Parable – The Society of Picking Apples

Russ – Parable of The Society of Picking Apples from Lorn Gieck on Vimeo.

“Yeah, but what about __________?…”

Funny how your brain tends to dwell on certain subjects when they suddenly become reality… like having kids.  If you picked up a copy of the Cornerstone Connected (and if you haven’t, the real question is ‘why not?’… it’s faaaan-tastic!), I talked in there about some of the thoughts I was having in praying big, sometimes scary dreams for my coming-sooner-than-I-realize kid.

Well, something else that I’ve been getting a fair bit of lately, is a lot of questions from other, equally terrified young married men:  ”How did you know you where ready?” (I didn’t), “How are you not terrified?” (I’m a great actor), “You’re gonna mess that kid up!” (yep! And I’m ok with that. Every parent does, to a certain extent), “What if he/she doesn’t want to watch hockey with you?” (kid has to learn consequences sooner or later…), and a whole bunch of others.

But then there is my personal favorite.

And really, it’s a repeat of the question a lot of single young men asked when I decided to get engaged at the ripe old age of 20.

“Yeah, but what about ___________?”

The blank could be anything.  But most of the time it had something to do with me.  What about travelling? Seeing the world?  What about saving up for a house? (diamonds are expensive!) What about a car, or living the high life, or finishing school, or… or… or…

Funny thing about all those questions?  They all exclusively had to do with me.

And that got me thinking.  What is my understanding of the goodness and vastness of God, if I am putting off the desire to honour my God, my wife, and my own desire to have children just so I can have enough time and money to go see Europe?  So I can have the jacked-up pick-up i’ve always wanted?  So I can own instead of rent?  I fact, what is my understanding of eternity if I’m so concerned about seeing Thailand and the Hilamalayas now, instead of waiting till I am in heaven with my Creator, and can see them the way He created, and intended them to be?

Now, please understand.  I am not railing against travelling, activities, holidays, or even the wisdom of buying homes, and the like.  These are all wonderful things, that are way that God gives up opportunity to enjoy the blessing He has given us.

Rather, I am ranting against the “me-first” mentality and approach to life that I see and hear over and over again with students and young adults, and that I see trickle down the family lines into their parents and grandparents.  It’s all about us!  What do we want?  What can we NOT miss out on?

ARGH! Let me tell you what we can’t miss out on:  Following Christ into the greatest, scariest, wildest adventure of our lives!

A little different than our own cultural understanding of adventure, eh?

Could it be that the greatest adventure of my life would be to follow Christ into the unknown?  Even greater than a canoe trip down the Amazon?

For me, right now, that means becoming a Dad.  For non-dads, that can be hard to grasp.  For some dads even, they might not be so convinced that kids was the adventure they were expecting (for those of you nodding, I think your kids are in our youth group).

But the truth is simple.  When I quit chasing my own little desires, and begin an obedient pursuit of God bigger ones… that‘s when the big fun really starts.  (If you think I’m kidding, check out this and just sit and think about it for a little bit.  That’s CRAZY! He’s really inviting us to that?!?)

So where’s your adventure?  And is it one you’re living with God, or one that you’re chasing on your own, cause you just want to do your own thing?  At some point, we need to quit adding up all the things we might not get to do, and simply realize the one thing we are guaranteed to get to do: To walk daily with the Creator, Savior, and Lord of the Universe.

Besides… when I take my world tour trip someday, I think it would be sweet to have the Director give me His personal tour.

Service Times

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Scripture Reading Challenge

Cornerstone is going through a Scripture Reading Challenge. This is a forum, for those participating or interested in the challenge, to use to encourage others in the journey.

Family Devotional Magazines

D6 family magazine from Jessica Braun on Vimeo.

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Excellence

Here’s a bit of research I did a little while ago on the concept of excellence.  I wanted to examine the biblical evidence of excellence and see how high quality standards should impact our work in Music & Arts here at Cornerstone Church.  I hope you find it helpful, and it can encourage us as a church to give God honour by bringing him our very best.

Quality
Music & Arts
Cornerstone Church

As a general rule we all need some level of proficiency to accomplish the task at hand.  The question of standards and quality control are almost uniformly upheld in every human endeavour.  From our earliest days as students through to our adult experiences in business, science, and the arts, we can all recognize very quickly whether or not something is put together with care and skill, or whether it is a half hearted effort.  We are drawn to and aspire to be involved in producing high quality.

