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Learning to Love

1 Comment » Written on May 13th, 2013
Filed under: Current Events, Local Church, NPTS, NPU, Writing and blogging

Today’s post is written by Geoff Twigg, Adjunct Professor at North Park University in Chicago. Geoff is a pastor, singer/songwriter, worship leader and ministry consultant, and serves the ECC as a member of the denomination’s Commission on Worship.

Apologies to one and all that this blog entry is somewhat late appearing. I hadn’t anticipated that the coincidence of Graduation weekend and Mothers Day would be quite so busy. Silly of me, really, as one look at the schedule would have revealed that information. More than a year into this strange combination of jobs at the Seminary and the church, I still have a lot to learn.

About the middle of last week I read a blog somewhere warning us off the celebration of Mothers Day. The writer (she made several good points) said that while we are thanking mothers and celebrating the motherly contribution to family and church life, many women are left out because they are not mothers and are made to feel second-class, or criticized by implication. If a couple have been trying to have children but are as yet unsuccessful, this correspondent reported that such an occasion heaps condemnation upon the woman.

My senior pastor doesn’t always take the mothering topic on this festival, but he did on this occasion. Rather than simply commending mothers, he focused on love and how we learn to love from our parents, particularly our mothers. He spoke in appreciation of mothers who serve those they love and support them with encouragement and devotion. His sermon was good; it was a fine balance of commendation and encouragement that we could all express our faith by loving and serving in these ways. Instead of the minefield of hurt feelings the blog-writer warned about, this was a warm pastoral encouragement to learn to love.

The ceremonies here at the seminary were upbeat and encouraging celebrations. From my perspective, this is perhaps because we’ve had a year with our new Dean, and also because I have personally met and worked with an increasing percentage of the students. These people have given a great deal of time and energy to their studies, and the depth of their new-found knowledge has enriched them. Some of the Masters theses that were discussed over the last few weeks are quite revealing in their insights; I’m looking forward to reading a couple of tracts to help my thinking on issues of identity and doctrine. I have a lot to learn.

The Summer lies before us, and there are papers to write, events to organize and attend, a teaching trip to South America and a growing pile of books and articles to read. My life as a part-time academic and part-time pastor is taking shape, and I’m enjoying it. But there’s so much to learn.

Transitioning Well

Post a Comment » Written on May 3rd, 2013
Filed under: Ethics, Health, Leadership, Local Church, Vocation and Call

Today’s post is written by Matt Nightingale, Director of Worship Ministries at Redeemer Covenant Church in Tulsa, OK.

What does it mean to transition gracefully? As pastors and worship leaders, transition – sometimes radical transition – is often an “occupational hazard.” I’ve been serving in worship ministry at Redeemer now for 3-1/2 years, but last month I announced a transition. In July, I’ll start a new call at Redwood Covenant in Santa Rosa, California.

Transition may be a fairly common thing for those of us in full-time ministry, but it is never easy. I find myself in such a strange place… truly sad to leave the wonderful people of Redeemer, yet so excited to join the wonderful people of Redwood. From one RCC to another. It’s like I’m living in two very different realities, deeply desiring to serve faithfully and finish strong in Tulsa while at the same time looking forward to the new experiences God is calling me into and making plans for my first few months in Santa Rosa.

My question today: What are YOUR stories of transition? What was it like for you, your family and your churches? Share your advice and experiences… How can we follow God’s call with grace, blessing the congregations we’re leaving while embracing the new congregations to which we’re called?

WARNING: Contents Under Pressure

1 Comment » Written on January 18th, 2013
Filed under: Better Together, Leadership, Local Church
Tags: burnout, church emergency plan, crises, Crisis, Leadership

Today’s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Music and Worship Pastor at Bethlehem Covenant Church, Minneapolis, MN.

We have barely made it through Christmas, but planning for Lent, Holy Week, and Easter is already underway. Meanwhile, there’s a plumbing leak (that no one can locate) pouring water into the child care center downstairs, the photocopier we bought less than a year ago is inoperable again, and there aren’t enough volunteers to fill all the volunteer assignments for this weekend. The flu outbreak has us rethinking the way we greet one another. No one can find the projector for the contemporary worship, and no one can remember if the person who was supposed to run it was ever actually asked to do so. A member of the congregation becomes ill after arriving at church, and the ambulance arrives minutes before worship is to begin, blocking the entrance to the building.

