I Thank My Dog Every Time I Remember To

My dog has helped me to be a better follower of Jesus. No, really… I’m not kidding – I’m serious. We thought we were getting a puppy to fill the void left by the loss of our dear old Duchesa (and we were). We thought it would be wonderful to have another goofy Golden Retriever to greet us at the door and be a part of our family (and it is).

But, God had more plans for that little puppy than what might originally come to mind….

She came into our lives little, bouncy and covered with fluffy puppy fur. She was snuggly, happy-go-lucky and gave much love to us. Her antics were entertaining, and it has been a blast to watch her learn and explore the world.

The first night she howled and cried like a demon from the pit of hell when we put her in the crate for the night. It sounded as if we were subjecting her to the most heinous torture known to mankind… we were mortified. She eventually grew out of that, but there were times we both despaired and questioned our sanity for wanting a puppy. She gnaws on things. She eats anything (even glass). She barks. She poops a lot. For the first several months, she seemed incapable of telling us when she needed to pee, and would squat wherever she was with no warning and soil the floor.

I must confess I struggled through those days and weeks… I was resentful and angry – this little thing had totally disrupted my life, and spoiled my routines. No longer could I have peace and quiet, I was constantly keeping an eye and ear on the dog to make sure she wasn’t getting into trouble or needing to go out. Then, when she finally learned to tell us she needed to go potty, it was invariably just when I had settled down to read, relax or start a project that needed serious concentration.

Then one day while I was walking her around the back yard, trying to get her to do her business I understood…

I was angry because she was disrupting my precious routine. My first thought or reaction was always frustration at how my life was being affected by this little creature, how it wasn’t fair that I was being inconvenienced.

Sheesh. What a selfish jerk.

Don’t get me wrong, raising a puppy is a challenge, and it does disrupt your life. It is perfectly normal and healthy to acknowledge frustration with that process, heck even to BE frustrated a times. But my “aha” moment that day was to realize that somewhere along the way in life, I had become very self-centered. I realized that it wasn’t just the DOG that I reacted this way to, it was also more often than not people and situations as well.

And so, that was how God used a puppy to begin a new work in me. The next posts are going to be about this journey I’ve been on for the last few months, and what I believe He is telling me. To be frank, I’m not sure I like all of this revelation, and I certainly have not been thrilled to find that there are some changes God wants me to make, but on the other hand, I am amazed at the insights I’ve had come my way during this time. God’s word has spoken to me in fresh ways I have not experienced in years, and I wonder how I could have read the words so many times and so easily missed the obvious truth therein.

Finally, regardless of the trials of raising a puppy, there’s still nothing like sitting on the couch in the morning enjoying quiet time with God and a cup of coffee while that same naughty puppy sits calmly at my side with her head in my lap and looks trustingly up at me with big brown eyes. In spite of her natural inclination to disobey and be a normal puppy, she is growing into a typical Golden Retriever – loving, loyal, affectionate and forgiving… I expect like our dear Duchesa, Bailey will grow to maturity having those qualities that we also should strive for, and will continue to make me a better person if I will only watch carefully and listen to what God is trying to teach me.

The Smell of New

I love the smell of new! New car, new house, new clothes…. There is a certain agreeable scent that is associated with “new”, and we recognize it when we encounter it. Some people even like it so much that they go out of their way to purchase an air freshener for the car that has that smell. Oddly enough, the odor comes predominately from benzene, a carcinogen….

Regardless of that fact, the smell does evoke certain positive feelings in our minds. A new car, house, clothes – they can all symbolize a fresh start, an unblemished slate, a new beginning. Sometimes it comes to the point where the old cannot be fixed up, repaired or salvaged… no matter what one does, the end result is still something that doesn’t serve its purpose well anymore, so we make the decision to replace rather than to repair.

God’s word says that “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation – the old is gone, the new is come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). I’m interested that God didn’t choose to repair or rejuvenate us when we accept salvation – He chose to make us new. So many times we hear people say that “I can’t help it, that’s just the way I am, I can’t change” or something similar when confronted with actions or behavior that is unproductive or wrong. If you are not “in Christ”, i.e. if you have not decided to follow Jesus, place your trust in Him and submit to His authority, I can maybe see how one might say “that’s just the way I am, I can’t change”, and I can even to a certain extent believe and excuse them. However, if one has decided to follow Christ, and the Holy Spirit is within him or her, one is supposed to be a new creation.

Years ago while attending college, I heard 2 things that have always stuck with me. One was in chapel, the speaker told us that spiritual growth was allowing the Holy Spirit to de-emphasize and change those aspects of our personality that were harmful, negative and contrary to what God desires. The other was a statement by one of our dear professors, who said: “The Bible does not allow Christians to sin. It recognizes that they WILL sin, and there is grace and forgiveness, but it does not allow or condone sin.”

So what does this all mean? Does God wave a magic wand and presto change-o make us new upon our conversion?

