Let Us Be Love

I wrote a song for my final project for the Essentials Blue course. I'm late with it...really late, because I couldn't figure out how to record the song or how to post it! My apologies to my fellow E*B students and instructors, Dan Wilt & Will Bernard. My son-in-law, Ryan Webster played, sang a background vocal, recorded it for me (please check out his music!), and he's the one who helped me figure out how to link it. Good thing my daughter married him...

Over the past two years I have felt my heart soften toward people. Odd thing to say? I think so, too, since loving people is the mark of those who follow Jesus. But after hearing my pastor say "Love God, love people" was the bottom line, reading a few amazing books, participating in some classes through the Institute of Contemporary and Emerging Worship Studies, and understanding the issue of human trafficking, I have found that I long to be love to every person I come in contact with, regardless of who they are (believer/follower of God or not).

N.T. Wright's assertion in Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense that new creation happens through us, was one of the most inspiring aspects of the 5-week Essentials Blue course. While wrestling with the longing to touch those trapped through trafficking, especially the children abused through pornography, I wrote the first section of lyrics for the following song. When I began working on the final project I came across the lyrics and whereas when I first wrote them they were my cry through words alone, this time they sang as I read them. I added the chorus and tag, inspired by our readings and discussions.

One more thought. Psalm 89:14 (NLT) says,
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Right-relationship and justice are the foundation of His throne! I love God! I want to be like Him. I want eyes to truly see people and for each touch of my hand to be an extension of His hand; new creation by and through the power of His Spirit, resident in me. I want to walk in right, true loving relationship with Him and with the people I see at the grocery store, mall & coffee shop. I long to be a life lived like Isaiah 1:17,
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.
May I have eyes to see them and a willing heart to reach out to them.

I wrote this song on piano - a verse, a chorus and a tag. Simple. I like simple.

Here's the link to download the song:
Let Us Be Love

Let Us Be Love
Eyes that see the lonely
Eyes that see the lost
Eyes that see the broken, the weary
Hands extending mercy
Hands extending hope
Hands extending freedom and peace

Let us be Love in all we do
Let us be Love in all we say
Let us be Love

New creation, You make all things new
New creation, You make all things new

Worldview

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt (ICEWS, eb 08)

The most recent assignment for the Essentials Blue course of writing my worldview was overwhelming for me. When trying to figure out how to begin, I realized I wasn’t sure I understood worldview meant, so I checked it out on the internet and found the following definitions:

world·view -noun: 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. 2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group.1

“A person’s worldview, whether it be Christian, humanist or whatever is a personal insight about meaning and reality. It is how a person interprets, through his or her own eyes, a personal belief about the world. A person’s worldview tries to give reasons for how the facts of reality relate and tie together. The summation of these facts provides the big picture into which the daily events of a person’s life should fit.”2

So, this seems simple enough, right? Not so! I wrestled over every thought and every word! So much so, that when my husband left for work today he said, “by the time you finish that assignment your worldview will be different!” That comment left me wondering about how my worldview has changed over time. Growing up in the Vineyard, I remember John Wimber using the term often when he preached, but I don’t think I considered my own worldview until today. It left me with (as Dan Wilt would say) some beautiful questions: How has my worldview changed? Would it be meaningful to read it through yearly? How has my theology changed? Is it okay for my theology to “change”?!? Actually, I think I would clarify by saying my theology has shifted, but even admitting that surprises me. I grew up believing truth is truth and it doesn’t change or shift! Lots of things to consider!

With this in mind, I humbly submit the following:

God. Creator and Sustainer of all life, never-failing in His covenant of everlasting love toward all His creation. Eternal, uncrowned3 King, infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. He is three persons, of one substance, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory.4

Humans. Created for relationship with each other, with the rest of the created order and above all,5 created to join the circle of the love relationship established before time in the Three-in-One. Image-bearers, revealing God as they create from creation,6 and as they watch over and care for creation. Seekers of relationship with and connection to Someone who can rescue them and put the world to rights.