Just a typical Sunday at XYZ Covenant Church in Your Town, USA, right? One emergency after another interrupts our plans. The pressure becomes intense for pastors and congregational leaders who find themselves bouncing from one crisis to the next, barely catching a breath in between.

The pressure builds as we are faced not only with problems we could avoid if we planned better, but real catastrophes like death and sickness and job loss and power outages and other events beyond our control. We become so accustomed to operating in “crisis mode” that we forget this might not be what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Abide in me.”

Our English word “crisis” comes from the Greek word that means “judgment” or “decision.” A true crisis is a turning point, a moment of decision. The decisions we make may be life-or-death, or they may have less dire consequences. Some decisions must be made on the spur of the moment, while others can be pondered and made at leisure. How we react to these crises tells the world a great deal about our faith and our willingness to practice what we preach: that God loves us, that we belong to Him, and grace abounds.

Does your church have a plan for dealing with unavoidable emergencies when they arise? How do your leaders and pastors avoid the burnout that so often accompanies living in crisis mode? What can you do to support your church’s leaders through the stress that comes with a true crisis?

Leftovers

3 comments Written on November 16th, 2012
Filed under: Culture, Leadership, Liturgy, Local Church, Music, Order of Worship

Today’s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN.

During our weekly staff meeting, the senior pastor always asks, “What’s left over from last Sunday?”

He asks this question every week, so it really shouldn’t take me by surprise, but it almost always does. My attention is already so focused on what needs to happen before next Sunday that I struggle to remember what happened last Sunday. My wise senior pastor reminds me that we must always have a sense of the past in order to move into the future. Our roots support our branches. “What’s left over from last Sunday?” might be the most important question we discuss as a staff.

Remembering last Sunday is, in itself, an act of worship. We honor God by reflecting on the congregation’s response to a particular song, an idea from the sermon, or the way all the elements fit together in a whole that was greater than the sum of their parts. We also honor God when we take the time to examine what didn’t work in worship: the song that was in an impossible key, or the elements that distracted more than they glorified. Maybe it was an anonymous critical note left by a disgruntled worshipper, or a suspicion that we crossed the line between staying relevant and selling out to the culture around us. Maybe we were so busy minding the details, we failed to see God’s big picture, and we missed out on the transformative work of God in our own lives.

As we savor the leftovers, we identify four components of worship that move us through that transformation God promises his people. Adoration brings us into the presence of God with praise and thanksgiving. Praise and thanksgiving are inextricably linked throughout the psalms. Our adoration reminds us of the vast gulf between God’s goodness and our sinfulness, which brings us to Confession. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), and so we move immediately to Forgiveness. As God’s forgiven people, we are then Commissioned to go out and share the Good News, making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them Christ’s commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

Adoration
Confession
Forgiveness
Commissioning

As you prepare for this week’s worship, what’s left over from last Sunday?
Taste the sweet and the bitter in the leftovers.
Savor the goodness of the Lord.
Let us prepare to worship God.

Our Churches: Bethany Covenant Church – Mount Vernon, Washington

Post a Comment » Written on November 13th, 2012
Filed under: Architecture, Better Together, Choral, Culture, Intergenerational, Local Church, Our Churches, Style of Worship, Vocation and Call

We continue our series of posts here on the Worship Connect blog profiling individual Covenant churches. Our purpose is to celebrate God’s work in and through us, to demonstrate the diversity of approaches to worship in the ECC, and to prompt prayer for one another. We are better together.

Our latest post comes to us from Randall Wilkens Associate Pastor of Worship and the Arts at Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon, WA.

About 30 years ago, the congregation of Bethany Covenant Church decided it was time to move out of their small neighborhood church building. They had outgrown it—maybe not so much in numbers as in vision—and they wanted to ramp-up their outreach and visibility in the community. So this church of about 250 members bought five acres in a developing area of town and made plans to build. The first phase of the multi-phase project would include a sanctuary with a capacity of 780, about three times the church’s membership! It would seem this little church didn’t plan to stay little!

