Brad B. on pastoral calls

If you also read Brad you'll find this anyway, but for those who don't, this is a good statement from a wise pastor.

"I suspect that many of these issues could be more easily solved with the realization that a pastor is not an employee of the congregation. He or she is not a hiree. The pastor is called by the congregation -- but the call is to work in the context of that congregation, not for the congregation."

Read more...

My other Blog

If I were to make a list of the half-dozen most influential men in my life (in actual point of fact, I have written an annotated list - someday I'll post its contents) it would include Byron, my friend of more than 35 years. I credit Byron with nurturing this pan-artistic passion to see the arts find their place in Christian ministry - a passion we share, though he has it in far greater measure than me. Way back in the 70s, Byron founded and still gives direction to Artists in Christian Testimony, and after my graduation from Westmont in December '79 and our marriage in January '80, Byron became my first full-time employer as I went on staff with ACT.

Recently, ACT established the International Association of Artists in Christian Testimony and was looking for ways to add value to its membership. I offered to develop a Blog where Byron and I would post material related to the arts and Christian faith. Now it's up.

BTW, this is a guy you want to invite to speak at your next minister's retreat, as I did in 2000 when I chaired the MidSouth Covenant Ministerial Association.

The Pastoral Call Process

My friend and colleague who writes at Naked Religion has begun a series of posts (beginning 8/5/5) on the process of pastoral call. It is well worth reading, especially for those whose churches may be approaching a pastoral vacancy. I hope to respond shortly on this subject - one for which I feel a LOT of concern - for reasons already known by those who know my history. The trick for me is to fairly, responsibly, honestly, and objectively review the facts in my own story as they touch on this challenge facing the church of Jesus Christ and its pastoral servants. More later.

Word of God Speak

We're using this very beautiful song on Sunday - a very simple arrangement very much like the original recording by Mercy Me - just Mark on piano, me on strings, and and Raymond on vocal. Listen to the original here. (mp3)

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak

Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see Your majesty

To be still and knowThat You're in this place

Please let me stay and restIn Your holiness

Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You
Beyond the music beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with You
And in the quiet hear Your voice

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty
To be still and knowThat You're in this place
Please let me stay and restIn Your holiness

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay

Words and Music by Bart Millard and Pete Kipley © 2002 Simpleville Music

Did you catch this Bono interview?

You may have your issues with the lead singer of U2, but I find his Christian witness in this interview, as reported by World Magazine, very compelling.

I will Never be the Same Again

Last weekend we used the song “I will never be the same again” –

I will never be the same again
I can never return
I've closed the door
I will walk the path
I'll run the race
And I will never be the same again

Fall like fire soak like rain
Flow like mighty waters
Again and again
Sweep away the darkness
Burn away the chaff
And let a flame burn
To glorify Your name
There are higher heights
There are deeper seas
Whatever You need to do
Lord do it in me
And the glory of God fills my life
And I will never be the same again

by Geoff Bullock © 1995 Word Music, LLC (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.) Maranatha! Music (Admin. by The Copyright Company)

I like that song very much (and the part about soaking like rain was very appropriate here in Kingwood where we’ve had several inches of rain in July – most of it concentrated in about 5 days – the result of being near to several hurricane landfall locations). But I’ve always had a problem with the second and third lines. What is the basis for a changed life? What is the ground for confidence in continued growth in Christ? The response “I can never return, I've closed the door” seems inadequate. I also want to hear the name of Jesus. So I adjusted the next to last line of the final verse as well. Here’s the result.

I will never be the same again
You have opened my heart
To trust Your grace
I will walk the path
I'll run the race
And I will never be the same again

(Same Chorus section: Fall like fire soak like rain…)

There are higher heights
There are deeper seas
Whatever You need to do
Lord do it in me
Jesus, You’re the one! You set me free
And I will never be the same again

Healing Rain 2

Yesterday was a great day. Doyle preached on "God's part and our part in Healing", based on Mark 9's account of the boy with a demon, and also from the Lord's Prayer. Many people were blessed by the whole service, especially at 11:00. Our first Service of Healing Prayer is tomorrow evening at 6:30.

