Portland Cohort

Emerging Worshiper

1. Visible Grace Benefit Concert
   Go to www.visiblegrace.org for info and tickets!
   

    Subscribe in a reader

   
   
   
2. Divorce, Remarriage, Adultery, and Homosexuality
   Many Christians hold that homosexual behavior is sinful and require that LGBT persons be repentant of such behavior in order to be accepted or remain in Christian fellowship. An LGBT person who is unrepentant, who continues in homosexual behavior, is considered to be continuing in sin and is liable to church discipline and/or exclusion from fellowship. These beliefs come directly from scripture. For many Christians, if the Bible says something is sin, then it is sin. Period.
   
   But I would like to point out the hypocrisy of this as it pertains to divorce and remarriage. The dominant view of divorce among Christians today is that it is not preferable, but that it is allowed in certain circumstances, such as infidelity and abandonment by an unbeliever. But what is not discussed as often is the issue of remarriage. Jesus teaches about this in Matthew 5:32 -
   
   "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."
   
   And again in Matthew 19:9 -
   
   "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
   
   And Mark 10:11-12 -
   
   He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."
   
   And Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, 15 -
   
   "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife... But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace."
   
   And for Old Testament exclamation, Malachi 2:16a -
   
   "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel...
   
   While it can be conceded that marital unfaithfulness and abandonment by an unbeliever are legitimate grounds for divorce, scripture does not allow divorce for any other reason. Therefore, according to the Bible, anyone who divorces for any reason other than infidelity or abandonment by an unbeliever and then later remarries is an adulterer.
   
   So is this adultery sinful? Most Christians do not demand that remarried divorcees repent of their adultery and end their sinful and immoral behavior. Most do not cry out through political punditry that remarried divorcees are a threat to the institution of marriage and the family values of our nation. Christian politicians are not lobbying for legislation or constitutional amendments against divorce and remarriage. Isn't divorce a significantly more direct and damaging threat to marriage than homosexuality? Isn't God's Old Testament hate of divorce equivalent to His calling homosexuality an abomination? Adultery and homosexuality seem to be equivalent in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 -
   
   "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
   
   So why do Christians treat the two issues so differently? If there is a hermeneutic that allows for the acceptance of remarriage, why can't we also be accepting of homosexuality?
   
   Pardon me for being cynical, but I think it is easy for Christian leaders to take a hard stance against homosexuality. Leaders cannot speak out so strongly against remarried divorcees because there are too many of them attending their churches. Half of all marriages in America end in divorce, and the number one cause of those divorces is financial stress. To take a solidly conservative Biblical stand against all those who have remarried after such a divorce would clear the pews in a hurry!
   
   But do Christians truly avoid teaching these verses because it would be unpopular? Or is it that we don't believe them? Do we just decide for ourselves what we think is right and trust that God agrees with us, regardless of what the Bible says? Could our interpretation of these passages regarding divorce and adultery really be that dependent on our own ideas of morality?
   
   So I ask again, what is the hermeneutic that allows Christians to accept the adultery inherent in most remarriages? And if such a hermeneutic exists, why is it not applied to other sexual sins, such as homosexuality? And if it does not exist, why do Christians accept unrepentant remarried persons into fellowship but not unrepentant homosexuals?

    Subscribe in a reader

   
   
   
3. Review: "Church Music", David Crowder*Band
   
   
   I just finished listening to Church Music, the new David Crowder album. I think it is their best album to date.
   
   According to Wikipedia:
   
   The album runs continuously with no gaps between tracks, essentially creating a 73 minute song. To do this the band sequenced the tracks before anything had been recorded so keys and tempos could be finalized. According to David Crowder, ""We programmed the album first, forcing ourselves to write from the track up, and then, after the song emerged, we dismantled it, replacing much of the programming with live instrumentation but leaving the fundamentals that the song emerged from intact."
   
   Listening to the album from beginning to end, you get the sense that the writing process created fundamental changes in the band's approach to style and genre. While still rooted firmly in sequencing and sampling, as has become DC*B's bread and butter, much of the acoustic flavor of their earlier work has been replaced by dark and dense guitar and synth soundscapes. The album's power is magnified by the band's attention to intensity and dynamic range. Songs often soar to maximum heights just before the instrumentation drops away to reveal previously unnoticed underlying tracks. The album pulses with a rising and falling from track to track, but all the while continuing to build from beginning to end.
   
   For me, the record climaxes at track 16 with (dare I say it) the heaviest song on the album, "God Almighty, None Compares", a nearly seven minute minor key clinic of time changes, heavy electric guitar hooks, and a wailing Hammet-esque wah solo on the outro. This is not your typical David Crowder*Band album, if there ever has been such a thing. Gosh there's even a funk number on the album, "Church Music - Dance [!]". The funk guitar work is great, the 70s disco string hits don't feel out of place, the distorted synth bass figure keeps it current...
   
   Another standout track for me is "How He Loves". The crowded coffee shop background noise cements a sense of community and shared experience that fits perfectly with the lyrics.
   
   "And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If his grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves..."
   
   When so many CCM lyrics sound like middle school love poems, Crowder's lyrics rise above, reaching artistic and theological heights seldom heard. And I'm happy to say that the music on this album is more than an equal match for the lyrics. The license and creative freedom enjoyed by DC*B to pursue their muse is to be admired. Church Music is quite an achievement in this sense. From the original tracking and writing process down to the final outcome, the album is risky, and it succeeds.
   
