The Grinch Who Stole Christmas Carols

Am I the Grinch who stole Christmas carols? I had some people ask me to do Christmas carols during our worship at Roosevelt Community Church. As a staff member of a church that practices and obeserves the Advent season, this brought up a few Questions for me:

What is the true job of the ministers of the church?

Is the true reason to appease the congregation? Should we say “give them what they want”, or should we liken our job as ministers to teach what, how and why we believe as Christ followers? As a staff member of a church which follows the church calendar, only to find themselves in the middle of Advent, then I believe this is a great teaching moment. What if we taught the idea of patience in the midst of the season of antcipation. otherwise, to put it semi-crudely, we experience the climax without the foreplay. It’s just straight to the money shot and we don’t realize what had happened in between it all.

As an artist, what am I to do?

Do I simply go with the congregation, or do I challenge them to think? Is that not the purpose of the worship leader – to help people think, see, and experience Jesus in different ways? Maybe we need to push people outside of their comfort zones. Instead of singing the familiar tunes of  “Angels We Have Heard on High”, we challenge people in experiencing the anticipation through the ideas of  “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”.

What tears me apart as an artist is I want to challenge people, but on the other hand I have to think about the feelings of the congregation. So what can I do? Do I feel like a sell out, or keep the integrity of the season? I opt for the later, myself. Which draws another question:

Why couldn’t there be more accesible ways of explaining the Advent season?

Really, in teh singing world, you are stuck with a handful of songs that describe teh Advent season…about three I believe – the two more recognizable being “Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel” and “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”. After those two you need to be creative. I’ve written an Advent specific song that we share as a congregation, and have allowed artists to share in teh past through visual arts of painting. I wonder if, you who are reading this, you have any ideas? If so, please let me know.

I would say that I am the farthest from being grinchy. I start my Corporate Christmas ways on November 1st. I listen to music and tour around Target looking at the lights and decorations that have been made by children and prisoners from foreign countries (that’s a topic for a whole other post). I just want to teach my congregation just a little bit of restraint. I want to have one place where they can reflect and not be sucked into what they are hearing outside of the walls of our little church. Somewhere where they can learn a little more about their faith. Call me crazy, but that just might be what the church service was designed to be.

Happy Easter!

He is risen indeed! When I was a kid, I didn’t grow up in a religious home so instead of Jesus and church, we used to get an easter basket filled with peeps, Robin Egg candy, Jelly Beans, and a big chocolate bunny which would all get lost, tangled, and stuck in the annoying fake “grass” that my mom would be continually curse because she would have to clean it out of the vaccum cleaner throughout the year. Sometimes there was another present of some kind for us like a kite or something, but soon the Easter Bunny got stingy and lazy. What a jerk.

As my Easter basket present to anyone who reads this blog, I want to share with you my new favorite site: Garfield minus Garfield. Here is the site description:

 ”Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.”

Here is a comic from the site to give you an idea of what these comics look like:

 

Worship Musings #3 – The Toy Store

At Roosevelt Community Church, we do a toy store for Christmas. Here is a little blurb about it. Find out more about worship at RCC on YouTube.

Don’t Worry Be Happy…

was a number one jam. <–name the song that this lyric came out of and I will give you a christmas gift – on the real.

I was driving around as an official graduate yesterday and I began thinking about christmas in the church. This time of year is funny and awkward to me because I think christmas has become bothersome to churches. We plan and we organize and we plan and we organize but we never really get to enjoy the season. The past 4-5 years, I have been taught that christmas is programmed. ”The building needs to look nice, we need people to dress nice, should we have five services or add a sixth?, what about a shuttle bus so that people can park in other spots so first timers can park there, and for heavens sake, make sure EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.” Maybe it is because now I work in a more relaxed and intimate church, but I don’t think that these things are as im portant. I know that we want to give our best, and we all do, but when your focus is the comfort of people over the birth of Jesus, then I think we have missed the point of the Christmas service.

As I was driving, I began wondering if we lost christmas when we began giving it to people ahead of time. What I mean is, why do we play christmas songs for worship when they don’t fit what you are doing for a sermon? If you are doing a sermon series on “your best life now” but playing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” simply because it is the first sunday of december, then I think we have let the cat out of the bag. I wonder if we were to practice and observe the advent season through sermon, music, and worship if the anticipation would grow and instead of blowing our load in the first couple of weeks?  