Here's a link to an mp3 of "Healing Rain" from the 11:00 service.

Healing Rain

I expect God to touch many hearts through this coming weekend's service . Doyle, our associate pastor, is preaching on the healing power of Jesus. tomorrow afternoon I am filming a testimony of a woman who has experienced God's touch recently as she has wrestled with cancer. But the services will also be about healing in broader categories - emotional and spiritual. We're following the message with Michael W. Smith's "Healing Rain" - which we've presented before and have seen the song used by God to minister deeply to people. (Listen to an excerpt here, wma format)

We're also using, in congregational singing, "Blessed be your name" by Matt and Beth Redman. It's been covered by numerous artists - Here's a wma link to Robin Mark's recording. It provides a counterpoint to the theme of healing - "When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say: Blessed be the Name of the Lord..."

We'll also use this prayer which I composed when we did "A Heart Set Free: 40 Days in Philippians", our homemade followup to 40 Days of Purpose:

Father God, there are chains that would imprison my heart today –
bonds that would hold me back from all that You have for me.
Chains of guilt or doubt, chains of selfishness or fear-
Chains formed in my past or my present,
by someone else’s hand or by my own-
Chains known and unknown to me.
But you know them all, Lord, and You can free me from their hold.
In the power of Jesus, please break the chains and release me this day,
so that I may live in the joy of a Heart set free. Amen.

A short confession

This post and the next are worship resources for this Sunday, July 17. It's the last Sunday with our seminary intern, John, and I'll miss him - as I do each of the guys I've had the pleasure of knowing as a friend and colleague (Josh, Jason, and Nate before John). In early August, Brian will show up for his year-long "vicarage". But I digress...

This Sunday we're introducing Paul Baloche's wonderful song "All the Earth will sing Your Praises", which, last time I checked, was available as a free download on his website - pdf sheet music and audio track (We're doing the "radio single version in the upper left corner). Still digressing...

Anyway, this confession idea (using Jeremiah 17) was from The Covenant Hymnal: A Worship Book, but I wanted to make it more Jesus-focused, so I needed a New Testament text in the middle of it. I found Titus 2:14 and it felt like a hand in glove fit.

All: The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

Leader: But Jesus Christ gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing what is right.

All: O LORD, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you alone!

From Jeremiah 17:9, Titus 2:14, Jeremiah 17:14 – New Living Translation

Affirmation of Biblical Truth

As I develop worship resources I often find that no one translation works well all the time. I lean very heavily on The Message and the New Living Translation, but I often tweak one or the other, or combine several, to get just what I am looking for. The idea for this affirmation came out of The Covenant Hymnal: A Worship Book, but I wanted to start with a different translation and go from there.


Here's a trustworthy statement we can take to heart and depend on:
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

There is only one God, and there is only one Mediator who can reconcile people to God: He is the man, Christ Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set us all free.

This is a great mystery, far exceeding our human understanding, but these things are clear:

Jesus appeared in a human body,
was proved right by the Holy Spirit,
was seen by angels.

Jesus has been proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
believed in all over the world,
and taken up into heavenly glory.



(paraphrased from 1 Timothy 1:15, 2:5-6, 3:16)

Lord Most High

Don Harris and Gary Sadler's "Lord Most High" (1996, Integrity's Hosanna! Music) is a popular song that I am planning on using this weekend as I lead worship:

From the ends of the earth,
From the depths of the sea,
From the heights of the heavens
Your name be praised
From the hearts of the weak,
From the shouts of the strong,
From the lips of all people,
This song we raise, Lord:

Throughout the endless ages
You will be crowned with praises, Lord Most High,
Exalted in every nation,
Sovereign of all creation, Lord Most High, be magnified.

