Graham Seel

An area that is worth watching is faith in the workplace, in which there are several good blogs going. For example the work section of The High Calling (http://www.thehighcalling.org/work) and the Theology of Work site (http://www.theologyofwork.org/) which is not strictly a blog, but publishes short and timely articles from the site in their Facebook page. I have also just published a new blog post in my own Faith@Work blog (http://faithatworkplace.blogspot.com).

Also, may I be cheeky enough to plug my upcoming CRC Webinar on the subject, called "Every Square Inch" at Work? This is a general area of faith formation in which the church, and especially CRC, could do far more to equip its members to live out God's Kingdom calling in their everyday occupations.

We moved away from regular use of the organ about 15 years ago, adopting an entirely "contemporary" style. Now we have found ourselves reintroducing a number of hymns, though still presented with praise band instrumentation and style. I've found myself increasingly wondering how we might integrate at least occasional use of the organ in some of our songs. I'm not an organist, although we have one keyboard player who plays the organ (we still use it for weddings). I'd be interested to hear from any others who have gone the whole way to contemporary worship and then backed up and reintroduced the organ. How did you approach it? What has worked, and what hasn't?

John, thanks for your response. I'll check out the Intergenerational worship posts and also reach out to Chad. I think there are a couple of things that have led us to think more about reintroduction of hymns in particular, and also (for me) the organ. Firstly, we have always missed the richness of the words of the best hymns. Secondly, the contemporary worship movement has increasingly embraced hymns (writers like Christ Tomlin have gone further, by adding some very effective additional choruses or bridges - The Wonderful Cross for example, or more recently Joy To The World), With regard to the organ, it is simply a powerful, versatile and impactful instrument when used in the right way at the right time. This isn't a matter of hymns vs contemporary songs - it is a matter as with any instrument of determining where it adds value and where it doesn't. The addition of the organ at this point is my thought and needs to be discussed with others before we go anywhere with it. But the gradual reintroduction of hymns in a way that doesn't interfere with our musical abilities, flow, general service style, etc is something I think we've made some good progress with.

Great question. Firstly, yes of course youth ministry is terrifying - you're talking to people who simply won't stand for jargon, badly thought through arguments, or falseness of any kind. They let you know where you are. We don't always want that, but how refreshing it is for someone like me - having taken on youth group leadership at 63 after teaching the Bible to adults for 40 years!

As far as identify is concerned, we've set out to help with just that question. We started with Psalm 139 and then moved into Genesis 1-2. We're exploring the idea of being made in God's image, being His "Masterpiece" - custom-made with a plan that goes back to the beginning of Creation. Eyes are opening. Next we're going into a look at Jesus - the One who not only demonstrated what it means to live fully and truly as the image-bearer of God, but who also freed us from the power of evil that holds us back from living this amazing life God intended - unique in gifts, experiences, personality, and passion, and perfectly suited for the eternally significant purpose God planned for us. I'm not settled on an approach yet, but looking at things like TImothy Keller's new book (Encounters with Jesus) - anyway looking at what the gospels tell us about how Jesus lived out being "the image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15).

It's just one approach - but so far it seems to be going pretty well. The kids are about to make a video about what it means to them to be "God's Masterpiece" - their idea, not mine. I still approach each week with trepidation, but it's a pretty thrilling ride.

As a lay leader, I would like to see Calvin Seminary provide in-depth preparation for equipping church members to live out their calling in the workplace as those made in God's image, called in the cultural mandate (and beyond) to be workers in God's Kingdom, and privileged to be filled with the Spirit to partner with God as He works through them in His world. Best of all would be some focused work experience for seminarians to seek to work out their own faith in a "secular" (i.e everyday sacred) calling. Practical issues of ethics, character, witness and love in everyday acitivities are where church members need the most discipleship help, and this may be one of the least emphasized areas of a seminarian's preparation (not just at Calvin of course). I believe this is a huge theological and pastoral challenge for most pastors, and may be why so little is heard from our pulpits and in our classrooms about how to view our daily work as God's work. With forbears like Kuyper, it would be very appropriate for Calvin to take the lead in this universally rather neglected area of pastoral preparation..

I really appreciate Al raising this, and creating some healthy dialogue through a specific example. Clearly the debate isn't really about this particular Chris Tomlin song, but the example provides a good vehicle for more general discussion, so I'll continue to use it.

