Worship Worship Worship Worship Worship Worship Worship the SEMI Winter 2014.3
Semi-Coherent
Editor’s Notes
Fuller’s Brehm Center is putting on their massive annual Festival of Worship in just a couple of weeks. A huge choir, full orchestra, the works. We thought it might be an appropriate time to talk about worship. Not the everything-we-do-is-an-act-of-worship kind of worship, but corporate (versus individual) worship. What most of our traditions do on Sunday morning. Others do it on Saturday, but the point is that it is part of the Christian life to gather together, sing praises, receive the proclaimed Word, and partake of the Lord’s Table. It is the “work of the people” in honor of God—the definition behind the word “liturgy.” We want to talk about it. So we have three articles focused solely on worship in the corporate setting: a study of incorporating the non-musical arts into our services; a conversation about authenticity in our worship leaders; and a look at how the terms worship, relationship, religion, and ritual are all intertwined. In addition, we also have a couple of pieces in the non-worship category. Fuller’s School of Psychology—the only APA accredited psychology school in the nation attached to a seminary—is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. We have coverage on how they got started and how they are still changing the world of psychology and Christian discipleship today. Keep an eye out through the issue for details of celebration events. We also have an article by Vital Connections, a student group on campus, highlighting the need to address addiction in family systems. It is a call to action for those of us headed into ministry, and it is coupled with upcoming events that should better equip us to minister to addicts in our churches. As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of the SEMI. May it grow, stretch, and edify you for the work God has called you to.
Reed Metcalf, Editor *Cover and inside cover art courtesy of Makoto Fujimura.
The SEMI
Managing Editor Carmen Valdés Editor Reed Metcalf Production Editor Jonathan Stoner
Letters to the Editor
The SEMI welcomes brief responses to articles and commentaries on issues relevant to the Fuller community. All submissions must include the author’s name and contact information and are subject to editing.
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Legal Jargon
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Wo r d P l a y
I know, this one is pretty obscure and nerdy. I’m running out of ideas here. Just think of it as a significant challenge, and tell me what kind of wordsearch you want to see.
The Kings of Judah I Z E D E K I A H B X P P I H Q
Rehoboam Abijah Asa Jehoshaphat Jehoram Ahaziah Athaliah Joash Amaziah Uzziah
J F P P S Z Z J O A S H M O A J
S U D K D J X Z V X I N I U I V
G T Z G U J O M H I D Z K Z Z B
G C G J E H O S H A P H A T A G
H A I L A H T A I N T H I M H I
C U S Z S M M J I A E R O Y A R
B E A A D A A H E Z H J H Y Z U
Y H C F R M C O E H K A E X Z J
A K W O K A H K B I O N J Z K O
L V H P I N I N W O I A I D S T
A E M O K A H O L Y H A H F Y H
J R H S H S U M J D H E G A X A
Z E R R X S H A J I B A R E Z M
J H C G Q E Z W T G L F Y M I O
M Z F X T H U N L U G J R W X D
Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh Amon Josiah Jehoahaz Jehoiakim Jehoiachin Zedekiah 3
The School of
PSYCHOLOGY Celebrates
50 Years:
PIONEERS THEN & NOW 4
B
ORN OUT OF THE CHRISTIAN community’s need for psychologists who are committed Christians and competent clinicians and scholars, the School of Psychology is a place where theology and psychology are in continuous dialogue: a place where the Cross informs all models of healing and transformation. FIVE DECADES AGO, THE IDEA of bringing together Christian theology and professional psychology was a controversial proposition. But a group of visionary leaders at Fuller saw a deep and growing need for just that kind of integration. In 1961
of the new program. The next year, with Dr. Lee Edward Travis as dean, the School of Psychology held its first classes—with 25 full-time and four part-time students, a faculty of six, and a visiting faculty of five. 1972 WAS A MILESTONE YEAR: the American Psychological Association granted approval to the school’s doctoral program in clinical psychology, making Fuller’s the first program in a seminary to receive APA accreditation. OVER THE FOLLOWING decades, the school enlarged its vi-
AS THE ONLY SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY IN THE U.S. THAT’S LOCATED WITHIN A SEMINARY, FULLER’S SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY PUTS THE THOUGHTFUL INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND PSYCHOLOGY AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING. John G. Finch, a consulting psychologist from Tacoma, Washington, delivered a series of lectures at Fuller on the theological and psychological dimensions of humankind—and the vision he articulated, one that integrated the Christian faith with the field of psychology, sparked the idea for a School of Psychology at Fuller. WITH GENEROUS FINANCIAL support from Fuller trustee C. Davis Weyerhaeuser and his wife Annette, further study and planning followed and, in 1964, the opening of the Pasadena Community Counseling Center initiated the first phase
sion for serving the local community as it trained students by creating research programs, clinics, and outreach programs. In 1987 the Doctor of Psychology degree program was initiated, and the Marriage and Family program—previously offered in the School of Theology—became a department within the School of Psychology. THE SCHOOL’S CAPACITY FOR research was strengthened with the founding of the Lee Edward Travis Research Institute (TRI) in the late 1980s. Ever since, the distinctive research centers within TRI have pro-
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vided the setting and support for faculty and students to engage in collaborative, often pioneering research in a range of areas: religion and psychotherapy; stress, trauma and adjustment; neuropsychology; child and adolescent development; and most recently thriving, with the opening of its Thrive Center for Human Development. Today the Fuller School of Psychology’s strength and reputation in research is unmatched among Christian psychology programs. THE SCHOOL HAS CONTINUED to expand and refine its programs in recent years to serve evolving needs. In 2012 the Marriage and Family Therapy program was extended to the Fuller Southwest regional campus, where the full MFT degree can now be earned. Subject to final approval from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a new non-clinical PhD in Psychology program will be launched in Fall 2014. DIVERSITY AMONG BOTH students and faculty has increased significantly over the school’s history, and particularly in the past decade. Students now are drawn to the school from a range of countries and enrich the learning experience for all with their perspectives. And increasingly School of Psychology graduates are going out to serve in more diverse locations and contexts, taking mental health services to communities and nations that have traditionally been underserved.