From what I have observed of the churches that stress through the holidays, usually the only mention of christmas throughout december is the christmas eve service. But what about the build up? What about the anticipation? The congregation gets none, because they are too busy trying to figure out how to live their life during the holidays rather than how Jesus got here in the first place. Maybe instead of “Jesus is the reason for the season” we should change it to “The christmas eve service is the reason for the season”.

This year is Roosevelt Community Churches first christmas as a church. We began observing advent for the last three weeks, and I can honestly tell you that this is the first year that I am excited for christmas while working in a church. I lament and pray for churches that have lost or are losing the love for Christmas. I pray that they will be able to recapture the birth of christ and bring their congregation along for the journey rather than vomiting the whole shebang on them December 24th.

Merry Christmas. Take time to step back and enjoy your family, your life, and your time and find time to relax. Breathe during the holiday madness.

Happy Holidays

or…

Advent: Week 2

Here we sit in the middle of advent, the season of anticipation and expectancy of the coming of the Lord. At our church we are going through the women of Jesus’ lineage, or the grandmothers of Christmas. Today we talked about Rahab, “The Hooker with Holy Soul”. We talked about her faith and willingness in Yahweh, so much in fact, that she sold out her own people. Even though she was a shrewd business woman and a prostitute to boot, Rahab’s faithfulness overcame her sin in the end which led to her salvation. It’s an interesting thought, that’s for sure. During this time of advent, I would hope that we could stop and reflect on our faith. Do we have faith in our savior? Do we have the faith that he is good to us and will remember us, just as Rahab had faith in a tiny red chord hung in her window? I hope I do.

The picture below is one of our worship leaders interpretation of rahab’s faith. She saw the faith overcoming the sin, almost as whimsical “popeye” arms. She said something very interesting: When she pictured Sin, she saw dark colors (red, black, etc.) and faith in lighter colors (blue, white, etc.). the funny thing is if you mix red and blue you get purple…a color of royalty. not that Jesus is made of sin and faith, but our Sin mixed with faith in Jesus is what brings us to salvation. just some thoughts.

May the Lord, when he comes,
Find us watching and waiting.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Liturgy from Common Worship, Morning and Evening Prayer in Advent

 P.S. I’ll be posting the artists paintings on my Flick’r account. Here is the Painting from Week 1 of Advent. It is an interpretation of the Hope of Tamar.

  

It’s a Wonderful Life…So I’ve Heard

I saw “It’s a Wonderful Life” for the first time the other day. I can honestly say that it was an okay movie. Is it me, or did it take forever to get to the point? Hailed as THE Christmas classic, I saw a little blurb about it in the special features which made me laugh a little.

Did you know that when it was released, It’s a Wonderful Life was seen as being “okay”. It was actually forgetten quite quickly. The reason that it became so popular is that in the 1970’s the copyright ran out and somebody forgot to renew it. When this happened, television stations caught wind of it and began showing the movie because they did not have to pay any royalties. This is why it was on so many times a year. This is also what contributed to its popularity, because now a whole new generation had discovered this movie, thus thrusting it into becoming a Christmas Classic.

Just more crap to occupy your brain.

what’s your favorite christmas movie?
ron

Merry Christmas

If you want to see a Christmas movie that will instantly jump into your top 3 Christmas movies (if you are human and have a heart, I guarantee it will), than you need to see this movie. It is called Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas). Here is the write up for it on Netflix:

Inspired by a true story, this heartwarming tale unfolds on Christmas Eve, 1914, in the midst of World War I. As the French, Scottish and German soldiers prepare to open their presents, a momentous event occurs that changes the destinies of four people: an Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, a world-class tenor and his soprano lover.

I saw this movie last year and just remembered it. It is a beautiful story of war coming to a halt for one night, truly peace on earth, while men truly realize that they all have more in common than they know. If you work in a church, this will be the movie that you will show for a “movie clip” sometime during your christmas.

Netflick it now.
You’re Welcome,
ron

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my wife, Cynthia. She puts up with a lot from me. For the past 4-5 years she has been supporting me in going to school. I’ve been working various part time jobs during this time, but she has always encouraged me with music and how I can improve my skills. She also has encouraged me for better health and never settling for less than I am able to achieve. For my wife, lover, and friend, I am thankful.

