Over the past two days I have been exploring the current trends, biblical paradigm and application of those paradigms to current worship. Today we turn our attention to cultural applications of the Biblical presentation of music and hopefully create an arena of grace in Christian circles about worship styles.
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Yesterday we considered the overarching arguments that persist in conversations concerning worship music. If you haven’t read Part 1, I encourage you to read it first. Since I have never seen a blog talk about the biblical approach to worship music in the Scripture in the same critique of modern worship, let’s take a moment to look. Take special notice of how biblical worship is different or similar to what people currently feel worship music should be.
I love the sitcom, “Everybody Loves Raymond.” In one of my favorite episodes there is a conversation about which brother, Raymond or Robert, moved their father’s records by the hot water heater which resulted in the records melting. It was believed that Raymond did it but Robert kept the secret for several decades that he was the one who actually moved the records.
Recently I was honored to sit down with a pastor and church board and one of the topics of conversation had to do with taking a look at the community around the church. Something that jumped out at the men around the table was that the number of single moms was higher than the national average. The board rightly asked, “What is being done for them? What can we do to minister to these single moms?”
Miriam and I had a gift card to one of our favorite breakfast spots and our foreign exchange student was on a math field trip so we took off for an early morning date. The restaurant was already taking names for a 15 minute wait. Shortly after we sat down I saw a single, elderly woman sit down near us. At first I thought she was waiting on someone to join her but when her food arrived, my heart ached. In a room filled with laughter and noise, she quietly ate her breakfast alone.
I remember the first time I tried on a robe. Miriam and I were staying in a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for our anniversary and there were two robes on the bed for our comfort. I tried that big, white, fluffy robe on and it felt like I had put on a heavy weight. It wouldn’t be the last time that a robe would feel heavy to me.
