Hillsong United: critiquing my cynicism

I'm not the biggest Hillsong fan. Despite not particularly liking some of their music and being skeptical about money-making, I visited Hillsong London a few years back and was pretty disgusted by the production that was worthy of the theatre in which the Church met. So when the Church I'm now serving in decided to take it's ministry team leaders and invited me, I was interested to see what I would think.       
                      
If I was going to a Third Day show, I'd have no problem. They are a Christian band, playing Christian, but not necessarily 'praise' music. There is a worship element to the show, but it's not a 'worship concert'. It's their show, they are a band, lights, noise and typical gig-features are no problem to me. The same would apply to Dave Crowder. Hillsong United are a praise band, playing what they promote as a 'worship concert'. Immediately I am skeptical. Why do they need lights, and all the fancy gig-features?       

                      

So completely aware of my skepticism I decided to keep an open mind. So here's my thoughts...

• Superficial worship: Worship at a Hillsong United show is no more, no less superficial than worship at a traditional church service. In both, you can appear to be a faithful worshipper when in fact you are just going through the motions. In both situations what matters is whether you are truly engaged in genuine worship of Jesus. In both you can 'experience' worship and leave no different. 
• Message: Hillsong United clearly on at least 4 occasions made the above point clear. They very clearly expressed that they 'glitz and glam' was not important, but what was important was that Jesus be made the centre. I can remember the crowd being addressed at length on at least 3 occasions with clear Gospel messages, including an invitation to follow Christ, after which they strongly encouraged new believers to 1) tell someone 2) get a Bible, and actually read it, and 3) to join a church, and BE the Church. 
• False motives: Can the above be showy, saying the right things, reinforcing the Christian culture? Is it possible that is just part of their performance? Absolutely. It is completely possible. Yet it was Gospel truth. There was very little, if any that I disagreed with. From what I can tell, their hearts were very genuine, but who am I to tell the state of their hearts? What I do know is that in Corinthians Paul referred to individuals who were preaching the Gospel out for selfish reasons, but it was still the Gospel. 
• Raising hands: From the first note, dozens of hands were lifted to the air. I raise my hands in the air in an expression of worship, yet as someone who does, I still can't help be skeptical about how much of it is genuine worship. I watched some young teens lifting their hands and looking very obviously like they just wanted to be involved. Yet I concluded 2 things. Firstly, it's still a gig, and at gigs, I lift my hands. I don't know why I do, but I do. It's what you do at gigs. And if at a Hillsong United gig someone lifts their hands, and it's not worship, but an enjoyment of the 'gig-experience', then who cares? Secondly, I think it's great that those young teens I saw were in an environment where they could experiment with expressions of worship, whether they knew why or not. I think it's perfectly healthy for them to be exposed to a new expression. 
• Lyrics: "So take me as you find me, all my fears and failures, fill my life again". There are some truly cracking lyrics within Hillsong United material. 

So my conclusion... Hillsong United is still not completely my cup of tea, particularly their high-tempo songs. I love their slow-tempo songs, and particularly those with the rich lyrics. But I think I am more open to their expression, their lights, and their style. I believe that I diminish the beauty of the diversity of arts, expressions of worship, and personalities when I write off one something like Hillsong United.        

                      

The dangers are clear: worship becomes an emotion; it needs light, cool visuals and a cool band; 'true' passionate worship involves raising your hands. Yet the same dangers apply to a traditional church: worship becomes a ritual; it requires a certain style and approach.        

                      

I left the show last night pleasantly surprised at my openness. Look at me go. What truly matters is that we are engaged in honest worship of Jesus, and that when the last note is played, and we leave the arena or the church, that the worship of Jesus is expressed in our lives, a point that Hillsong United themselves made very clear. 

We R Who We R - Ke$ha wisdom to live by...?

I couldn't stand the song when it came out. How could this talentless girl shoot to fame and the charts when she can't even really sing! There are girls in our Church who are much more talented, why has popular music become so full of rubbish?! And who puts a dollar symbol in their name?! But of course in a show of defiance the girls kept singing and playing it, quoting "We are who we are" in the most peculiar contexts. 

All credit to them - they won me over. The song is now lodged in my head and I quite love it. Though I think I'll put it down to the associations that I make between the song and brilliant times, and brilliant people.

The lyrics did get me thinking though, because at the heart of this song is this lyric "we are who we are". If I take a positive spin on it, it's a great lyric affirming that we are individuals, and that we shouldn't try to become somebody else. I love that idea, it's one of things I'm very passionate about, that we are unique individuals who shouldn't need to subscribe to the pressures of other people. Teaching young people this is such an essential task. 