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SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY 50TH ANNIVERSARY SELECTED EVENTS: (More details at: www.fuller.edu/sop50th)
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19 10:00–10:50 am CHAPEL Laura Robinson Harbert 7:00-9:00 pm TRI 25th ANNIVERSARY LECTURE “The Development of the Right Brain Across the Lifespan: What’s Love Got To Do With It?” Allan Schore
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 10:00 am-12:00 pm PLENARY #1 “A Time to Live and a Time to Die: The Slavery of Death” Richard Beck 1:30-2:50 pm
BREAKOUT SESSION #1 3:00-4:20 pm
BREAKOUT SESSION #2
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 8:00-9:30 am
BREAKOUT SESSION #3 10:00 am-12:00 pm PLENARY #2
“A Time to Live and a Time to Die: The One Who Loves Moves from Death to Life” Richard Beck 1:30-2:50 pm
BREAKOUT SESSION #4 3:00-4:20 pm
BREAKOUT SESSION #5 7:00 - 8:30 pm
WORSHIP SERVICE Pasadena Presbyterian Church Reception following *Breakout sessions offer concurrent options in research, clinical, and integration tracks.
THROUGH THE YEARS AND going forward, the School of Psychology is built on four areas of commitment:
the strength and breadth of its research. Excellence in scholarship is paramount for the Travis Research Institute across its many projects.
1. INTEGRATION
4. CLINICAL TRAINING
A S T H E O N LY S C H O O L O F psychology in the U.S. that’s located within a seminary, Fuller’s School of Psychology puts the thoughtful integration of faith and psychology at the heart of everything. A solid understanding of theology and faith goes hand in hand with the best in professional training.
WITH THE AIM OF developing the highest quality of clinical competence, practicum training is integral to the school’s degree programs. Students find a range of placement opportunities both on campus and in the community.
2. TEACHING + MENTORING B I G G E R I S N O T A LWAY S better. Fuller’s School of Psychology has intentionally kept its programs to a size that allows faculty to work closely with students in small group settings and one-on-one supervision.
3. RESEARCH AMONG CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY programs, Fuller’s is unmatched in
FOR 50 YEARS, FULLER’S SCHOOL of Psychology has been driven by a pioneering spirit and a commitment to excellence in integration, teaching and mentoring, research and clinical training. The school’s current dean, Winston Gooden, has faithfully upheld this tradition for the past 15 years. As Dr. Gooden retires later this year, his newly appointed successor as dean, Mari Clements, is committed to doing the same—continuing to equip students to become marriage and family therapists, clinical psychologists, educators, and researchers who will serve with grace and truth.
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Making a
Joyful : Worship (fill-in-the-blank)
Non-Musical Art as
By Rebecca Testrake
I
HAVE A PROBLEM WITH worship. To specify, I have a problem with the term “worship.” So often, “worship” is limited to a particular aspect of a church service (commonly known by its alterna-
THE PROBLEM WITH PHRASES like these is that they take the sum parts of something and give it the name of the whole. Similar to the error in calling a “foot” or a “mouth” a “body,” people often attribute music or
SIMILAR TO THE ERROR IN CALLING A “FOOT” OR A “MOUTH” A “BODY,” PEOPLE OFTEN ATTRIBUTE MUSIC OR SINGING TO BEING “WORSHIP.” tive name “worship service) when what people really mean is “music.” “I really liked worship today.” “We’re going to take this time now to worship.” “I really like the way that [insert name here] leads worship.”
