Courier-Times Article for Saturday, September 1, 2007
Last weekend the Courier-Times published an article suggesting that State Representative Tom Saunders (R-Lewisville) was soon to present a bill that would require churches to pay a portion of property taxes to cover the expense of police, ambulance, and fire. When asked to comment about the alleged church tax proposal, I said I was surprised because Rep. Saunders helped our church, as well as many others in Henry County and across the state, when reporting requirements by the government changed from once in a lifetime, to once a year.
Apparently Rep. Saunders was just as surprised. Since I was quoted in the article, he called the house on Saturday morning to assure me that he had no intention of asking churches to pay taxes on church ministry property. Crisis averted . . . or maybe it wasn’t even there in the first place.
So I began to think about taxes, and truth, and what the bible teaches.
When Jesus was asked if we should pay taxes, He responded with a question of His own. “Show me a coin. Whose image is on the coin?” Caesar’s image was on the coin, so Jesus commanded, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what belongs to God.” The remarkable thing about this answer was that it challenged both the secular and religious communities while avoiding an obvious trap.
We are commanded both by the government and by Jesus to pay our fair share of taxes to the government. At the same time, Jesus challenged everyone who is created in the image of God, believers and non-believers, to give to God what belongs to God.
The church, if it is true to scripture, will never preach against paying taxes. That would contradict Jesus’ own words. However, the church will also challenge everyone to give to God those things that belong to God; the things that hold the very image of God. Each individual is precious to God because we each bear His image.
Then I imagined a culture that would want to tax churches. This would be a culture that had forgotten the overwhelming positive benefits that churches provide to a community.
People of faith were the first to build schools, and hospitals. People of faith provide a safe place for alcoholics, and drug addicts to recover with grace and truth. People of faith help restore broken homes, feed those who are hungry, and provide a father for the fatherless. People of faith have proven that they can dramatically reduce the chance that prisoners will become repeat offenders. To advocate taking money from these communities of faith, money that could be used for ministry, to pay for infrastructure in a neighborhood is very short sighted and contrary to common sense.
A culture that would want to tax churches would be in the final stages of moral and intellectual bankruptcy. Or maybe they just haven’t seen the church . . .
Is it possible that churches have entered an era where they are more concerned with elections than souls? Is it possible that people of faith are more concerned about keeping up with the Joneses than keeping the commandment to take care of the orphan and the widow? Is it possible that the body of Christ can no longer make a positive impact on the world because we are too much like the world? Has the church become invisible?
Tax exemptions for the church is not a ‘right.’ Tax exemptions have been a way for God to bless the church as the church ministers to and blesses its neighbors. Is it possible that God’s blessings on the church are now uncertain because of the actions, or inactions, of the people of God? Just a question.
I trust Tom Saunders when he says that he does not want to tax church ministry property. In Central Indiana, that would be a major political miscalculation. The question that remains is the one Christ asks the church, “I was hungry, did you give me food? I was thirsty, did you give me drink? I was naked, did you clothe me? I was sick and in prison, did you visit me?” The truth could prove very taxing.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thoughts on Worship
Courier-Times Article for Saturday, August 11, 2007
There are three fundamental questions that need to be answered regarding Christian worship.
First, what is God ordained worship? The essence of worship can be found in the first ten verses of the 26th chapter of Deuteronomy.
This portion of the law outlines the process that God established for encountering Him in a worship experience. Verses 5 and 6 call for us to remember who we were before we were transformed by the presence of God in our lives. Verses 7 and 8 call for us to remember what actions God took when He transformed our lives. Verses 9 and 10 call for us to remember the blessing of transformation that has been generated in our lives by God. This is who I was; this is what God did; this is where I am now. Praise and worship naturally flow out of our lives each time we walk through this process.
If our worship life is deficient in one of these “areas or remembrance”, then what we experience is something less than God ordained worship.
The second question to be answered is what is the proper posture in worship? We are not talking about an external posture but an internal posture. How are we to approach God? In twenty-first century America we are immersed in a culture of personal growth, self satisfaction, and a positive bottom line. In other words, how does this benefit me?
In direct contradiction to this cultural mindset, King David makes a remarkable statement found in 2 Samuel 24:24, considering that he was the ruler of all Israel. “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.” In this simple statement David indicates His posture when he approached God. He was not approaching God with the idea that he was going to benefit from this encounter. He was not even approaching with the idea that somehow he could use his position and authority to influence God. David came to offer a sacrificial gift to God, something that was costly to him personally.