When the new sanctuary was completed in 1987, it was immediately the premiere performance space in the Mount Vernon area, and remained so until 2005 when McIntyre Hall was built on the campus of Skagit Valley College. The sanctuary’s sloped wooden ceiling and curved sheetrock walls were designed in consultation with an acoustic engineer, with ever-pleasing results. The room has often been used by school bands, community choirs, and other concert groups. It continues to be the venue for our church’s annual Christmas Musical—drawing an audience of 1,200 over two nights—and for other concert outreaches the church undertakes throughout the year. And of course it is used for worship multiple times each week—both for our own traditional and contemporary services, and for multiple services of a Russian congregation that rents the building.

A lot can change in 25 years. When Bethany’s sanctuary was built, contemporary worship was not yet common in evangelical churches. So despite the fact the sanctuary platform is almost 80 feet wide from the baptistry on one end to the choir loft on the other, it never seems to have quite the right space for a worship band. And while the forward-thinking congregation made sure a projection screen was installed, they never envisioned it would be used every Sunday, so it was designed to disappear into the floor most of the time. When raised it was about two stories high, so the unused bottom half eventually had to be concealed to prevent it from dominating the room like a huge white monolith. When that screen accidentally tore five years ago, its demise provided us an opportunity for a welcome upgrade!

Other changes have been made over the years and still others are planned. All the major components of the sound system have been replaced over the past ten years. As recently as last summer a new production booth was completed—housing new Mac computers and video equipment donated by a member of the congregation. Plans are underway to replace the mauve carpet with something more up-to-date, and to modify the platform to better serve current worship needs. Those worship needs continue to be those of a multi-generational congregation which values traditional and contemporary worship equally, supporting both with just about equal attendance.

On the contemporary side, Bethany Covenant struggled in the past to find its voice. In planting a church several years ago, we were depleted of many of our best contemporary worship musicians. Yet we have not given up on the conviction that contemporary worship is needed for an effective outreach and to give expression to younger generations of worshipers. We have persevered, and that perseverance has paid off, as we are now blessed with an influx of young worship musicians whose leadership has brought more vitality to our contemporary worship service.On the traditional side, Bethany Covenant has a long-standing heritage of choral music, and still has a fine 35-voice adult choir, along with successful youth, children’s, and bell choirs. We are blessed to have a 9-foot Steinway concert grand that’s used for everything from classical piano pieces to accompaniment for our resident gospel quartet. And this weekend we will dedicate a brand new, 3-manual custom Allen organ. This instrument is unique; there is not another like it anywhere in the world. Everything from the individually-selected stops on its French terraced console to the 34-channel audio system, promises years of beautiful music devoted the glory and majesty of our God. The organ even features a MIDI module that will make it a useful instrument for contemporary worship.

There is always a concern that when a church has two unique services it will just end up as two congregations meeting in the same building. That doesn’t seem to have happened at Bethany Covenant. A Christian formation hour between the services gives the whole congregation a chance to grow in their faith together. Fellowship dinners on Wednesday nights provide opportunities for the whole church family to sit down to a meal together. “Festival services” several times a year bring everyone together in one gathering where traditional and contemporary styles are integrated. These gatherings happen around some of the most important times in the life of our church: our fall Ministry Fair, Christmas, Easter, and Confirmation Sunday. In the opinion of our church’s worship pastor (the writer of this article!) gathering like this as one body to worship our Lord is like a little taste of heaven!

Our Churches: Community Covenant Church – Lenexa, Kansas

3 comments Written on November 6th, 2012
Filed under: Better Together, Church History, Intergenerational, Local Church, Missional, Our Churches, Vocation and Call

Our latest post comes to us from Chris Logan, Pastor of Worship Arts at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, KS.

It’s kind of like trying to pour a concrete foundation in the middle of an earthquake.

