People Still Talking About Twitter Church

I'm amazed people are still talking about Twitter Church and Westwinds' TIME article. But, tonight I saw a blog post by Rachel Motte in Siren magazine online and I had to respond.

You can read the whole article here but these are the parts that concerned me . . .

SIREN:

. . . Twitter, it’s argued, strengthens community ties and offers church goers a new way to express what they are thinking and feeling during the Sunday morning service . . .

. . . In other words, twitter allows people to begin silently “fellowshipping” with other believers before the Sunday morning coffee hour even starts . . .

. . . But is this genuine community? No, not really. That’s the problem . . .

. . . The writer of Hebrews told his readers, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) He meant that literally. No matter how advanced communication methods become, there will never be an adequate substitute for face-to-face interaction, and there will never be a replacement for real-life fellowship . . .

. . . We have souls, and we crave interaction with other souls, but we also have bodies. When we communicate through technology, we functionally disembody ourselves. There’s a great difference, for example, between talking to your mother on the phone and talking to her in person. When you can communicate with someone unseen without even using your voice, you separate yourself even further. Misunderstandings become more commonplace and relationship building more difficult. Instead of bringing us closer to those around us, technologies like twitter actually tend to separate us – and it’s hard to teach people about the glories of the incarnation while dis-incarnating yourself online . . .

. . . So should you tweet during church? Not unless you are trying to help someone far away (say, in the mission field) feel marginally included. When you are in church, you should be in church, and you risk being less than fully present if you’re busy with your iPhone. So perhaps instead of asking WWJT? “What would Jesus tweet?” the real question should be WJT? “Would Jesus tweet?”

MY RESPONSE:

You make some decent points here Rachel and certainly I don’t mean any disrespect but I think your conclusions are a bit short-sighted. I hope we can have some friendly-fire here.

Your presumption is that the weekend gathering of believers is simply about community but I'm not sure that is the biblical apex of gathering together. If community is the goal of weekend gatherings then churches need to make a ton of adjustments. There is no community listening to a speaker for 30 minutes, there is no community watching people sing on a stage, there is no community watching videos, dramas, etc.

I agree face to face communication is preferable but your argument about communication is misplaced. When do people ever communicate with one another during church? It would be one thing if a church was trying to replace face to face communication with technology but instead, a church was introducing another kind of communication into an environment where interaction seldom happens.

You also said, “When you are in church, you should be in church, and you risk being less than fully present if you’re busy with your iPhone.” I see where you are coming from but you are making two different arguments here. You suggest that Twittering isn’t real “community” but you introduce another argument when you mention being “fully present.” If by being fully present you are suggesting one should be still and listen to someone speak, there is certainly no community in that.

At Westwinds we believe the Bible gives an incredible amount of freedom for corporate gatherings. We strive to create an original, unsullied, experience-rich, multi-layered environment where we increase the occurrence of people interacting with God, his Word, his truth, his people, and face their barriers that interrupt and antagonize the life Jesus invites. The only non-negotiable element in the whole weekend experience is God’s Word as the living, enlightening torrent of truth that must be present every week. Other than that one item, everything else is negotiable.

I certainly don't believe Twitter is for everyone. We experimented a few times three years back and we use it occasionally in different ways. One of the things it does is it gives people another way of being involved in the weekend gathering as opposed to just being a spectator. I think we need to think of many other ways of accomplishing this kind of interaction.

John Voelz

QR Church

One of the things I love about Westwinds is our early adopter mentality and our willingness to try new things. This proves true in the areas of technology, media, programming, and other methodologies.

One of our latest adoptions is the use of QR Code. A QR Code is a matrix barcode. These codes are readable by scanners, mobile phones with cameras, and smart phones. If you don’t have the QR Reader app for your iPhone, go download it now

QR is showing up everywhere. Last year I used a QR coded ticket to board a plane as they scanned my iPhone. QR is shown on commercials between shows, all new products at Best Buy, magazines, posters, you name it.

A few months ago, my wife and I scanned a QR Code during a commercial break and were directed to a site promoting the new show, “Lonestar.” My wife said, you should take advantage of QR at Westwinds for the bulletin and other things.

Brilliant.

Westwinds is starting to use QR in our bulletin (The Draft), our weekend pre-service slides, posters, fliers, newsletters, magazines, albums, teaching atlases, on the doors of our church, on our business cards, and many other areas are being explored.

You can generate QR code very easy with sites like delivr

I encourage all churches to use QR and challenge them to come up with new ways to communicate and get information out through the use of QR.

Worship Rises in Canada

I know a lot of Canadian jokes. I share an office with a Canadian. I live in a state that borders Canada. The jokes I didn’t know before meeting him, he filled me in on. I know about moose, beavers, Bryan Adams, and Celine Dion. I watched the Olympics.

The jokes are all in fun and they aren’t really true but nevertheless my Canadian friends have to work extra hard to dispel the myths that they all smell like maple syrup and keep a pair of ice skates in their car for when a game of hockey breaks out. Well, maybe that last one is true.

Plus, I don’t joke much anymore because it eventually gets to where I call them “America Junior” and they trump me with “Canada’s Underpants.”

And with that . . . the following is NOT a joke.

Worship leader Chris Vacher, a Canadian, had a great idea. Chris and a bunch of his buddies that lead music in their churches started getting together and writing tunes with a few things in mind: indigenous worship, camaraderie, Canadian churches, the church worldwide, stretching each other’s artistry, etc.

They called their writing group, “Worship Rises.” Out of this group, they released a four song EP that showed up on iTunes in the states yesterday. You can buy the EP for a whopping $3.96 here.

Buy it on Amazon here.

Chris shared a little on his blog today about the album and the buzz surrounding it.

