News from Make Us Holy!

We pleased to announce the launch of our websites! View this email in your browser "This book is a timely reminder of what worship is all about and how we are to walk it out in our lives." Brian Doerksen Join our Social Media channels! Facebook Twitter Google Plus YouTube Email We pleased to announce the launch of our websites! Make Us Holy is pleased to announce the launch of our websites! Yes, that’s right—plural! We have two new websites! One in English and uno en Español. Designed and programmed by the excellent staff at BluCielO2, we are pleased to invite you to take a tour of the site. It contains excellent upgrades that help organize all our social media stream into one location. Complete with new integrated Blog and Newsletter pages and interlinked widgets to Twitter, Facebook and other social media streams—we have firmly committed to this decade of interconnectivity! A newly designed page for the book Worship Walk with testimonials and videos help better engage each visitor with what we believe is a much needed message in the worship conversation of the contemporary church. Check it out and then let us know how we can help minister to the needs of your faith community. Call us, email us, facebook or tweet us and let’s start the conversation!    English - http://www.makeusholy.org/ Español - http://www.santificanos.org/ Blessings! Gareth Join me at the Nation Worship Leaders Conference in San Juan Capistrano, California - October 7-19 http://nationalworshipleaderconference.com/ca/ Copyright © 2013 Make Us Holy Ministries, All rights reserved. unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

The Semiotic and the Symbolic

My wife studied literature for her undergraduate and masters degrees. One of the concepts she studied in feminist literature was the transference of language from semiotic to symbolic. I’m sure I didn’t understand all of it but what I picked up I will loosely describe here.

Semiotic language is that which has not yet achieved symbolic associations. Or put more organically, semiotic language speaks from a “gut” level and doesn’t always communicate well with those who are used to only communicating from a symbolic level.

Let me try and explain this with an illustration. If we hear someone with a sore throat use the term, “I have a frog in my throat” to explain their ailment, none of us hears or in any way understands that there is a green amphibious creature stuck in their throat! It is absurd! Why? Because that expression (and who knows where or when that term actually came about) – at one time expressed as a semiotic statement – has now achieved symbolic representation. We “know” that the person using the term is expressing the fact that they have a scratchy, sore throat.

I have come to believe that many of our spiritual experiences first begin in a semiotic state and eventually attain the symbolic.

So what?

Well, I think it helps to explain why spiritual movements first catch on and grow and then burn out.

There are many spiritual movements we could examine but, for the moment, let me look at my own journey from semiotic to symbolic in contemporary worship. 

I was born in 1955 and grew up in the 60’s and early 70’s. I enjoyed music but my exposure music was largely religious music, classical music and folk, pop/rock music. As I went through my high school years my musical influences were, Gordon Lightfoot, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Bruce Cockburn, Elton John, David Gates and Bread, Beatles. I leaned towards more easy-listening, folk/soft rock sounds.

But church music was always piano and organ playing hymns with a song conductor and/or a choir. When I was in church I understood the music because it was symbolic of what I understood church to be about. And it leaned more towards the classical – seldom, if ever, the contemporary.

I remember being interviewed by CBC Televsion (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) in 1980. Myself and two friends, Don Wilkinson and Derek Shettler had begun a radio program called “Fresh Rain” on the University of Manitoba FM Radio Station back in January of 1977. We played Contemporary Christian Music – mainly folk/pop/soft rock tunes that expressed a Christian themed message. I loved the music and it resonated with me. It was the kind of music I loved coupled with a message that I also loved.

Well, we began to have a significant following in Winnipeg, MB (where there were no Christian music stations at the time) and because I had worked as an on-air technician at CBC Radio, I was contacted about doing a TV interview with me and my collaborators at the radio station. I will never forget one of the questions the interviewer asked me. “Do you see a time when this kind of music will be used during Sunday morning worship services?” And I answered, quite confidently, that church worship music was something completely different and that I couldn’t ever envision seeing the two styles combining.

Less than a decade later my world-view was set upside down when contemporary soft rock based worship music began to be used in the church. In my experience, it had a way of bypassing my symbolic references of how I connected with God on a Sunday morning and went straight for the jugular! It was, in every sense of the word, a semiotic convergence of my Monday to Saturday preferences with my heart’s desire to worship God on a Sunday morning.

