.

Our thriving as humans depends on our interconnectedness. We are not simply animals designed to rut and reproduce, because we have this x in the equation; our souls. We see evidence of this mysterious x in art, in sacrificial love, and in that part of us that soars toward God and toward the other (the other beyond one's own family/tribe, for even thieves take care of their own).

And so we act out our praise of God - and of the way in which we are hardwired toward connection God - in community, in acts of communal worship which are moments of doubling, of tripling, of giving and receiving; a threefold relationship of self, other, and God. This is why no worship that is about meeting my individual needs will ever be real worship.  

Worship can involve transcendence, can speak to changing the world, can give you the tools to get through next week, and can give you comfort when you need comfort and challenge you when you are stuck, but it does so properly only when it aligns with being toward God and toward God-as-experienced-in the other.

The full article is available here

Benediction: The Values of God's Way Of Life (based on Matthew 5:17-19)

May we embrace the values of God’s way of life; values of love, justice, and truth.  May we live out these values with the guidance of our faithful, loving, and empowering God.

Worship Words: Too Important to Neglect - Joan Huyser-Honig in Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Our words form us whether or not we pay attention to how they are doing so.  The church is starving for a richer picture of the God we worship. 

God speaks through Balaam's donkey and speaks through flawed humans.  So is using worship cliches or cliche practices that much of a problem, as long as we're sincere?

The answer = when your congregation's worship language includes only a couple names for or aspects of God, then worshipers receive an imbalanced understanding of God.

Worship language deserves far more attention than it gets in the average congregation.

Ron writes, "Christians frequently talk about salvation as 'inviting Jesus into my heart," as if the day you got saved, you made a bargain with God.  That's such an incomplete understanding of salvation and especially dangerous in our consumer culture."

Debra writes, "Our words form us whether or not we pay attention to how they are doing so.  Just as children quickly learn to speak with the vocabulary, tones, and inflections of their parents, so we learn to 'speak' our spiritual lives with the words and tones, with the emotional and theological range, of what we experience at worship.

"The [church] is starving for a richer picture of the [God] we worship," Debra writes.

To discuss how songs picture God, Worship Words quotes Lester Ruth's research on Trinitarian language in contemporary worship music. Ruth, who teaches worship and liturgy at Asbury Theological Seminary, used Christian Copyright Licensing Information (CCLI) top 25 song data from 1989-2004. (Many songs stayed so popular that only 72 songs made the list during that time).

None of the songs named the Trinity or God's triune nature. Just 3 songs mentioned all three persons of the Trinity.  Most named only Jesus.

This research demonstrates the difference between how God is spoken of in contemporary worship song and how the Bible speaks of God.

The full article is available here.

Responsive Benediction: God Breathes Life (based on Genesis 1:27)

Reader: We believe God still creates ...
All:  ... so may we continue to be made new.

Reader:  We believe God still speaks,
All:  ... so may we listen carefully.

Reader: We believe God still guides ...
All:  ... so may we walk in God’s way.

Reader: We believe God still breathes life into being ...
All: ... so may we be light and life to God’s world.

Downward Mobility & The Way of Jesus - Henri J Nouwen

Call To Worship: God's Goodness (based on Psalm 66)

God, we gather together to remember your goodness and to give you thanks. Countless generations have experienced your loving guidance and blessing.

God, we gather together to rejoice in how we experience you here and now. We celebrate and give thanks for God’s continuing grace and mercy.

God, we gather together in hope and faith, waiting and expecting. Help us to find you in all of life.

Hear us as we offer our thanks and praise for your steadfast love, mercy and grace poured out to each generation.

Saint Goes Stage Diving - Ship of Fools

A processing, unsecured statue crashes to the floor in a Toronto church – to the congregation's shrieks of dismay.

More entertaining, though, is what happens next.

A freshly-decapitated St George is lifted up and placed in full view of the congregation... as a warning? Meanwhile the hapless bearers slink off to the vestry.

Religion, Science and Spirit: A Sacred Story for Our Time - David Korten

The challenge before us is to create a new civilization based on a cosmology to guide us to mature relationships with one another and a living Earth. 

Humanity’s current behavior threatens Earth’s capacity to support life and relegates more than a billion people to lives of destitution.

This self-destructive behavior and our seeming inability to change have deep roots in the stories by which we understand the nature and meaning of our existence.

The challenge before us is to create a new civilization based on a cosmology—a story of the origin, nature, and purpose of creation—that reflects the fullness of our current human knowledge; a story to guide us to mature relationships with one another and a living Earth.

Three distinct cosmologies have each had their influence in shaping the Western worldview. Two are familiar; (1) the cosmos is created and ruled by a Distant Patriarch and (2) the cosmos Is A Grand Machine.

The third - and most relevant to the task at hand - The cosmos is a manifestation of Integral Spirit - has ancient roots, and may in one form or another be the most widely held.