Follow Chris on Twitter.


Chris has become a good friend of mine over the last few years and I am proud of him. I want you all to know about the album not because he is my friend, not because we scratch each other’s backs in cyber world, not because he is paying me, but because I believe this is an example of what it looks like when God’s church takes their heads out of their self-absorbed rear ends.

I went to Ireland a few years back and the church I visited did songs they had written. About “the troubles” and the political struggles of Ireland, about living in their world. I fell in love with Ireland and the Irish church that day. Because, I was brought into their story. This EP makes me think of Canada, my neighbor to the North and it makes me smile that they took a risk.

This album and movement teaches us or reminds us--who are music people in our churches--of some great lessons:

1. Indigenous worship is honest, tells a story that is familiar and approachable, and has a special “je ne sais quoi” for the local church that is different than plug and play worship where we pick songs that the other cool kids are playing. Give thought to your music. Tell YOUR story.
2. With that said, it is a wonderful thing to then share your story with the world. They may say, “Hey, that’s our story too.”
3. Magic can happen when we rub shoulders with like-minded people in our greater communities. When is the last time you had lunch with another pastor in town (not from your church)?
4. THE church matters more than YOUR church because THE church is JESUS’ church and Jesus is what matters. Personality, style, doctrine, methodology, tastes . . . they grow strangely dim with a kingdom mindset.

Way to go, Canada. Now, let's talk about the Nickleback problem. Can you help there, Chris?

Church Staffs and the Opposite Sex

Lately, I've received a few requests for Westwinds' policy on staff meeting with members of the opposite sex.

In the past few years, I have personally witnessed (people I know) nearly two-dozen marriages fall apart and/or bad things happen because of romances that begin in the workplace. I have been on staff in two places where marital affairs have happened with people on staff. I have had a half-dozen close friends confess affairs that began in the workplace or while on staff at a church or para-church organization.

It's a problem everywhere--not just the church. But, let's face it--we are in the people business. Caring for them. Listening to them. Spending time together. Planning together. Celebrating together. Close contact. It's a . . . ahem . . . "hotbed" of temptation and potential danger.

In the last 6 months, I have personally counseled 4 couples (not on our staff) whose marriages are in turmoil or ending because of relationships fostered between a spouse and an "old friend" on Facebook. Every one of them began "innocent." Two began when the people were starting conversations about Jesus.

Last month, a fellow pastor friend of mine had a musician in the church catch the worship pastor (a woman) having sex in the church nursery with one of the men musicians before corporate worship began that Sunday morning. I want to throw up as I type this.

Below is our policy. It might help you. At least start conversation. But, your church will not fix any problems based on a policy. Safeguarding comes with conversation, prayer, accountability, question asking, and NEVER allowing anyone to think they are beyond making bad choices.

The following guidelines are to be used for the staff of Westwinds when meeting/communicating with the opposite sex.

1. Please make arrangements to meet on site at the church if a meeting requires a one on one scenario.

2. If a one on one meeting occurs, make sure you meet in an area visible to everyone i.e. not behind closed doors.

3. If a quiet environment is deemed necessary, please meet in a space where the door can be cracked open OR the door has a window in it.

4. If a meeting MUST be arranged off-site, please take the following steps:
a. Let another staff member know the meeting is taking place
b. Call your spouse if married to make them aware of the meeting
c. Meet in a public space where there is a crowd—coffee shop, restaurant, etc.

5. If you find yourself trying to “bend the rules,” you may have a problem you want to make someone aware of and seek counsel.

6. The fist-bump and the side-hug are your friends. There should never be any full-on frontal hugs. We believe Jesus likes hugs. We also believe most men like them—a lot.

7. Be careful not to establish ongoing counseling relationships with anyone in a one on one scenario. Encourage meeting in threes. Even fours. Sometimes, we have seasons of ongoing counseling but be wise.

8. Facebook and Twitter and other social networking are wonderful tools for ministry and also carry a high degree of potential danger for relationships to bloom into something unhealthy. Be careful of direct messages and “secret” messages.

9. At any time, an accountable staff member should be able to read what you have written to anyone in an email, Facebook message, Twitter, etc. unless it is a private family matter. Be careful of your wording.

10. Be careful of gift giving. Appreciation is encouraged but the types of gifts you send communicate something. Make your spouse aware of any opposite sex gifts and, if possible, make a staff member aware of the gift.

11. Touching, laying on of hands, and praying are biblical. Touching! Laying on of hands! and preying are not. Don’t be an idiot. A general rule of thumb is this: If you like it, (in that special way) do not do it. Ask yourself if you would hold hands and pray with the ugly smelly person in the same way as the pretty yummy smelling one.

12. Your cell phone contact list should be shared with your spouse and possibly a staff member.

13. When traveling from one place to another, travel in groups when at all possible. In the rare circumstance where you need to travel alone with the opposite sex, let a staff member know and let your spouse know about the travel, duration, and destination. Trips that are out of Jackson are frowned upon. We are stopping just shy of saying trips out of Jackson are prohibited.

14. Never shall a staff member attend any meeting, conference, or gathering overnight with someone of the opposite sex unless they are married.

15. In a rare circumstance where a staff member is engaged to be married and is traveling out of town with their spouse-to-be for a Westwinds related event, separate sleeping arrangements must be made and communicated. This is not in an effort to be the sin police, but rather to minimize fallout that affects us all.

16. No counseling of the opposite sex is to ever happen alone at Westwinds. Ask a staff member to stay longer if need be. If you are left alone in the building, end or reschedule your meeting.

17. Be willing to fess-up to any mild crushes, infatuations, etc. with a trusted staff member. These things happen and should be dealt with. Confess and ask for accountability. Coriolis is always available to help you through these things.