The music wasn’t yet tied up with the symbolic references I had grown up with and come to expect. It was the music of “the street” that I loved and listened to but never thought to utilize in extending praise to Jesus in the context of the gathered community. All my presuppositions were stripped aside. And the result was that it engaged my heart with the power and the fury of a hurricane. I was, in every sense of the word, caught up with it and blown away into an impassioned expression of praise to my Saviour. Heart and head – both together – expressing awe, wonder, and praise heavenward.

And I wasn’t the only one. In the ensuing decade, everywhere our worship band played, a similar response was experienced my many people – encountering God outside the symbolic norm – a semiotic encounter of worship.

By and large, that’s no longer true today. Contemporary worship songs are the norm in a significant majority of churches around North America. And people obviously enjoy it because it keeps growing and the worship music keeps getting written, recorded, performed and sold. Seldom is there a semiotic response to the music. Why? Because it has achieved the lofted place of symbol. People aren’t caught by surprise by the “from the gut” vocabulary and expressions – because we now expect that. We symbolically associate church worship music with those things. And because they are expected we tend toward acknowledgment rather than passion.

So, do we invent new forms and formats to get back to the semiotic?

That would be great if we could do that. But that’s the mystery of the semiotic. Once it has become accepted language (become symbol) it can never be returned to what it first was. And we can’t create the semiotic. It just happens – and when it does, it always seems out of place, wrong, too different to be taken seriously. 

Yet it is something I believe God continues to do around us. He has done it throughout history and he will do it again and again. What we need to do is not protect nor destroy the symbolic. We need to recognize that the symbol is only meant to point to something else. Our worship symbols should always point us beyond themselves to God. And sometimes, in looking past the symbol, into the heart of God we will find him responding in a unique – perhaps even a peculiar – way, inviting us further on our journey with Jesus that we cannot arrive at without the untried, the uninitiated, the unexplored – the semiotic.

Lava Flow

A few years ago my son and I traveled trough Guatemala and enjoyed climbing Volcano Pacaya. We walked right up to the lava flow and watched as the molten rock oozed out of the side of the mountain and slowly flowed, in a blazing stream, down the side of the mountain.

The sight is something that is incredible beyond belief and beautiful in its bizarre uniqueness. It radically changes the landscape and consumes everything in its path.

But eventually it slows and cools and stops. No longer flowing and beautiful it hardens into rocky crags and sharp edged formations that cover the land and snuff out all life for generations. Impenetrable, unmoving, bleary, unattractive.

Sometimes our passion for Jesus is like the lava flow - bright, hot, radical, flowing, beautiful. Attracting, amazing to watch, yet fully consuming and transforming.

And then it cools.

I think that sometimes the cooling happens when we have "figured out" what God is up to and we consolidate his activity into an easy to follow program of rules and regulations. Life is always easier when we have a path to follow. But sometimes the path becomes what we follow - more than the Person on the path ahead of us who keeps beckoning us to follow Him here... or there...

When we lose the ability to flow, life changes. And soon the rules and regulations we form become what we live for and death slowly creeps in. A life of following Jesus ALWAYS requires us to be willing to flow, to be open for surprises, to pursue a transformed life that more and more reflect Him!

... just some thoughts from listening to the last of the ONE CHURCH series of messages at The Meeting House with Bruxy Cavey and guest speaker, Mike Krause (Southridge Community Church). Thanks for your words.

Burn baby! Burn!

(see the video)

Dignity in a Toilet Stall

I was meeting a donor friend of mine for lunch at one of my favourite restaurants - Boston Pizza - yeah, Cactus Cut Potatoes!

But I digress...

After we finished lunch I excused myself to do nature's work. I was in one of the two stalls and I heard a father helping his son to also do nature's work in the next stall over. He was kind and compassionate. He was patient and encouraging.

But when we met up at the sink, I saw that it wasn't a father with his young son. It was a middle-aged son with his very elderly father. The elderly man didn't seem to have verbal skills (perhaps because of a stroke) and was very slow moving - needing help with washing his hands. And the words of encouragement, the patient tones, the kindness and compassion all of a sudden took on a whole different dynamic.

I had the overwhelming desire to hug this faithful son - this servant!

Would I do that for my father? Absolutely!

Would I do it for someone else's father?  Uuuuh......?

As a father and a grandfather I have had, and continue to have, much experience in caring for and nurturing those much younger than I. But I realized at that moment that maybe I wasn't fully prepared to serve another elderly non-family member in the same way.