It's the rest of the lyrics that make me frustrated at what I perceive is the real message. 

"Hot and dangerous, if you're one of us then roll with us, cause we make the hipsters fall in love. And we've got hot-pants on enough, and yes of course because we're running this town just like a club"

I've always thought that Ke$ha's popularity is simply because she is 'party girl'. To me, she epitomises the party scene. It's the scene that says 'we don't care what anyone thinks of us, all we care about is partying". It's a scene that promotes, and promises that all you need to do is to enjoy yourself, and you'll be happy. Drink, dance and pull. It's the norm for so many of our young people. But herein lies my real frustration: "We R Who We R" is not about being individuals, in fact in my view it's the opposite. It's about getting with the crowd, buying into the party, and not caring what anyone else thinks. 'Why should you care what they think of you? - you are who you are'.

But instead of being 'who you are', Ke$ha's lyrics really just encourage people to conform. 

We recently had a discussion with our teen boys about the issue of drinking, and they expressed that they drink because others do it. They are the odd one out if they don't, and they don't want to be left out. So they join the party. They want to be able to join the jokes, and laugh at the guy who threw up or pulled the 'unattractive' girl. So are they really being 'who they are', or are they just selling out to fit in?

God has more for us. He has more for girls than being scantily clad and dolled up to look good. He has more for boys than treating girls like prizes and objects for our pleasure. He has more for us than throwing ourselves at strangers. He has more for us than losing control and making fools of ourselves. He has more for us than feeling ill the morning after. It's not rocket science. 

God wants more for us than just a 'good weekend'. It's just not very popular. It does mean going against the crowd. It does mean feeling foolish sometimes because no-one else understands. But God longs for us to be who we truly are, and as the one who made us, He should know.

Forgive me for slating Ke$ha. I do love her song, and I'm not that serious, I do appreciate it for what it is. But I am passionate about helping young people find their own identity, based on the truth that God has made them each individually and uniquely. The truth that they are who they are, and they don't need to conform. Beneath the surface Ke$ha has a very different, but popular message, and has a much wider audience than I. 

My hope is that through my seemingly small and insignificant part, some young people will be led to the truth that they are created by God, and in Him that they really do find who they are. 

"Thank you Lord for my Slingsby Ladder"

I actually had to ask what a 'Slingsby ladder' even was. I had no idea why she was making such a big deal out of it! An older lady who attends my homegroup was so overjoyed about the fact that she had this ladder recently installed in her house. We were moving round each of the 5 of us who attend, and were sharing our various life challenges or joys. Various things were discussed by the other 4 of us: new jobs; stressful jobs; children living differently from how we would hope they would be living; and this Slinsby ladder!

She worked as a nurse and travelled as a missionary across many countries serving with her skills. Her decisions very much limited her possibilities of marriage and so she is single. She has suffered from great illness in recent years. She is one of the most remarkably wise people I have ever met, and when she speaks and shares her life with us, we sit listening intently, hanging on every word she says. She is dedicated in her reading of the Bible and has an incredible knowledge, and with is an incredible wisdom. Throughout her life and still, she is devoted to God as her sole rock and guide. It's displayed in every ounce of her thought, outlook and attitude. Once one of our homegroup members said to her "you must have given up so much to live the life that you have lived", and she replied "not at all, I have been given so much more in return, and been blessed in so many ways". 

The words of a woman who's hope is truly in the Lord. She had left home, given up the opportunity to marry, spent many a Christmas away from home in a strange culture, lived on her own, struggled through illnesses, and yet her only thought is of how good God has been to her.

I'm a 22 year old blessed in so so many ways with so much of my life ahead of me. I'm often lazy in my prayer and study life. I've been given such an amazing privilege to lead and serve in my Church for the year. I am spoiled. Yet how often I am ungrateful. And this lady is over-the-moon with her Slingsby ladder that allows her into her loft.

With the advances in the modern world, we're used to possessions. God is indeed a useful 'bolt-on' to our lives. He gives us added security. He gives us added confidence. He gives us the comfort that we're not alone, and that He forgives us when we do things 'wrong'. We don't need God, but we'll happily take Him where it makes our lives better. 

But this lady has grasped something that I would do well to grasp. Yes God sent Jesus to bring her new life to one tarred by sin, but God has given her that life in the first place. The breath she breathes. She is, because HE IS. We are stewards of what God has given to us. The job, the money, every waking moment - even the Slingsby ladder!

