Congregational and Bible Churches have long raised a banner that lays claim to New Testament Principles. Disagreeing vehemently with their banners, hierarchal churches within the single pastor systems have taken to questioning Congregational reasoning and shaken sympathetic pastoral heads. Over all this the Roman Catholic Church has pointed to the shaky claims of the entire Protestant movement, stuck its thumbs in its theological breeches and scoffed. But I have to ask: who is right? What does a church established on New Testament principles actually look like?
Category: church
In Politics, certain subjects took on a political endangering quality. Social Security has been labeled the Third Rail of American Politics specifically because it’s so charged and touching it meant death for a person’s political career. In the same way certain subjects do the same for professional careers, conversations and churches. For churches in particular, the third rail is Music: time for me to waltz on it.
You go into any Church during their service, listen to the music and note your first reaction. I don’t mean the piety of your reaction, like the part that you say “Praise God!” I mean the part of your reaction where you decide that the specific sound you’re hearing is a Good Expression of True Worship. That reaction will clue you in on what you’re approach to music in church is.
Is there a right approach to music or is it just a matter of taste? Does Music have a place in Christian worship or is it more a distraction that what it’s worth?
Categories
Angry Test Post
There is no reason but an unknown one.
A specific folder in my server (the blog folder) for some reason left the content folder password protected to no one and the main blog folder needed to be chmodded all the way down to the core to allow certain actions: I don’t know why. It’s not like I’ve done any changes or even sneezed near my blog yet for some reason it up and blocked me for weeks.
A Calvinist would say that this was predetermined. An Arminian would say that if I persevered I would’ve come through this all right. A Calminian would say “Can’t we all get along?” A Dispensationalist would’ve pointed out that it was a judgment on my blog that ended the Last Age. A Covenant Theologian would point out that the new stage of my blog is merely a further revelation of the Old therefore many of the elements are the same if not completely transposed spiritually. A Traditionalist would say that I should be motivated to post only in Psalms while a Contemporary-ist (?) would say that I should lift up my voice with the timbrel and dance.
Either way, I think I’m back in business. Blogging to resume on the morrow.
In D.C, a small choral group got together to practice. They were classically trained voice musicians excelling in chamber music and using this to minister to churches up and down the East coast. One young man in particular was exceptional in the group because of his perfect (or absolute) pitch; and yet this young man had to lower the volume of his voice when he sang.
Categories
Dressing Up For Church?
The argument goes something like this: The Bible says that where two or three are gathered there is Jesus in the midst of them (Matt 18:20). That indicates that a gathering of two or three includes the very important presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. People wear their best clothes when they meet someone Important (like if one had a meeting with the President). This indicates that the esteem put on the person justifies the better clothing. Christ is more Important than anyone and to be greater esteemed. Therefore, when going to any meeting of the church a person should wear their best clothes.