Speak Up My Brothers, I Can't Hear You Over The Deafening Silence

Hello again,


It's been a long time since I posted to my LiveJournal and its not because of having a lack of things to say; more because I have focused on not always spilling and pouring out my heart and soul so quickly.  Mind you it was incredibly helpful in the early days in college to just write out my frustrations and I appreciate this as a clearer platform to speak directly to people than even Facebook or Twitter.  It begs the question what brings me back to an old friend?  Well, a senseless murder and an unnecessary cover up.  The murder of 17-year old Trayvon Martin has rightfully become a national and international new story, although it took nearly a month to do so in this world of Twitter and Facebook.


So, let me do a quick recap of this young man's tragic end: Trayvon was visiting some family in a wealthy suburbanite neighborhood in Florida and left the gated community to go to the convenience store across the street in a basic outfit: Air Force Ones, a pair of pants and oh my God a Hoodie.  George Zimmerman, the community watch captain, had been watching him and called the police numerous times because a suspicious young man was walking around his neighborhood.  During the last phone call he is instructed by the dispatcher to wait and to not confront him.  But, Zimmerman decides to follow Trayvon and confronts him with a loaded gun and the next thing that we know is that Trayvon is dying from a gunshot in his chest from Zimmerman's gun with nothing more on his person but a cellphone, some skittles and a can of iced tea.  The police arrive and begin to interview witnesses and begin to shape their understanding of the case but instead of bringing valid charges against Zimmerman they decide to attempt to cover this up.  


So I will stop there on the recap, because that is a miscarriage of justice I want to call out the many leaders in the American Church that remain silent on this issue when this is an issue that could bridge the gap between "The Black Church" and "The White Church".


The Trayvon Martin case reminds me that a "post-racial" America is a pipe dream.  This pipe dream is perpetually played out in segregated churches all over the country.  The deafening silence of predominantly white conservative evangelicals comes in a climate where they yell loudly and protest proudly on the sexy issues that earn them theological brownie points with their constituents (parishioners).  The issues that hit a cord like abortion and gay marriage are easy to take the pot shots and make statements because those are "defining" issues of our time.


It feels like the race issue in America gets treated like the hurdle that has been scaled.  Selectively forgetting and taking for granted that the "hurdle" is forever in front of us.  Race was responded to by legislating inclusiveness by affirming by law rights that were afforded to but stolen from African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, minorities from the start.  But, let us not forget the struggle and that many men and women were abused, close to a million African Americans were lynched from the end of the Civil War til 1960's not counting the abuses of slavery.  This is the hurdle that has to be overcome and it DOES NOT GO AWAY!!!  But, because most of Americans feel that we have already overcome that problem because, personally they have a diverse group of friends (if that's a marker that you take pride in, there might be a problem by the way), race and racial problems are the problem of the minorities.


This is where the silence of many conservative Christian leaders on this issue, but their resounding protest against abortion does not jive.  How is that the life of an unborn child matters more to you (seemingly) than the life or fighting for justice for a young man that was murdered and the system has turned a blind eye?  Do you all really really really believe what Glenn Beck's, assistant editor of his website The Blaze insinuates that the young man who may have been suspended for ten days, must have done something to deserve to be shot? (HuffPost Story on the article).  I get it, it does not affect you directly; but if the tables were turned there would be outrage from the pulpits of America.  What frustrates me, is the same thing that frustrated Dr. King while he wrote The Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the apathy of his brothers to abhorrent injustice was and still is the greater crime.


But, stay in your ivory tower, miss every real opportunity to unite the church of God.  Pick and choose your issues based on sexiness or connection to your congregations and watch the world laugh at us.  But, I choose to get my hands dirty and take the hits that come for the issues that matter.  Stand with us for Trayvon Martin...no its not sexy, there is not a cool stylish bracelet like Joseph Kony 2012.  Stand with us because this is what God requires (Micah 6:8): "He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? (NKJV)"  This injustice threatens all of us and your silence is deafening.  Speak up, challenge your congregations and join the fight.  Finally, please don't take this as you need to defend yourself, all I am asking is that you take a stand, apathy is consent.  The world does not need your defenses, they need you to be willing to live on the edge of sacrifice.  If you aren't willing to do that, fine then say nothing about anything.  Jesus challenges us that salvation is not just for our personal good but for the good of others.  "Saved unto good works (Eph. 2:8-9)":


Mat 25:32-46  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  (33)  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.  (34)  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  (35)  For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  (36)  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'  (37)  Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?  (38)  And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  (39)  And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?'  (40)  And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'  (41)  "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  (42)  For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,  (43)  I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  (44)  Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?'  (45)  Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  (46)  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
So now brothers and sisters let us go and do likewise...

Much Love...
ErnDawg

Tebow and the Conversion of Bended Knee...