18. When emailing the opposite sex (or any written communication) in regard to a serious, relational, or potentially volatile situation, please consider having a staff member or your spouse proofread the letter. Again, this is about full disclosure. Quick emails in regard to serving opportunities, scheduling, etc. are not the potential problem. Be more concerned with ongoing written counsel or communication of a nature that may leave room for infatuations to blossom.

19. Learn to communicate love and appreciation for someone in ways that include the whole group--everyone. For instance:
a. Constantly telling the opposite sex you love and appreciate them is not “bad” but it isn’t wise. “WE ALL love you and appreciate you” comes off WAY different.
b. Consider thanking someone’s spouse at the same time you thank him or her. “Dear “Madame X”, thank you so much for the time you spent cleaning the studios! We love your dedication! Please thank your husband “Guy who doesn’t know I sent this letter” for holding down the fort at home while you served here. You are both heroes!”
c. “Here is a gift card for you! I hope you and your wife enjoy a great night out on the town!” Sounds way better then, “Go buy yourself something nice. You deserve it!”

20. Be careful of compliments regarding others’ appearance. It is not inappropriate (necessarily) to tell someone they look nice or their new haircut is styling, but be careful of falling in to these patterns. Ask yourself, “do I say this in order to impress this person or get a response in return?”

21. Avoid talk of a playful yet “innocent” nature. “Now that is sexy!” or “Bow chicka wow, check YOU out!” sound funny and may even be hyperbole (or a way to tease) on your part but leave room for misinterpretation as well as establishing a comfort level with using words that are usually reserved for married couples.

22. Be careful and practice full accountable disclosure when working on long-term projects with the opposite sex. Projects have the ability to stir unhealthy feelings towards another. It is possible to enter a project completely innocent and serve in the name of Jesus and come out on the other side with an unhealthy attraction. This is also true of crisis situations.

23. Be careful of counseling those in broken relationships. Your love and compassionate ear will be foreign to them and feelings for you may develop. This will make you feel good about yourself and probably think more highly of yourself then you should.

How Video Games Saved Church Music

There has never been a greater, happier, more fulfilling, more fun period of time in my 20+ years of being a musician in the church as this very moment. By “moment” I am referring to the period of time that began sometime in 2004 and stretches to the present—The age of Guitar Hero.

2004 saw the invention of Guitar Hero. God’s gift to the church musician. On its heels, RockBand came along in 2007 and the angels sang once again.

Not exaggerating.

Church musicians and church personalities come in all shapes and sizes but, if you are in church that is missional in any way (use your favorite descriptive word like seeker targeted, seeker sensitive, relevant, whatever), you are always seeking for songs that are winners. Songs that create moments. Songs that relate. Songs that people dig. As many people as possible.

Talk about livin' on a prayer.

Unless your church is predominantly one demographic, you swing the pendulum knowing every song is not going to hit everyone the same way but you hope it hits some. Few of us have a church full of 35 year olds who crave a Pearl Jam or Nirvana song every week.

Variety is key. But . . .

Something has changed and we owe a great deal of gratitude to the folks at Guitar Hero. They introduced Classic Rock to a generation who used to think it was dad’s old crappy music. Not only Classic rock but a variety of songs that were popular in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s not to mention current hits. Then, with RockBand’s introduction of Beatles RockBand in 2009, some of the greatest music of all time was introduced for the first time to the young masses. Happiness is a warm game.

For the first time in history, when parents are yelling, “turn that down!” there is a good chance it is the exact same song their parents’ told them to turn down . . . or, grandparents told their parents.

What does this mean for church musicians? It means your grab bag of songs should start with these catalogs.

But, the great thing is, it’s not only specific to these catalogs. All of a sudden, Classic Rock is cool across the board. And, all those 30 and 40-something’s who are coming back to church after years of hiding are bringing their kids who already know the words to what dad was listening to in the 80’s and 90’s. Outside of the game playing, younger crowds are listening to Classic Rock and 90’s RADIO because, if it’s cool for the game, it has to be cool. A Kansas song can show up on a game and kids go to iTunes and download the whole album.

Take a trip to Kohl’s or even Hot Topic and look at the clothing. Vintage rock tees such as AC/DC, The Doors, Van Halen and Rolling Stones have trickled down to the stores that cater to teens and they are buying them up faster than dad can say, "radical (or boss, or cool, or awesome)!"

In the last few months at Westwinds, I have run a little experiment. I incorporated Beatles tunes into worship medleys, played songs by The Who, Rolling Stones, REO Speedwagon and others with incredible feedback. By everyone.

The kids, college young adults, parents, and the older folks are all high-fiving us on the same tunes. One older lady who often comments about volume recently thanked me for playing The Who’s “Christmas” that hints at the Tommy lyrics. She is in her mid sixties. “That really spoke to me” she said. “Thank you for playing the music I love. You always do a good job.” (P.S. it was the loudest we have played in a long time).

It is also interesting that worship music heroes like David Crowder have embraced their inner classic rock and, in so doing, have made it okay for the more conservative Christian kids to listen to. After all, Ted Nugent played a guest spot on Crowder's 2007 album, "Remedy."

The planets have aligned. Thank you God. And, thank you video games.

The Westwinds Top 11 (because it's one louder)

Westwinds Top Worship Tunes of 2009

We get a lot of mileage out of our indigenous worship tunes at The Winds (written by me or others in our band) but there are quite a few we use from the giant pool of resources in the worship music industry that our people love. You may sing some of these at your church.

Honestly, not all of these were MY favorites (some were), but I guess it's not all about me. These are the ones we tried that stuck. People dig 'em.