I wrote these words this weekend to function as a second verse:

From the heights of your throne,
To a manger of hay,
Bringing hope to your people,
We sing Your praise,

From your life-giving hands
To your death on a cross
To your tomb that lays empty
Your song we raise, Lord…


© Rick Lindholtz, 2005

The Gospel

Principal photography wrapped up on Wednesday for The Gospel, a, 'contemporary spiritual drama,' from Georgia-based Rainforest Films, according to the film's website. Shot entirely on location in Atlanta, the film stars Boris Kodjoe (Showtime's Soul Food, Love & Basketball as a hot R&B recording artist who's at the top of his career, yet estranged from his family who are southern Christian leaders in his hometown church. When Kodjoe's character, David, learns that his father (Clifton Powell), the Bishop of their church is ill and near death, he returns home, only to discover that his childhood rival (Idris Elba) is poised to become his father's successor at the church and has married his cousin (Nona Gaye) as well. While being met with hostility from family members, David also discovers disloyalty within the music empire he is building ­ all while struggling to make peace with his family, God and himself. 'I came from such a different background and such different experiences,' says Kodjoe (who was born in Vienna) regarding his participation in the film. 'Germans don't have that sort of fiery mentality of expression, they don't have that religious experience that people here have in terms of feeling the Holy Ghost or just dancing and singing along in Church, I never saw that until I came over here. So that to me represented a great opportunity to sort of tap into something that I hadn't known before, and do research, and watch people and performances, so it's been an incredible ride for me.' Co-starring alongside Kodjoe in The Gospel are Tamyra (American Idol, Boston Public), Omar Gooding (Baby Boy), Keisha Knight Pulliam (The Cosby Show), and gospel superstars Donnie McClurkin and Hezekiah Walker. The Gospel also features original music by performer/producer Kirk Franklin, with performances by Yolanda Adams, Martha Munizzi, and Delores 'Mom' Winans. The soundtrack is scheduled to release in the fall. 'We were able to assemble this amazing cast because our actors and heavyweights in the gospel industry like Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams read the story and said it felt genuine to them ­ that it was a drama about faith that they could relate to,' says writer/director Rob Hardy, who likens The Gospel to the Biblical story of the prodigal son, with elements loosely based on his own life. Fellow producer, Will Packer, a longtime collaborator and friend of Hardy's says the two of them, together with the film's executive producers Holly Davis-Carter and Fred Hammond, shared the desire to bring a dramatic, faith-based film to the screen. 'This is a labor of love for us because we believe in the values espoused in this film,' says Packer, a southerner who was raised in a church with predominantly African Americans. 'Because no matter what trials and tribulations you go through, with faith you can overcome them if you lean on that higher power.' And its' that message, says Davis-Carter, a veteran Hollywood talent manager turned producer, that motivated her to help them get this film made. 'We believe there's a need for more stories about morality, redemption, faith, hope and recovery,' she says. 'Those values are what this film's all about and what people will respond to very deeply.' The Gospel is scheduled to hit theaters in October. For more information, go to www.gospelmovie.com.

Back Home again

ElenaClaire and I spent June 25 - July 3 on a Missions trip to Florida. Arcadia, Florida, to be exact - a town about 35 miles east of Sarasota - a town hit by 3 hurricanes in the late summer of 2004.

We were among 79 youth group members and adults from CTK who went to Arcadia to become part of about 360 people as part of Group Workcamps. This was one of some 50 or so workcamps that will involve 20,000 kids this summer.

I was pretty impressed with the whole operation. We stayed in a middle school (mercifully, it was air conditioned) and worked in teams of 6 people - rarely including another person from your home congregation, although since CTK brought so many people and was the largest group at the camp, we had a fair number of teams that included another CTK person. We were doing more building of decks and wheelchair ramps and scraping and painting than anything else - but in an environment like Florida, where houses rot away in no time, a thorough scraping, priming, and a 2 coat paint job can literally save a house.

