Zimbabwe update

This is an email from Ben Freeth’s sister who keeps us updated on the situation in Chegutu, Zimbabwe.

Dear All, I thought you might be encouraged to know I spoke to Ben this morning… and all is quiet at the moment. He sensed a slight twist in the situation… but you never quite know. The police seemed to want to help… which is very new… Bruce has been given permission to go to the farm on Monday to reap the maize… So lots of prayer for Monday… Ben has written an amazing article for the Times… he thought it might be in on Monday. It’s such a beautiful day today… so its good to be bringing news which you can thank God for as well!… I think Laura is bringing the children home on Sunday. She is with her parents and sister in Harare tonight. Also Please thank God – that there hasn’t been one night in the last 2 months, since Mike and Angela had to leave, that Ben and Laura have been on their own at home. Tonight Ben has the boy’s headmaster and his wife staying, . Thank you all for your love and prayers…

So what is worship?

I have been on a journey over the last few weeks. This time I didn’t have to pack a suitcase and eat strange food. I didn’t need a visa. I have been studying with a group of worship leaders from around the world and it has been exciting and challenging. The first time I had to hit ‘post’ with an essay, I was petrified. It’s one thing to turn your thoughts in to a teacher/lecturer. They will look, grade and give it back to you. This was out for all the world to see and comment upon. Very different. This week’s assignment was unbelievably tough. A theologically sound “Christian Worldview” on worship in 500 words or less. It takes me 500 words to just get started. Here it is. I have lots more to say on the subject but I’ll save that for another day (or night). Happy reading.

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In the beginning, there was worship. As Father, Son and Spirit created and danced together they said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,”1 man entered the dance. God and man walked together in the garden, named the animals and enjoyed this beautiful creation. Adam’s worship relationship with God was a simple response to His overwhelming love and abundant provision. Adam and Eve’s sin destroyed that intimate connectedness and we have been longing to find our way back ‘to the Garden’ ever since.

We humans are created to worship and will worship someone or something. Whatever we worship will form us into its likeness. In our ‘civilized society’ it is not always easy to identify what or whom we worship until we look at where we invest our time, energy and money. Is it God and His Kingdom or is it another kingdom and its many subtle gods? Materialism, humanism, feminism, work-a-holism and the hundred other ‘isms’ that seem so culturally relevant or practical in this modern age, form our thoughts and ultimately demand our devotion. Our choice is simple. God has provided for our re-entry into ‘the Garden’ “Walk with me and work with me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace”2 and we respond to His overwhelming love and abundant provision with repentance, surrender and worship.

Our worship is much more than singing songs on a Sunday. Our “spiritual act of worship” is, “in view of God’s mercy, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.”3 It is placing our “everyday ordinary life–our sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life, before God as an offering”4 It is taking the songs we sing and letting them “engage our spirit in the pursuit of truth.”5 Allowing the time that we take together to sing the truth about God to connect us with God. Worship is our offering for God but it is for us as well. We are changed when we engage with God. Our perspective of who we are, our circumstances and how we fit into our world are all challenged and shifted every time we encounter God. A.W. Tozer said “When the eyes of the soul looking out meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on earth.” When we engage our spirits in worship, the spheres of heaven and earth are brought together and interlock. The Kingdom of God pushes in to this present darkness and for a time, we experience a glimpse of heaven on earth. We do this individually but as a community of believers and reflect the multi-faceted, colourful nature of God. We find a common voice and common heart as we sing together. We express our faith, hope, joy, struggles and pain. We are challenged to be stronger, bolder, more faithful, powerful, forgiving and just – all in the songs that we sing. We break down social, cultural and political barriers simply by singing in another language. We join the Creator of the universe, the Saviour of mankind and the Holy Spirit in the dance that has been going since the beginning of time and will carry on for eternity.

1Gen 1:26 NIV 2Matt 11:29 MSG 3Rom 12:1 NIV 4Rom 12:1 MSG 5John 4:23

Multi Cultural Worship

Multi Cultural Worship

Notes taken from Vineyard Worship forums in 2006/7.
These are thoughts and perceptions of worship leaders and strategic
leaders from South Africa on multi-cultural worship.

