More on the Harp and Bowl issues
03-22-2010, 11:04 PM
It's been a wild weekend. I've spent a lot of time resting, reading, praying, IM-ing with Tom (a far-off friend and young worship leader), and writing. I went back to work today with a number of these things buzzing in my head.
Over the past year, I've spent a lot of time wondering and a fair amount of time praying about why some congregations don't grow much numerically, don't grow spiritually, and even fade away. Some, mind you, not all. I have a friend in pastoral ministry who attributes church decline to the current over-emphasis on the all important concept of "self". I don't disagree with that, but I do want to explore how that might look.
I've spent some time this weekend reading and praying through one particular verse in Revelation, chapter 5, verse 8. I've been in love with this scene for a very long time. Using my imagination to see the scene puts me in mind of the psalm verses that talk about longing for the courts of the Lord. Oh the throne, oh the Seven Lamps burning before the throne, oh the emerald rainbow emanating from Him Who sits on the throne. Awe is too mild a word to describe my feelings while reading the verse. Father has highlighted various facets of this gem at different times, helping me view the richness there. This time, I saw something that I've pretty much overlooked for my entire Christian life. Maybe it has something to do with my age. :unsure:
The four and twenty elders of the verse. I've studied their actions and their thrones. I've pondered their identities and the symbolism. It's a rich enterprise. This time, however, I was struck by the simplicity of their title, elder. There is a lot packed into those five letters. As I wrote in my previous entry, one definition of "elder" is a senior member of a tribe who has influence or authority. This is not one who IS an authority. This is not one who somehow PROCURED authority. An elder simply "is", and by being, has authority and is respected. It is an old principle. Remember that Moses appointed select men to help in overseeing or judging the issues among the Hebrews while they were in the wilderness. Their wisdom, insight, and authority made it possible and practical.
A barrage of questions came to mind today, one upon the other so quickly that I really don't know which was first or if there is an order. Hopefully I can sort them out by the time this ramble concludes. What is an elder? What is man's definition of a mature Christian? Most importantly, what is God's definition of a mature Christian? Like the weekend, this might be a ramble and a really wild ride.
So we have the elders, the wise, experienced, influential men with authority, worshiping before the throne along with the four creatures. I was stunned as I realized that I had focused too long on what was not important! This is not about the twenty-four, it's about their activity and their focus. The scene is about Him Who sits on the throne and about those who love Him; peripherally, it is also about how their love expresses itself--in prayer and worship. Because Father has provided this scene for our edification and enlightenment, what can we learn from it? The point is about relationship, elder to God and each of us to God, and how that relationship presents itself. God is showing us what a mature relationship looks like, what a mature love relationship looks like. Doing is involved, yes, but only in response to being. I love Him and I love being with Him. I love hearing from Him and feeling what the Holy Spirit is communicating to me. I simply love it. This is part of longing for His courts. Not just the cool trappings of court-of-the-King life, but rather intimacy with the King of the court.
So, in my mind this little, but power-packed verse tells me a lot about what maturity looks like. There are other images, too, and those may be explored in additions to this topic, but these are the main pieces of the puzzle, I believe. Now what's with the "baby steps" reference in the title?
I mentioned above about how so many congregations don't grow much. Because of the revelation in Revelation, I'm wondering if it is because so many Christians got stuck very early on in their Christian walk. Most Christians have a concept of prayer and a concept of worship. I think for many of us, those concepts are stunted. We are spiritual infants. Paul talked about that several times. Paul's intention--and the Father's, I believe--was that the believers would become mature in their expression of love toward Father. The Greek word is teleios, and the pictures are about a ship with its rigging strong, in good repair, ready to sail; or an army fully clad, sword and shield in hand, trained and awaiting the command to engage in battle. Another analogy would be a bone once broken, now completely healed and again ready to do what the bone was intended to do.
I've talked with many Christians over the years and asked them about why they worship or pray the way they do. I usually ask because I see timid or even indifferent worshipers and pray-ers who pray strangely or awkwardly, or as though they can't wait until the prayer stops. In both cases, prayer and worship don't seem to be a natural part of their existence.
Think about baby humans for a minute. The ones who can't walk yet and who can't talk yet. Imagine a child who finally managed to get "mama" and "dada" out and who finally managed to walk five steps without falling or flailing. Imagine now that the child has figured out that those three points of his being are sufficient and that he really does not want to expend the energy to gain more vocabulary or to travel any further than five steps, that his world is enough. If I say "mama", walk five steps, plop down, and wail, mama comes and picks me up, dries my tears and tries to figure out what I was trying to communicate--hungry, wet, whatever. Baby steps.
Imagine a physically mature human now who confesses Christ as savior, but whose prayers are still "Now I lay me down to sleep" and "God is great, God is good, now we thank Him for this food. Amen" And this same person's idea of worship is, "Well, I sang the words to that song, didn't I? Isn't that enough already??" I'm trying really hard to make this as simplistic and obvious as possible. Most of us can put our own acquaintances (fellow congregation members?) in this story and nod our heads. These are the baby steps that I'm talking about.