We got the most feedback about these tunes in 2009 (not necessarily in this order):

1. Life Light Up by Christy Nockels
2. The One by Brian Chandler
3. All Around Me by Flyleaf
4. This is How We Know by Matt Redman
5. God of This City by Chris Tomlin
6. I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin
7. Magnificent by U2
8. Today is the Day by Lincoln Brewster
9. Mighty to Save by Reuben Morgan
10. From the Inside Out by Joel Houston
11. Your Love Never Fails by Chris Quilala

Halloween. Time to Burn Bibles.

I don't think this is what is meant by, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Oops, I should use my King James: THY word is a lamp UNTO my feet and a light UNTO my path." Wouldn't want my blog banned by this church.

There are so many painful things about this video, I would rather focus on the humorous to stop from crying.

Watch the video. Then, watch it again with the list below.

Noteworthy:

1. The pastor's incredible fashion sense
2. The amazing irony of the church name in light of this
3. The freefoto.com logo in the bottom of the picture of fire they used for their flyer.
4. The irony of "celebrating" (see flyer) Halloween with a bonfire of Bibles.
5. The length of their website URL http://www.amazinggracebaptistchurchkjv.com
6. The fact there are 39 characters in the URL which, when multiplied times the pastor's IQ equals 666. Coincidence?
7. At 0:25 seconds into the clip, Dale Gribble from King of the Hill is actually standing behind the pastor (see photo).
8. The incredible number of members. And, the souls "saved from Hell" (see sign).
9. "Bar-b-Que Chicken, fried chicken, and all the sides!" The chicken didn't speak English. He had to die.
10. Apparently God came for the English speaking people. And the people who speak whatever language this guy is speaking.
11. The event goes from 7:00PM - TILL. I didn't know what time TILL was, so I looked it up. Apparently, TILL time varies upon the crop. But, after everyone has burned the bibles, the tilling will begin. Make no mistake. It's about community.
12. The spelling of Mark Driscoll's name. "Driskol." Understandable. Phonetically, it sounds a lot like Skoal chewing tobacco. Thus, the K.
13. The flyer lists many kinds of music that will be burned--including C-o-n-t-e-m-p-o-r-y Christian music. I am not aware of what this is. I looked it up. The dictionary says, Contempory (ken-temp'-oh-ree) 1.(adj) a common misspelling of the word contemporary by people who burn bibles while eating fried chicken and all the sides.

I could go on but I'll stop at 13. Good number for Halloween.

see #7




HT: Various Parables (for the video)

The Tyranny of Theme Part 2

Why is it that church musicians listen to Radiohead and say they are inspired and moved yet pick a Nickleback song for the weekend?

I want people to engage and have a deeper level of listening. When we explain art away, we open the door to passive interaction—the lowest level of listening.

When there is an unidentified noise in your home, you seek it out with due diligence. Where is it coming from? What does it mean? Is something broke? Am I in danger? Once you identify it, you deal with it. But, if someone says, “oh, that’s just the wind blowing the tree against the house” you stop listening. You “hear” it, but you don’t listen to it anymore.

When we explain art away and live under the tyranny of theme—especially obvious theme . . .

No one asks questions. They don’t need to.

No one arrives at their own conclusions about their own lives. We tell them what to think.

No one is bothered. We tell them it’s okay.

No one is convicted. There’s no element of surprise.

Often, people will ask me why we “use” certain songs at the Winds. But, I don’t think in terms of “using” art. At least not in the sense these folks are thinking of when they ask the question.

I certainly don’t think of music as something we “use” to get to the “real message” (sermon).

Music isn’t “used” to round out 60 minutes and offer something other than a talking head.

Music isn’t simply used to communicate one theme at Westwinds.

Our music, like everything we do on the weekend is about aggregates and gateways. Sure, we aren’t completely random. We pray. We think things through. We pick the right song for the right moment. But, we aren’t mono-thematic.

What I really, really, REALLY want to see happen is for the people who are in charge of music selections at their churches to look past obvious theme. I want to see us not be afraid of the world of metaphor, tension, concurrent subject matter, emotional and physiological response, and avant-garde.

So, instead of asking your network of music people if they know a good song about “money” because your pastor is doing a sermon on “tithing,” (which will garner obvious and overdone suggestions like Pink Floyd—Money, The Beatles—Money (That’s What I Want), and Calloway—I Wanna Be Rich) let’s think for a change.

If you are stuck in the theme mode, at least think about deeper layers of themes. A theme like “tithing” gives you a plethora of places to go from comfort, to sacrifice, to commitment, to mission, to obedience, to state of the heart, to lifestyle, to choices, to fear, etc.

OR . . . OR . . . don’t do a song at all!

OR . . . do a song that isn’t tied to the theme at all.

OR . . . do a song that is pertinent for other things your church or the world is experiencing.

OR . . . do a song because it is a good song and it needs to be heard.

One of the greatest things that ever happened to the church over the last few years was Willow Creek’s influence on music and the arts in the context of the Sunday gathering. But it is that very thing, that theme mindset, which “special song” approach, which sometimes keeps us hamstrung from being creative.

It makes us predictable.

So, we are left to search the internet for themes, ask our friends what worked for them, go to an old book like The Source, or post a frantic request to Twitter because our pastor is speaking on Homosexuality and we can only think of Queen songs.

(P.S. Scott Dyer, author of The Source, is a friend and a good man. The Source has been a huge impact and excellent resource for many. Sometimes, a book like this is exactly what the doctor ordered. But, it is not the only way to approach music selection and I’m sure Scott would agree)

So, church musicians, I dare you to break the mold.

Listen to the radio. Listen to the new iTunes releases. Pull up the playlist of the college station.

When a song grabs you, ask why.

If it makes you cry, you should probably share it. Soon. Because.

If it makes you smile, buy the chart.

