Religion and Spirituality

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

An Ash Wednesday prayer:

Lord,
The house of my soul is narrow;
enlarge it that you may enter in.
It is ruinous, O repair it!
It displeases Your sight.
I confess it, I know.
But who shall cleanse it,
to whom shall I cry but to you?
Cleanse me from my secret faults,
O Lord, and spare Your servant from strange sins.

St. Augustine of Hippo – (354-430 CE)

Christians all around the world commemorates Ash Wednesday today. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a period of 40 days (really 46 including Sundays) before Easter. It is a time of reflection upon our need for salvation, forgiveness, and the fundamental priorities of the Gospel.

It is customary for Christians to give something up for Lent. This act remembers Christ giving himself up and remembers his suffering. Many give up sweets, soda, or some type of rich food. While giving something up for Lent is a simple way to remember what Lent is all about, is it time we Christians try something other than deprivation? Continue Reading…

Lent

What Lent and Weddings Have in Common

One the ways weddings become such a momentous and exciting event is the fact that there is an engagement period. A couple announces their intent to be wed and sets a date. Over a period of months, planning becomes paramount. Flowers, dresses, guest lists, food, location, and a million other little details go into planning a wedding. Anticipation builds as the wedding comes closer. The ceremony begins, vows are given, rings exchanged, and finally the pronouncement (and the kiss)! Usually, there is a joyous reception that follows which signals the end of waiting and celebrates the joining of two people together in marriage.

Lent is fast approaching. A time in the Christian Church where preparations are made in anticipation of Easter. Lent is a period of forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays). The word “lent” comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning “spring” and refers to a season when the days become longer.

Many Christians question the usefulness of Lent. “It’s Catholic.” or “It’s about punishment.” are typical responses to Lent. Christians for hundreds of years have made Lent into a spiritual journey. However, many contemporary Christians ask, “Do I really need a structured way of preparing for Easter?” Continue Reading…

clergy, new

Why I Wear A Clergy Collar

As many in my church know, I often wear a clergy collar for hospital visits. When I visit parishioners or when I’m asked to give an opening prayer at a fireman’s dinner, the collar goes on. As I discussed in my book, The Work of the Associate Pastor, pastoral identity is very important.

For those who are versed in denominationalism or Protestant traditions, you know that vast majority of Baptist ministers do not wear clergy collars. Those funny looking white tabs or rounded white collars that ministers wear are most identified with Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions.

If collars are not required for Baptist ministers or not a part of the Baptist tradition, what is a Baptist doing wearing one?

As a young seminarian, I did a stretch in a clinical chaplain program in a hospital in the suburbs of Philadelphia. As a student chaplain, I was charged with doing rounds to patient rooms. As I visited, we evaluated the patient’s needs, offered prayer, and gave emotional support.

Churches

Churches Stop Decline in UK

For years we have heard reports and studies tracking how churches are dying and God is slowly “disappearing” from Europe. Personal stories persist too. Despite what Fox News and other news outlets like to spin, there are counter reports that suggest otherwise. In 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported that churches are growing in the face of modernization:

Most scholars used to believe that modernization would extinguish religion in the long run. But that view always had trouble explaining why America, a nation in the vanguard of modernity, is so religious.

One study, by Christian Research, who published a widely-respected Religious Trends survey discovered:

…that Church of England attendance has held steady for the past decade (not including Fresh Expressions), the Catholic Church has held steady for the past five years, and Baptist Union attendance has actually been growing.

Secularism is often also thought to contribute to empty churches and forgotten stories of God’s people. However, it is not an issue concerning if people in the United Kingdom believe in God, it is their participation. The following graph shows some surprising facts about Christian belief in the UK:

Lewis Fellows

Lewis Fellows: Kansas City or Bust

This past week was crazy. I didn’t have any time to blog or tweet. I traveled to Kansas City, MO with the Lewis Fellows and spent some time with pastors of dynamic churches. When I returned to New York, I went back to the airport to welcome Gary Long, our retreat speaker. Saturday the church held our fall retreat on vision – an excellent time. Sunday was worship. As you can see, it was a pretty full couple of days.