I think we all know that is not the practical immediate result of conversion…

When we accept God’s forgiveness, he looks at us and sees us through the filter of Jesus’ perfection. God sees us as we will be someday when we are in heaven and free from imperfection. Even if we have not established new habits and cast off the old, we are declared righteous, and God sees us that way. For us, we do our best with the help and power of the Holy Spirit to become more like Jesus each day – constantly being made new. When we become aware of something we are doing, a habit that needs changing, some action or behavior we need to change, we cannot use the excuse that “that’s just the way I am, I can’t change”. If what we are doing is in opposition to God or conflicts with how we should live as a new creation, it needs to change. Indeed, perhaps we ourselves are powerless to change, but the power of the Holy Spirit within us can give us the strength to do so.

It may come as a shock to you, but I am not perfect. (That was a joke!) Just ask those who know me well – my wife, my co-workers… One thing I have started doing lately is to ask God to get my attention when I’m faced with a decision to be a new creation or not. I have my own challenges, habits – so do you. My dear mother used to use the old King James term “besetting sin” to describe them. (from Hebrews 12:1 “ Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so effortlessly ensnares[easily besets] us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us”). When faced with those decisions, I simply say to myself: “Hey man, remember, you are a NEW CREATION, so by the power of the Holy Spirit choose to live like it!” I don’t always remember to do so, I still fail and make mistakes, but more and more I find that God has allowed me a better awareness of what it means to be a new creation in Christ, and I’m less likely to say “that’s just the way I am, I can’t change”.

So what about the smell of new? In 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 God’s word tells us: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” This gives me a picture in my mind of a military parade as the army returns after a victorious war. To those set free by the army, the smell of its victory is sweet… to the defeated oppressor, the smell is of defeat and death. If we are a new creation in Christ, we are to God and the world around us in need of rescue, the “smell of new”. To the forces of evil and those who stand against us we are a carcinogen, the smell of death and defeat.

Don’t you love the smell of new?

Grace and Peace,

"Dumbing Down"

I've waited several days before writing this post - I really wanted time to think through my thoughts before willy-nilly writing something I'd regret or that didn't reflect what I wanted to convey...

I must say that I really intensely dislike the term "dumbing down". I know what it means, I vividly remember staunch traditionalists waving Marva Dawn's book in glee and triumph when it came out and I disliked it then.

But let me explain something first.

Before you accuse me of being just another Philistine intent on dismantling culture and against intellect, nothing could be further from the truth. In 20 years of music ministry, I have served as an organist/choirmaster, Pastor of worship, worship leader praise team member, accompanist, composer... I've worn many of the hats in "normal" church music ministry both from a traditional standpoint as well as a contemporary one, and I LOVE both genres. I love knowledge, research, critical thinking and learning, I have read thousands upon thousands of books, I believe we should challenge ourselves and our people to LEARN and GROW (OK, you get the point...)

But even though I mourn the hemorrhaging of knowledge that has taken place in our society, the rapid decline in the quality of education and the inexorable slide to what appears to be the lowest common denominator...

I still really intensely dislike the term "dumbing down".

Every time I hear it or read it, it seems to be said with an air of superiority, of exclusivity, of pride. It seems in the church as if we have drawn a direct line where it does not belong:

We talk Biblically of new believers needing the basics or "spiritual milk", and then growing up into needing more, i.e. "spiritual meat".

Then, some of us jump up and say contemporary music/praise bands = milk
and traditional/classical music and worship = meat

To make matters worse, I see how many have espoused the idea that "it's OK to reach out to people far from God, but we shouldn't lower ourselves too far in our attempt to reach them" (i.e. let's reach out, but not dumb down) Or another variation on the theme - "we'll get them in the door with the inferior music, then they need to "grow up" and transfer over to "big church".

Excuse me?
Shouldn't we do whatever it takes to build a bridge to people?

Now, some of you have already forgotten what I said earlier - let me remind you that I am just as passionate about my traditional service as I am the more contemporary one. I know, I'm weird.

• One particular style of worship/music is not intrinsically better nor more holy than another.
• One may speak to YOU better, or draw YOU closer to God, and YOU may prefer to worship in that manner.
• We should do EVERYTHING to the best of our abilities - all styles or genres should be done well
• There is worship music of poor quality (melody, structure, theology etc) in ALL genres and that will ALWAYS be so.
• Use the best of whatever style you are choosing to feature.
• There should be a balance in our preaching so that we have some milk for the spiritual seekers and also meat for the more mature

If we do our different styles of services to the best of our abilities and consciously choose excellence in preaching and music (regardless of style) it does not matter what style of worship a person chooses to attend.... one is not better vs. dumbed down, it simply IS.

If you can say "dumbing down" without an air of superiority, of exclusivity or of pride, go right ahead. Use the term. But if you feel the slightest bit of superiority, if it makes you feel smarter or better, if you have the mistaken notion that God looks on the external trappings of our worship rather than the heart of the worshipper.....

Well, then, I encourage you to stop.

Grace and Peace.

Welcome!

For some time now, I've wanted to take the time to write down my thoughts... I've mostly resisted the whole blog thing because:

1. We already have a family blog.
2. I hardly ever post to that one either!
3. What do I have to say that's really compelling?
   

I toyed with the idea of posting to our family blog, but it is mostly a compilation of our experiences as SoCal transplants to Wisconsin, and what I want to write about is really more concerned with music, theology and things that occur to me around those subjects.

So, here we are... if you want to come along for what may be a rather diverse journey, please join me.