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singing to being “worship.” Side-skirting the issue of our lives being a form of worship (thank you, Romans 12:1), the suggestion that ‘time’ is relative in consideration that all of it is before the LORD and thus, suggestively, holy and fit for worship (thank you, Eastern Orthodox theology), as well as the concept that every element of
a worship service is actually a form of prayer, whether actively participated in or passively listened to (thank you, Todd Johnson), I would instead like to scamper about with the idea that ‘worship’ is often more than we attribute to it in its form during a worship service. Worship is appropriately expressed in more art forms than just music. Instead of looking at the external concept of what worship is, I want to look instead at the internal nuances of how worship could be expressed within the framework of a service. Too often we
applies to a specific genre of music, but does not always mean that it is used intentionally for the purpose of worship. (Some Christian families listen to Christian music or Worship music because it provides edifying background music – not necessarily because they are actively worshipping.) “The-part-of-the-service-where-weworship-through-music” does not quite fit what I am looking for, either, because my mouth is lazy. So, perhaps, instead of coming up with a new name, we need to change the definition to
PERHAPS, INSTEAD OF COMING UP WITH A NEW NAME, WE NEED TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION TO MORE BROADLY INCLUDE WHAT WE PERCEIVE TO BE ‘WORSHIP’ DURING A SERVICE. consider the challenge of how vast worship is, award our consent, and then pick right back up again with whatever we were doing in the first place. And while this is certainly not bad because it represents moments in our lives where even the mundane can be redeemed for worship if done to the glory of God, such a mentality often fails to challenge the individual or communities to creatively come up with ways to produce prodigal forms of worship. If I have a problem with the term “worship,” then one alternative is to come up with a new name. The problem I am faced with there, though, is that the terms “singing” or “music” do not seem to encompass the intention of the praise offered to God through their engagement. “Worship music”
more broadly include what we perceive to be ‘worship’ during a service. THE CHALLENGE, THEN, IS TO explore art forms other than music as avenues of worship. The Protestant church has had a habit of looking at the arts as children and singling out music as her favorite while relegating the others to the relationship of step-children who are allowed to come out and play every once-anda-while, provided that they promise to behave. I believe that this would also be the time to cue push-back. “Images lead to idolatry.” “Dancing is inappropriate.” “Art is distracting.”
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AND WHILE I WANT TO AFFIRM that these negative perspectives regarding the arts can be true, the result is that we should be careful and intentional in how we interact with them (especially within the context of worship) – not abandon them all together. I believe that most of us are aware of the ditty, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going” in regards to forest fires, but none of us have abandoned campfires as a result. Just as fire helps keep us warm, art helps us remember our humanity. The disgruntled compromise in engaging the arts in the worship space often becomes an attitude of, “Alright, how can we harness them, then? What message can we convey? We will use the arts as a teaching tool.” BUT THIS IS A DANGEROUS suggestion because it limits worship to its function of being didactic. And catechesis is often the justification we fall back on when dealing with Beauty.
sesses the seductive power to lure us to our deaths. (To be fair however, Truth without Goodness or Beauty will crush us, and Goodness without Truth or Beauty will suck us dry. And without Beauty, we are otherwise ultimately repulsed.) Obviously, in our engagement with the Arts in our worship services and spaces, we need to use wisdom to make sure that which we offer forward speaks to the Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of God. By “Beauty” I do not mean that a thing must always be aesthetically pleasing or make us feel good. That which is symbolized by the Cross, after all, is horrific. But Love and the resurrection redeem it to transform this particular icon into a statement of profound Beauty as God identifies with us in the midst of pain. EXPRESSIONS OF OUR WORSHIP do not need to be “useful” at all times. We do not worship God for His utility. We do not worship God because of
IN OUR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ARTS IN OUR WORSHIP SERVICES AND SPACES, WE NEED TO USE WISDOM TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WHICH WE OFFER FORWARD SPEAKS TO THE BEAUTY, GOODNESS, AND TRUTH OF GOD. Because, that is what we are ultimately talking about when we are talking about the Arts. And if we are honest, Beauty scares us. And this is entirely fair and right because, without the temperance of Goodness and Truth, the other transcendent qualities as listed by the ancient Greeks, Beauty pos-
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what God teaches us. We express gratitude for what God has done for us, but we worship God because it is in our nature to do so. We attribute God the worth God is due because because we are compelled to out of the purpose for our existence and as such, we cannot help but worship that which is
greater than ourselves. In reflecting upon the non-useful nature of worship, it is fair if some of our worship is non-useful as well. If a painting, photograph, dance, film, play, installation, poem, or collaborative art piece celebrates or makes us aware of our need of Beauty, Goodness, and Truth,
ing the Beauty of God, but that does not mean that a church service should be only filled with artistic experiences that help us feel something. We do not engage with Beauty for Beauty’s sake or Art for Art’s sake: we engage with them for God’s sake. We need to learn and we need to be. All I am
WE DO NOT WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD TEACHES US. WE EXPRESS GRATITUDE FOR WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US, BUT WE WORSHIP GOD BECAUSE IT IS IN OUR NATURE TO DO SO. reflecting the Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of God, then perhaps that is justification enough for having such an element in our worship services.
TO BE CLEAR, I AM NOWHERE near suggesting that we remove catechesis from our services. I think that in our busy culture, we often need to be taught and reminded of the doctrines of our faith. And words and music are beautiful art forms with which we are familiar, having benefited from the Beauty they have imparted to us as well as their participation in our formation towards Goodness in Truth. But I also think that there is something to be said about the space created by the other arts which draw us in for contemplation and experience – drawing us in to a more holistic expression of worship towards God as well. There is a tension to be held then: the attitude of “That was beautiful, but it did not teach me anything so it has no place in church” misses the point of wildly celebrating and reflect-
suggesting is that when it comes to the concept of what is ‘in’ and what is ‘out’ when it comes to worship is that we widen the playing field.
