Non-Music Monday

I realized something today. Unlike 95% of most people, I actually like Mondays.

You might think, "of course you do, you're a pastor and Monday is your day off." That would be wrong. I take Tuesdays off.

Mondays have become essentially 'miscellaneous days' for me. While each week varies, Mondays are less about study and Sunday-prep and more about people and pet-projects. I often use Monday to visit people, whether it be in nursing homes, the jail, the hospital or their homes. And if some of those places seem unusual - ask your pastor, he probably frequents those places too. 

Sometimes it is a duty and something I know I need to do. 
Other times, it's an absolute privilege and blessing. This morning for instance, I had the opportunity to meet with someone going in for surgery. In the middle of it, I felt what can only be described as 'a holy moment' as I met with them and their family and prayed. It wasn't me, but God decided to use this unworthy vessel to show up.

Another one of the highlights of this Monday was preparing the final exam for the class I've been teaching at my alma mater. The fact that my schedule allows me the chance to teach freshman college students how to read and study the Bible is pretty cool. And I find Mondays to be an optimal day to get ready for Wednesday. Pet projects like this help me be refreshed and ready for the weekly demand to proclaim "Thus says the Lord" on Sunday morning.

I don't write this to pat myself on the back - as I said, many other pastors are doing the same thing. Frankly, there are people in my church who do this kind of thing and do it better than me.

No, I write this to give those of you non-pastors a peek behind the curtain as to what goes on in full-time ministry. Also, I share it to prove the point we ministers work more than 1 day a week :). So while you may be battling 'a case of the Mondays', try to find something redeemable about your day as well as your weekly grind.

Music Mondays

I have to agree with author and biblical scholar Gordon Fee, that of all the commands Paul wrote in Scripture, the most important is "be filled with the Spirit" in Ephesians 5:18.*

Yesterday we encountered this command as we studied 5:15-21. I've concluded that being Spirit-filled or Spirit-controlled is THE secret to the Christian life. 

Therefore, I find in concerning that the Holy Spirit has been overlooked and ignored by many in Christian circles (see Forgotten God by Francis Chan for a helpful corrective). This is certainly true about our worship - which is ironic because a major result of being filled by the Spirit is worship - "addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart..." (vs.19).

There has been an influx recently of Spirit-centered songs.  I thought I'd feature two such songs which share the same title but are very different.

The original:

The new song:

While each are distinct unto themselves, they both do emphasize the transformative work of the Spirit that we all need. Without it, we are hopeless to please God. But thankfully we've been given the third person of the Trinity to enable us to live out our faith from the inside out.

*Gordon Fee, God's Empowered Presence, p.721-722, 1994. As cited in Klyne Snodgrass, Ephesians NIV Application Commentary, p.289, 1996.

Music Mondays

I'm a bit of a music snob. 

There are plenty of songs on the radio that are popular in various categories that I almost reflexively skip when they come on the radio. Sure some people might like them - but if they are overplayed or just not in my wheelhouse musically, I have no time for them. Sometimes though, I get a chance to see an alternative or live version of the song and I totally change my mind. Something about seeing the artist play it themselves piques my interest.

This weeks' Music Monday selection is one such song. It's a fine Christian song about being a light in a dark world. It has never really stood out to me among the hundreds of songs like it that the CCM industry puts out yearly. But this intimate jam session is right in my personal-musical-taste-wheelhouse.

And I share it today because these kinds of themes have been on my mind since studying and preaching Ephesians 5:1-14. In this passage, Paul challenges Christians to stand out in a spiritual dark and decrepit world. We are especially called to 'Walk as Children of Light' and expose (challenge/confront/even 'push back') the dark. 

The lesson, at least for myself is, always keep an open mind with songs because many of them (especially Christian) have a relevant time, place, and lesson to share.