It is interesting to find how this is sometimes less apparent in the church.  We seem to find it difficult to hold ourselves accountable in the pursuit of quality.  Often it gets confused by our high values of Christian love and graciousness toward each other.  Sometimes we find ourselves too busy to invest much in the kingdom of God.  Perhaps we’ve simply created a culture in which we are satisfied and content with the church as is.  These are all very natural human responses, but as the church we must insist that we are not guided by our own fleshly impulses.  Rather, we want to be ruled by scripture.

So this is a brief study to explore the subject of quality from a Biblical perspective, further informed by other current church worship leaders.  We want to make sure that we are all adequately shaped by God’s ways and not our ways.  This will ensure that when we come to applying the value of quality within the Music & Arts ministry at Cornerstone Church our thinking will give way to the instruction of our God, and a desire to follow his will in this matter.

Section I  – Scriptures Regarding Quality

This will by no means be an exhaustive study on the subject.  The Bible speaks often about issues of quality, but we will try to get a big picture view, with a concentration on passages that apply to Music & Arts.

The Nature of God
The most important aspect of this discussion begins with the fundamental nature and character of who God is.  As we get a clear picture of this glorious God we serve, the better motivated we will be to serve Him in ways that are true to his character.  Not knowing God is always going to be our greatest stumbling block.  And knowing this list below on an intellectual level is not the desired result.  Rather, our desire is to be consumed by our relationship with God.  This is especially true in light of Christ’s work on the cross.  We must open ourselves to being transformed by this relationship through the work of the Holy Spirit.

God Is Spirit: (John 4:24) and therefore he is a completely transcendent mystery to us.  Yet He is also fully revealed to us in his word and appeared visible in human form in the person of Jesus Christ.    Progress and change may characterize some of His works, but God Himself remains unchanging (Hebrews 1:12).   He does not change; otherwise, He would not be perfect. Thus, what we know of God can be known with certainty. He is not different from one time to another. God’s power is unlimited. He can do anything that is not inconsistent with His nature, character, and purpose (Genesis 17:1; 18:14). The only limitations on God’s power are imposed by Himself (Genesis 18:25). “Impossible” is not in God’s vocabulary. God creates and sustains all things; yet He never grows weary (Isaiah 40:27-31).  God knows everything (Job 38:39; Romans 11:33-36), because God is everywhere at once.   He has the power to know the thoughts and motives of every heart  (Job 37:16; Psalms 147:5, and Hebrews 3:13). God is not confined to any part of the universe but is present in all His power at every point in space and every moment in time (Psalms 139:7-12).  He is the sovereign ruler all the earth (Genesis 18:25). G God Is Eternal and the past, present, and future are all known equally to Him (2 Peter 3:8; Revelation 1:8).

God Is Holy, that means separate, or exalted above other things (Isaiah 6:1-3). Holiness refers to God’s moral excellence. Being holy, God requires holiness in His own children, and what He demands, He supplies. Holiness is God’s gift that we receive by faith through His Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:24). God Is Righteous and acts in justice bringing punishment upon the disobedient (Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 2:6-16).  God’s righteousness is also redemptive declaring the believer to be in a state of righteousness (Romans 1:16-17; 3:24-26). This is possible because of the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf.   Love is the essential, self-giving nature of God. God loved and gave; He loved and sought-just as a shepherd seeks his sheep. God loved and suffered, providing His love by giving His all on the cross for the redemption of humanity. God, in His love, wills good for all His creatures (Genesis 1:31; Psalms 145:9; Mark 10:18).  All truth, whether natural, physical, or religious, is grounded in God. God is “the only wise God” (1 Timothy 1:17). In creation, history, human lives, redemption, and Christ, His divine wisdom is revealed. Man, lacking wisdom, can claim God’s wisdom simply by asking (1 Kings 3:9; James 1:5).[1]

If you need any more convincing of the greatness of God just spend some time in worship at the throne in Revelation:

“Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,

who was, and is, and is to come.”

11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honour and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”[2]

Genesis 1: Creation
All worship begins with the act of God.  And we get our first picture of God in action in the creation account of Genesis.  God in the perfection of his creation is seen taking moments to observe the quality of his work.  He declares “it is good”[3].  There is a moment of realization and enjoyment as God considers the work of his hands.

Exodus 29:1; Leviticus 22; Deuteronomy 17:1 – Offerings Without Blemish
In each of these passages regarding the bringing of the offering before the Lord, the Lord is insistent that it comes with the highest of quality.  The Leviticus passage is quite specific in the listing of possible defects that an animal could have that would cause it to be unacceptable.  Any crushing, bruising, discoloration, or cut disqualified the animal from use in worship.  It is interesting to note that in Lev 22:31-33 grounds this in the holiness of God.  That is since God is separate in nature; we must honour him by not giving him the everyday effort, but give him something set aside as special or significant.  God acknowledges in verse 32 that He is the one that makes things Holy.  So looking back at this passage through the New Testament is significant, because we know that it is through Christ and our vital relationship with Him, that we are able to bring offerings that are acceptable.