Our creation stories have powerful implications for our understanding of our place in the cosmos and thereby shape our most foundational values, our politics, and the distribution of power in society.  Though sharply at odds regarding the presence or absence of a spiritual intelligence, both the Distant Patriarch and Grand Machine cosmologies affirm the self-destructive individualism and separation that lead us to behave in ways that threaten Earth’s biosphere and our future as a species.

The Integral Spirit cosmology appears to offer many of the elements of the story we seek. Yet even with its ancient roots and its affirmation and enrichment by recent breakthroughs in science, it too remains a partially developed story and we are limited to speculating on many of its elements.

The full article is available here

Picking On The Poor: Facts Behind Cutting Food Stamps - Rev. Jim Wallis

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and Jesus all took issue with those in authority who refused to provide for the poor.

One pastor I spoke to recently, a good man and friend, told me he was worried about government dependence, like the food stamp program. When I told him that the vast majority of food stamps go to working families with young children, and that they are usually only on the program temporarily during hard economic times; he said, “You should get that out.” 

He didn’t know the facts and the faces of SNAP. So many of us in the faith community have worked to tell the facts and show the faces — to share our stories, to “get that out.”

Have you seen the Fox News “face” of a SNAP recipient — a young blond California surfer who brags about cheating on food stamps? Why is Fox News lying? Why don’t they tell the real facts and show the real faces of kids who are still hungry even though their parents work?

How can anyone who has read the prophets or the words of Jesus come up with the opinion that governments are not responsible to champion the cause and the care of the poor? Not only to ensure none go hungry but that opportunity be given to everyone to fully engage as responsible citizens in our society.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos all took issue with those in authority who refused to provide for the poor. And Jesus insisted that regardless of who we are - individual citizens, persons of influence, government leaders, priests, common people, whoever - that to follow him would require the selling of what we have to ensure the poor are taken care of.

Psalm 72 gives us a portrait of what truly good government looks like: the bringing of justice to those who are poor, the rescue of children in need, the deliverance of those who cry out because of oppression, the care and compassion of the vulnerable, the redemption of those subject to violence, where abundance is generously distributed among all and peace and not war prevails.

Some will respond by saying that the priorities of Psalm 72 refers to a kingdom still to come. I would argue that they are also the priorities God calls us to advance here and now, not only in our theology, churches and private lives, but in what we require of our governments and all those in authority, beginning of course with ourselves.

The full article is available here

Why Environmentalism Is an Important Spiritual Discipline - Stephen Mattson in Sojourner's

The splendor and wonder of creation — Natural Revelation — is observable proof of God and God’s sovereignty. But what happens when it’s not visible?

This concept is often taught from a privileged and Westernized perspective, where scenes of picturesque mountain ranges, pristine lakes and rivers, beautiful wild animals, and lovely plants are used to portray the sheer majesty of God.

For many of us, this is an easy reality to absorb because we love nature and have access to the outdoors, scenic parks, and unpolluted land.  The sad reality is that Natural Revelation — as we interpret it to be — doesn’t really exist for millions of people living in horrid conditions.

If you really believe that the earth reflects God’s glory, when you don’t take care of it and let it become poisoned — you’re essentially keeping people from experiencing the goodness of God.

Pollution, destruction, and the exploitation of our world isn’t a victimless crime — it’s intentionally hiding God from others. The act of making our earth less desirable is blinding others to the goodness of God.

The full article is available here

My Faith Demands That I Make A Difference - President Jimmy Carter

A Healthy View Of The Bible - Unfundamentalist Christians

Evolution of the Church Service - Spencer Burke

What does the idea of a cause community look like in reality? Simply, it answers the question, “How can we love our neighbor?” 

Church function, even its survival, needs more than just a change in metaphors. We are beginning to ask some very fundamental questions.

Do we need to own a building that is used 10% of the week for a 60 to 90-minute teaching service?

Does it make sense in this environmental, carbon-footprint world to drive and listen to a non-interactional presentation, especially when people can capture that teaching while they’re out exercising or driving to work?

It’s clear that people still want commonality and community. Those two aspects of church are staying strong, but what happens in the middle is what holds it all together.  It seems we may be witnessing another fundamental shift in church culture; from a teaching community to a cause community.

In a cause community, the weekly focus shifts from the teaching-based Sunday morning to a multiple-day throughout the week involvement with the community around a cause. Just as Jesus says “come follow me,” rather than “stay and hear me out."

What does the idea of a cause community look like in reality? Simply, it answers the question, “How can we love our neighbor?”

One beautiful thing the church has always had is people who are committed to finding ways to love each other and others around them. In this way, we are resource-rich. If church shifted its purpose to utilizing these resources, a church might look like a mobile barbershop or a community garden, a tutoring program or serving in a senior Alzheimer’s center.

The full article is available here