If it bothers you, put it on the calendar.

The Tyranny of Theme Part 1

I see it every week. On Twitter. On Facebook. On various network loops I belong to.

The quest for the perfect “feature” or “special” song to use on a Sunday.

Typical scenario:

1) Someone decides upon a theme.
2) A team brainstorms what movie clip/music they can use to support said theme
3) Some songs make the cut and then the music person asks their network for ideas

Maybe there is a missions conference happening. So, the senior pastor puts it out to his “creative team” to find the most pertinent—ahem, most obvious—“mission” songs.

Typical Tweet: “Looking for a killer energetic opener for the missions conference. Last year we did “Takin’ it to the Streets.” Ideas?”

God forbid the theme is something like Ananias and Sapphira to send the poor music person on a quest for a song about an untimely death.

I’m having fun, but I think it is time for us to retool.

Food for thought . . .

Are we willing to let the song stand on its own? I seldom give a song a setup or explain away all the mystery. I want it to speak for itself. Art is dialogue.

Yet, in our theme-heavy church services, we take away the guesswork for people. The most fun and effective part.

Sometimes, usually because a pastor can’t live with tension or doesn’t want people to get the “wrong idea”, someone will give away the whole punch line of a song before it begins. Example: “This is a song about how we need to get along and stop bickering. It is a sad song about how a person is hurt by words. It is a great story about a dad and his daughter. Listen to the words. Ask how you use words. Do you need to change?” And one and two and three and four and . . .

Boring. No adventure. No discovery.

One of the things I love about watching LOST is the conversation that happens outside of the program. The endless search for deeper meaning. Clues. Suspense. Metaphor.

ABC did something with their new series, “FlashForward” after week one that made me furious. At the commercial breaks, the commentator gave us hints as to the clues. He would say, “did you catch that name? Could be important!” Or, “Did you see the kangaroo? That probably means something.”

I almost stopped watching. I’m not an idiot. Don’t dumb it down for me.

I wonder if we sometimes do that with our “creative” process. “Hey, everyone . . . here are the clues. Here is what to listen for. This is the theme for the day. Get it? Get it?”

Time to Pay the Piper (My Response to John Piper's Blogpost on Twitter in Church)

Many of you have either sent me emails, called me, or twittered me and asked my response to John Piper’s post on Twittering in church. Piper’s post was actually a response to Josh Harris’ post in much the same vein. These posts are like a handful of others I have read in recent days like this one and this one.

I didn’t want to respond for a few reasons including (1) I think most of the arguments I am reading are dumb and assume many things about how we used Twitter without taking the time to do their homework (2) I don’t want to get into an argument over something so petty and (3) I respect Piper and Harris and don’t need a blog war.

And, true confession, I don’t know that I can reply without a bit of sarcasm.

Some of the blog posts and comments I have read post TIME article are not worth my time. Or your time.

But, since Josh linked to our TIME article I am going to respond since I have been thrown into the mix and, in some way, put under the microscope. If I'm honest, I feel my integrity as a pastor has been called into question in a small way. I guess I asked for this and should have expected it. Both of these men's opinions are widely read and you asked for my response. So please, John, Josh, all due respect and here we go . . .

This is long. You may want to fix a snack.

First off, for the record, I don’t care if Piper or anyone else starts to use Twitter in church or not. I love it, I use it, but I don’t have a Twitter mission. It was never about Twitter for Westwinds. So, I’m not offended—as far as Twitter is concerned anyway.

With that said, I believe the use of Twitter is highly contextual for the church. I wouldn’t propose a cover of a Flaming Lips song if I were asked to lead worship down the street at the Orthodox church. I wouldn’t push for the new Crowder tune at the Acappella Church of Christ. I wouldn’t push for a hot tub baptism at St. Joe’s Catholic Church. For Westwinds, the use of Twitter, among many other things, are appropriate for us but may not be for everyone. It is our culture. It is expected we will try different things. Some will fail. Some become part of us.

We believe Westwinds is something pretty special. An anomaly in the greatest sense of the word. Something incongruent with most of our collective church experiences. It’s been a long road of fostering a community that values imagination, permission, authenticity, and community. It’s not an attempt at being “relevant” which is usually ghettoized to mean “look and speak cool.” It’s about incarnation and a particular offense to mediocrity.

It’s a deep-rooted belief that God has called us to act upon the stuff in our heads. The thirst for the sacred, the mysteries of God, the magic of the sacraments, the otherworldliness of corporate worship, the tears spent on broken people—they call us to act. We act by creating. By making stuff. We incarnate our thoughts into visual art and music and poetry and film. Projects, proposals and petitions. Moments and movements.

And, in this case, occasionally Twittering in church.

There are probably 101 things we have done at Westwinds that would make many pastors raise an eyebrow and/or point a finger. That’s fine. God has given us leadership responsibility over a church of 1000 people in Jackson, MI. That church values creative engagement with the gospel and one another on the weekend. Those are the people I do life with.

I have two other major points of contention with Piper’s perspective (which is shared by a few others in the blogosphere). First, I believe he is making the use of Twitter an entirely theological argument when it should not be—it is methodological. And second, I believe his philosophy of what happens on the weekend is a bit antiquated, narrow, and unfortunately the stance that keeps many of my friends from ever stepping in to a church—including the Christian ones.

I agree with Piper when he says, “Preaching and hearing preaching are worship.” From there, we may agree and disagree on a handful of things when it comes to the “how” of preaching. Is it expository? Thematic? Systematic? Done in a series? With notes? Without notes? 30 minutes? 45? 15 with a break for music in-between? From NIV? King James? The Message? Sitting? Standing? On video? In person? Responsive readings?

The answer to all those things is . . . yes. And more.