Rebecca Testrake (MDiv ‘15) has worked at Lake Avenue Church as a worship arts intern focused on incorporating elements other than music into Sunday worship gatherings. In here free time, she collects Nintendo 64 parts and games.
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Festival Of Worship February 16, 2014
A PSALM OF DAVID I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me; give ear to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:1-2
AN EVENING OF PRAYER + PRAISE TIME: 7:00 pm Location: Cathedral of OUR LADY of the ANGELS 555 W. Temple St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
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“…as incense before You” By Ed Willmington
The prayer of Psalm 141 begins as a soft prayer and rises in volume to introduce the 2014 Festival of Worship entitled “…as incense before You”. The 2014 festival will be based upon the monastic tradition of praying the hours, a call to set oneself apart from the busyness of the day through prayer. The festival will center on the sixth of seven hours called Evening Prayer which acknowledges the end of the work day and expresses gratitude for the light now fading. The sixth hour gives space to thank God for the gifts of the day now gone and offer prayers for wisdom for the evening ahead. Evening Prayer is accompanied by the sub-theme of light, as expressed in the psalms. In particular, we focus on Psalms 27 and 43 as the psalmist exclaims, “the Lord is my light and my salvation,” as prays “send our Your light and Your truth.” John the Apostle echoes this in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Our prayer, as we prepare for the upcoming festival, is that each of us, in the presence of God and one another, would come to the hour of prayer to express gratitude for the day and that our prayers would rise as incense before God. We give thanks for the many people who will be taking part in the festival – dancers, readers, soloists, handbell players, and, of course, the choirs and directors – all people of great heart, faith, knowledge, and skill. Gratitude is due in particular to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for their gracious hospitality in hosting the festival. Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, Music Director Frank Brownstead, and Organist Sal Soria are invaluable friends who value the many connections that the Festival of Worship represents. I am personally astounded at the many people I have met through the festival process. There are so many skilled people of faith who offer their gifts to God and to their communities, some who have become great friends during the organizational process. I am honored and humbled to think that I can be a small part of their ranks. They are a true gift of God and a blessing to me. May we all be encouraged in our faith as we pray together – and most of all, may God be pleased with the incense of our prayers during the Festival of Worship 2014, “…as incense before You”. *For more information, please visit: www.festivalofworship.com 13
Religion or
Relationship? Ritual or
Worship? By Reed Metcalf
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HE PASTORS AT MY CHURCH have been making me uncomfortable as of late. They keeping using a paradigm that I used to use frequently when I was younger but now makes me cringe. It’s the whole “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” thing. PLEASE ALLOW ME TO IMPLICATE myself. I attended a church when I was younger that got ripped apart by a really nasty split. The fracture had more to do with manipulative leadership than anything else, but I could not help associating the congregation’s malfunction with its faith tradition, which was pretty high church. I never understood why we did things the way we did in that church in the
the Lord’s Supper, framed in the context of the Passover meal—a ritual—that is celebrating the Exodus and worshipping YHWH. Jesus participated in the Synagogue, attempted to cleanse and right the Temple, and attended the feasts dictated in Leviticus. The baptism of John that Jesus participates in—a baptism of repentance, of reorienting into the way of YHWH—is a brand-new ritual that finds its origins in ritual Jewish washings. Jesus’ own death has immediate physical effects on two things: the earth and the Temple, redefining who is high priest. Yet the office of high priest does not disappear as Christ performs the Levitical duties for us in the presence of God the Father in Heaven (please see the Letter to the He-
UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO CHUCK OUT THREE-QUARTERS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE, YOU CANNOT GET AROUND THE FACT THAT “RELIGION” AND “RITUAL” ARE PART OF THE CHRISTIAN STORY. first place, which made the whole system an easy target for me. The result was that I was more than willing to grab on to this slogan—or rather, this set of slogans— that are very much in vogue in the evangelical church. “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.” “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual.” “We don’t do rituals here, we only worship.” I’M SURE YOU HAVE HEARD (OR even subscribe to) some of these mantras. I used these phrases all the time when I was younger, teaching high schoolers the same thing. But here is a problem. THE OLD TESTAMENT DESCRIBES A religion. Jesus was religious. Jesus practiced rituals. The Torah is founded on the Exodus from Egypt and revolves around how Israel is to worship the God who saved them. Jesus institutes a new ritual for the Christian church when he begins
brews). Unless you are willing to chuck out three-quarters of Holy Scripture, you cannot get around the fact that “religion” and “ritual” are part of the Christian story. I CAN FEEL SOME OF YOU CRINGING even now. But let’s discuss something here. One of the biggest stigmas attached to the words “religious” and “ritual” is that they are things that are empty or devoid of heart. I know, I was a part of a high church tradition and I often felt worship to be simply motions with no real connection to anyone or anything. I have also realized that there is a differentiation to be made in quality—there can be good ritual or bad ritual, just as there can be bad contemporary worship or good contemporary worship. But ritual itself is not bad. Neither is religion. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW HAS AN overarching theme of war. The Kingdom of Satan is at war with the Kingdom of God. We see it when Herod tries to kill the baby Christ, during the wilderness temp-