I'm home, but still recovering. It was very physically taxing. But while there I was reading "Spiritual Theology" by Diogenes Allen, and his comments about physical labor as a tool in spiritual growth were very insightful. Going back to the time of the Desert Fathers thousands of years ago, there has been a recognition that physical labor can be of benefit in making progress in the Spiritual Life by burning away the chaff of our lives as we invest time and energy in serving others for the sake of Christ.

I certainly recommend Group Workcamps for youth ministry leaders seeking practical ways to lead their students into ministry opportunities that will result in spiritual growth.

A panoply of Scriptural Praise

O LORD, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.

I look at the sky and see the work of your fingers--the moon and the stars you have set in place, the sun shining in the skies…
Their words aren't heard, but their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

The eyes of all look to you. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next.

The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause:

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O LORD, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.

Psalm 8:1,3 NLT, Job 31:26 NLT, Psalm 19:3-4 MSG, Psalm 145:15 NIV, Romans 8:19 MSG, Psalm 55:12 MSG, 1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT

Confession

Written for a service in which the text is Proverbs 10:25 ("When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever") and a dominant image is Jesus' story from Matthew 7:24-27 about the wise and foolish builders.

Lord, you have provided a foundation
For all who put their faith in your strong word,
who place their hope in Your abiding love
made real as Your blood was shed on the cross.
Why is it so easy to turn away,
believing we can frame a better life
on the shifting sand of our own wisdom?
Forgive us, God, for turning from your plan,
placing our trust anywhere but in You.
We return to You: Hear us as we pray.
Let the cleansing of Your blood make us clean.
By Your Spirit, help us walk near to You.


© Rick Lindholtz 2005

By the way, it's another iambic pentameter piece. In staff meeting today we watched a clip from Henry V and I guess I just got inspired.
; )

Hope has Come

Check out Hopehascome.net

Observing Lutheran Ordination

Last Sunday was a rare treat. Our former Vicar (Seminary Intern) Nate returned to CTK to be ordained. As Nate put it, when he came to Seminary, and later when he came to CTK for his year-long vicarage, he had objectives other than pastoral ministry. After experiencing ministry here, he has no other objective than pastoral ministry. CTK really became the home church of his heart for pastoral ministry. So this was the logical place for his ordination.

Covenant readers will spot a couple of interesting differences in the way these two bodies approach ordination to ministry. The obvious place to start is that in the Covenant, the national body ordains, and does it once every year with all the ordinands, whereas the LCMS ordains individually, all over the country. Each seminary graduate makes the arrangements along with the local church and district where it will happen. Which raises another distinction: Ordination occurs in the weeks after seminary graduation, rather than 2 years later as in the Covenant.

What was most interesting to me, and not at all surprising, given what I have learned about the Missouri Synod, was the precise questioning regarding, not only the authority of the Scriptures, but the accuracy of the three ancient creeds as summaries of true biblical faith (Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian) and all of the major components of the Book of Concord - by name - The Augsburg Confession and its defense, the small and large catechisms of Luther, the Smalcald articles, the Treatise on the power and primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord - are in agreement with true biblical faith.

As a body, the LCMS seems to need the security, comfort, and validity of a greater precision and definition in its theology more than The Evangelical Covenant Church does.

Enneagram

free enneagram test


Enneagram Institute

Grace - MP3 - fixed link

This is a link to an mp3 of the song I've mentioned previously, with music and verses I've written to accompany a chorus by Rita Baloche. I call the portion I've written "Grace".

Verses and music - "Grace"

Earlier I posted 2 verses for which I wrote music, to function as verses to the chorus "But for your Grace" by Rita Baloche. Later that day I wrote a third:

Now let me live to serve you,
in Grace to share Your Word,
until you come
and I say again
as I stand before my Lord:


© Rick Lindholtz, 2005

Click here to see the notes and chords. (When it comes up it will be reduced to fit your screen and so will look too small, but right-click and save it to your computer. Then you can print it in any size you want. Oh, and if you use it, you owe it to Rita and Integrity Music to buy a copy of her music as originally published.)
If possible I'll also get the MP3 up next week (I'm leading worship this weekend and we're introducing this song.)