I want to briefly share with you my Lewis Fellows experience. Tuesday, October 19 we visited Saint Andrew Christian Church (www.sacchome.org) and had a conversation with Senior Pastor Rev. Holly McKissick. Saint Andrew Christian Church is a Disciples of Christ church. Check out the church below:

As you can see, it looks more like a market than a church. Such a welcoming property and building. The church is only 20 years old and Holly is the founding pastor. Below, Holly is standing and we are meeting in the sanctuary. I loved this sanctuary. The building is only about 12 years old.

Holly comes out of the Southern Baptist tradition, but was ordained in the Disciples of Christ church. The sanctuary is welcoming and seating is structured in a “U”. Holly’s take on leadership was interesting. She talked about making mistakes, as all pastors do, but learning from them. She was honest and candid about her leadership and ministry.

Below is a pic of the cross that hangs in the sanctuary:

Church Leadership, Churches

Mainline Churches Deal with ‘No Shows’

A new report this week has left many mainline churches scratching their heads and wondering why church attendance has dropped. The four major mainline churches, the Episcopal Church in the USA, United Methodist Church, Presbyterian (PCUSA), and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), have all experienced double digit drops in worship attendance. What is even more puzzling is that the ELCA has seen an increase in giving in the last 10 years.

Churches increased attendance in the last decade but lost in attendance numbers in this decade. What gives? The economy?

World Communion Sunday

World Communion & Mission Sunday

We have an incredible opportunity this Sunday to experience God in new ways at the First Baptist Church of Ballston Spa. This Sunday, October 3 is World Communion Sunday. What is World Communion Sunday? The National Council of Church explains:

The day has taken on new relevancy and depth of meaning in a world where globalization often has undermined peace and justice – and in a time when fear divides the peoples of God’s earth. On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ, the Prince of Peace, in the midst of the world we are called to serve – a world ever more in need of peacemaking.

Churches from every denomination are taking part in this celebration of oneness in Christ. At FBC, we do communion a little differently this Sunday. We have four stations for communion, representing the four corners of the world, and we invite worshipers to visit one or all of the stations. The communion bread consists of different ethnic breads from around the world.

In addition, we have a special quest preacher from the American Baptist Churches International Ministries:

worship

Age Segregation in Church

In the last 30 years, age-segmented worship was an unforeseen effect of the contemporary worship movement within Christianity. What has developed in many (not all) churches are two worship services. A traditional service with older adults and a commentary service with younger adults. This results into a type of age segregation in congregations.

Rev. Tullian Tchividjian the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, TN is one ~~successful~~ example of a leader who end years of age-segmented worship in his churc.h This process was not easy for Tchividjian, but he gives us an important reality of age separation in worship:

The primary reason, though, that stylistic segregation in worship shrinks our souls is because it prevents us from knowing God deeply. The only way to know him deeply is to have many different types of Christian people in your life, since each person will help to reveal a part of God that you can’t see by yourself. This means the great tragedy of segregation isn’t so much that we see less of each other but that in separating from each other we see less of God. All of us need other lights than our own to see more of his myriad facets.

Will we see a reversal of age segregation in worship services in churches in the United States?

Most likely, we will not see a drastic change. However, you will see a large minority of churches in the next 10 years beginning to have blended worship. Robert Webber, considered the father of modern blended worship, proclaimed in several books that the way to enrich our worship is through both the proven practices of our shared historical Christian heritage and modern approaches to worship.

Leonard Sweet, professor and author, continues to speak about the four keys to worship that is passionate and connects the people. No matter what the worship tradition, churches that are reaching people are doing four things “EPIC”:

Experiential – worshipers encounter the Divine
Participatory – worshipers do more than sit
Image Based – symbols and images are used
Connective – the worship connects people to people and people to God

At my church, we continue to slowly employ various forms of authentic Christian worship and music. We sing contemporary songs, hymns, responses, pray printed prayers, pray in silence, pray informally, gather, hear the word, use multimedia, use different ways to receive communion, use organ, piano, guitar, bass, choir, song leaders, and use a diverse mix of worship styles. It is a tension of beloved methods of worship and new.

The future of American churches depends on how church leaders can adapt and worship in authentic ways and not use gimmicks. Remember, Christ commanded us to make disciples, not converts. The glam of emotionally charged, arm twisting, and entertainment based worship tends to produce converts. We need richer worship practices.

People want to experience God. People want to have spiritual encounters with God and that can be done by including everyone: young, old, youth, children, black, white, gen-X, gen-y, and Baby Boomers. Let us end the segregation in worship by having a rich, diverse, and authentic worship that praises God and feeds the worshiper.

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