But as I thought about it, I realized that no adult wants to have to depend on another person to look after them. We learned from the time we were children to do things on our own. And most of us don't like the humiliation of having to ask for help - especially with the simple things of life.

But sometimes we don't have the option to refuse. And sometimes people, like this elderly man, need people who are willing to help us - with dignity and understanding - to accomplish the basics of life.

God help me to treat with dignity those who can no longer help themselves. Help me, like this younger man, give the patient and kind service to those who need it.

Shunning A Culture of Criticism

I was at the National Worship Leaders Conference in Leawood, KS last week. Tuesday morning Ian Morgan Cron spoke about God convicting him about buying into a culture of criticism. And how this culture of criticism had become more and more pervasive in his attitude towards the church.  He confessed that he rather liked being critical about the church and defended its necessity in keeping the church relevant.

But God had convicted him that he was just lazy. Because it is easier to point out the flaws of the church, work, the government... anything... than to work towards the improvement of it.

And I was convicted.

Are there things the church could do better? Absolutely! Are there things that it needs to stop doing? Without a doubt!

But God's question to Ian, and to me, needs to be considered, "Will are you continually speak ill of the body that I love and gave myself for or work to help to build her into the radiant bride I envision?"

Ian referenced Francis of Assisi who lived in a time when the condition of the church was deplorable. If anyone had the right to critique the condition of the church it was Francis. And yet God told him that he needed to love the church and work towards its perfection - not towards its demise. In fact, in the monastic order he began, no monk was allowed to speak ill of the church - only to work towards its betterment.

"But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength,

 encouragement, and comfort" 

1 Corinthians 14:3 (NCV) 

And in 25 years the church had been revolutionized, restored, revived. Because it was loved even in its ugliness...

So the question I find myself pondering is; do I want to work towards the reviving of the church?
... it is much easier to critic her than to build her up.

But Jesus loves his church - as ugly and dysfunctional that it is (and we all are) at times. And if Jesus is patient and forgiving in his love, can I do any less?  

Laying Blame

It is always easier to lay blame than to take responsibility. That way we divert unwanted attention from us to others.

That became very clear to me a few weeks ago. I had been invited to speak in Latin America. I had agreed to come at my own cost. All I asked for was transportation to and from the airport, 2 or 3 meals a day and a place to sleep. I was promised that would be no problem. In fact I was told that I was booked into a large church in the capital city on Sunday morning and they would take a love offering for my ministry - to help defray the costs.

Things were different when I arrived, however. I ended up paying for the transportation to and from the airport and some of the food There was nothing booked in the capital for Sunday and the revised plans changed by the hour. I also ended up helping out another young believer who had been left with broken promises as well - and no money for the bus fare home.

I have learned to be flexible - especially when working with people from other cultures. However, the man who was responsible for the things he promised me ended up trying to divert the blame onto other people. He never offered an apology for things falling apart. He just pushed the blame on others.

And can I really blame him? Wouldn't most of us be tempted to do the same thing? I know that I have done that at times as well.

But when things don't work out the way we wanted them to or hoped they would, I can't think of too many people who wouldn't accept my apology - taking responsibility for my own failure. Christian brothers and sisters are often eager to forgive when there is ownership and humility expressed. It is a part of following Jesus that we understand that we all fall short.

Can I forgive the man? It took a few days, but yes, I did forgive him. But it certainly doesn't make me want to work with him again.

Owning up to our own responsibility takes guts. It sometimes hurts. It sometimes costs us - emotionally, financially, relationally, etc. But is far healthier and far more honest than to blame others. That just makes us look more like a bully.

So, when things go wrong... don't pass the blame.

Humble yourself. Take responsibility.

The end result is far better than! And it reflects the character of Jesus.

Extravagant Worship

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him,so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house,she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair,kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself,

“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him

and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”         Luke 7:36-39

Extravagant Worship

from a heart of gratitude

While this woman was dripping expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet, the disciples were standing on the outskirts of the circle thinking, “Man, if this woman had donated that perfume, we could have used it to pay for some of the expenses we have incurred since hooking up with Jesus” (see Matthew 26:8–9). Her act was an act of extravagant worship.