Culture in the West is changing; the new realities are that 50% of the congregation attend 50% of the time, 25% attend 25% of the time, and a faithful 25% attend 75% of the time or more. The culture in the Kansas City Metro Area is no different, and it’s a challenge for our community. AsBaby Boomers transition into a new era of taking care of aging parents, as Gen-Xers are confronted with the increasing demands of sports for their kids on Sunday, and as college-aged and young adults migrate away from the Church in droves, we can’t help but notice that the earthquake is not being kind. Given that our entire pastoral staff has changed in the last five years, and given our rather large building, you’d think the deck was stacked against us.

Think again.

The people of Community Covenant Church of Lenexa, KS, are learning how to be cultural architects in these new realities. As the missional conversation has taken ahold of us, we have been well-positioned to become missionaries to our local contexts because we already think of ourselves as a big family: our (rather talented) choir is the biggest small group in our church; our pastoral team, while all new to the Covenant (and all in orientation at the same time this last year), have become good friends with a deep respect for the diverse gifts the others bring to the table; most of our volunteer base is, while busy, very dedicated to each other and the community they serve.

It’s a good place in which to be.

While there are the inevitable cultural conflicts, we recognize that these are what come in the midst of such a diverse community. Ethnically we are fairly homogenous (though this does tend to reflect our context), but in so many other ways we reflect a wide variety of ages, socioeconomic statuses, political affiliations, family backgrounds, and of course, artistic preferences.

We hold two different worship gatherings on Sunday morning that sandwich a Christian Formation hour (the new fancy term for “Sunday School”). The traditional gathering at 8:45 incorporates hymnody (led by voice, choir, organ and piano), liturgy, and tends towards a more conservative, reserved, formal flavor. Many of the regular attenders here reflect the heritage of our church family, families (now grandparents, parents, and children) who have been attending since the very beginning of our charter. The modern gathering at 11:00 is in many ways opposite in flavor; the music is generally upbeat, led by a band (that changes weekly; sometimes by a single guitar and voice, but more often by a full team with electric, acoustic, bass, multiple keyboards, drums, violin, and flute).

The sanctuary itself was built eight years ago with the traditional gathering in mind, incorporating stained glass, pews, and a full choir loft. Modular lighting is very valuable to us, as it gives us the ability to create a more colorful environment for our modern gathering, but maintain the traditional look of the sanctuary for the early gathering. It also gives us more flexibility when the space is used by many outside groups, but also by the preschool we run and by the College Prep school that utilizes our building all five days of the work week.

Through all of this, what has been most valuable has been our processing through Reggie Joiner’s book Think Orange with our staff and many in our council. To sum it up, when the light of the gospel in the Church (yellow) is combined with the loving hearts of families (red) we get an orange partnership. This has led us to retask one of our pastors to Family Ministry, to renovate our children’s wing to better reflect the culture and needs of the children themselves, and to regularly incorporate the full family of Jesus into our worship gatherings (“Orange Sundays” or “Family Sundays” ) and into events throughout the year such as our “Illuminate” event at Christmas, our “Fall Light Festival” at Halloween, and our Tenebrae and Easter Gatherings. Both incorporate all generations – the full family – in diverse ways, such as fellowship, worship through song, games, artistic presentations, and of course, food.

Lots and lots of food.

We are still learning. Our pastors have weekly meetings to discuss the ongoing project of casting (and re-casting) the compelling vision God is slowly revealing to us; we’re experimenting with meeting schedules, new ministry formats, and church leadership models; we’re reading – a lot – and we’ve joined a cohort of other pastors in the KC Metro area who are in the same boat as we are. I’m often overwhelmed thinking about the enormity of the task before us.

But as I’ve written before, God is doing a mighty work among us.

And I, for one, am thrilled to be a part of it.

Restore

3 comments Written on October 27th, 2012
Filed under: Dangerous Worship, Local Church, Prayer

Today’s post is written by Chris Logan, Pastor of Worship Arts at Community Covenant Church in Lenexa, KS.

There has been a lot going on lately. Criticism. Changes in staffing. Mixed signals. Failures in leadership. Untimely equipment failures. Writer’s block. Sickness. Uncertainties. Overwhelming noise. Overwhelming silence. Great needs. Deep needs.