Here is the Archbishop Rowan Williams giving his thoughts on new expressions of church, and how the old and new can work together. More in article form. His thoughts near the end of the clip below are really where my heart, and calling is for the church. [Both conventional/institutional and grassroots/incarnational, vibrantly continuing/being bonified and supported by the conventional church] This is a real gem to me.



HT: tallskinnykiwi

Labels: church, grassroots, incarnational, institutional, migration, shifting

Although the snow has trumped it, we had great plans for an Ash Wednesday service tonight at our church, complete with ashes on the forehead and everything. This is mostly unprecedented, at least in recent history, at our church. We decided, however, that it fits with our theory of trying to use tangible traditions in our worship gatherings. Our thinking is that worship is wonderful through the spoken word and the music, but the tangible expressions of worship that have existed in the church for a couple thousand years might just be a good addition, as well.

In particular, we take a break from our usually-separate children and adult worship times once a month to worship together and share communion - perhaps one of the most tangible worship practices (breaking bread, crushing grapes, chewing bread, drinking juice) as well as baptisms when they happen (another very physical, tangible worship practice). For kids who can't read, can't see the screen, or can't understand complex worship metaphors, this is a very good learning tool.

The problem, of course, is that as we start to tap the historic Church liturgy for tangible expressions of worship like this, we get into genuflex, veneration and lots of other Roman Catholic practices which seem "iffy" at best. And in a free church holiness tradition, do these things, or the liturgical calendar, have any place at all? Are we betraying our forefathers who saw idolatry in liturgical worship structure and practices? Having grown up in a more traditional denomination (though not much more), I'm interested in hearing your opinions on these sorts of practices in corporate worship within our "free church" tradition....

I’ve have some concerns about the level of sarcasm I’m hearing these days. You hear it on TV, at school, in homes, and recently I’ve been hearing it in church. Why has pretending to be mean to someone suddenly become so “cool”? People today believe it’s okay to say anything, that it makes everything better if you add “just kidding,” to the end of everything. For those that have a tough time deciphering sarcasm, we don’t know if the words you are saying are just a joke or if you’re speaking the truth.
So I’ve decided to look up some scripture about “speech,” as the word sarcasm isn’t really in the concordance. The first scripture reference I noticed was familiar, because it’s painted on the wall of our Sunday School room in HUGE letters. 1 Timothy 4:12 - Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers IN SPEECH, life, love, faith and purity. So as our youth who regularly attend our church use sarcasm with each other, what kind of example are they setting? What do visitors to our ministry see?
Sarcasm can tear people down piece by piece. My mother used it on me many times, and to this day I can remember what she said word for word, and how it made me feel. When Bart Simpson was emerging during my teenage years, I told my mom “Don’t’ have a cow.” Her response to me, jokingly of course, was “ I had you.” When I said, “Can’t you take a joke?” she said “I took you.” (My therapist tells me that in reality, it wasn’t very funny. ) The sad thing is, can imagine the kids in our youth group coming back with those kind of retorts, all in the name of coolness.
So how should we talk to others? Ephesians 4:32 tells us to be “kind and compassionate.”
Also, Ephesians 4:29 says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Are the words coming out of our mouths building others up or tearing them down? Do we get to know people well enough, listen to them enough, to know what their needs are? What truth are others hearing when words come out of our mouths? In addition, Ephesians 4:25 tells us “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” If the things we are “joking“ about aren‘t true, should we be saying them at all? Lastly, Ephesians 5:1 says, “But should there be no obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which is out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” This scripture would lead me to believe that there is no place for sarcasm in the church.
So I realize how I need to talk to people. I want to remember to tell the kids in our youth group that I love them, that I’m proud of their accomplishments, that I believe that they can live this Christian life and make a difference in this world. I want to tell them that they are meant for so much more than what this world is offering them. I never want them to doubt how valuable they are, that they are worth so much that the God of all creation, the ruler of everything, would die for them, yearn for a relationship with them, because HE LOVES THEM. I want to speak the truth in love.