Faith Passed Down

I was talking to my children the other day and made reference to McGyver, the “fix-anything-with-nothing” television character from the 80s. They looked at me with blank faces and asked, “Who’s McGyver?” I was reminded of how easily the stories and ideas of one generation fade and are replaced by new ones for new generations.

Unfortunately, this seems to happen way too easily in the realm of faith as well. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that faith - both personally and in community - grows and develops over time, and so I am not opposed to new expressions of faith or new ways of thinking through issues and ideas. I believe that new movements in faith like the Pentecostal and Charismatic revivals of a few decades ago, and the Emerging Church movement of today, give us valuable and important gifts for the development of our faith.

But, I also believe in the faith that is passed down. I believe that all new expressions of faith need to be rooted in the ancient community of believers, and in the lessons that are taught by its history. I am reminded of Paul’s words to the young pastor Timothy when he described Timothy’s faith:

“I'm reminded of how sincere your faith is. That faith first lived in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice. I'm convinced that it also lives in you.”

Timothy’s faith was not a completely new thing, unrelated to those who had come before him. On the contrary, Timothy had a faith that was passed down - rooted in the faith of his elders. As fashionable as everything to do with youth may be in our world today, our faith is shallow and poor if we ignore the stories and memories of our elders. And those among us who are advanced in years, have a responsibility to pass our faith down - through our example, our story-telling and our mentoring. This does not mean that youth has nothing to offer - it certainly does, and I will explore the gifts of youth in a future article. But it does mean that we must be careful to preserve the treasures of our past as well.

When worship is practiced thoughtfully and faithfully, it gives us a connection to this faith-history. Our ancient hymns, well-used liturgies, historic symbols and age-old rituals all open doors to the wisdom of our mothers and fathers in faith. Yes, these traditional worship elements can be “packaged” or expressed in fresh new ways, with new instruments and new technologies, but let’s never make the mistake of abandoning them. As the old saying goes: “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat them.”

So, who are the mothers and fathers of your faith community? How can you value their stories and memories better? How can you enable them to pass their faith down to new generations? What are the ancient practices of your church? How can you honour and preserve them? What “packaging” can you given them to make them more attractive to the young people who need to learn their lessons? And when the time comes, how can you pass your faith on to others, so that they too can enjoy the benefits of a faith passed down?

__________
John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

Treasures Old and New

I am something of a creativity junkie. I love bringing new ideas into being, and watching lights go on for people as they see things in a new way. I am always on the look out for new music, new theatre and movies, new books, new places to go. If I was ever forbidden to express myself creatively, my life would lose a significant amount of joy, energy and meaning.

But, I also love routine. I tend to structure my time in repeatable ways. I like to return to the familiar and enjoy the comfort and reassurance it brings. Without this sense of routine – tradition, if you will – my life would be chaotic and dysfunctional.

In worship, there is a tendency to put creativity and familiarity at odds with one another. C.S. Lewis, I am told, wrote that he struggled when ministers changed the liturgy just at the point where he was familiar enough with the words that he didn't have to focus on them and could connect with God through the familiar language. Similarly, in many churches in which I have worked, there is strong resistance to anything new. In other churches, though, the opposite is the case. If things are repeated, if anything is the same for a week or two, people begin to feel like things are stagnating. It's like there needs to be a constant stream of new music, new technology, new ways of organising the services or we don't get the right injection of energy. And these two groups often struggle to worship together.

It doesn't need to be this way. In a world of media, entertainment and multi-tasking, creativity speaks in a language that makes sense. In a world of fast and constant change, familiar rituals and routines can keep us grounded and give us roots. We need both. Creativity and tradition are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they are two sides of a single coin that draws us closer to God, and God's eternal truth and grace, and opens us to the new move of God's Spirit in our hearts and in our world.

There is a longing in us for an experience of God that is fresh and alive and new, but there is also a need for the comfort and security of the familiar, and the history and depth of tradition. So, as you worship this week – and as you live your worship out – how can you embrace the new things God wants to do in and through you? And how can you preserve and protect the familiar, the traditional and the routine? How can you set your heart free to fly on the wind of the Spirit, while also remaining rooted and anchored in the wisdom of the ages?

As Jesus said in his awesome parable: "That is why every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a home owner. He brings new and old things out of his treasure chest." (Matthew 13:52 – God's Word). Remember, everything that is tradition now, was once innovation, and a lot of what is innovation today, will be tradition tomorrow.