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tation, when Peter suggests a different path than the cross, when the Pharisees oppose Jesus’ healings, when the apostles try to shoo away the children. There is ultimately a struggle for power, whether it be via military might, status, or money. Jesus’s question in Matthew is: “Who’s side are you on? What will you worship?” THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND. There is no apathy. There is either siding with God—with love, self-sacrifice, grace, holiness—or with Satan—with self-interest, power, condemnation, immorality. We all worship something. One or the other. What will it be? YOU SEE, EVERY ACTION WE DO IS worship. It is either worshipping God or Satan. Let’s face it: we don’t always want to do things God’s way, because that means dying to ourselves and picking up our cross. Sometimes we don’t want to do it,
declare that the death and resurrection broke the power of sin and death and removed our guilt. We sing praises to declare that there is and forever shall be one King over all the cosmos, and we choose him. Even when we don’t want to. WE SIDE WITH AND WORSHIP GOD instead of Satan. We may be kicking and screaming on the inside, but we still do what God has asked us to do. Sing his praises when we hurt. Drink his cup when he feels distant. Confess our sins when we actually enjoyed those sins. Read our Bible when it tells us things we don’t want to hear. Get baptized when we actually don’t want to die. Whether you attend a church “with no set structure” or one that follows a book every week, whether it is a rock band or organ or no instruments or prayers said together or prayers made up on the spot, if you attend a church to worship God you are being religious. You
IF YOU ATTEND A CHURCH TO WORSHIP GOD YOU ARE BEING RELIGIOUS. YOU ARE ENGAGED IN ACTIONS THAT ARE REPETITIVE IN NATURE THAT ULTIMATELY SAY “GOD IS IMPORTANT AND I CHOOSE HIM.” IF YOU SHOW UP AND YOUR HEART IS NOT IN IT, YOU ARE BEING RELIGIOUS; IF YOU SHOW UP AND YOUR HEART IS IN IT, YOU ARE BEING RELIGIOUS. our hearts we scream defiance, our brain makes excuses to get out of it…. AND WE PICK UP OUR CROSS anyways. We do what is right when our hearts aren’t in it. This is religion. This is ritual. Actions that point to what we hold as ultimately the best and truest thing in existence. Tooth-brushing is a ritual that says that I think dental hygiene is important. Tithing is a ritual that says I think the people that money is going to help are important because they are all created in the image of God. Confession of sins, to honor what Christ did on the cross. Assurance of pardon, to remember that Christ rose from the dead. The Lord’s Supper, to
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are engaged in actions that are repetitive in nature that ultimately say “God is important and I choose him.” If you show up and your heart is not in it, you are being religious; if you show up and your heart is in it, you are being religious. IT IS LIKE AGAPE. EVANGELICAL Christians everywhere understand this Greek word to be how Christ asked us to relate to each other. This is not love that we feel, but love that we do. It is doing the best for the other person regardless of our feelings towards them. When we perform ritual, we are acting in a way that says, “I choose to follow God even when I can’t seem to put my heart in it.”
RELIGION IS TO DO; WHETHER WE feel or not is irrelevant. But this is what Jesus asked of us, right? Jesus never said, “Make sure you feel good about me all the time. That’s when I know you are actually in it, when you are actually worshipping.” He only said, “Follow me.” IF YOU FEEL LIKE DOING IT WHEN you are performing an act of worship, that is great. But ultimately, worship is about acting towards God, not about us feeling good about ourselves or doing things that
re-become the people who find joy, life, and energy in worship when we submit to God. I KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING to say when they pull the “It’s not a religion” card, but the fact of the matter is that every person is religious. We the church must own this and preach this. It’s all about who we are worshipping. Yes, it is miraculous in the highest sense of the word that we have a relationship with God Almighty. But we still worship him. The
JESUS NEVER SAID, “MAKE SURE YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT ME ALL THE TIME. THAT’S WHEN I KNOW YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN IT, WHEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORSHIPPING.” HE ONLY SAID, “FOLLOW ME.” make us happy. Yes, Christianity is a relationship with God Most High, mitigated by our High Priest Jesus, and our religion is how we maintain our part of the relationship. Love is shown not through words and fuzzy feelings, but through actions that show we listen to the other person and take them seriously. Our rituals show that we value the things that God values and that we take him seriously. The religion is the relationship. The ritual is part of the love. AND HERE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST parts: the rituals we perform, whether we want to call them that or not, work on us. Well, they don’t work on us. God does. Part of ritual action—singing praises on Sunday morning, for instance—is us taking a posture of submission to God. When I sing praises to God—even if I am feeling particularly ornery and rebellious that day—I am saying that God is king, not me. The Holy Spirit works mysteriously through our obedient actions to change our disobedient hearts. This is what it means to follow: the romance of heartfelt worship can at times completely dry up, but obedience—one foot in front of the other—helps reshape us into the people who see the cosmos as God sees it. We
relational aspect of the Triune God’s interaction with us does not obliterate the obligation to worship him as God of the Universe; in fact, our side of the relationship is ritual action in worship. The only other option when we dismiss or eschew truly worshipping God—even when we have no desire too—is to worship something else, following patterns of behavior that allow us to put other things or persons at the center of our lives, and that is a relationship that none of us can afford to have.