Exodus 35:30-36:7
The Lord chooses two artists, and describes them as being filled with the Spirit of God so that they can have understanding, wisdom, knowledge and all kinds of artistic skill.  So this begins the building of the Tabernacle, with the initiative of God placing His blessing on these two artists, gifting them with the tools and calling them specifically for the task.  Calling and gifting are linked very intimately here.  Also as this passage unfolds, we see an amazing demonstration of support in the resources that the people pour in.  This is a rare moment where the artists actually have to stop the work long enough to go the people and tell them to stop giving.  They had all they could possibly use to do the work.  The project in this case was also very specifically laid out, so instead of the artists just going of to create whatever their hearts desired, they were creating exactly what God wanted.  In our day of individualism and artist center work, there is a value here of excellence attached to artistic submission.

1 Chronicles 25:1-7 – Trained & Skilled
At the end of David’s reign as he prepares to pass the throne on to his son Solomon, David spends some time organizing the musicians that are to serve in the temple.  In verse 1 the commanders of the army, that is the people in leadership, use their discernment to separate out those skilled in the prophesying, and instrumental performance.  As they separated out the tasks they ensured that the people doing it were provided with training and as a result had a standard of skill in being able to serve in the house of the Lord.  Of 4000 Levites already selected[4] only 288 were selected to be part of this group.  This wasn’t open for everyone.  Also of interest in this passage is the division of students under teachers to ensure that training continued even within this group, and the requirement that scholars were involved in the process to ensure that worship was done with proper attention to God’s word.

Psalm 33:1-3 – Skilfully
The call to come and sing before the Lord is powerfully given in Psalm 33:

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song;

play skilfully, and shout for joy. [5]

This is done with a variety of instruments and the singing of a new song.  Of distinction here in this passage is the appeal to righteousness of the participants in verse 1.  If the worshiper truly considered themselves a part of this group they had to respond.  Non participation would call into question ones true heart before God.  Also of interest in verse 3 is the effort required to participate.  There is the effort of composing new expressions of devotion.  Not just any will do, it must demonstrate the newness and vibrancy of life that true faith will have.  It is song coming out of the on going relationship with God.  Skill is emphasized here.  That means there needed to be intentional preparation in advance to develop the tools to adequately express the song.  It is also delivered with a shout.   This speaks of full abandonment to the moment.  The righteous worshiper is fully occupied with God at this time, and not going to be distracted from enjoying the Lord.  This is an entirely appropriate response in this psalm as you read on it is a celebration of God’s faithful word and justice.  A people that truly sets its hope on God will find their delight in His presence.

Malachi 1:16-14 – Contempt Through Substandard Effort
Strong language is used here to describe the contempt the Lord is being shown by the priests.  They are going against the principles of quality as outlined in the Mosaic Law (see earlier comments on Ex, Lev, Deut) and are giving blemished animals to God.  In this case God is concerned with those who actually can give an acceptable offering, but instead bring the poor one before God.  Being fully capable of bringing the best they, mock God and give something else.  There is a pretty direct application, and caution for us here.  We must be careful to not bring our substandard efforts to our ministry.  Malachi is also concerned here about the heart of the worshiper in verse 13 and their treating of their ministry as a burden instead of a joy.  They actually seem to find God boring, irritating, and perhaps in the way of their own desires, of doing what they want.  There is more to life for them outside of God.  This is why quality always starts with God; and review again if you need to our first look at who God is.  An accurate picture of God must choose to give him the best.

Colossians 3:23-24 – With All Your Heart
In this discussion of work relations Paul is reminding slaves that they are doing their work not to please their earthly master, but to please God.   The phrase here is to “work at it with all of your heart”.  Sometimes participation in church ministry may appear to be a favour to a leader or a friend, or an obligation to support the program.  What is important is that whatever the task is we remember we are doing it for the Lord.   We don’t serve, or participate out of our own selfish interests.  Whatever pleasure we receive in ministry should come from knowing we have served the Lord.  Paul also talks about an inheritance, and in this case our true inheritance is leading others to a place where they can know Christ, and our reward is ultimately our growing spiritual relationship and the presence of God with us.

