Personal

arts in the church

kevinhaglund Leave a comment

The title of this blog is “Perpetual Tension.” I gave it that name because life as a believer is one filled with tension–hopefully, a healthy tension! It is a tension that is seen throughout scripture and modeled by God Himself. Tensions like Jesus being 100% God AND 100% man; the tension between justice and mercy; the tension of being in the world but not of the world. There are many!

Another tension that I’ve been dealing with over the past 5-6 years is the place and role of arts in the church. I have spent 19+ years in full-time worship arts ministry. It is what I have been trained to do. It is how I make a living and provide for my family. It is something I have always loved to do. Until recent years.

Like many, I am moved by beautiful music. A well-played pipe organ can give me goosebumps. I love hearing an orchestra play and crescendo with a timpani roll. The tight harmonies in country music make me want to sing backup in a country band, and the sound of a black gospel choir belting it out makes me want to stand up and shout! Believe it or not, I’ve experienced all of these in church. I’ve had some absolutely fantastic musical experiences within the context of my full-time worship arts career.

There’s only one problem. About 6 years ago, someone came up to me after a worship service and said, “The reason I come to this church instead of my last church is because the band is so much better here.” Those words still echo in my head. Suddenly, all of the joy I had taken in crafting incredible musical and worship moments in church drained from my soul. And it’s never really come fully back. I’m not sure it ever will.

Commonplace in most churches is now the strategy of attracting people to our worship services with the best music, the best teaching, the best programs, the best facility, the best ________. Like I heard someone say, Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” What did we do? We made a really nice pool and now we just ask them to come swim in it

Here is my tension: What role do the arts play in a consumeristic culture? How can we utilize the arts in an excellent way without contributing to consumerism in the church? Where is the line? A well-executed electric guitar solo is acceptable but really awesome moving lights programmed by a talented lighting guy is over the line? Should we even care if worship arts contribute to consumerism in the church?

I am a very driven person. Inspired by the life of Dr. Jerry Falwell, I want to make the very most of the one lifetime I have been given. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Dr. Falwell made a significant impact with his one lifetime. I don’t want to spend my life just entertaining Christians on the weekend. I want to be a part of a disciple-making movement! I want to be a part of expanding God’s Kingdom and seeing people who are far from God come to know Him and begin to be used by Him to reach others. I don’t want to stand before God and hear Him say, “Kevin, you put together some pretty cool worship environments, but I wish you had invested your talents in what really mattered most to me–the making of disciples.”

So, there it is. This is probably the biggest tension I am currently wrestling with. I don’t know if the joy I used to get from leading great musical experiences in church will ever return. And I’m not even sure it should.

the Father’s character

kevinhaglund Leave a comment

There are many different “prayer tools” out there to aid us in our prayer lives. I’ve used the ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) acrostic in the past. Truth is, I’ve found that if I don’t use some sort of tool, my mind can easily wander–SQUIRREL!!

A few months ago, I learned a prayer tool based on The Lord’s Prayer, or the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray. It just makes sense. If this is what Jesus taught His disciples, shouldn’t it be a model for us to follow as well?

Here’s the simple format:

The Father’s Character
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…” (Matthew 6:9)
Let this phrase guide your prayers around the themes of God being a loving and gracious Father. It speaks of our relationship with Him through covenant. But, be sure to balance it with the fact that God is holy, separate from us and He expects us to be holy and set apart as well.

The Father’s Kingdom
“…Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
This is huge! So many things come to my mind when I read this phrase. We have been given the opportunity to represent His kingdom as ambassadors. He has chosen to use us to accomplish His kingdom purposes on this earth. What greater purpose could there be to surrender fully to? It also brings to mind the kingdom values that should begin to be more and more evident as a group of believers live out the counter-cultural ways of Jesus. What about physical healing? We know from Scripture that there is no sickness or disease in God’s kingdom. So, to pray that God’s kingdom and God’s will would come to earth as it is in heaven means we can and should ask for God to bring physical healing.

The Father’s Provision
“Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
God is our provider. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “…it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..” This is an area of growth for most Americans. We have such an independent spirit and we fail to recognize that God is our provider and not we ourselves. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. Allow this phrase to guide your prayers for God’s provision for your every need–not just financial.

The Father’s Forgiveness
“And forgive us our debs, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)
Lots here to pray over as well! In general, if you’re like me, you over-estimate your own holiness and under-estimate your own sinfulness. As the Psalmist prayed in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” What about broken relationships? Has someone wronged you? Matthew 6:14-15 seems to indicate that if we do not forgive others for the wrongs they have committed against us, then God will not forgive us!

The Father’s Guidance
“And lead us not into temptation…” (Matthew 6:13a)
Pray for God’s guidance in your life. What areas do you need God to guide you into truth and away from temptation? 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises us that there is no temptation that can overtake us because God will make a way of escape for us.

The Father’s Protection
“…but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13b)
Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are in a spiritual struggle. Pray for God’s spiritual protection and deliverance in your life. As you examine your life, what weak spots do you have? Our enemy, the evil one, will attack where you are weak. Those are the areas where we especially need the Father’s protection.

I’ve been using this prayer tool for the past couple of months. I am a substitute school bus driver to help supplement my income and I have been on the same route for about 2 months. The bus practically does the route itself by now so I use the 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon for some focused prayer. This tool has been very beneficial in keeping my thoughts corralled.

You can either pray through all 6 categories in one prayer time or spend the whole time on one of the 6 aspects. Doing the latter will enable you to really go deeper in a segment. Another way to use this tool is to evaluate your prayer life. Which segment(s) are you strong in? Which segment(s) are you weak in? For instance, I might have no trouble asking for God’s guidance in my life, but I might struggle recognizing Him as my provider. It’s a great evaluation tool!

What prayer methods have you found helpful?