Reed Metcalf (MDiv ‘13) is the Editor of the SEMI. Prior to that, he was an All Seminary Chapel intern at Fuller and Director of the Youth Worship Team at North Orange Christian Church. He thinks guitar amps, ukuleles, and hymnals go well together.
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Honesty inWorship
andWorship
Leaders a conversation
I had the opportunity recently to sit down with Julie Kang and Simeon Sham, both currently on staff for Fuller’s All-Seminary Chapel, and talk with them about a growing desire in the church, a hunger for authenticity. What followed was a great conversation about what it means to live honestly as a worship leader before the congregation and reflect that honesty in our liturgies. -Reed Metcalf, Editor J: I WORK WITH A LOT OF YOUNG people. When asked why they walked away from the church at some point, the most common answer is that things feel fake. It feels like a show that we put on on Sundays. We call it worship but they are disengaged. They
when discussing pain and or suffering. There is no talk about poverty or sex trafficking. The pain is generalized and nullified by saying, “God is sovereign over it,” but we don’t discuss how this sovereign God is engaged in fixing these things and us. The current gen-
“IS MY HONESTY ENOUGH? I CAN’T SEE YOU BEING GOOD IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW, AND I AM REALLY STRUGGLING. CAN YOU RECEIVE THIS HONESTY? OR IS IT ONLY WHEN I AM PRAISING OR ENTHRONING YOU THAT IT COUNTS AS WORSHIP?” perceive a distance between themselves and the perceived “holy people” up front leading the worship. They feel that the whole thing is an act, and those who are less holy or struggling with themselves or the evil in this world don’t belong there or up there. Many of the songs are general in terms
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eration of young folk are tired of it. They are sick of “fake church.” WHEN THEY COME BACK, THEY are drawn to emerging churches where they have no facades about having things together. Everyone is recovering from something. The young
people I work with want that pastor or worship leader who is honest about their struggles and leads with those struggles out in the open. My question in light of all this is how to engage the current generation well, how to lead them well as a worship leader. I don’t stand up there and lead as someone who has figured everything out, but how do I show I am still working through my own struggles? How do I convey that honesty while still lead-
Second, we have to consider whether or not the songs that we sing are reflecting the full life of faith. This doesn’t mean that I need to say my testimony, but our songs should give voice to things that others are feeling but none of us can express on our own. A perfect example is the Psalms. Many are very raw and real, giving us patterns to approach God when we are in the midst of painful or complicated circumstances. Through the Psalms,
OUR WORSHIP RUNS THE FULL SPECTRUM OF EMOTIONS IN THE PSALMS. IT’S NOT JUST THE ENTHRONING, BUT IT IS ALSO NOT JUST LAMENTING. I THINK WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE SPECTRUM WHEN WE LEAD PEOPLE IN WORSHIP, SO OUR CORPORATE WORSHIP DOES NOT END UP BEING NARROW. ing? Where is the line between honesty and a weekly testimony/confessional by the worship leader? S: WHEN YOU LOOK TO BE A worship leader who communicates and leads in an “honest” way—in a way that is believable from the congregation’s standpoint—there are some things to consider. First, the object of worship: what and who we are worshipping. When you see that as your primary focus, a lot of pressure comes off of you: the pressure to perform, to be the one to play the right songs or say the right words that stir a congregation’s heart. That’s not your job. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. So narrowing down the object of worship to God is a huge part of honest worship leading, because once you are real with that reality then you can move on to things that might help the congregation hone in their focus on God.