__________
John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.

Worship for the Long Haul

It’s an instant world we live in. If our needs aren’t met immediately we get frustrated. Longevity has lost it’s attraction. We upgrade our cell phones every two years wishing it was sooner. We measure companies quarterly, and we choose our activities by the instant rush we hope to receive. It’s an instant world, which has given us so many benefits, but there’s a sting in the tail.

In the realm of spirituality, ‘instant’ doesn’t cut it. If we want a deep and fulfilling relationship with God, if we long to grow into the people we are meant to be, if we hope to make a positive difference in the world, this is going to take time and commitment. In spite of the promises in the books on the self-help shelves, no one becomes whole, healthy and spiritually strong overnight. And when I read a review of a book that promises to teach its readers to meditate like a Buddhist monk in just 30 days, I can’t resist the sorrow that floods me. I weep for those who sell themselves short by treating their most authentic selves, and their connection with the creator, like something you buy at a fast food outlet.

Unfortunately the culture of the instant has infiltrated our churches. While I love contemporary worship music, I worry when the music becomes the focus of our efforts. I love technology and I believe in using it in worship, but I know how seductive it can be, and how it can divert us into instant gratification, rather than the long, slow road of spiritual development. When we measure our worship by the goose bumps we feel, or by how well the band mimicked the latest worship CD, or by how dramatic the video production was, we have missed the point. We may feel an instant reward, but our souls have suffered the malnourishment of spiritual fast food.

At the start of a New Year we have a wonderful opportunity. We can make a commitment to long haul spirituality. Instead of measuring our worship by the weekly experience, let’s commit ourselves to waiting until the end of the year. And then, let’s judge our worship by how we have changed - by how we have become a little more like Jesus in his love for God and the world. Each week as we come to worship, let’s open ourselves, not to the instant gratification of a thrilling experience, but to the slow nurturing of a weekly discipline that will, sometimes, be thrilling, but, sometimes challenging, and sometimes just quiet and ordinary.

At the start of the New Year is a good time to reaffirm two profound truths about our worship. First, worship is not about what we do in church, but about how what we do in church changes the way we live when we’re not in church. Second, worship is not a weekly “fix” to uplift us and carry us through the week until our next “fix”. It is a discipline that we embrace with commitment and faithfulness, so that, through repeated practice over time, we are changed so that the world is better off for our presence.

Now that’s a resolution worth making.

Hide and Seek

HIDE AND SEEK

A few days ago churches around the world started a journey through a new, and often ignored, season in the Church Calendar. We celebrate the incarnation at Christmas, but we need to understand what it really means. The season that helps us to do this is called Epiphany – which means simply “to show” or “to reveal”.

Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th (or on Sunday January 3rd) and the season usually continues until Ash Wednesday. The biblical characters we meet all discover something of who Jesus really is – and take us along on the journey. From the Wise Men, to Jesus' mother at the wedding in Cana, to Jesus' proclamation of his mission in the synagogue (Luke 4), to the first disciples, to the transfiguration, we are invited to learn the truth about this Jesus.

But what is it that Epiphany teaches us? Here are a few highlights.

THE WORLD JESUS CAME FOR
The story of the Wise Men carries an important message. The first people to recognise who Jesus was were Gentiles – strangers from outside of God's chosen people. Their gifts reveal their understanding of Christ's person and work – Gold for Royalty, Incense (symbolising prayer) for Diety, and Myrrh (embalming fluid) for the Sacrifice Jesus would one day be. In these three gifts lie the essential meaning of the incarnation!

What Matthew seeks to impress on his Jewish readers, and on us, is that the Saviour came not just for a specific chosen group of people. Jesus came for the entire world, and all of its peoples – including these strange foreigners. In a nation still wrestling with xenophobia, we need to hear this story again.

THE JESUS WHO CAME TO THE WORLD
As we follow the rest of the Epiphany journey, we see this Jesus through the eyes of those around him. We see him as the one who brings joy through turning water to wine, enhancing a wedding celebration. We learn from his own mouth that he has come as the fulfilment of the Jubilee promise spoken through Isaiah to liberate, heal and restore. We see the impact he has on the first followers who cannot resist his call, and we are witnesses with his three closest friends of that moment of transfiguration that reveals the truth about Jesus – and of his self-sacrificing mission.

It's like a game of hide and seek – here a glimpse, there a sign, there a small piece of evidence – that leads us into a growing realisation that Jesus truly was God made flesh, and that this changes everything.

Our worship is the play ground for this game. If we will allow it, God will draw us into a journey of learning to see the signs, recognise the evidence and know the truth. And as we find the Jesus we seek, we will be changed, a little more each week, into those who reflect him to the world.
__________
John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.