(Honestly John, I think your whole electric cord thing is weird but it doesn’t mean we can’t have lunch together—and I hope we do some day.)

One would be hard pressed to find a strict biblical model of a 30-minute sermon preached while people sit in pews facing forward hanging on every word . . . uninterrupted.

Furthermore, I find it interesting that we want to make a case for uninterrupted preaching since it is “worship” but churches everywhere will interrupt their “worship music” this weekend with video, drama, and weak announcements. Double standard?

Some of these arguments are the same shallow arguments used over 20 years ago when we fought about Powerpoint and large screen projection.

Is it possible to preach the word of God and worship while inviting your whole congregation to comment and interact with you and others while preaching? Yes! Is it possible that is an act of worship for some? Yes! Is it possible someone will engage and be engaged better by use of this technology? Yes!

Is it for everyone? No. Is it possible it will distract? Yes.

So will bad preaching.

Is it possible to worship God without a 30 minute sermon at all on a Sunday? We better say yes or we have got a LOT of conversation ahead of us.

Piper also said, “Don’t tweet during sex” which made me laugh out loud. I know he’s being funny but even that comment is a bit narrow. Sex is not purely physical. Every woman will tell you sex begins in the morning. And, if that is true, my wife and I are guilty. We keep those twitters private though.

Bottom line, we need to stop arguing about things as if they were prescriptive for everyone. We waste a lot of time.

P.S. John, your book, “Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist” is the first Christian book I ever read cover to cover. I was 19. It meant a lot to me. It’s partly responsible for this conversation.

Celebrity Pastor Restoration Part 2

This is Part 2 of a 2 part post.

Here are some concerns and things to think on:

It is not OUR job to restore fallen celebrities to positions of influence and/or ministry. It is their own community’s job. And privilege. We didn’t walk the road. We didn’t live the story. We don’t know the conversations. We aren’t the first line of accountability. Some would then say the big “C” church needs more stories of restoration. I say that’s not necessarily what we need. We need more stories of the process of restoration going well from within that person’s own living breathing church community. And, that person may have lost the privilege of ever serving in the same capacity again depending on many, many things you and I may never know about and don’t have to.

Likewise, it is not OUR job to make judgments as to whether or not someone is or has dealt with their shortcomings. Same as above. To expand a bit on the Twitter quote earlier, when the worldwide church encourages and applauds a fallen ministry leader’s return to power and influence outside of or in spite of the accountability and authority of that leader’s own church community, the “restoration” is about as effective as wiping a baby’s butt over the phone and saying, “all clean!”

If I come home from work and my children tell me a story of how mom disciplined them for doing something wrong, I am going to get a very one sided story. They might tell me how they were treated unfair. They might make excuses. How wrong would it be if I immediately took their side, removed the punishment and sent them on their way? How horrible would it be if I said to them, in mom’s earshot, that I disagree with her and she is being too hard on them?

What would that say to their mom, my wife about how much I trust her? What do I teach my children about process? What disservice do I do to the family unit? What do I communicate to my children about how I view mom’s role? What horrid lessons do I teach my children about consequence. This is not restoration. This is rebellion, misuse of power, mistrust, and manipulation by both me and my children. It is wrong.

On Paul and David . . . Paul was a murderer before he was a Christ follower and before he was a leader in the Christian church. David was a king who abused his power and was disciplined for it. He was a king, not a pastor. God and the prophet Nathan dealt with him. Bad things happened because of David’s sin. Family members died. He wasn’t allowed to build the temple. Different system. Different rules. Different accountability. P.S. David did not escape that accountability. This line of reasoning is dumb and inappropriate.

On accountability . . . Accountability doesn’t count with the ones who don’t know the whole story or the ones who would help you hide the bodies no matter what the story is.

On grace and forgiveness . . . our ability to forgive, love, and be gracious to any individual who has fallen are completely separate issues from restoring someone to a position of influence. The process of relational restoration, restoring someone’s personal and family dignity, getting or giving someone counsel, ensuring a fallen brother or sister has the wherewithal to earn an income outside of ministry, etc. are all wonderful responsibilities and privileges of that individual’s church community. We can and should forgive and be gracious.

Do our churches need to be better at forgiveness? Yes. Do we, on the whole, suck at loving people who have made bad choices. Pretty much. But, our general church of Jesus worldwide problem is an issue that should be treated separately and should not be confused with our role in the restoration of an individual who may have influenced us yet we have no relationship with.

Restoration happens in relationship.

Discuss.

Celebrity Pastor Restoration Part 1

Today I twittered, “Saying a fallen pastor is ready for influence in spite of the authority of the local church is like wiping a baby’s butt over the phone.” Many of you commented and wanted me to expand.

We are not immune to our leaders falling. Sex, money, power . . . they have the ability to corrupt and often do. None of us are immune. We are all “one giant confession of a respected leader” from falling to our own knees and having our world rocked. When our friends and leaders fall it often defines us in new ways.

Nothing is as sweet as restoration. Healing. Forgiveness. Grace. Where would we be without those things. We love to receive it. We need to give it.

Yet, I am increasingly puzzled and often angered by what happens with celebrity restoration. By “celebrity restoration” I am referring specifically to leaders of great influence and/or popularity being restored to their positions of influence (or similar positions)—as if nothing ever happened— in a short period of time— or over a longer time thanks to short term memories or the fear of conflict—not by the people they are in relationship with, but by the “fans” of that leader.

Did you catch that? I’m referring to us, the fans, the big “C” church, the church worldwide, looking at a leader we know nothing about and putting them back into a position of authority. Looking to them as experts. Buying their books. Hiring them at our churches. Having them speak as authorities and celebrities at our conferences. And doing all of this outside of the authority and accountability of their very own church—the one they let down.

