the Grapevine 5/31/09

[Mark Jackson]

DIY Religion
 
I wrote this post on my blog about 4 years ago... seemed appropriate this week as we keep unpacking the "It All Comes Back To Jesus" series.
 
Maybe it's a little odd for a Baptist pastor to write so much about the Pope (check out my earlier posts entitled Hell-Bound Pope Sign, Anti-Christ No More, and Pope Found To Be Catholic). Perhaps it was that I dated a young lady who was pre-Vatican 2 Catholic (15+ years after Vatican 2!) Maybe it's the class I took in seminary on Roman Catholic Theology (because I liked the professor, a Dutch guy named Dr. Kiweit.) Maybe I'm just jealous of the cool hats Catholic clergy get to wear. Who knows?
 
Anyway, I just read a new article on Yahoo this morning about World Youth Day in Germany... Pope Benedict had some very interesting comments for the nearly 1 million folks who camped to celebrate Mass with him: 
 

He asked them not to see religion as a "consumer product" where people choose only what they want from it and disregard rules that are sometimes difficult to observe.
 
"Religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said. "It may be comfortable but at times of crisis we are left to ourselves."

In other words, a faith based primarily on my personal choices is only as good as the quality of my personal choices. When you take into consideration my own track record:

• Angel Flight slacks & silky flower shirts
• the musical stylings of Barry Manilow
• western shirts with pearl buttons on the pockets
• 50% of the wargames I bought that I never played against another person
• the aforementioned Catholic young lady & our dating relationship
• for that matter, the vast majority of my crushes, infatuations & dating relationships
• letting my hair grow out where it looked vaguely like Woody Allen
• my struggle with an addiction to pornography
• and so on...

...it becomes crystal clear that any faith based on me is doomed to failure. One good strong "wind" in the weather system of life & I'd collapse like a house of cards. I need something (well, Someone) bigger than me.
 
My guess is that you're in the same boat.

Another Shot At Defining Worship
 
This is from Rick Warren in an interview with Intervarsity's "Student Soul" blog:
 

One of the biggest misconceptions is that some think that worship equals music. Worship has become a synonym for music. They say, “First we have worship,” meaning the music, “and then the speaker,” as if the person speaking or leading the Bible study isn’t part of worship! Worship is giving, committing, praying, discussing, serving. It’s so much more than just music. In fact, today worship has even become a genre of music. There are those who say “I really like the fast praise songs, but I especially like the slow wors

hip songs.” As if the tempo has anything to do with worship!

Worship is simply expressing love to God. Anytime I am expressing my love to God I am worshiping. I could be worshiping while sitting in a class when the teacher is teaching because I am talking to God in communion as I learn truths that belong to God. I could be in a group of three people, or in a small group in a dorm, or with 50 people in a group out on a lawn, or with a thousand people in a rally. It has nothing to do with size and it has nothing to do with music. When you are expressing your love to God, you could be washing dishes or taking out the garbage — that’s worship.

Reminder of the Week: VBS Training

 

Tomorrow night - Monday the 1st @ 7 pm in the Social Hall.

 

This Week @ NewLife

Sunday the 31st

• 9:45 am - Bible Study/Sunday School
• 11:00 am - Worship
• 12:15 pm - Financial Peace University 
• 6:00 pm - Cool Summer Nights
• 7:00-ish pm - Worship Pastor Search Team 

Monday the 1st

• 7:00 pm - Men's Basketball
• 7:00 pm - VBS Training

Tuesday the 2nd

• 11:00 am - AM Adults
• 5:15 pm - Weight Watchers
• 6:00 pm - Softball Practice
• 6:30 pm - Fresno Gamers

Wednesday the 3rd

• 5:30 pm - Prayer Gathering

Thursday the 4th

• 6:00 am - Band of Brothers
• 5:30 pm - Junior High Youth
• 7:00 pm - Senior High Youth
• 7:00 pm - Social Security for Boomers Webinar

Friday the 5th

• 6:00 pm - NewLife Softball Team plays 

Sunday the 7th

• 9:45 am - Bible Study/Sunday School
• 11:00 am - Worship 

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