How I could learn to humble myself in the same way, and increase my joy and love for how generous He has been.

Justice: a fantasy?

I've started reading a new book by Tom Wright called "Simply Christian". He opens the book with a chapter dedicated to the idea of justice. He demonstrates the inherent desire for justice in our world and in our characters, and yet even though we know the morals we desire to uphold, we are the ones who often break them. "The line between justice and injustice cant be drawn between "us" and "them". It runs right down the middle of each of us." What a challenging remark. 

On the way to work today I listened to Tim Hughes' "God of Justice": "we must go". God is just. It is His character, and we as His children are to reflect that nature. Yet when I look at myself I am disheartened by how often I forfeit justice for selfish gain or laziness.

This issue came to the fore of my mind with the recent news that two teenagers had tragically died in Castlerock from Carbon Monoxide poisoning (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-10860838). The reaction has been a media-driven public panic, including an emergency helpline, distribution of publications and a wide-scale investigation. New legislation is now being proposed that every new house be fitted with a new alarm. We are happy to pour public funds into these helplines and publications to deal with a rare accident which tragically claimed 2 lives. We're happy to pay £30 out of our own pocket for a new alarm, just in case. 

But how often will £30 be spent out of our own pockets to deal with lives which are in definite risk everyday. How often does the government put our money into sustaining countries who live everyday in poverty and sickness.

When we consider the outcry after 2 young boys lose their lives to a rare occurrence, to the reaction to poverty and sickness experienced on a daily basis across the world, the contrast is sickening. 

Why is this related? Justice is not just about righting criminal wrongs. It is about righting the needs of others. And so often our concept of justice is limited to selfish needs and demands. 

We must go. As Tom Wright says, justice starts with us as individuals. Speaking out, and acting out to meet the needs of others. In a "me-centred" West with my rights, and my needs prominent, practising Godly justice is very much counter-cultural, and will be a battle for us all, first in ourselves, and then with the world around us. 

You shall never wash my feet

John 13 is the well known passage of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. I've heard many a talk on this, and on a couple of occasions this has actually involved actually taking part in a feet-washing exercise. The common lesson taken from this passage is that we need to display the humility and servant-hood that Jesus did. This is most certainly a valid and important lesson to learn, but a guy from our Church called Chris Cordner opened this passage up further.

We spend so much of our time trying to be "good" Christians, and we focus a lot on how we should and shouldn't act. In fact so often we focus on the rules and regulations of our lifestyles and actions, that faith becomes legalistic and restrictive. We begin to assess our faith solely by "behaving" like a Christian. And whilst undoubtedly our behaviour should change significantly when we follow Jesus, it is not the most important aspect of our walk.

In this passage when Jesus comes to wash Simon Peter's feet he protests:

"No, you shall never wash my feet"

Why did he refuse when Jesus had already washed the other disciples' feet? Maybe he was proud. Maybe he thought he was passing a test. But probably because he knew who Jesus was and he couldn't bear the thought  the Lord lowering himself to such a level.

But it was Jesus' desire, and joy to wash Simon Peter's feet. The passages leading up to chapter 13 are full of Jesus wanting to give to His followers.

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry" (6:35)

"Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (8:32)

"I am the good shepherd... and I lay down my life for my sheep" (10:14)

How often do we focus on what we have to do rather than what God is doing for us? And yet isn't the very basis of our faith that we are saved and changed by grace, not because of anything we do. And that isn't a one-off event. It's not that once we become a Christian God has done His part and then it's over to us. "Sanctification" means the process of becoming more like Jesus. Not through our own effort, but by God's work in us through His Holy Spirit.

So chapter 13 does indeed teach us about humility and servant-hood, but it reflects that Jesus wants to give to us, to serve us. As I reflect on this, I reckon that God wants to give me so much more than I allow Him too. It's not because I don't want more, I probably just think I need to do something to earn it! But that's earning grace, thinking you don't need the power and work of Christ, and it's called being self-righteous. And in the words of Jesus himself:

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31)

So I now see Jesus' actions in a completely different light. And just as he kneels before Simon Peter, so too he kneels before us. Will our response be to go it on our own, or will we, will I, allow Jesus to give me more than I can imagine.

A heavenly lullaby

The purpose of these blogs has been to try to give depth and consistency to my personal exploration of faith in Jesus, and to flesh out some of my thoughts. The battle for a consistent and steady walk with Jesus is one that has raged in my life since I gave my life to Him when I was 12. It's a battle that all Christians face - trying to move away from the up and down rollarcoaster to a regular devotion to Jesus from one day to the next, maintaining discipline, passion and perspective. I might sing the words "Jesus be the centre", but how do I actually make him the centre in reality.