Kingdom of God. In Jesus heaven and earth have intersected once and for all. He is the One through whom God’s promises and purposes are fulfilled, evil is judged, a new reign of justice and peace are ushered in.7 Jesus healing the sick, casting out demons, forgiving sin, and raising the dead, were and continue to be signs of God’s kingdom intersecting earth. Joy, amazement, wonder, breaking into song, loud exclamation, celebration and dance are all reactions and responses to God’s kingdom.8 We are agents of His kingdom, the ones through whom heaven now intersects earth, the ones through whom new creation is released, the ones through whom Jesus heals, forgives, saves, cleanses, releases, brings freedom and loves.

New Creation. God’s promise to Abraham was that “through this people the creator God will bring restoration and healing to the whole world”9 and specifically through the arrival of the ultimate king, Jesus. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as the beginning of new creation. Every act (love, beauty, forgiveness, justice, and restoration) is an action of new creation. We are calling forth new creation as we care for each other and the world around us.

New Earth. GOD WILL LIVE WITH US! The past will be not be remembered, He will wipe away every tear, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, and we, His people, will be a joy! The new earth is the home of right-relating with God and all creation,10 full of new prospects and possibilities!11 “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”12

1 American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.
2 http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/0502worldview.asp
3 Don Williams Who Is The God We Worship video
4 Vineyard Statement of Faith
5 Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, page 36
6 Dan Wilt, Essentials Blue week 4 audio
7 Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, page 100
8 Derek Morphew: The Arrival of the King video
9 Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, page 84
10 Isaiah 65:17-18; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3-4
11 Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, page 219
12 Revelation 22:20

Did Jesus know he was "divine"?

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt (ICEWS, eb 08)

If what I think is being communicated in week two of the Essentials Blue course is true, my theology has shifted. This should not be a surprise for me, as I have found this is not an uncommon experience when participating in a course through ICEWS of St. Stephen’s University!

In chapter 8 of Simply Christian(1), there is a section titled, "Jesus and Divinity."(2) In this section Wright asserts that Jesus was not aware of his “divinity,” mentioning his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane as an instance that would make this awareness “quite inexplicable.”(3) He goes on to say,

"I do not think that Jesus "knew he was divine" in the same way that we know we are cold or hot, happy or sad, male or female. It was more like the kind of "knowledge" we associate with vocation, where people know, in the very depths of their being, that they are called to be an artist, a mechanic, a philosopher. For Jesus, this seems to have been a deep "knowledge" of that kind, a powerful and all-consuming belief that Israel's God was more mysterious than most people had supposed; that within the very being of this God was a give-and-take, a to-and-fro, a love given and received. Jesus seems to have believed that he, the fully human prophet from Nazareth, was one of those partners in love. He was called, in obedience to the Father, to follow through the project to which that love would give itself freely and fully."(4)

As I read this, I was moved at the thought that Jesus truly understands the struggle I feel concerning what I “know in the very depths of my being that I am called to be”: a songwriter. He had a sense, a knowing of who he was, who he was created (in his humanity) to be, and he struggled to the point of sweating drops of blood (Luke 22:44). I have obviously not had this particular experience, but the thought that Jesus, having struggled himself, can meet me in my struggle to live out what I sense God has made me for, brings much comfort and hope. The promise given in Hebrews 4:14-16 comes to mind:

“Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” The Message

I have read this scripture many times, always reassured that Jesus sympathizes with my weaknesses, because he’s lived them all. But, Wright’s assertion of Jesus’ struggle in Gethsemane, and taking into consideration his cry of, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), caused the theology-shifting question to rise in me: Can it be that Jesus not only “gets” my struggle, he also struggled with saying yes to what he knew God had made him for? This being true crumbled walls I didn’t realize I had erected in my heart; walls that made it impossible for me to “take the mercy, accept the help.” It sounds too good to be true, and, as someone recently said to me, “That’s why they call it the good news!”

