The Salty Peanut Gallery

Between Two Worlds is running a great quote by J. I. Packer that I think bears consideration. James Innell Packer serves as the Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He’s an executive editor of Christianity Today and served as general editor for the English Standard Version of the Bible. In a resent issue of Modern Reformation magazine Packer comments on the “niche” marketing approach that is creating a generational divide in many churches today:

“We have separated the ages, very much to the loss of each age. In the New Testament, the Christian church is an all-age community, and in real life the experience of the family to look no further should convince us that the interaction of the ages is enriching. The principle is that generations should be mixed up in the church for the glory of God. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t disciple groups of people of the same age or the same sex separately from time to time. That’s a good thing to do. But for the most part, the right thing is the mixed community in which everybody is making the effort to understand and empathize with all the other people in the other age groups. Make the effort is the key phrase here. Older people tend not to make the effort to understand younger people, and younger people are actually encouraged not to make the effort to understand older people. That’s a loss of a crucial Christian value in my judgment.”

This is an interesting concept when you think about it. We’ve gotten so accustomed to viewing church ministry from an age appropriate model or from the perspective of targeted demographics that the idea of “mixed community” is virtually foreign. Now Packer doesn’t completely reject specialized discipleship ministry, but the important issue here seems to be unity – bringing the body of Christ together as one. Packer goes on to describe one area that contributes greatly to this atmosphere of separation:

“If worship styles are so fixed that what’s being offered fits the expectations, the hopes, even the prejudices, of any one of these groups as opposed to the others, I don’t believe the worship style glorifies God, and some change, some reformation, some adjustment, and some enlargement of spiritual vision is really called for.”

Put simply, blended worship promotes community in the church. It brings the body of Christ together in “one accord” and “one mind” by looking out not only for our own interests, “but also for the interests of others.” In that way blended worship becomes so much more than just a transition to contemporary worship; it becomes more than just the means by which we bring our older church members out of traditionalism into a more contemporary style. It becomes a very Philippians chapter 2 approach to the way we do church ministry…by serving one another selflessly.

A funny thing happened last Monday at the Sioux Falls, South Dakota Planned Parenthood abortion clinic…absolutely nothing! That’s right. As women began showing up at 8:00 in the morning for their abortion appointments, they were met with a sign hanging on the door that read “CLOSED”! How on earth is this possible, you may ask? Here’s how. Monday marked the first day in which Planned Parenthood was required to comply with the new South Dakota Abortion Informed Consent Law.

Here’s what the new law requires:

* Abortion doctors must advise pregnant mothers, IN WRITING, that the abortion will “terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being.”

* There must be full disclosure of the medical risks of abortion, including the risk of depression and the increased risk of suicide and suicidal tendencies.

* Penalties for noncompliance could include imprisonment, loss of medical license, and even civil prosecution.

In short, Planned Parenthood in South Dakota is being required to TELL THE TRUTH. What’s amazing about all this is it appears that at least for now Planned Parenthood abortion doctors would rather do business elsewhere than be honest with pregnant mothers about what it is that they’re doing, thus confirming that they’re exactly the kind of slime we all knew them to be.

Now look, I’m not naïve enough to believe that abortions have come to a screeching halt in South Dakota. At some point there will be abortionists who are willing to take the risk of performing abortions again. In addition if women want to get abortions bad enough without all the hassle, surly they’ll be willing to travel as far away as Bismarck or Minneapolis or Sioux City. But for one day at least, no unborn babies were killed in South Dakota. There is a God in heaven!

Michael Spencer has some great remarks on a recent article in “The Briefing” entitled “The Slow Death of Congregational Singing” asserting that “genuine, heartfelt congregational singing is experiencing its dying gasps.” Spencer writes:

“As a whole, we’re on our way to pretty much what you have on The Letterman Show. The band plays and Dave comes out with the monologue.”

“Congregational singing is commanded in the New Testament’s description of gathered worship. If we replace that with performance, it’s a major loss on several levels, not the least being the level of teaching and encouragement specifically mentioned in the epistles.”

It’s not that contemporary worship is bad per se, but as Spencer sees it, here’s the draw back:

“It’s designed for expressive presentation and not as much for edification through musical teaching or mutual encouragement. So you can have a lot of ‘You are holy!’ and ‘I will worship,’ as opposed to four or five verses describing the incarnation or considerations of the meaning of salvation.”