Hear this: I am NOT saying fallen leaders lose their voice or become something less. I am NOT saying they can’t share their story. Here’s what I AM saying . . .

Scenario: A pastor of an influential church has a sexual failure or any major moral failure. He loses his job and his position of power and influence. Because his sin was so public and because so many of us in the church world observe the story, we begin to create our own narrative/mythology surrounding their fall. As such, given the limited and tainted details we receive, we arrive at conclusions such as, “they were treated unloving and/or unfair,” “why can’t we all get along?” or “sure they have faults, but don’t we all?” Typically, someone will throw into the conversation that, if we don’t “receive” them, we are hypocrites who wouldn’t even allow the Apostle Paul or King David to be on staff with us. Soon, because of their celebrity and because everyone wants the rest of the story, they are “restored” to a position of influence, often looking like victims and continuing in ministry of some kind. They get on the road telling the “story,” writing books, speaking and teaching, consulting and merchandising. Much of the time, they do so with little to no accountability or they say they are accountable to some yet, those people are not the ones they should be accountable to.

In these cases, I say it’s doo doo.

To be continued . . .

40 Things I Don't Want to Give up for Lent

We had a discussion in the office today about what would be really difficult to give up for Lent. Since Lent is 40 days long, I thought I’d share the top 40 things I’d have a hard time parting with for the next 40 days if I observed Lent—in no particular order and excluding people.

1. Carbonated beverages
2. L O S T (or television, period)
3. My iPhone
4. My MacBook Pro
5. My guitars
6. Sex
7. Paint
8. Scotch
9. Wine
10. Google
11. iTunes
12. High-Speed Internet
13. Coffee
14. Sushi
15. U2’s new album
16. My Bible
17. My pipe
18. My jacket
19. Twitter
20. Tea
21. Vegetables
22. Playing live music
23. Facebook
24. Movies
25. Westwinds
26. Exercise
27. Best Buy
28. Hummus
29. A video camera
30. News
31. A piano
32. Headphones
33. Mints
34. Notebooks/scratchpads/moleskines
35. Art
36. My fuzzy slippers
37. My Jeep
38. Ann Arbor
39. Eating out
40. Carbs

Noisy Babies in Church

Tonight, Kasidy and I recorded a PSA about noisy babies in church. I love my little girl. She's got it.

(Oh, and brother Connor makes a cameo)

Life on the Road

Picture your spiritual life as a car—a friend once told me (The North American International Auto Show is happening right now. Exciting stuff. 700,000 people, 6,800 journalists covering it. It’s a big deal. We like our cars in the greater Detroit area).

When God changes you, gives you new life, makes you a new creation, you’re like one of those new vehicles being rolled out. Lots of potential. People notice you. You’ve got solar panels that run the gadgets and a state of the art sound system. Your dash board lights up blue—which is the coolest color for any dashboard lights. It’s a fact. It’s science.

So we take the car out for a spin. We go on a cross country trip. We take the top down and we feel the breeze. We love the road. We pick up hitchhikers. We go carpool. We get groceries. We do all the stuff a car is supposed to do.

Then, over time, some of us get caught up in the gadgets. The killer stereo. The comfortable seats. Some of us sit and read the manual. And, we forget the main purpose of the car . . . to move. To move forward.

So, we park it. And, we enjoy the gadgets. Friends come over and say, “hey, let’s go for a spin” and we say, “nah, I kinda just want to sit right here and listen to the new Westwinds CD. It’s awesome! Really gets me fired up. Know all the words.

Ridiculous. Stuck with the radio blarring, looking at your blue dashboard lights, honking the horn, playing with the buttons . . . for what? The car’s not moving. Those solar panels have just enough juice to keep that radio going. And so, you’ll sit. And, why shouldn’t you? Plenty of other cars are doing the same thing.

What does it take to get you going? Someone rear ending you? An emergency call that requires you to get across town? Someone walking by and catching the young hussy you have in the back seat?

What’s your killer stereo system? Westwinds? Is Westwinds your carport? Do you park it here on the weekend and let people look at it, but not get too close? Our carport can be a family member—we let them be the spiritual ones and hope it will rub off on us. Our school can be our carport—maybe we go to a Christian school or University and we feel comfortable hiding from the world for a few years and not engaging—not allowing people inside—not allowing God to convict—not participating in our world, community. Not living.

Thomas Merton said, “The spiritual life is first of all life.” It’s not something we merely talk about or think about or study . . . we live it.

There is hope. Things suck.

As a Christian, and as a pastor, I often feel conflicted.

I believe in Jesus. He is the hope of the world. All is not lost. Good things are yet to come. Peace is something we can all experience now. Today.

And, at the same time, the world sucks. People hurt each other. The wicked prosper. People die because of our apathy. It is a real tension. It isn’t going away.

Often times, Westwinds will be criticized by people within the church for being “harsh” or “saying offensive things.” “Oh, did you have to say it that way?” And, it’s a tension we live with. The world likes it’s Jesus looking like a Chippendales dancer, knocking on doors with a smile, and holding little lambs. Tony Robbins Jesus. No one wants to see the Chuck Norris Jesus kicking tail.

But, He’s both. He’s a loving and gentle friend and he’s a demanding judge. He makes no apologies for that and we shouldn’t either.

Both are true. There is hope. And things suck.

What I don’t want to do is be paralyzed by either truth. Both of those truths should motivate me to do something.

I don't want to live in shiny-happy Jesus land and pretend everything is okay while I sit on my arse. And, I don't want to walk around with my head hung low crying in my scotch because all is lost.

Lord, move me.

