For: The Institute Of Contemporary And Emerging Worship Studies, St. Stephen’s University, Essentials Blue Online Worship Theology Course with Dan Wilt.
Defining, fleshing out and writing my theology this week proved to be challenging. Frankly, it is not something I am asked to do in my daily life. My personality is to simply live what I believe rather than to formalize it in writing. I do see a great advantage to formalize it now that the assignment has been completed.
I am not a quick processor of information. I find that I must write, rewrite, verbalize, and edit my writing to fully bring my thoughts forward to my own understanding. Often, as I verbalize, new clarity comes and needs to be expressed.
Be that as it may, I consider this description to be a work “in progress”. Even now as I re-read it and reflect on everyone else’s writings, I find thoughts that I want to add. I will, however, leave it as is and will revisit it in the future because I have found it an extremely valuable exercise.
For me, to express my ideas in light of Scripture rather than in the vocabulary from the readings and videos is more valuable. Yet I, as an educator, understand that the use of such vocabulary provides evidence of concept development and understanding and completion of course assignments. Therefore, I have tried to use some of that vocabulary. But, after completing the assigned readings and videos, I actually spent more time searching the Scriptures this week, and that can’t be a bad thing.
As our church elders and deacons met last night, I listened to one of the elders share how, in his vocation, he is realizing that more and more people in our small, rural, historically churched community have no grid for the Bible, no knowledge of the Gospel, no knowledge of Jesus. We are realizing the culture of our community has quickly changed in the last 10 years and how important it is to engage the culture, as Dan Wilt shares in the “What is Worship?” DVD, Chapter 13. As a church, we are purposefully moving out into the community to build relationships with people in order to minister the Gospel to them in real, tangible ways. Our vision as a church is developing beyond our four walls.
I began to reflect on how important this assignment was for me to concrete-ize my theology in my own mind. And I now realize how important it is for us, as Christians, to bring God’s story of hope, redemption and reconciliation to our communities in our everyday, walking around lives.
My understanding of the Kingdom of God as here, now, and in the days to come has been enlarged because of this course. It has brought new purpose to my vocation as worship pastor at a time when I was in serious doubt about what I was doing.
I am a story teller of the greatest Story there is. I creatively bring the Gospel to those who are here in church each week, but also to the community who watches our services each week on local access cable TV. I bring about an environment where people can encounter the Living God. What an awesome vocation God has given me!
Here then, is my first attempt to define my theology.
Note: All Scripture references are New King James Version, © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc,
God the Lord, is One; Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Out of nothing He created the heavens and the earth, the visible and invisible. He created human beings in His own image, male and female, and breathed His life into them. The Triune God, Creator, is the Sovereign Lord. He is before all things and in Him all things consist. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) The Creator rules His creation. Human beings bear His image. We are sub-creators and He has chosen us to partner with Him in relationship as vice-regents, as ambassadors, as stewards of His Kingdom.
Through the disobedience of one human, the relationship between God and human beings was severed. We became alienated from the Triune God and became His enemies. “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5) He made a way of rescue through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, reconciling “in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight” (Colossians 1:22). “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
God created one sacred world, though now fallen as the result of the fall of mankind. Jesus’ birth ushered in His Kingdom. His own words from Mark 1:15 say, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” We, as believers, are citizens not of the world, but of His kingdom (John 17:14-16). The kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:21). We are given the active mission to declare the Good News; that He is restoring all to Himself; that the rightful Lord is Jesus Christ; that He makes all things new.
As His Church, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4) We must not isolate ourselves from the culture since we are in the world. We are to bring His justice, His love, His truth, His word, His beauty, His desire for relationship, His hope and promise of rescue to that which has fallen; our families, neighbors, and communities. He has placed each church strategically in a community, as “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
” …that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,” (Ephesians 2:10; 3:10). And we will rule and reign with Christ and then the first heaven and first earth will pass away and all things will be made new in the new heaven and new earth. And God will dwell with us there. (Revelation 20, 21)