I am thankful for my school debt. Though it is a lot of money that Cynthia and I owe, I know that this is a small price to pay for the education I’ve recieved. I feel as though I have been given a masters degree in a bachelor’s degree because a lot of the books, philosophies, and ideas that I have been exposed to are ones that my friends who have masters degrees are constantly surprised to see in a bachelor’s degree program. I have been exposed to many different things that have encouraged me and also made me question my own faith and worship of God. For this challenge, I am thankful.

I am thankful for my family. My mom who showed me the idea of love and respect toward other people who are different than me. My sister and brother in law who can talk with me about various and strange b movies from the 80’s and still love them even though we realize that they are wonderfully horrible movies. My brother who has helped me believe that it is still possible to be a good father even though we grew up without one. And I am thankful for my little sister who is just starting her life as she turned 18 this year. For my family, I am thankful.

I am thankful for my church, Roosevelt Community Church, for letting me lead them in worship each week and being open to new and different ideas of what worship could look like. They have supported me, both financially and professionally, since Easter and continue to spur me on with their stories of God being shown to them in new and different lights. For their love, community, and support, I am thankful.

I am thankful for my friends. I remember becoming a christian about eight years ago, and one of my main worries was that I would have no friends. It’s petty, I know, but God has blessed me with an abundance of people who I am proud to call my friends. Rob and Willow Weston continue to spur me on with challenging thoughts and discussions that last well into the night (and sometimes into the morning). Rob and Nicole Mathey and Chris Croft show me what being a friend without expecting something in return truly looks like. They are so giving of their time, money, and friendship it amazes me. Matt Martinson has shown me courage in facing life, the importance of education, and laughing in the face of life when it gets him down (really is there anything else we can do?). Baron Miller believed in me and gave me a Worship Directors job at Roosevelt Community Church, encouraged me when I needed it most, and introduced me to the shows Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the British Version of The Office. Kelly Huckaby, my secret source to odd music that everyone always asks, “How did you hear about these guys”. Ben Pries who plays and loves violent video games and Jesus…I kind of feel responsible for both of these. And Tim Ross, whose life that semi parallels my own at times (which is scary), gave me conversations over beers that ooze with sarcasm and makes me laugh. For these friends, I am thankful.

I am thankful for music and musicians. Music inspires me, encourages me, soothes me, welcomes me, and takes me to different worlds sometimes. A lot of memories I have are triggered by music. Music is my release, and for this I am thankful.

Finally, but it should be first, I am thankful for The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All of them sustain me and give me hope when I feel hopeless, strength when I feel weak, and remind me that I am loved when I feel lonely. They remind me that they are all I need to feel sustained and that material things and social status does not matter in light of God’s Kingdom. For their gift of true life, salvation, and inspiration I am thankful.

For my God, wife, family, friends, and hobbies, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.Ron

Valentine’s Day

Here’s what Valentines day is based on. It may not be just a hallmark holiday!

“In the third century, the Roman Empire was ruled by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. He was nicknamed Claudius the Cruel because of his harsh leadership and his tendency for getting into wars and abusing his people. In fact, he was getting into so many wars during the third century that he was having a difficult time recruiting enough soldiers.

Claudius believed that recruitment for the army was down because Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families behind, so he canceled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Thousands of couples saw their hopes of matrimony dashed by the single act of a tyrant. And no one seemed interested in standing up to the emperor.

But a simple Christian priest named Valentine did come forward and stood up for love. He began to secretly marry soldiers before they went off to war, despite the emperor’s orders. In 269 AD Emperor Claudius found out about the secret ceremonies. He had Valentine thrown into prison and deemed that he would be put to death.

As Valentine was awaiting execution, he fell in love with a blind girl, who happened to be the jailers daughter. On the eve of his execution, with no writing instruments available, Valentine is said to have written her a sonnet in ink that he squeezed from violets. Legend has it that his words made the blind woman see again. It was a brief romance because the next day Valentine was clubbed to death by Roman executioners.

St. Valentine gave his life so that young couples could be bonded together in holy matrimony. They may have killed the man, but not his spirit. Even centuries after his death, the story of Valentine’s self-sacrificing commitment to love was legendary in Rome. Eventually he was granted Sainthood and the Catholic Church decided to create a feast in his honor. They picked February 14 as the day of celebration because of the ancient belief that birds (particularly lovebirds, but also owls and doves) began to mate on that very day.”

Don’t forget to get a card for your lady friend. Hope you Valentines Day is filled with Sweet Love Making and Chocolate.

Peace,
ron