Prophetic-diverse worship

Congregational worship is primarily the community focused toward God, however it should also be a true reflection of the current position of the community and where they are going. Worship is prophetic, in that it challenges us, the community, to follow His will as well as singing songs that express our hearts.

Our worship is for God. It does however involve our community as we worship together. Diverse community is reflected in diverse worship.

Sacrificial worship

When we make the effort to bridge the divide built by years of separateness by singing in another language we sacrifice what is easy and comfortable. We choose what is challenging and sometimes difficult. A sacrifice of praise. It says ‘we are willing to work to change the way things are’ even when they haven’t yet. We allow God to work out the how and when as He “calls those things that are not as though they were”. Romans 4:17

Demographic statistics are showing an increase in families of other cultures and colours moving into neighborhood communities that were previously unreachable under the old apartheid regime and if we are to be a reflection of Christ, our mandate should to be to embrace the whole community and not just the “convenient few”.

Maintaining our values- finding our voice We do not have to sacrifice our basic worship values of intimacy, integrity and accessibility to sing in Sotho, Xhosa or Afrikaans. We find the songs that express our hearts honestly. If we were to see the cultural variation of church worship on a continuum line between true African worship songs, and typical western English worship songs, we would like to find a place on that continuum that not only reflected our values of worship but is a true reflection of embracing cultural diversity. We write songs and develop relationships with people who speak other languages as have Johnny Clegg or the worship group “Friends First”. Together we will find the new songs of South Africa.

Leadership and worship

Pastoral leadership leads the church and makes the choice to embrace other cultures in their church gatherings ….or not. As worship takes on the prophetic role in the church community we must be more inclusive of other cultures. We should be leading the nation to transformation and not following, some what reluctantly. It is no longer valid to say that “because our church is 97% white English speaking congregants, we don’t need to be singing songs of other cultures.”

It is not about the songs we sing – it is about the heart of the Vineyard movement. Our songs are a reflection of where the church is going.

Some practical suggestions .

1. Pray for and look for song writers in your church who can capture the “Vineyard flavor” and write in a cultural language. Encourage cross-cultural co-writing.

2. Include Zulu, Sotho, Xhosa and/or Afrikaans in your worship set. (Which ever is relevant for your context) This may be uncomfortable for the congregation for a while but be consistent. We know that God often challenges our comfort zones.

3. Establish partnerships with other churches across cultural lines. Work to develop personal relationships and worship team interaction.

Life and lemon trees

My Lemon Tree

There is a lemon tree in my garden. It does not perform to my personal needs and requirements. It is an all or nothing tree and I recently realised that it is an interesting reflection of some aspects of my life.

I like order and control, in a loose and artistic way. Not too rigid, definitely not too tidy or symmetrical but a bit of sensible arrangement in the way things are done.

My lemon tree challenges me on this. I want a few ripe and ready to use lemons all year round. Not too much to ask from the only fruit bearing tree in my garden. But my lemon tree is either overwhelmingly laden with beautiful, round, tantalizing, margaritas-waiting-to-happen or barren and thorny. No middle ground, no in between, no moderation. This is not what I want and need. For a few months out of the year I run around with bags of lemons in my car, desperate for someone who will appreciate my fruitful generosity. The rest of the year I am forced to BUY lemons. I would almost rather do without as an act of personal boycott against this uncooperative tree.

I heard a strangely familiar complaint welling up inside of me as someone commented on my gloriously abundant tree the other day. “It’s great now but wait till next month” I said a little churlishly. How often do I complain about too much of something simply because it isn’t exactly as and when I planned it? How often do the things that come my way all come at once and I get to ‘give away’ but worry that next month will be barren and thorny.

So what have I got now, today that is juicy and ripe and ready? Time, energy, a bit of wisdom I’ve picked up along the way. Take it, use it or give it but don’t leave it till tomorrow. I’ve seen what happens to those sad little lemons that stay too long on the tree. Good for the compost heap but you can’t make lemonade or squeeze them on your salad. I’ll try to remember to enjoy the lemons I have today, give away as many as I can and worry about next month when it arrives. Maybe someone else’s tree will be ripe and ready.

Community?