      Since 1987, I have attempted to discover as much as possible about living a life of worship. I have looked for ways of stretching the worship experience I had on a Sunday morning into my daily life. I want to live as a daily worshipper of God. But not just as any worshipper of him … as an extravagant worshipper.

      I have attended conferences, seminars, and workshops that have given me the opportunity to experiment with and experience different ways of expressing my worship. I have searched for and found powerful, anointed songs by gifted musicians that have drawn me toward my goal of extending extravagant worship to Jesus—corporately and privately. I have discovered principles of daily living that have opened my heart to worship him within the simplicity of everyday occurrences. I have read valuable books and resources that have helped to broaden my perspectives on who God is and who I am before him. And yet, extravagant worship isn’t found in any of these things.

      Gathering knowledge and experience is very much a part of our humanness. We look for insight from experts. But there is no program or event that will guarantee an extravagant, responsive heart. There is no especially “anointed” song or “gifted” musician that can draw our hearts to change direction and devotion on a daily basis. There is no training program or conference that will arrest our lives and cause us to live as an extravagant offering to Jesus.

      Should we stop going to them, listening to them, reading them? Not at all. But as we search for God and look for ways of knowing him better, we have to come face-to-face with the reality that while all these things can be helpful in drawing out a hunger from deep within us, there is no “magical” seminar or experience that will change our hearts. Extravagant worship comes from something much simpler—yet much more complex.

      The woman who came to Jesus while he was eating at Simon the Pharisee’s house did not come as an invited guest. Frankly, I’m pretty sure Simon was appalled at her appearing at his home. The Pharisee had a certain stature in the community, and he did not want to be defiled by the wrong kind of company.

      When this woman came to the house, she risked everything. She wasn’t invited, and she didn’t even know if Jesus would welcome her or turn her away. She came with a gift that was precious to her. A gift that she felt was worthy of Jesus.

      We don’t know exactly who she was or why she sought out Jesus. We do know that the people at the dinner recognized her as a sinful woman. As a woman, she had little right to interrupt dinner between men. As a sinful woman, she had absolutely no place in Simon’s home. But we do know that she recognized her own sins and Jesus’ capacity to forgive them.

      The context of the passage implies that the people with Jesus were unsure if he knew she was sinful. Had he known she was sinful, Jesus would have pushed her away … they assumed. She stood behind Jesus, tears flowing freely. She understood her own sinfulness. She understood that she did not belong there in that room with these people. She knew she was unworthy. But still … there she was. As Jesus reclined at the table, she poured the expensive perfume over his feet and wiped them with her own hair.

      An extravagant act in anybody’s definition!

      Extravagant worship does not come from experience or practice or ritual. Extravagant worship comes from a heart of gratitude. Like this woman, the worshipper who worships with extravagance has come face-to-face with the depths of their sin and separation from their Savior, and yet, has experienced the amazing gift of forgiveness and cleansing that Jesus gives and continues to give.

      Only when we have received grace undeservedly do we understand that God’s incredible love gives us life when we deserved death.

      Only when we come to the end of all our own resources and come face-to-face with our own ineptitude are we willing to call upon Jesus to lift us out of our sin.

      Only when we have lost our confidence in this world and in ourselves can we see Jesus in his fullness and let him develop our potential.

      Only when we understand that there is nothing that we have that is worthy of God’s love and grace can we understand his unconditional acceptance.

            Only when we have come to the end of the road with no hope for tomorrow can we truly appreciate the bread, the water, the life Jesus gives to those who seek him diligently.

      Simon had religion. He understood laws and systems. All his life, he had been taught that holiness was reflected in the company he kept. So he kept good company. He was aghast that Jesus would let this sinful woman touch him. Jewish laws were very, very clear about the holy and the impure keeping their distance.

      But Jesus, as Jesus is so apt to do, turned it around on him. Jesus knew that Simon was confused; he understood that Simon did not see himself as sinful—after all, he was a Pharisee—a leader and a man of God. The woman knew she was sinful; Simon had no clue. Jesus said to Simon, “Her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).

      She gave an extravagant gift of thanks to Jesus because she had no other way of expressing how much she loved Jesus. Part of the problem of giving Jesus an extravagant offering of worship is that we tend to forget how much we have been forgiven. This woman’s sins were obvious to the whole community. She was a lavish sinner, and she knew it! And that’s why her worship was so extravagant—because she knew how much Jesus had to forgive!

 
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