I am currently in a doctoral program, studying semiotics—cultural symbols—which requires a great deal of reading. Probably the greatest benefit of an education is the wise guide (teacher) who can give a curated tour of the best there is in any given subject, and such is the case with this program. Dr. Leonard Sweet has opened the door to an entire world of scholars and theologians who look beneath the surface of things and reveal mysteries. Now I would like to open that world to you.
From Mother to Daughter
There is a special feeling listening to my daughter teach her little two-year-old daughter the songs I used to sing to my daughter. This is tradition, being passed from mother to daughter to granddaughter. Embedded in the music is all the love, the enjoyment, the happiness, the belongingness that these songs represent and evoke. My daughter is now training as a children’s leader in Bible Study Fellowship, and she told me with wonder how, in class, all the little children wanted to touch the passage in the Bible that was being read that day, and how the teacher sang, “I open my Bible book and see, God loves me, God loves me.”
I teared up.
I sang that as a children’s leader almost forty years ago, and I sang it to my own children every day when we had Bible time together. Now she sings this little song to her daughter when they have Bible time together.
Hymns Are Our Belongingness
Old hymns have the potential to be like that, to embody all those years of love and belongingness, passed down from one generation to another as a love-tie that will last even into eternity, as each church member goes into glory with these songs in their heart. Updating the chords is a great idea, acknowledging what moves us today, bringing the familiarity of our own songs to the words of theirs. Plenty of of these hymns have added a praise-song type chorus that lots of people enjoy. And there are modern hymns too, of course.
I will say, there is a lot of merit to writing new songs that come up through the church. Each generation has cultural markers that show up in its songs. Martin Luther famously took familiar tunes and gave them new words. There are tunes in our heads that we will remember forever, nursery rhymes and commercial jingles, and rock songs. May as well put them to good use, huh?
Understanding Our Feelings
All About Anger
Anger is the empowering emotion often found on the negative side of the emotional spectrum, and joy—or delight—is on the positive side. Anger is very often the “cover story” for other emotions that are usually gutting, like fear, depression, sorrow, and jealousy. Anger feels more, for a lack of a better word, positive. Anger galvanizes, anger feels so righteous. It is so very human to turn to anger as an ivy leaf to cover these other vulnerable emotions. And honestly, anger gets the job done, for the most part, anger is fuel that feeds a fire rather than a gremlin that steals away vital heart nourishment.
Undertow of Sorrow
So what do we do when we are being dragged by the undertow of sorrow, or envy, or other gutting feelings? It is such a surprise that joy is what God designed for us. If anger is the bad cholesterol, joy is the good one. Joy leaves plenty of room to feel all the other feelings (anger is not nearly as generous) while also quietly nourishing us and energizing us. And the joy of the Lord (God’s joy, in other words, the delight God delights with), infinite in supply, is there within us already, always available, “spring up oh well, within my soul.”
The Joy of Delight
This really was a delightful book. I kept getting the impression of joy, and heartfelt love for the subject (of Methodism, The Wesleyan Way, and John Wesley). Much of this book felt like the Restoration Movement to me, like Disciples of Christ (my own chosen church for many years). Being a musician, I especially enjoyed the analogy of music for the Methodist way, and I recognized several themes that we’ve been reading about the last two years.
There were a number of places I wanted to pause and think about it. When God is making something new, doing a new thing, God is not finding a need to fill, but rather filling a need that hasn’t yet been found or even known (p 41). On the same page, I took to heart that only diligent practice can make the beautiful music we long to become in the Master’s hands. Part of that practice is being silent with the Lord, an active sort of listening silence (pp43-44).
All of us who have the Spirit of Christ share in the passion the Lord has for earth, for people, for each other. We share in spiritual knowledge and understanding, we share in, as Sweet puts it, the upward works of piety that include the sacraments, prayer, and scripture, and we share in the outward works of piety, of grace, mercy, and charity.
We are, so often, the voice of Christ to each other, and the acts of Christ. Added to listening silence, study of scriptures perhaps it is also partly through each other that we come to learn who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going (59).
The Plagiarism of Principles Minus the Person
It was an interesting way to put it, to call it plagiarism, to proclaim the concepts of Jesus without sharing Jesus with them. I’m trying to picture what that means, unless it means to tout love and mercy without sharing the author of both (p 67)?
It was also wise insight to show the difference between replicating, which is colonizing, rather than reproducing, which takes in the locality as “co-parent” (p 72-73). The proliferation of “artisan churches” has certainly increased—taking on the local “thereness” as part of its character. Perhaps that is the wave of the future as institutional and legacy churches continue to wane.
Connect and Collaborate
The “connect-and-collaborate” section is right where I am, and we are, in our own church development. The quality of participation rather than performance, the recognition that every believer matures to teach and shepherd in some way, that clergy’s best role is to teach and shepherd the teachers and shepherds, this whole section of the book felt very affirming to what we are seeking to do in our own assembly (pp 79-80).
The bringing together of the subjective experience of Jesus with the objective knowledge of Jesus, and things of God, is the holistic life of faith.
Every revival of faith within the church has this as its foundation. Call it enthusiasm, passion, charisma, hardcore for Jesus, whatever is the lingo, the underneath is the same, and it is what Jesus talked about, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
When that is the truth, then being a little-“j” follower becomes a whole sensurround experience. Everything in life points to Jesus, everything becomes a metaphor, an object lesson, and opportunity. Like the man who had nothing, yet thanked God for life and being, a heart to love God and a desire to serve God, life is full, life is good, and to live it is a joy (p113).
