Where's My Woolies?
A week and one day ago, sweat was oozing out of my every pore and there was nothing more appealing then the thought of a Canadian winter. Complaining about the weather is not something I want to do, but can I just say that I haven't seen the sun in five days?!? Temperatures have been fairly mild but I believe the second ice age is arriving as I type. Winds, like snowy ghosts, are frenetically dancing around the house. The radiant heat of the woodstove wards off the chill from my bones, but I can't go too far before the freeze seeps in again. In fact the location of this computer is almost too distant for me to absorb the warmth, but that is a sacrifice I will make to post a blog.
It was as I sat through a more than 2 hour long Christmas choir concert, that the rain turned to snow and the temperatures plummeted below zero. There were over 130 voices that participated in this very traditional, typical choir event. It reflected all that I grew up with: organ, unadorned walls, suits and skirts, peppermint bags, and Dutch people warming every pew!
I was invited to the concert by my friend Joni, who also comes from solid Dutch origins. I mentioned to her that at one point I rejected all the traditions and trappings that came with the Reformed church. Today, although I love the new music and manners of "doing church", I also appreciate anew the hymns and highly structured worship of the Reformed church in which I was raised. I do not adopt some of their doctrinal stands, but my sense of oneness with these bodies of believers has been restored.
The Lord caused some verses from Isaiah to come to mind as I've been mulling over these things. "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn" Isaiah 51:1. There is no escape, I have been cut from the rock of the Christian Reformed Church, but more poignant and pressing is that I've been hewn from the quarry of Christ. Denominational differences are harped on way too often, the question at hand is are we listening to the Lord and looking to the Rock of our salvation?
Excuse me while I ponder these thoughts a little closer to the beckoning flames of the woodstove.
posted by FFG @ Friday, December 01, 2006
2 comments
2 Comments:
I agree. Although I've always loved the hymns of the faith, there is much in their theology that I do not agree with. Most people thought I hated hymns because I was a worship pastor who played contemporary music, but those stereotypes are moot. Lately I've been disgusted with denomination differences because I see the reason we have them: selfishness. It has nothing to do with style or needs; it has everything to do with selfishness. We want what we want and disguise it as 'correct theology' and 'godly music style.' It is ironic that Jesus only mentions singing once, yet we make a law out of it. (It especially bugs me when people defend hymnology because Jesus sang a 'hymn,' that's what the bible says. Oh brother!)
Anyhow, I empathize with your words. They are quite fitting to our generation. It would behoove us greatly to eradicate all the erroneous and selfish doctrine that has crept into our midst; yet, this is something that Christ alone can do. However, we can pray for it to happen.
We are in a sad state, are we not?
The church climate is definitely changing and I hear murmurings of change and dissatisfaction everywhere. Mostly, I just listen to it, wonder about it, and then go on doing my thing and loving my Jesus!
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