I was in Aberdeen visiting friends at uni and we had been out all day, and were planning to head out to the town in the evening. Being a lazy student and not used to all the activity, naturally I required a lie down before heading out. As I lay there a number of things came into my head: being a bloke, girls and football topped the list. But a verse came into my head that my minister is fond of:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Phillipians 4:8)

 Think about such things. It dawned on me that in those 15 minutes of lazy-time, I could think about the girl I liked, or daydream about being with her; or I could daydream about playing in the Irish League (I aim high...). Or in those 15 minutes, I could literally think about God. I could literally, think about Jesus. I could literally think about His sinless sacrifice, for me the sinful.

I know of a few people who really struggle to sleep at night, and I wonder what they think about. Alot of us avoid thinking, constantly on Facebook or Twitter, never being alone with our thoughts. But when we do, what is it we let our mind wander to?
Too often prayer is boxed into a "down on your knees" structured, and time-limited act. Yet surely prayer is allowing God the space to move in our hearts and minds. Part of prayer is allowing the Holy Spirit to move. I read in Psalm 4 today these verses:

In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord. Many are asking "who can show us any good?". Let the light of your face shine upon us O Lord. You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (verses 4-8) 

Do I want to keep Jesus at the centre of my life? Do I want Him to shape my thoughts, my actions, my decisions, my perspective?

Therefore holy brothers... fix your eyes on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess (Hebrews 3:1)

Literally, think about Jesus. Not necessarily all of the time, but at some point in our day we must surely make space to consider what Jesus has done for us, and how that changes everything.

From that night in Aberdeen the simple lesson for me is, when I have free time should I sit on my laptop mindlessly browsing, should I daydream about that goal or that girl? Or would it be more beneficial for me to be still, to search my heart, and consider Jesus?

What's the point...?

Over the summer months I am working in a caravan park on the north coast and I recently encountered a woman who seems pretty set-up. She and her husband both owned successful farming businesses which they sold for big money. They are now retired and living comfortably with a lovely caravan here in the park. Yet I have never met anyone in quite as much desperation. She and her husband both suffer from illness, and they are both desperately unhappy, which is evident in their relationship. In our brief conversation she displayed no hope, talking of her death, and on the verge of bursting into tears in front of me. And it isn't the first time. This has happened on several occasions now. She said she wished that she had never given up their farm, stating "what's the point in having all that money?". Her despair bears striking resemblance to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:2:

"meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless"

 She had worked hard, earned and saved. She had provided for herself a comfortable retirement, yet what is it worth? With death a reality to an elderly woman such as her, money is no help. Money is no good to a broken relationship. In the end all that she has achieved and strived for is meaningless in the face of death.

A few days later I spoke to a friend, also 22 and a graduate. Although he has brains to burn, academic and athletic ability that many are so hungry for, he isn't content to have a comfortable, respectable, well-paid job. Similar to the elderly lady, he has a perspective on life that allows him to see that status, and money are not going to provide meaning to his life. Although he is unwilling to subscribe to the life-course expected of him, he is aware that he currently "has no meaning".
The meaning of life... it's age-old question that we all look to answer. Especially at my stage of life when you have dropped off the 17-year education map that has been set before you, and you start asking "what am I going to do with my life?". Entry into the "real-world" is a daunting prospect. Why am I here? Who am I?

In studying Hebrews one of the key verses that stood out to me was this:

"In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering" (2:10)

"...For whom and through whom everything exists...". Everything exists because of God, and everything exists for God. And it is for this reason that I remain confident in Christ, and unafraid of the path ahead of me. What matters is not my job, or my house, financial situation of relationship status, but God. At this stage I am thankfully that I can say, in the words of Horatio Spafford's beautiful hymn, "whatever my lot - it is well with my soul".

Faith and trust in a creator God is one that is now belittled and discredited by so many as myth and legend, yet it is one that rings true with the souls of many. Confidence in Christ, which brings peace and rest to the soul. One that overcomes every scenario, every factor.

The search for meaning, far from being a cliche, is a real struggle for us all. My fear for so many of the people I know is that unlike the folks I've mentioned in this post, that they aren't ready to consider the temporary nature of the lives we currently lead, and aren't willing to face the questions.

Who am I? What am I living for? What's the point?