Wrestling with Wright’s paragraph above, brought up another question that I will process next time. Stay tuned!

(1)N.T. Wright, Simply Christianity: Why Christianity Makes Sense
San Francisco: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2006
(2) ibid p116
(3) ibid p118
(4) ibid p119

A Statement of Faith (Essentials Blue, Fall 08)

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt (ICEWS, eb 08)

Blogging is intimidating and stretching! I find I'm reticent to put my core thoughts, ideas and beliefs out for all the cyberworld to view because I'm unsure about my ability to communicate them well. That said, here goes...

My first post included three questions, two of which I've begun to process this week:

1. “How healthy and true are my own thoughts about God, the scriptures, the story of humankind and my faith?”
2. “How healthy and true are the thoughts about God that are forming and informing my views about worship, and the how do they affect the way I lead others into worship?”

After listening to Don Williams talk about theology I read through the Vineyard statement of faith. I began attending the Vineyard in 1978, when I was 18 years old. My then-friend-now-husband took me to a service there and we've been at the Vineyard ever since. Although the whole of my adult life has been spent in this movement, and I remember when John and others decided we needed a Vineyard statement of faith, I never read it until this week. It brought tears to my eyes! Reading it caused worship to well up in me! I downloaded it and have decided to take Don up on reading it every day for a month; to look up the scripture references, to memorize it, study it, and learn it.

Don also said the following:

...if I'm just spitting out stuff that is confusing or heretical...it's not only that it's dishonoring to God and confusing to His people, it's trafficking in the Kingdom of darkness. It's that simple. So, I need to get it straight: What is the gospel? Who is God? What is God's purpose? What is His plan of salvation?...This just requires clear thinking about the foundations of the faith.

My hope is that this 5-week course will be a time in which I "get it straight" because, as Don also said, "If you can't write within that (statement of faith), you shouldn't be writing for the Vineyard and you shouldn't be writing for the church..." I think I'm a songwriter. As my pastor used to say, "old orders are good orders until there are new orders." I think my old orders and my new orders have to do with songwriting. I'm inspired to write and I'm grateful for the inspiration.

Living with Questions (Essentials Blue Fall 08)

For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt (ICEWS, eb 08)

Ah, blogging. I've stayed away from blogging because it has seemed like a lot of work! Lots of thinking and processing and figuring out how to put words to what I think, which brings me to what I've discovered about myself: I've realized recently that I feel like I'm not one to think deeply unless drawn there by someone else. I want to be different, to not only consider an idea for a brief time and then move on, but rather sit with it, ponder it, weigh it and not give up on grasping hold of it until it is a part of the fabric of who I am.

For example, as I read through the course description there were three questions asked:

1. “How healthy and true are my own thoughts about God, the scriptures, the story of humankind and my faith?” From here, we ask,
2. “How healthy and true are the thoughts about God that are forming and informing my views about worship, and the how do they affect the way I lead others into worship?” Then we must ask one more important question – a question that should deeply challenge us.
3. “What does worship and its leadership have to do with shaping the theology and daily actions of the average person? How am I, as a creative leader, shaping others’ ways of thinking about God, the scriptures, the story of humankind, our faith and their daily life as a Christian?”

My tendency is to read through a list such as this and move on quickly versus actually doing the work of wrestling through each point in each question. I'm tired of living like that. I want to be able to clearly communicate my thoughts and beliefs (my theology), and the only way I can do that is if the thoughts and beliefs are actually in the fabric of who I am, have impacted me to the point of shaping me, changing me on the inside.

One other sentence stood out to me as I continued reading the introduction:
...our focus will be on re-discovering essentials – and getting those essentials deep into our souls.

I'm looking forward to discovering and re-discovering essentials and getting the essentials deep into my soul.