we get to express praise and thanksgiving, but we also can express anger and lamentation. The beauty of it is that it is all seen as worship to God. J: AND WHEN WE READ THE Psalms, we find some that are not resolved. You know, David is pissed— with good reason—and there is no resolution. None of this, “Ah, but all things are beautiful, so I will praise you anyways.” David is just sitting in his anger, his anger towards God. We have talked about this before—how there is little if any space in the church to lament. When I come across those four or five Psalms that do not really resolve, I find myself asking the Lord, “Is my honesty enough? I can’t see you being good in my life right now, and I am really struggling. Can you receive this honesty? Or is it only when I am praising or enthroning you that it counts as worship?” I find myself wa-
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vering back and forth on this. The biblical account is vague as to whether or not God is offended by that honesty. I lean towards no, I lean towards the belief that God can understand the raw, messy, ugly state of my emotions and appreciate the fact that I still come before him with all of that. So here, I also appreciate the idea that our worship runs the full spectrum of emotions in the Psalms. It’s not just the enthroning, but it is also not just lamenting. I think we need to be aware of the spectrum when we lead people in worship, so our corporate worship does not end up being narrow. The subject of worship is so vast: the God of Wrath is also the God of Love. We never can, but we must try to embrace all of God in our corporate worship settings. S: AND IT WOULD SEEM TO BE A tremendous task you can never accomplish. What three or four minute song can span the entire life of faith before the Triune God? It is impossible. But that is the beauty of thoughtfully constructing a liturgy. There are mechanisms in the liturgy—gathering, confession, table—that give space
my Fuller education; I can take something like the liturgical calendar, that makes space for grieving or lamenting, and take it back to my Pentecostal tradition—which is so focused on joy—so that those who are hurting have a space and time to hurt. I really enjoy seeing liturgy work in this way. It helps take off that pressure of having the perfect song and it allows you to follow those avenues in a song without feeling the need to resolve it. The liturgy will resolve it for you. R: WHAT I HAVE COME TO appreciate about the liturgical calendar is it forces us to sing our way through the whole of story of faith. What do we do when something like the Newtown massacre happens but our tradition has never taught us anything but songs of joy and stories of victory? Suddenly God doesn’t seem big enough to handle the enormous evil that we are experiencing; congregants say, “The God I know isn’t able to hear what I have to say about Newtown and hear the cries of my heart.” But those Psalms, the Book of Lamentations—singing them as a congre-
I CAN TAKE...THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR, THAT MAKES SPACE FOR GRIEVING OR LAMENTING, AND TAKE IT BACK TO MY PENTECOSTAL TRADITION—WHICH IS SO FOCUSED ON JOY—SO THAT THOSE WHO ARE HURTING HAVE A SPACE AND TIME TO HURT. for a myriad of expressions and emotions. Celebration days will still have a place for confession and assurance of pardon. You take a step back and look at the liturgical calendar, and there are seasons—Advent, Lent—where we can delve deeper into the various voices. I have greatly appreciated this aspect of
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gation help us be with those who are hurting and prepare us, give us a theological vocabulary to speak to God when we lose a loved one or when a Newtown happens. J: IT IS MASSIVELY IMPORTANT for worship leaders to be conscious
of such things happening around us. We need to give voice to these sorts of tragedies. It is so easy to be insular and closed off, to stay in a space that is warm and clean and comfy and removed from the pain of the world. But I think this goes back to the source of my questions and delving: it is this sort of tunnel-vision that the younger gen-
over—and I need to remind myself over and over—that we will suffer for his name. In the Western expressions of the faith, that is not something that we make a whole lot of space for. In the Korean church, it is so ingrained that it is in our blood. We need to find a way to work it back into our liturgies. That may mean that we find elements
THE FAITH JOURNEY IS FULL OF CHAOS AND PAIN, BUT ALL OF IT IS WORTHWHILE, BECAUSE THE GOD WE WORSHIP, FOLLOW, AND PARTNER WITH IS NOT ONLY BIG ENOUGH TO HANDLE ALL OF THIS, BUT HE IS BIG ENOUGH AND IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING ALL THINGS RIGHT. eration finds so deplorable. They’re asking the church if it can get real, because this life is anything but easy. I UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY are coming from. Before I became a Christian, the picture that was painted for me was a life perfected, as if life is awesome once Jesus is in it. Now, my life is awesome, but it is messy and full of chaos and ups and downs and so, so painful. And I can’t help but feel that Christianity was falsely advertised to me! When I said yes to the Lord, I thought it would be… you know…. Parties every day! Just kickin’ it with Jesus! But it ended up being this insane journey with more chaos and more pain and more suffering than anything I knew before Christ, but the difference is that there is an important reason for all of it—the most important reason—that makes all of it worthwhile. But I don’t want to perpetuate the false advertising; I don’t want to give the impression to the de-churched or un-churched that all of it is pure joy once we give our lives to Christ. The reality is that Christ says over and
that do not resolve, because there are situations in this world that are not resolved. We need to lament together as a church. We cry out to the Lord, and in that church setting we can declare a God who knows it all—all of the pain, all of the suffering—and he still has compassion on his people, on all people. This is not a cop-out; we aren’t saying, “Don’t worry, he’ll take care of it,” we are saying, “He’ll take care of it, but we are going to be a part of that process of righting the wrongs of the world.” This is the sort of honesty we need to have with the current generation of young people. The faith journey is full of chaos and pain, but all of it is worthwhile, because the God we worship, follow, and partner with is not only big enough to handle all of this, but he is big enough and in the process of making all things right.
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Hey, Fuller! CHECK THIS OUT!
• Free Couples Therapy The School of Psychology is once again offering up to 15 free couples therapy sessions on a first-come-first-served basis for qualified adults. This opportunity will be available during the Fall, Winter and Spring quarters of the 2013-2014 school year. (Couples will see a therapist during one of these quarters). All therapy will be conducted by MSMFT masters students under the direct supervision of Dr. James Furrow and Dr. Terry Hargrave. Each session will be conducted under direct video supervision. Please contact Amy Drennan in the School of Psychology at (626) 204-2009, (amydrennan@fuller.edu), to set up a brief phone intake.
