You know those fake doors that open up to nothing but a brick wall? That was pretty much my experience as I opened the door to go outside this afternoon. This is how the mailman delivered 10 boxes of my mother-in-law’s stuff. I had to get out of the house and bring in the boxes via the garage door. Aren’t there laws about blocking doors and creating fire hazards? If not, there should be.
Let me reiterate this again in regards to blended worship. First of all, blended worship is NOT contemporary music such as that of Pentecostal/Evangelical churches. In those churches the service is as follows: 30 minutes of Praise/Worship/Feel Good Music that really has nothing to do with the sermon theme or any sort of pericope series followed by a 30 minute sermon on how to be a good Christian. I went to these churches for a whole year, that’s how it works. A Lutheran blended worship service is not at all like that. For one thing, the Ordinary is kept intact, and while it may not be Praetorious, the 5 parts are there. The music chosen also has lyrics with “meat” that keeps with the theme of the service. A good church musician can make this distinction. I feel like I am repeating my former post, but I feel the difference must be emphasized. In a blended service, different musical flavors are being blended in to what we already know. Songs written by members of that congregation is a great example of this. At the time of the Reformation there weren’t that many musical choices. What is so wrong about adding in these different musical styles now? Please understand that I am not talking about the “happy clappy” songs, I’m talking about modern hymns, psalm settings, verses written my composers still living that may include such instruments as–gulp–guitar and drums. There’s a lot of great stuff out there, you just have to sort through the bad stuff to find it. I understand that there is fear that comes with this, just as there was fear when the language changed from German to English. But much of this fear is unfounded, and adding a worship band accompaniment doesn’t mean that the next step is the equivalent of a Billy Graham crusade. The theology behind the music doesn’t change, only the musical style.
And it should you too! My brother sent me a link to this news article. Although all of it is maddening to read, here are the passages which really drive me nuts!!!
The review by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco comes as advocates are pushing for fetal pain laws aimed at curtailing abortion. Proposed federal legislation would require doctors to provide fetal pain information to women seeking abortions when fetuses are at least 20 weeks old, and to offer women fetal anesthesia at that stage of the pregnancy. A handful of states have enacted similar measures.
Does the fact that a fetus feels pain not lead to thinking that maybe the fetus is actually human?
But the report, appearing in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association, says that offering fetal pain relief during abortions in the fifth or sixth months of pregnancy is misguided and might result in unacceptable health risks to women.
Good grief! Unacceptable health risks to women? I can’t believe how insane this is!
The authors of the report include the administrator of a UCSF abortion clinic, but the researchers dispute the claim that the report is biased.
No! It couldn’t possibly be biased, could it?
I can’t quote anymore–you’ll have to read it yourself. You know, my husband has some property on the moon. I’m thinking it might be a good time to take a vacation…
At the WELS Conference of Worship, Music, and the Arts I attended a presentation by Rev. James Tiefel from the WELS Seminary in Mequon (he teaches worship and homiletics) on blended worship. I must first say that I have a lot of respect for Prof. Tiefel after attending this conference. I have known him to personally prefer high church stuff, but he readily admitted that although he may not like some of the changes in the liturgy, that doesn’t mean they are bad. I really like a liturgical Lutheran who can admit that.
Tiefel pointed out that we have a wide range of musical styles today that Luther didn’t have. Luther basically had two choices: Gregorian chant or European folk style. Tiefel pointed out that today you can find settings of the Ordinary in almost every musical style known today. Some are good, some not as good, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. He also pointed out that there is no sin in being a non-liturgical church and that the liturgy can be simplified and still retain its strengths. Wonder how much courage it took for him to admit that!
Tiefel also made a strong distinction between blended worship and contemporary worship: Blended worship retains the theological strengths of the Christian rite, maintains traditional Lutheran hymnody and the Lutheran musical heritage, enriches the Church’s worship experience, expands the Church’s worship vision, and carries the Church’s worship to a new era in which others will add their styles in blended magnificence. And just to expand on this definition a little bit, blended worship is NOT the contemporary worship style in the Methobapticostal/Evangelical sense. The music being introduced in the WELS doesn’t come close to the feel good, meatless praise and worship music heard in Evangelical churches.
One interesting observation he made, which in my short time in the Lutheran blogosphere I have experienced first-hand, is that the LCMS seems to have the attitude that if you’re liturgical, then you’re confessional. If you’re not liturgical, then you’re not confessional. The WELS won’t take that attitude, Tiefel said, and I am grateful to be WELS. I am definitely NOT liturgical and definitely AM confessional.
There’s a lot more that I can add in looking over my notes, but that was the important stuff. I’m glad he’s teaching our sem guys worship!
It was six–did I count that right? Yup, six–years ago today that my best friend’s brother was taking me out for a drive in Juneau–showing off a little in his truck as guys usually do–and got stuck. What was so significant about that? I felt so bad for him I held his hand and he didn’t take it away! That night at Bible Study all I could think about was how I had to talk to him and find out if he was as crazy about me as I was about him. He sure was–and still is! I can’t believe it’s been six years! I still get all goofy over him. What a guy! Glad I married him!!
My Grandma went home to heaven this afternoon. I hope Jesus put a really big oven in her mansion because I know there will be requests for her bread and cookies!!! I can just imagine my dad saying “Finally! You know how hard it is to find a decent chocolate chip cookie up here?”
I’ll miss her, though. She lived with my family most of my growing up years, and I’ve been writing to her in the nursing home every week for over 3 years, only missing once. It sure felt weird this last weekend to not write to her, and I know it will take some time to adjust to that. I’m heading down south again…