"Untameable" is clearly not a traditionally orthodox descriptor for God, but as John comments in the context of the song it is clear that what is being said is that we cannot "tame" God, we cannot cut Him down to our size, and we cannot control Him. Christian songwriters (and hymnwriters) have always faced a challenge to ensure theological orthodoxy, faithfulness to the intent of traditionally accepted language, and at the same time (and sometimes in apparent conflict) the use of language that will be understood by contemporary singers and will evoke the desired spiritual and emotional response in worship of God. This is a difficult tension (as an occasional songwriter I struggle with it). This particular song has been very widely used in worship (several times in my own church) and evokes a sense of awe, of God's holiness and greatness, and of humility before Him. The use of this rather shocking word "untameable" is powerful for the very reason you are concerned about it - it is unexpected and pulls us up short. That doesn't make it right in general of course - sometimes words are shocking because they're wrong. But in this case I would defend it.

Nevertheless, the consistory does have a difficult task. Most non-professional elders do not have the depth of theological training, or language skills, let alone the musical skills, to judge the songs we're singing. This has been discussed elsewhere on this forum. Even as someone who is both a worship leader and an elder, I also don't have (or don't make) the time for the depth of review I'd ideally like.

Perhaps what we need is a CRC or Reformed forum or some other resource for worship leaders and their elders to raise questions about particular popular worship songs and hymns, with an easy indexing mechanism that at least lets us know questions have been raised that would cause us to take a closer look at a particular song. If as a worship leader I could bump my planned list of songs for Sunday against this list, it would be much easier to look more closely at any song that needs to be rethought. Any takers?

I don't know the wording in Church Order, but isn't the principle that elders are responsible to ensure that worship is properly conducted. In most churches today that will include appoointment of worship leaders and similar, which most consistories probably do, and holding them accountable, which I suspect many do not. I agree with Al that most elders lack the theological, liturgical (and, I'd add, musical) training to design worship services. It has been my experience that when elders do plan services directly, there is a risk of being formulaic and overly rigid. On the other hand when they don't supervise and hold worship leaders accountable, the risk is looseness, theological weakness and musical populism (whether that is contemporary or traditional in nature).

Has the CRCNA created any training materials for elders specifically related to worship that will help equip them (us - I just became an elder, though have been for many years a worship leader) to carry out their responsibilites with insight while allowing specialists the freedom to deploy their gifts in God's service? If not, this would be a great asset.

Thanks for this thoughtful post, James. From the pew, the decision seemed a little dissatisfying. I consider the Belhar, and everything it stands for, to be a legitimate response to major error in the Church, including the CRC. I also have sympathy with a number of those who didn't want it to be a Confession. But on the face of it, this "third way" seemed like neither one thing nor another.

However, as you rightly point out, it creates a tremendous opportunity. Again, from the pew, the role of our confessions is quite murky. I'd be surprised if one in a hundred CRC church members could give a coherent account of how the confessions came to be and, especially, what they can and should mean to us today. (I'm a 99-percenter!) So if debate on the role of confessions in the doctrine and unity of the Church spreads through the CRC (and other denominations that will be disappointed with the Synod's decision), then as is so often the case God's wisdom and grace will be shown to be so much more than our imaginations allow. May the Holy Spirit fill us all the more with wonder and love for His Church, and may He use this time to lead us into greater wisdom and unity.

We've been struggling a bit too with musicians taking a break for some or all of the summer. We're used to a full band (guitars, piano, keyboard, bass, drums) and have had a couple of Sundays with just a couple of instruments (piano/bass or guitar/bass) and fewer singers than usual. The key has been in planning and preparing for the service to be aware of the instruments we have. Generally it has gone really well, and is a good challenge for leaders as well as instrumentalists (who can't hide behind the rhythm section!) Many in the church have been blessed by this more intimate feeling. We also encourage the congregation to move nearer the front (which helps preachers too with connecting to them) - this helps the sense of intimacy. I don't think anyone wants this as a norm, but it really helps us to have some variety in approaches - our worship focus becomes different in character, but no less real. For some congregation members, the quieter worship is a big relief (!) while others miss the intensity of our bigger band.

Of course really the instrumentation and so on are rather incidental - the prayer preparation of all involved, prayer before and during the service, the attitude of the congregation coming in, and in particularly the Lordship of the Holy Spirit throughout the service will lead us into worship "in Spirit and in Truth" - the rest doesn't matter.

It would be good to see some input from the 20-something attendees here. This is a critical issue for the church, and all of us, in all generations, have an opportunity to seek God's wisdom and discernment as He shapes His church going forward. That's going to require some additional humility, submission, faith, hope, and unity (not least for those of us on church Councils) - none of which would hurt us anyway!

I know from other feedback that there were some great discussions, though perhaps not much in the way of resolution which is hardly a surprise. Is any of the valuable dialogue being collected for dissemination and/or publication for those of us unable to attend?