So the title is sorta cryptic, but it is what I want to talk about: the phenoma of Tim Tebow.  The celebrity-obsessed nature in man is shown at its absolute worst and its absolute best when people talk about Tim Tebow.  This entry is a response to a long facebook conversation about Tim Tebow as a "Pharisee".

Now, why would someone who wants to blog to young Christians bring him up.  Well, one major reason is that there is a large amount of evangelical missionic fundamentalism in Tim.  Those big words basically sum up his background: grew up in the Phillippines with his evangelical Christian missionary parents and grew up with a very real and active faith being preached and spoken about in his home.  This upbringing where faith is prominent and ingrained is something I completely understand, well, short of the international missionary work piece.

I see Tim Tebow wear his faith on his sleeve and when you do this it seeps into everything you do.  Tebow is a man of faith that plays football.  That does not make him special.  Take Ray Lewis a man of great faith who wears his faith on his sleeve, most people smile and move on.  But, what is it with Tim that when he prays the camera zooms in and singles him out.  I submit to you that the reaction to Tebow is mostly racial.  It is because the NFL is approximately 70% African-American players people take for granted their faith heritage.  Even when there were devout Muslim prayers fasting through Ramadan the reaction to them were muted.  Faith to African-Americans has generally been taken for granted, because everybody "knows" Jesus and "goes to church".  So when Maurice Jones-Drew, Larry Fitzgerald, Ray Lewis, or even Demarius Thomas of the Denver Broncos point to the sky or cross themselves or pray there is nothing said because that is "who" they are.

But let this young white quarterback kneel and pray it gets a new nickname "Tebowing".  No my friends its called praying and its been around for a loooooong time.  Again, post-modernism in America has been predominantly "white" and faith has been rationalized out of the intellectual circles, where access is mostly monochromatic.  When celebrities express faith it is usually rationalized or glossed over.  Tebow is scrutinized both for his faith (which is on his sleeve) and his play on the field.  Never before have we really seen a young white quarterback who is so up-front about faith and his relationship with Christ.  So the world does what the world always does, picks the person apart as they lift them on a pedastal.  A friend offered some verses in Matthew as a judgement against Tebow: "5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:5-6 ESV).

So I want to close this with some encouraging exegesis.  In the context of these verses Christ is comparing the walk that he desires a follower of his to have and the walk of a Pharisee.  Remember that this is still the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus wants to make clear that there should be a difference between the motives of a disciple and the motives of a Pharisee.  This is to be taken on two different levels: 1) Maintaining a private relationship with Christ is preferred to a deliberately public one; 2) But, do not avoid opportunities to express your faith not for the glory of man but for the purposes and glory of Chirst.  Using this scripture to judge Tebow or anyone else is incomplete revelation.  Christ says repeatedly to not be ashamed, David says in the Psalms repeated that he will make the name of God glorious, countless other examples.  Remember, that our responsibility is to not become hypocrites.  Hypocrisy is the sin and hypocrisy is rooted not only in our actions but our motivations which only God can judge.  I admire Tebow for working very hard at humility in the face of superstardom.  My prayer that all of us would learn to do the same in the face of life.  Humility is knowing our abilities and our value but then yielding to a God who has all power and knowledge to direct our lives.

There is more but just a few thoughts:
Ernest

Ten Insights About Worship (1-5)

Well, I am thankfully back with some God-Given Insights.  When I took the position of lead musician of the Wake Forest Gospel Choir in May, 2006...I spent the next summer praying deeply about what I gotten myself into.  As the summer wore on, God never directly revealed what I would encounter in my new position of leadership, but He affirmed things that I had learned that hard way.   It was a season of flashes of journaling and logging what I have learned and what I had gathered from studying and spending time with God.   What came out of this is ten insights about worship and the life of a worshiper.

1. Worship is NOT a song: Worship in the church has been reduced to a song or singing or playing an instrument, but biblically that is not the case.  Although the musical craft is a major part of the corporate and the private moments of worship, it is not the width, depth, or breadth of worship.  God wants our lives to be worship, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom 12:1 ESV)"
2. Worship is NOT a service: I grew up believing that my worship was really comprised what happened in church.  But, really the corporate worship experience is the beneficiary of what I offer in my life outside the church.  The depth of my experience corporately is connected to what I offer God when only he is watching.
3. Worship is NOT a style, tempo, or display of musical skill:  I think this is one of the biggest misnomers in the Church.  Worship music is slower and Praise music is faster.  WRONG, music that has been produce with the heart to worship, magnify, edify, glorify God is all worshipful.  The music that I choose to worship God with I chose taking it account musical style and tempo and the excellence of craft; but if the heart of worship is not in it, the music is nice noise.  As a worship leader, excellence of my offering is my goal, but I have to place my heart and my focus on God and what HE has done.
4. Worship is NOT a moment: Tied to worship is not a service, worship needs to be boundless and perceived as outside of time and flowing in and through my life.  Why? because it was begun in eternity.   The Angels (Seraphims and Cherubims) are around the throne of God as we speak worshiping in heaven (Isaiah 6; The Book of Revelations), which is timeless and boundless.  Our lives can be shaped and fed by boundless worship that is not constrained to a time limit.
5. Worship is egalitarian: Worship is egalitarian, meaning it is demanded of all God's creation.  Praise and worship is what we were designed for.  With the very image and life of God inside of us, we seek out something to worship.  Theologians have called a God-sized void.  I believe that, and that's why worship is egalitarian.  We are all seeking God, regardless of our races, creeds, color, economic position.  God expects HIS sons and daughters to worship him and to honor him and to love him.