Worship is not about getting anything from God. Worship is about giving something of worth to God. The posture of a true worshiper is one that indicates humble sacrifice, not prideful self-gratification.
Finally, what is the function of worship? True worship has one function with two products. Worship is a vehicle.
Worship functions as a vehicle in two ways. In the first instance, worship carries the individual, or a collected body of worshipers, into a realization of the presence of God. This means that, as worship leaders, we need to understand who will be “riding” in the vehicle. If I am leading a gathering of Frenchmen into worship, my worship should be in the French language. If I am leading a group of children into worship, my worship selection should include elements of worship that are easily accessible to the child. If I am leading a group of senior citizens in worship, the structure of the “vehicle” I assemble needs to accommodate those that will be taking the ride.
Secondly, worship carries the individual, or a collected body of worshipers, into an environment where the Word of God can have its best effect on their lives. This second product of worship enables the worship leader to partner with, and serve, the one who is called to proclaim the Word of God. In this way, we “set the table” for the main course.
In the design world, form follows function. What a thing does, or is supposed to do, has a direct impact on how that thing looks or how it is structured. This brings us back to the answer to the first question.
If we follow the form found in Deuteronomy, we can create a vehicle that is designed to carry people into a realization of the presence of God, where they can offer sacrificial gifts of thanksgiving and praise, and where they can be transformed anew by the Word of God.
There are three fundamental questions that need to be answered regarding Christian worship.
First, what is God ordained worship? The essence of worship can be found in the first ten verses of the 26th chapter of Deuteronomy.
This portion of the law outlines the process that God established for encountering Him in a worship experience. Verses 5 and 6 call for us to remember who we were before we were transformed by the presence of God in our lives. Verses 7 and 8 call for us to remember what actions God took when He transformed our lives. Verses 9 and 10 call for us to remember the blessing of transformation that has been generated in our lives by God. This is who I was; this is what God did; this is where I am now. Praise and worship naturally flow out of our lives each time we walk through this process.
If our worship life is deficient in one of these “areas or remembrance”, then what we experience is something less than God ordained worship.
The second question to be answered is what is the proper posture in worship? We are not talking about an external posture but an internal posture. How are we to approach God? In twenty-first century America we are immersed in a culture of personal growth, self satisfaction, and a positive bottom line. In other words, how does this benefit me?
In direct contradiction to this cultural mindset, King David makes a remarkable statement found in 2 Samuel 24:24, considering that he was the ruler of all Israel. “I will not offer to God that which costs me nothing.” In this simple statement David indicates His posture when he approached God. He was not approaching God with the idea that he was going to benefit from this encounter. He was not even approaching with the idea that somehow he could use his position and authority to influence God. David came to offer a sacrificial gift to God, something that was costly to him personally.
Worship is not about getting anything from God. Worship is about giving something of worth to God. The posture of a true worshiper is one that indicates humble sacrifice, not prideful self-gratification.
Finally, what is the function of worship? True worship has one function with two products. Worship is a vehicle.
Worship functions as a vehicle in two ways. In the first instance, worship carries the individual, or a collected body of worshipers, into a realization of the presence of God. This means that, as worship leaders, we need to understand who will be “riding” in the vehicle. If I am leading a gathering of Frenchmen into worship, my worship should be in the French language. If I am leading a group of children into worship, my worship selection should include elements of worship that are easily accessible to the child. If I am leading a group of senior citizens in worship, the structure of the “vehicle” I assemble needs to accommodate those that will be taking the ride.
Secondly, worship carries the individual, or a collected body of worshipers, into an environment where the Word of God can have its best effect on their lives. This second product of worship enables the worship leader to partner with, and serve, the one who is called to proclaim the Word of God. In this way, we “set the table” for the main course.
In the design world, form follows function. What a thing does, or is supposed to do, has a direct impact on how that thing looks or how it is structured. This brings us back to the answer to the first question.
If we follow the form found in Deuteronomy, we can create a vehicle that is designed to carry people into a realization of the presence of God, where they can offer sacrificial gifts of thanksgiving and praise, and where they can be transformed anew by the Word of God.
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