   One nitpick: I am not the greatest fan of the overcompressed brick wall limiting that has become almost standard practice in the music industry. The loudness wars have had a drastic effect on the dynamic quality of modern recordings over the last several years, and unfortunately this album goes too far with it at times. Although Church Music is far the worst perpetrator of recent date (the effect is not found throughout the album, and at times I found it to be musically pleasing, creating intensity and power in some key passages), still I found my ears tiring from the extreme compression during certain sustained sections.
   
   Track listing
   
   1. "Phos Hilaron [Hail Gladdening Light]" - 2:06
   2. "Alleluia, Sing" - 4:30
   3. "The Nearness" - 3:55
   4. "Shadows" - 3:26
   5. "Eastern Hymn" - 6:26
   6. "SMS [Shine]" - 3:18
   7. "The Veil" - 4:19
   8. "We Are Loved" - 4:17
   9. "All Around Me" (Flyleaf cover) - 4:37
   10. "How He Loves" (John Mark McMillan cover) - 5:19
   11. "Can I Lie" - 3:24
   12. "Birmingham [We Are Safe]" - 3:38
   13. "Church Music - Dance [!]" - 3:52
   14. "What A Miracle" - 3:41
   15. "Oh, Happiness" - 3:17
   16. "God Almighty, None Compares" - 6:51
   17. "In The End [O Resplendent Light!]" - 6:53

    Subscribe in a reader

   
   
   
4. Homespun Concert Series, July 18th
   
   
   You should check out this upcoming concert on July 18th.
   
   The Cobalt Season is Ryan and Holly Sharp, who are the designers of Shane Claiborne's last book "Jesus For President" and toured in support of it, as well as Brian McLaren's "Everything Must Change" tour. They're great people who have explored a lot of life and their music reflects the changes that many of us have lived into and the residual questions we are continuing to bump up against. You can find out more about them at thecobaltseason.com.
   
   Molly Jenson is a great new artist who is pure pop/rock gold...her voice and stories are awesome. She's truly amazing. Check out the tracks from her new album on myspace at /mollyjenson.
   
   Besides all this, the homebrewed beer and sangria are cheap and GOOD. And the whole event costs only $3. This is a brilliant way to spend an evening.

    Subscribe in a reader

   
   
   
5. A Jesus Manifesto fails to answer "How?"
   So after reading the new Jesus Manifesto by Len Sweet and Frank Viola, I find myself in agreement with almost all of what they propose. Yes, Jesus is alpha and omega, beginning and end, and Christianity has lost sight of the centrality of Jesus, all things that presume to replace Christ or supercede Christ are pretenders, etc. I get that. I agree with that.

   And I really liked the part where they say that Christians don't follow a book, they follow a Person. I actually felt a shiver of excitement when I read that. Without degrading or belittling the Bible, they put it in its rightful place, the rightful place of all things, under Jesus.

   Julie Clawson makes some very good points in her blog about justice, and I agree that this manifesto seems to belittle the role of justice, and of faith communities that see justice as central to their relationship with Christ. One of her points is that while the manifesto claims that Jesus cannot be separated from his teachings, it also seems to claim (somewhat falsely) that some christians are doing just that.

   The point of the manifesto seems to be that christianity is in some ways failing to give Christ his proper place, that we as Christ followers are supplanting Christ with lesser things. And they specifically point to justice. But in making this point, the manifesto fails to give any advice on how to put Christ first, other than warning against putting other things first. And while this is a good and always timely warning, it lacks any positive exhortation. It does not tell us HOW.

   How do followers of Christ make Jesus central? How do we make him Lord? One might argue that he is those things apart from us and what we think or do. But that is not the point of the manifesto. The point of the manifesto is that we must avoid putting other things over Christ. But I don't believe that Jesus magically becomes our Lord once all other lords have been set aside. He does not become central merely by filling a vacuum. There must be concrete ways that we MAKE him our Lord.

   I believe that love, and more specifically a justice that flows from love, is the answer to this question of "How?" This is the action that makes Jesus our Lord. The greatest commandment is to love God, and the way to love God is to love others. That is why the second greatest commandment is "like" the first, because loving others is like loving God. Before Jesus died he gave us a "new" commandment: to love one another. And he says if we love him we will obey his commandments. In the parables of the Sheep and Goats and of the Good Samaritan Jesus drives home the key idea that love for others is what it means to love God. He even suggests that failing to give justice to the poor will lead to separation from God. Whatever we do, we do to him. Whatever we don't do, we don't do to him. This is perhaps the most important aspect of relationship, not what we think of others, but how we relate to them. What we think or believe about God is far less important than our relationship with him. And our relationship is dependent on how we treat him. And Jesus teaches that how we treat him is synonymous with how we treat others. The sermon on the mount is full of teaching on how we are to live with and love others. Paul teaches that love is even greater than our faith. James, in a different way, teaches the same thing, that faith without works is dead. And in all of these examples this idea of love and works is directly tied to poverty and justice for the poor. Over and over again it is taught. It is inescapable.

   So it seems to me that any manifesto of Jesus MUST attempt to tell us how we are to make Christ central. And any answer to this question that leaves out justice is flawed. So not only does the Sweet/Viola manifesto fail to tell us the answer, it actually admonishes us to give less place to the answer.

   But other than that it's great. :-)

   
   Ken Bussell
   blog.emergingworshiper.org
   Sent via BlackBerry

    Subscribe in a reader