Songs for this Quarter

Well, after a very painful scheduling and song selection process, I finally have a list of songs Westwinds is covering for this first quarter. A ton of new songs, old songs, and REALLY old songs that will stir memories, create a mood, inspire, and downright rock the house.

Radiohead, Foo Fighters, The Who, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, George Harrison, Erin McCarley, Cake, Don Henley, Pat Benatar, Worship Circus, Robbie Seay, Chris Tomlin, Martina McBride, Jack Johnson, Third Eye Blind, Carrie Underwood, and Tracy Chapman. Yeah, it should be a fun quarter!

Lifestraw

On Christmas Eve, as has been our tradition here at Westwinds, we gave a special offering dedicated to impacting our world in a significant way by adopting a specific cause. This year, we chose to raise money to purchase LifeStraws®.

Clean water initiatives have been a passion at the Winds for the last four years ever since we went through a series on the elements. Roughly 6,000 people—mainly children, die every single freaking day because they don’t have access to safe drinking water. Crazy. That’s like 16 747’s going down every day. Or, the equivalent of two 9/11 attacks a day. Sick and wrong.

I am so happy we will be able to purchase over 1,600 straws with the offering.

LifeStraw® was listed as “one of the ten things that will change the way we live” by Forbes Magazine. These straws are simply stuck into yucky water and people can drink through them and get the same quality water as per EPA guidelines for microbiological water purifiers! One straw lasts quite some time allowing 18,000 liters of water to be purified.

One of my favorite musicians, Peter Gabriel is a big proponent of the cause and I am excited an influential and creative musician is giving this a platform.

Westwinds has not seen the end of LifeStraw® offerings. Many at the Winds are talking about their businesses partnering with the church to match contributions.

The most touching story I heard this week—and in a long time—is the story of one young boy in our church who made LifeStraw® his birthday wish. This 9-year-old boy called me on the phone a few days ago to tell me he saved all his birthday money in December and wanted to by LifeStraws®. I teared up on the phone as this young man told me he was giving $200.00 towards the cause. He delivered the money to me this weekend. I love it when our kids teach us how to be Jesus and teach us about sacrifice. His contribution adds nearly 70 straws to the initial offering.

Check the site out. Consider what you might do.

12 Days of Christmas Parties

Each year, Westwinds designates a portion of our mission spending to local missional efforts. In order to foster creativity and dreaming for our community, each major "department" of Westwinds gets money each quarter to invent a new way to reach the community.

We call it "Beyond 1000 Missions" (beyond 1000 Robinson Road, our church address).

Some of our great ideas have included the youth buying and fixing up cars for needy families, the children purchasing Nintendo Wii's for the old folks' homes and going to play games with them, the Ap(art) event we just held where artists created art for 24 hours straight, sold it, and donated money for art scholarships, etc.

This December, the Experience arena is launching 12 Days of Christmas Parties

• 12 households host
• 12 parties on
• 12 possible nights in
• 12 different parts of the city

In order to love on people in Jackson, Westwinds is helping 12 households throw Christmas parties for their neighbors. All parties are specifically designed for your block/neighborhood—not for family and friends (although friends are encouraged to help friends throw killer parties).

Westwinds is helping out by providing a party planning package complete with

• plates
• utensils
• napkins
• possible menu choices
• a price list for all menu choices
• 3 different menu collaborations under $125
  
• 12 ideas to make your party a success
• a Westwinds Christmas CD
  
• invitations and envelopes
• a gift card to Meijer (grocery store) in the amount of $125.00 in order to purchase food.

Applications for hosting consideration will be available in our lobby this weekend.

Just say it . . .

I like to get gifts. I do. I like thank you notes, I like gift certificates, I like love gifts (like, you know, the ones that came from the heart), I like cash. I like surprises. I like it when people pay for dinner and lunch. I like the pastor appreciation gifts I got during pastor appreciation month last month. I like compliments. I like hearing I am doing a good job. I like thank you notes. I like encouraging emails (I keep a file of them). I like high fives after the band has just rocked the Casbah. I like clapping and hooting and hollering after a good performance—the band worked hard, they deserve it.

I have the gift of receiving and I don’t feel bad about it.

Gifts and thank-yous aren’t the only indication of appreciation and a job well done . . . but they sure don’t hurt.

When we lead music, or preach, or lead a team in the church, or do something victorious and we are praised for it, we need to learn how to say thank you.

How weird would it be if my wife worked her rear off in the kitchen to make some gorgeous meal and after I thanked her for what she prepared she said, “oh, I’m really nothing babe. It’s all about Jesus. Thank Him”?

Weird.

We have a rule on our music team. If someone comes up and says, “good job” you say . . . (drumroll) . . . “thank you.” You can add any other number of phrases like, “heck yeah, everbody rocked didn’t they?”

No little phrases that excuse our part in the performance and smack religious like “oh, it’s all about Jesus” are allowed.

Pretending we are not gifted, ignoring the hours of practice we have dedicated to our craft, having a low-worth disposition, not accepting genuine gratitude when someone recognizes our gifting, degrading ourselves . . . this is not humility. This is not the kind of praise Jesus desires.

Jesus doesn’t want our leftover unwanted praise.

This rejection of compliment is often referred to as false humility.

False means—not real.

In this case, false more accurately means—opposite of.

William Temple, the late Arch Bishop of Canterbury said it well when he said, "Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all."

So then, false humility (again in the words of Temple) is “self-occupation.” False humility responses and an inability to say “thanks” is usually rooted in guilt, fear, erroneous self-image, or trying to cover up our glaring pride that we are well aware of. We feel dirty for feeling good about our own performance so pull a quick, “hey, look that way” as we slip out the back.

It’s okay to be proud of your work. It’s okay to feel good about a job well done.

So, say “thank you.”

And eat your peas.