Friday, December 12, 2008

For Your Amusement

Stop by The Wittenburg Door for an amusing take on CCM. Warning: If you lack a sense of humor, skip it.
The only thing missing is the key change!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Christmas Past

I suppose it is too early for Christmas memories, yet there are a few things that come to recollection from Decembers when I was younger.
I remember the cookie making--especially persimmon bars--and wrapping gifts to my dad's holiday records. I remember decorating the Christmas tree with all the ornaments, even the gaudy ones, much to my mother's chagrin, and sitting in the darkened living room on the floor in front of the wall heater with the tree lights on--what a sight!
More than these domestic memories are the memories connected with Advent and church. First there was midweek church services. I cannot recall a time when my parents did not go to midweek services during Advent.
Then there was the preparations for the Christmas concert. The school choir and the adult choir always held a concert at church in mid-December, and the program was nearly always the same. The children's choir and adult choir would alternate and congregational hymns were interspersed throughout. We began with "Prepare the Way" and Advent; we ended with "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night".
School children became part of the choir in 3rd grade. By the time I was in 2nd grade I was familiar with the songs and could not wait to sing with the older kids. Our favorite was a piece called "Tiny King". By the time I was in 8th grade I had lost count of the number of times I had sung the song, but I had moved up to the stage of accompanying the choir. It was a wonderful piece to sing, and an exceedingly fun piece to play.
Congregational members were eligible to sing with the adult choir in 8th grade as well. That year was a busy concert for me--I hardly sat down all night! I thought my last Christmas concert was my senior year of high school, but it turned out that I was able to make it home for one when I was in college, and they still let me sing.
Christmas Eve was the standard children's program. My siblings and I were involved the years we didn't go out of town on Christmas Eve. It was the typical recitation of the Christmas stories and the oldest boy and girl always got to play Mary and Joseph. I will ever remember my father saying, "Remember, speak slowly and distinctly." The children always received the traditional bags of candy and nuts and oranges on Christmas Eve.
Advent, Christmas, and December have changed for me over the years. I still go to church during Advent, but there is no longer a choir concert. I do not have to memorize passages for a Christmas Eve program or get a bag of candy afterwards. All these changes, yet one thing never does: We are still in Advent. We still wait for Christ's coming. We still prepare to celebrate Christ's birth. We still say come, Lord Jesus.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

"Tis the Season to Be Pensive

I should know better. I should never allow myself to get off during class; however, sometimes I don't mind the direction the conversation is going, and I'm one of those types who take the soapbox when one can get it. Too bad it always backfires. I often come out of these discussions feeling slightly frustrated. Our postmodern society has shaped the mindset of our children. They have learned well what it has taught them. “You can believe whatever you want, as long as that is what we tell you. If your beliefs conflict, that’s okay too. Don’t tell anyone they’re wrong, for you are wrong to say they’re wrong.” It thought seems to have eradicated logic. I wish to help my students understand and think, yet I fear they or their parents may perceive it as indoctrination. If only I were better at communicating this kind of stuff. . .

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Get Your Programs Here

Could someone explain to me why we need programs to get people in the church door? Sure, be welcoming (nobody likes an unfriendly bunch). Sure, invite the community in. Why, however, does the church need to market itself like another commodity supplier? Why does it have to have community open house events just to make its presence known?
Maybe I’m being too harshly critical at worst, or idealistic at best. In a theoretical world, people would show up at our churches seeking pure doctrine and Christ crucified. That is not reality, of course. I’d say that we Lutherans have a pretty good thing going here. Too bad that stuff called original sin has to muck it all up.
It just appears that we seem to be missing the point. It’s not about numbers—either in the pews or in the plates. Okay, reality check again. Without numbers in the pews or in the plates one cannot sustain. On the other hand, whose job is it to grow the church? That’s a rhetorical question, in case you’re wondering. You know the answer is not people.
Okay, I can hear it now: “What about the great commission?” Sure, but one has to remember--going and making disciples isn’t like going and making a bird house. Yep, here’s your disciple; let me make another for you. A pastor who is much smarter than I explained it to me once: Making disciples is actually a verb. Go and disciple (discipling, discipled, had discipled, if you want to conjugate it). It’s a process that is continual. How? Word and Sacrament. Catechesis. It is the cooperation of the laity and the pastors. The laity have the workaday world contact with people. They are the ones who can initiate the connection. That should be the contact to get them in the door. Then the pastor can do his job.
Programs and bait-and-switch tactics cannot sustain a congregation. If a person is looking for single parent support groups, pick-up basketball games, and community dinners; let me direct you to the community center down the road. I won’t go to them looking for forgiveness; why should they look to me for a synchronized swimming program?