Recently I received a letter addressed to me at the church. The address was hand written so I knew it was unlikely to be a solicitation. Then I noticed there was no return address, so I knew right then that I was in for some kind of correction/rebuke. As I began to read the letter the classic phrases began to jump out: “We enjoy the worship, but . . . ,“ “hardly any one is singing along anymore,” “we only sing those repetitive songs,” “we miss the hymns,” signed “a concerned parishioner,” and of course the phrase that brings validity to any concern: “and I’m not the only one who feels this way.”

I’m used to these kinds of letters on occasion – I’m painfully aware that you can’t please everybody all the time, and frankly, it just comes with the territory: Tradition meets contemporary, hymns meet praise songs, four complex and in depth verses meet “I could sing of Your love forever (repeat 273 times).” So again, I’m used to it and in fact, okay with it. So why is it a topic then? This strikes a particular nerve in context to my bible studies recently. I just finished going through Numbers, literally finishing two days ago. Then the letter arrived today.

Numbers is filled with account after account of the Israelites turning from both God and Moses, wanting nothing but their own desires and wants fulfilled. They complained incessantly, and they complained together as a group – Numbers is filled with the phrase “conspired.” The people conspired against Moses and against God. What’s even more astounding is the context in which this “conspiring” takes place: the Israelites have witnessed miracle after miracle – the plagues, and ultimately, the final plague that established Passover and their release from slavery, the parting of the Red Sea, the Lord in the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, manna every morning – even quail when they complained of their lack of menu options, and water for the entire nation (around two million of them) from rocks, to name just a few. They became so selfish and faithless, that in Num 16:12 they complained “Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert?” Wow – hundreds of years of slavery that Exodus describes as “forced labor” and “ruthless,” to now “a land flowing with milk and honey?!” Astounding. How often does that happen to our own memories?

Just recently I rekindled a friendship with a pastor I had served under for several years dating back over 20 years ago. I had been charged then with transitioning the worship from predominantly hymns to more contemporary. Needless to say, there was a lot of resistance, yet at the same time there was a lot of revival. The church was growing, in fact, we had to go to two services. (Let me make this point very clear: I don’t have a problem with hymns, quite the contrary. I do however, have a problem with the people who revere hymns as the only, or at least most effective means of ushering in meaningful worship.)

Unfortunately, due to a number of sad and politically driven events, this pastor was removed, and I left shortly thereafter. The group that didn’t like the new direction clearly communicated that they weren’t the only ones who felt that way and they got their church back. In conversation with this pastor friend of mine, he informed me that the church slowly died, was sold and subsequently renamed. When the people in Numbers conspired against the Lord, their losses were great: an entire generation wandered the desert never to see the promised land, many died of plagues and snake bites, and many more were literally swallowed up by the earth. When the people conspired at my old church, He took away their church, their precious buildings, and everything they had worked for generations to accomplish.

Let me share it this way: if one’s personal tastes and desires evolve into a scriptural mandate, and others conspire together to that end, then I’m convinced they will wander endlessly as well, completely missing out on the “promised land.”

When I hear, in any context, the phrase “I’m not the only one who feels that way”, the opportunity to glean is simply lost – I no longer have any interest in or respect for what they have to say.

Over the years I have had many an opportunity to share with and challenge those who have approached me in this manner and with that catch phrase, especially the ones who had the courtesy to provide their contact information. In the majority of these encounters it has been very productive and fruitful. In every one of these conversations, my goal has not been to change their personal musical tastes, but instead to take their eyes off of themselves and onto the mission at hand – to reach a lost world with the love of Christ and the promised land He offers – considering others along the way higher than ourselves and our own personal tastes. I would encourage anyone who encounters this type of situation to confront it in love and with honesty, and with a clear explanation of the vision and the heart behind that vision. Encourage them to pray for you and the multitude of challenges you face in trying to honor God and please a widely varied congregation/church. You may be surprised at the response. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The Israelites totally missed that in Numbers, but I hope more of us today will learn from them. I hope I’m not the only one who feels that way!

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 2:25 pm and is filed under Clay's Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.