Section II – Contemporary Considerations
Quality Continuum: Mediocrity <—–> Perfectionism
Quality gives way at times to mediocrity.  This can have many root causes.  One is the fear of failure, and how small vision combined with small faith can immobilize us.  We become anxious that we may not be able to achieve the higher goals we set, and so we continually lower our expectations so as to avoid that discomfort.  We may also slide into mediocrity as an over reaction to the excesses we see in the arts of the secular world.  And so we avoid obsession in our culture with superstars, glamour, or the latest gimmick, by undervaluing our talents and gifts.  Mediocrity may be simple attached to laziness.  We have to look at ourselves honestly and ask how hard we really want to work.  It is strange that something as simple hard work can be the barrier to quality in our churches. However, the extra effort will be worth it.

Quality can swing the other way into perfectionism.  This is an unhealthy obsession of details to the detriment of the whole.  It can rob us of our joy, destroy the spirit in which we minister and lower the morale of the whole team.  The trap here is we begin to rely on our ego, and can become self-indulgent in the use our skill.  It is sad when musicians abuse themselves and downplay the greatness God has placed in them.  It is acceptable to give glory where it is due.  If God has given the gift then revel in it a celebrate it.  We need to hold our musical gifts loosely, that’s the point of gifts.  They come from God, and they are a celebration of God.

Christians instead need to be addicted to quality and integrity in every area.  Without apology we should give God and our church our absolute best.  This is not easy or cheap.  We need to expose ourselves to inspiring displays of creativity in the world around us.  Listen to great music, and allow yourself to be creatively destroyed, and challenged, so that you can begin integrate great ideas into your creative output.  Steward your gifts by learning and developing yourself in practice.  Be willing to adequately invest your money in the equipment and supplies of creating good art.  It is very expensive to do this right, but God has the resources to provide. [6] We as a Music & Arts team also want to commit to providing adequate resources so that our musicians can have reliable auxiliary equipment to work with.

Remember that “excellence is a moving target, and hopefully each year our standards reach a little bit higher than the year before”[7].

Practical Considerations
Size will automatically make for differences in standards.  The larger the church, the greater the need for quality in the music ministry.  We need to be prepared to specialize as the church increases in size.  It is counter productive to wish a mid-sized church is still a small church and continue with modest expectations in performance.  A church will plateau when it fails to continue challenging members to reach their full potential.[8] This should be done in a way that builds and equips people to see themselves with humility before God offering their service for the benefit of the church.   As a result, in this context some people may not be adequately gifted for key placements in the music and arts ministry.  We want to discern this in cooperation with the individual, and ensure that the process of ministry discovery is a positive experience, trusting that God will guide according to His calling.

We need to consider our visual presentation when we perform.  Are the things we doing distracting from worship, or are they enabling people to engage in the revelation of God?  Our bodies need to communicate consistently with the message of the songs as we perform them.  What we wear should be considered in this matter as well.  If you are uncomfortable with physical expression remember that you are not in service for your personal comfort.  Your role is service.  God may have something in mind for you to learn.  Begin to think of ways you can better serve the church in the quality of your physical communication.  Remember non-verbal communication is extremely powerful, even more so than the spoken word.

Musicians should all be competent in the use of their equipment.  I will always continue to advocate getting the best possible gear you can afford.  It is honestly easier to make music when your instrument doesn’t get in the way.  And sometimes a good instrument will actually inspire you.  Make sure your cables are of adequate quality, that you know how to tune your instrument.  Any effects or other amplification should be familiar to you so you are surprised at certain settings or tones.  Singers need to understand the use of microphones and how to get their best sound out of them.

Regular practice should be a part of our routine as servant musicians.  We should continue in our private practice to learn new songs, new styles, and more challenging patterns.  This will keep our worship team playing fresh, as new ideas continue to come in and revitalize the group from several different directions.  Also, make use of a metronome to learn to play consistently in time and so that you have a secure understanding of where the beat is.

One other aspect is continuing learning through the help of someone else more experienced.  Find a teacher to study under for a while.  Go to conferences; buy books, and instructional DVD’s.  Find some friends to jam with and trade licks with on a regular basis.  You are a musician, you really should live for opportunities to play and learn wherever they may be.[9]

Concluding Remarks
Starting with a clear picture of the God and his revelation to us in His word we can see that quality matters to God.  In his nature He is marked by perfection, and is fully worthy to be served with our best efforts.  Further, if we truly enter into a deep relationship with Him, we will find ourselves motivated in love to serve him with all that we are.  In fact, we demonstrate our true heart for God, or against God, by the quality of service.  If he is our greatest priority, then the work he calls us to will be our greatest priority.

As we work this out in our church we will attempt to avoid the pitfalls of both mediocrity and perfectionism, and instead exercise wisdom.  Playing music before the Lord is a very practical art.  And we want to make sure we that we pursue quality in all areas regarding the use of music and the arts at Cornerstone Church.