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• FIeld Ed Announcements 1. Field Education Chaplaincy Internships for Spring ‘14 The following hospital and hospice chaplaincy internships* are being offered during Spring 2014: Two-unit FE546 Hospital Chaplaincy internships are being offered at Glendale Adventist in Glendale, St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills. Two-unit FE548 Hospice Chaplaincy internships are being offered through Roze Room Hospice and Mission Hospice. These courses emphasize spiritual care training in a hospital or hospice setting. Students will learn how to be present to patients and/or their families during a crisis, as well as the preliminary steps in performing a spiritual care assessment. Before registering for a chaplaincy course, interns must be interviewed and accepted by the prospective hospital or hospice chaplain. Start the process early! Depending on the site, the approval process can take from 3 to 8 weeks. *These are not CPE internships. If you are looking for CPE internships, you may find that information on our Field Education website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. CANCELLED: Understanding Hospital Chaplaincy: How to Prepare for CPE Please note: this seminar has been cancelled for logistical reasons. For anyone wanting to view a past version of the seminar, please email the Field Ed office. We can help you access footage from our archives.
Contact FEMF at 626-584-5387 or fielded@fuller.edu for more information.
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ADDICTION RECOVERY by Kaye Schneider
I googled the word “addiction” and the first item to pop up was an advertisement for “Free Online Games at Addicting Games”. The marketing power of the word “addicting” is significant. “Addicting Games” presumably means “good games” or “games you will really like.” It is a positive thing. The language of addiction has been used to market all kinds of products--both explicitly and in very subtle ways. Addiction sells. It is appealing. Presented well, addiction makes us want to buy things. In the real world, however, addiction is not a positive. The consumption of addictive substances causes more premature mortality and years of life lost to disability than anything else. It is a global public health problem larger than cancer, larger than AIDS, and larger than heart disease. Every year the consumption of just tobacco products, for example, causes somewhere between 6 and 7 million premature deaths. The death toll from addiction is bad enough. But it is important to recognize that for every person who is addicted there are many other people whose lives are being negatively affected. Spouses suffer. Parents suffer. Children (and grandchildren!) suffer. Friends. Colleagues. Pastors. The list is quite long. Unlike many other disease processes, addiction has a systemic impact. Everyone connected with an addicted person will experience pain. Anyone who pursues a career in ministry will learn, eventually, that being a Christian provides no immunity to addiction (just as it provides no immunity to diabetes or any other chronic disease process). So going into ministry, whether pastoral or clinical, without a good working knowledge of the addictive process is to be poorly prepared for the reality of ministry in our world. There will be lots of people in your congregation or your clinical practice who are suffering because of addiction. If you don’t have a good working understanding of the addictive process, you run the risk of being part of the problem. On the other hand, if you take the time now to develop the kinds of pastoral and clinical competencies that make for quality care for addicts and their families, you can help the Christian community become a safe and helpful place for people who are struggling with these kinds of problems. Be part of the solution! In an effort to increase awareness and understanding of the addictive process, the Fuller Institute for Recovery Ministry and Vital Connections (an ASC
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Group) are sponsoring a week of events focused on “Helping Addicted Families”. We are convinced that the Church can become a resource for people struggling with addictions and that Fuller Seminary has the potential to be a leader in preparing those who will offer therapy, education, or pastoral care to these families. Join us the week of February 10-14 as Fuller Institute for Recovery and Vital Connections co-sponsor several events to help educate and empower those whose professions and ministries will be impacted by addiction. Four events are planned:
Monday, February 10
(11:00am - 12:50pm in Travis Auditorium) Jeff Van Vonderen (a featured interventionist on the Emmy award-winning A&E show Intervention and a well-known author and lecturer) will be talking about “Helping People Who Don’t Seem Like They Want Help” in Dr. Ryan’s class (Recovery Ministry in the Local Church).
Tuesday, February 11
(6:30pm - 8:30pm in Travis Auditorium) “A Conversation with Jeff VanVonderen,” which focuses on the family dynamics of addiction and will be followed by a panel discussion with Jeff, Dr. Ryan, Director of the Fuller Institute for Recovery Ministry and Dr. Ken Fong, Executive Director of Fuller’s Asian American Initiative. This event is open to the public!
Wednesday, February 12
(11:00am - 12:30pm in Travis Auditorium) Dr. Ryan will preview a new video series for parents of addicts and alcoholics.
Thursday, February 13
(12:00pm - 12:50pm in the Garth) A brown bag lunch with representatives from Urban Initiative Office and “Justice at Fuller” groups. Topic: How we intersect with addiction in our professional lives and in our communities. *These events are for ALL Fuller students and grads, staff and faculty. Attend whatever you can!
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ART CALL FOR
a collaborative project between the SEMI and Fuller Arts Collective
ACCEPTING ALL FORMS OF VISUAL AND LITERARY ART submission deadline March 31st
submissions may be emailed to semi@fuller.edu For more information see fullerartscollective.tumblr.com
fuller school of psychology 50th anniversary february 19 –22, 2014
ALL SEMINARY CHAPEL
Laura Robinson Harbert travis research institute 25th anniversary
Allan Schore
symposium on the integration of faith & psychology
Richard Beck Thursday worship service led by:
Mark Labberton
seasons of the school of psychology panels
Including SOP deans Neil Clark Warren, Arch Hart, Jim Guy, and Winston Gooden a festive celeBration anD party
John Ortberg and Winston Gooden
#sop50th
Visit fuller.edu/sop50th for additional information on breakout sessions and registration.