I couldn’t agree more. We utilize a lot of contemporary praise and worship at our church. I think there are a number of well written, singable worship tunes that do a good job of expressing who God is and what He has done. But let’s face it. The shelf life of even the most popular praise song is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the old hymns of the faith. It’s been said, “We don’t sing the great old songs because they’re old. We sing them because they’re great.” That’s why in addition to PowerPoint I insist on having hymnals at our church. How else are we going to pass down the rich heritage of biblical truth in corporate worship?

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not.
As thou has been Thou for ever wilt be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Who writes lyrics like that anymore?

The day we got back from camp, we had just enough time to run home, wash some cloths, pack the car, get a few hours sleep and head out around 5:00 the next morning for our Disney, Florida summer vacation. It was certainly helpful that there are three licensed drivers in the family. Fifteen hours in a minivan fighting traffic all the way down I-95 would have been a pretty daunting task otherwise.

This was pretty much a once in a life time deal thanks in part to the economic stimulus package from good ol’ Uncle Sam. I guess you could say that we were doing our part to stimulate the economy. It was also a blessing to have friends who own a membership with Resort Condominiums International (RCI) that were able to help us get a really great deal at an Orlando resort right next door to Walt Disney World.

In retrospect there are a couple of things I should point out. First of all if you’re planning a trip with teenager’s it’s probably not a good idea to go immediately after a week of youth camp, at least not if they’re like my guys who have a fond affection for sleeping in their own beds. The other thing is that the middle of the summer is not the optimal time to take a Disney vacation, since this is overwhelmingly one of the most crowded times of the year. But life is very rarely optimal. Some things you just have to deal with. That said, if you’re ever planning a trip to Disney I strongly recommend Bob Sehlinger’s “The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World”. It is by far the best travel guide for negotiating your way through the congested Orlando theme parks without losing your ever loving mind. Don’t leave home without it!

Here is my top ten list of favorite attractions on our Florida vacation:

#10 Big Thunder Mountain at the Magic Kingdom – a western-themed roller coaster

#9 Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom – a space ship roller coaster in the dark

#8 Dueling Dragons: Fire at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – a high tech duel suspension coaster; Fire has a slight zero G hump in the middle

#7 Dueling Dragons: Ice at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – the mirror to Fire; Ice seems a little faster

#6 Tower of Terror at Disney Hollywood Studios – a “Twilight Zone” themed indoor thrill ride

#5 Incredible Hulk at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – an accelerated launch coaster

#4 The Amazing adventures of Spider-Man at Universal’s Islands of Adventure – an indoor adventure simulator ride

#3 Cirque du Soleil’s “La Nouba” at Downtown Disney – an imaginative theatrical, acrobatic circus

#2 Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach – only the coolest beach T-shirts on the planet (I got three)!

And my number 1 favorite attraction on our Florida vacation…

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Disney Hollywood Studios – a Rock and Roll themed coaster featuring Aerosmith

I have very fond memories of summer camp when I was in high school. Team competitions, swimming, new friends, afternoon activities, awesome counselors, daily sessions, fun games, and life-changing decisions for Christ. I also love how when you’re at youth camp you’re able to just get away from it all. No TV, no internet, no iPod, no Xbox, no modern technology, none of the distractions of contemporary culture. For one week you have teenagers’ undivided attention.

For the past three years our youth group has been teaming up with another local area church to host a week of camp. I lead the worship. We’ve been using a church owned camp facility located out in the middle of nowhere a couple of hours from where we live. It’s nothing special really. The dining hall and chapel are both open air. None of the dorms are air-conditioned. There’s no swimming pool, just a small lake with a dock. But man is it peaceful. I can’t begin to describe what comes over me whenever I drive onto that campus.

The theme for the week was “Reality Reload” using reality TV as the backdrop for helping kids realize that God is real and alive! The intent was to give them a better understanding of what living in “the real world” is really about. We learned about real life issues such as overcoming fear, running the race, understanding family, true love, and what it means to be molded into Christ’s image. What an awesome opportunity for God to impact the lives of young skulls full of mush. Overall I think we did a good job of accomplishing what we set out to do. Heaven only knows the eternal impact it will have. Our prayer is that the kids will take back something of what went on during the week that will forever change their relationship with the Lord.