Peace for now...I will finish the list tomorrow.  God bless.

Ernest

Why I Worship

I have been thinking about why I have kinda left this blog undone.  There are two main reasons: 1) Lack of motivation; 2) Lack of direction.  Those two reasons will kill anything that one sets out to do.  Anyway, I have been praying about this and contemplating/reminding myself why I started this thing in the first place.  I wanted to impart some knowledge and insights about worship to younger brothers and sisters in Christ.

So to start this thing back up I wanted to talk about three reasons why I worship.

1. I worship God because He has revealed part of Himself to us.  It would be impossible to worship anything without an experience with it.  Follow the course of human history and man has been directed in worship of something because it experienced something that it could not understand.  Zeus, Ra, Isis, Osiris (gods/goddesses of lightning, sun, moon, death respectively; also all were crafted with human characteristics) all are experienced by man and so is Jehovah God (cf. Romans 1:18-21). 
2. I worship because God loves me and loves me in a way that I cannot even love myself.  His love for me transcends space and time and my own personal depravity.  I look at the world and see the horror of man and yet see the greater grace of God.  The Heavenly Father watches over His children and offers us invitations to sit at His table and to be free to love on Him.  Once I can receive his love worship comes naturally.  
3. I worship God because I have access to Him through Christ.  God gave His law to the Children of Israel, but they hoarded it and did not live it.  His law was to grant them prosperity and fullness of life but because of our inability to keep it.  God sent Jesus to fulfill the expectation of the law which was death.  Through His life, Christ kept the law and with his death and spilled blood he fulfilled the law.  I have freedom to worship and to chase after Him.

Till next time,

Ernest

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

(Mat 11:27 ESV)

Who Are You and Why Are You Doing This Now?

Who Am I and Why Am I Doing This Now?


A wonderful pair of questions (I am glad you asked them).   I am going to answer them out of order.  I am doing this at the urging of God.  In my quiet time, I have really felt that I needed to share some of the things that I learned about worship and worshiping.  Many of which I was never taught although I believe many of the things that I am going to explore with this blog I deeply believe need to be much more explicitly explained.  I am also doing this because I do not ever want to ever take for granted that which I have learned through leading and walking with Christ and others.


Who I am, is a young man who is a worshiper and has been blessed to lead in several arenas.  But my qualifications are irrelevant (not unimportant, just irrelevant).  Their irrelevance is because God does the calling and the promoting in His Kingdom [see 1st Peter 5:6-7].  He calls and qualifies us to positions and posts as He wills and because of that it is God that defines one's qualifications.


But, my faith story does birth my perspective on worship so here is the "Cliff Notes" Version: I accepted Christ at a young age in New Horizon Baptist Church in Temple Hills, Maryland.  I was surrounded by a mother and aunts who were strong in the faith.  I moved to North Carolina at 5 and joined a church with a powerful teacher/preacher (Rev. McLaughlin).  I still consider him my spiritual father.  I loved going to church and experiencing church, but the reasons why we worship were never made clear.   As I grew up, music became an obvious love and passion.  This was cultivated in my participation in a touring Boys Choir.  While a member of this choir I had the opportunity to experience many different corporate worship styles (which augmented my Black Baptist roots).  Those experiences expanded my view of worship.  (I press pause here [mini-exegesis moment]: John 4:24--was a scripture used as a description of what our worship should look like...but never was fully explained.  Jesus says to the woman at the well that, "God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  But, here's an insight, Jesus is responding to the woman's question about worship being tied to location and Jesus gives a law of His Kingdom that worship will no longer be location-centric as under the law, but motive-centric.  God is looking at our motives in worship and our willingness to make our worship completely about Him.  More on that to come soon...)  As I have grown older, God has opened many opportunities to lead and in that learn more about worship.  I have been a church musician, worship leader, choir director, music minister, organist, choir member, and in every role and every place and season God has placed me He has been faithful to teach and humble me.  That is what has brought me here.