---

[1] This section is an adaptation of resources from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers

[2] Revelation 4:8,11 NIV

[3] Genesis 1:9, 18, 21, 25, 31

[4] 1 Chronicles 23:5

[5] NIV

[6] Beach, Nancy. An Hour On Sunday. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. 2004. Pg 144-158.

[7] Noland, Rory. The Heart of the Artist. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. 199. Pg 141.

[8] Liesch, Barry. The New Worship. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI. 2001. Pg 135.

[9] Siewart, Allison, ed.  Worship Team Handbook. InterVarsity: Downers Grove, IL.   1998. Pg 71-72.

November is Adoption Awareness Month

November is Adoption Awareness month.  Adoption awareness month is a time to recognize the value of adoption for children and families.  This is not something we have talked about at Cornerstone before but this month I wanted to make you aware of adoption awareness month since it is something important in my own life.   Adoption Awareness is not just international adoption.  It is there to educate people about foster care and adoption here in our city and around the world.  Right here in Saskatoon there is a fantastic organization ASCS (Adoption Support Centre of Saskatchewan).  I am a member of this organization and they do some amazing things in our province and city.  They offer resources, workshops and support to people doing foster care and adoption.  This month they are also doing an ‘adoptwalk’ to raise money for adoption.

This Sunday, November 7, is specifically Orphan Sunday.  Churches and organizations around North America recognize this Sunday, by making people aware of orphans around the world and then strive to do something about it.  Go to www.orphansunday.org to learn more about orphan Sunday and how you can be apart of it.

Focus on the Family also has fantastic resources if you are considering adoption or want to know how to support those who are adopting.  Go to www.icareaboutorphans.org to watch videos and learn more about adoption and what it can mean for you.

If you know someone who is adopting, has adopted or does foster care pray for them.  Find out how you can support them.  Educate yourself on what adoption is!  Consider adoption or foster care in your own home.  Through our own adoption experiences I have met many families of all ages and sizes who need support and they need you to understand what adoption is and what it is not.  There are many misunderstandings when it comes to adoption and I just encourage you to be someone who understands.

In our family resources we have a few books that talk about orphans and adoption.  I also have personal books I would love to lend to you!  Check it out and make yourself aware of adoption this month.

Worship: What Really Counts

What Really Counts from Lorn Gieck on Vimeo.

I thought I’d try doing a video blog – let me know If I should continue.

Lorn Gieck
Music & Arts

Lead Pastor’s Blog II.XII

I have a number of books on the go right now. I recently read these words from Bill Hybel’s latest book, “The Power of a Whisper”. He said, “There is no more critical goal in life than to keep a pliable heart before God.”

I have just completed a series of messages on the topic of stewardship. We covered finances, gifts/talents/abilities, life itself and lastly thoughts. We are called by God to live as wise stewards with the things we have under our own control.

I would not be surprised if Mr. Hybels shared his statement above from the context of this verse of scripture in I Samuel 16. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel must be confused at this point. He has come to annoint the next king of Israel and this guy named Eliab is perfect….in Samuel’s eyes. Samuel thought he knew what a king should look like and he had a king in his presence but God said “not him.” God’s standards are different.

God knows my heart. God knows my thoughts. Stop. Right. Here. This should change everything. If I truly believe this verse then it changes everything about the way I live and see my world. God knows my thoughts right now. Ponder. Think. Meditate. God sees what no one else sees. Who am I fooling? What difference does it make about how I look? God will not now nor will he ever judge me on how I look. This verse has the chance to revolutionize the church in North America.

David was not invited to the coronation. David was an after thought of his father, his brothers and even the prophet of God Samuel. David was too young. David was too small. David was not fit for the role of king. David was not kingly material in the eyes of his world. Finally after all the fuss and muss David is issued an invitation to come from the fields where he was tending sheep. As the shepherd boy walks through the door God speaks to Samuel. “Rise and annoint him; he is the one.”

God loved David’s heart. God loved the things that were inside of David that no one else saw. God saw a king when the world saw a shepherd boy. When I choose to live out the truth of I Samuel 16:7 it changes me. It changes my priorities. It changes what is important to me. It changes how I relate to my world as well as how I relate to the people in my world.

The church needs to hear this message. God is looking and has always looked at our hearts. God sees what we don’t want anyone else to see. Quit comparing yourself to what someone else is, has or does. Take your heart and surrender that to God. Ask him to reshape your heart into one that He will be impressed with.

Hybels went on to make these three short statements: God cannot be seen by spiritual eyes that are shut. God cannot be heard by spiritual ears that are plugged. And God cannot be followed by a heart that stubbornly stays hard.

How soft is your heart right now?