But what do we DO about that? Let's explore it!
Over the past year, I've spent a lot of time wondering and a fair amount of time praying about why some congregations don't grow much numerically, don't grow spiritually, and even fade away. Some, mind you, not all. I have a friend in pastoral ministry who attributes church decline to the current over-emphasis on the all important concept of "self". I don't disagree with that, but I do want to explore how that might look.
I've spent some time this weekend reading and praying through one particular verse in Revelation, chapter 5, verse 8. I've been in love with this scene for a very long time. Using my imagination to see the scene puts me in mind of the psalm verses that talk about longing for the courts of the Lord. Oh the throne, oh the Seven Lamps burning before the throne, oh the emerald rainbow emanating from Him Who sits on the throne. Awe is too mild a word to describe my feelings while reading the verse. Father has highlighted various facets of this gem at different times, helping me view the richness there. This time, I saw something that I've pretty much overlooked for my entire Christian life. Maybe it has something to do with my age. :unsure:
The four and twenty elders of the verse. I've studied their actions and their thrones. I've pondered their identities and the symbolism. It's a rich enterprise. This time, however, I was struck by the simplicity of their title, elder. There is a lot packed into those five letters. As I wrote in my previous entry, one definition of "elder" is a senior member of a tribe who has influence or authority. This is not one who IS an authority. This is not one who somehow PROCURED authority. An elder simply "is", and by being, has authority and is respected. It is an old principle. Remember that Moses appointed select men to help in overseeing or judging the issues among the Hebrews while they were in the wilderness. Their wisdom, insight, and authority made it possible and practical.
A barrage of questions came to mind today, one upon the other so quickly that I really don't know which was first or if there is an order. Hopefully I can sort them out by the time this ramble concludes. What is an elder? What is man's definition of a mature Christian? Most importantly, what is God's definition of a mature Christian? Like the weekend, this might be a ramble and a really wild ride.
So we have the elders, the wise, experienced, influential men with authority, worshiping before the throne along with the four creatures. I was stunned as I realized that I had focused too long on what was not important! This is not about the twenty-four, it's about their activity and their focus. The scene is about Him Who sits on the throne and about those who love Him; peripherally, it is also about how their love expresses itself--in prayer and worship. Because Father has provided this scene for our edification and enlightenment, what can we learn from it? The point is about relationship, elder to God and each of us to God, and how that relationship presents itself. God is showing us what a mature relationship looks like, what a mature love relationship looks like. Doing is involved, yes, but only in response to being. I love Him and I love being with Him. I love hearing from Him and feeling what the Holy Spirit is communicating to me. I simply love it. This is part of longing for His courts. Not just the cool trappings of court-of-the-King life, but rather intimacy with the King of the court.
So, in my mind this little, but power-packed verse tells me a lot about what maturity looks like. There are other images, too, and those may be explored in additions to this topic, but these are the main pieces of the puzzle, I believe. Now what's with the "baby steps" reference in the title?
I mentioned above about how so many congregations don't grow much. Because of the revelation in Revelation, I'm wondering if it is because so many Christians got stuck very early on in their Christian walk. Most Christians have a concept of prayer and a concept of worship. I think for many of us, those concepts are stunted. We are spiritual infants. Paul talked about that several times. Paul's intention--and the Father's, I believe--was that the believers would become mature in their expression of love toward Father. The Greek word is teleios, and the pictures are about a ship with its rigging strong, in good repair, ready to sail; or an army fully clad, sword and shield in hand, trained and awaiting the command to engage in battle. Another analogy would be a bone once broken, now completely healed and again ready to do what the bone was intended to do.
I've talked with many Christians over the years and asked them about why they worship or pray the way they do. I usually ask because I see timid or even indifferent worshipers and pray-ers who pray strangely or awkwardly, or as though they can't wait until the prayer stops. In both cases, prayer and worship don't seem to be a natural part of their existence.
Think about baby humans for a minute. The ones who can't walk yet and who can't talk yet. Imagine a child who finally managed to get "mama" and "dada" out and who finally managed to walk five steps without falling or flailing. Imagine now that the child has figured out that those three points of his being are sufficient and that he really does not want to expend the energy to gain more vocabulary or to travel any further than five steps, that his world is enough. If I say "mama", walk five steps, plop down, and wail, mama comes and picks me up, dries my tears and tries to figure out what I was trying to communicate--hungry, wet, whatever. Baby steps.
Imagine a physically mature human now who confesses Christ as savior, but whose prayers are still "Now I lay me down to sleep" and "God is great, God is good, now we thank Him for this food. Amen" And this same person's idea of worship is, "Well, I sang the words to that song, didn't I? Isn't that enough already??" I'm trying really hard to make this as simplistic and obvious as possible. Most of us can put our own acquaintances (fellow congregation members?) in this story and nod our heads. These are the baby steps that I'm talking about.
But what do we DO about that? Let's explore it!
Blessings!
Dean
DeanZF
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