outside is better

Making Manifest: An experiment in creative writing

Yesterday I recieved my preview copy of Making Manifest. The workbook is a 28 day journey through the process of creative writing. My friend Dave Harrity developed and wrote it. I am really excited to be part of a small group of creatives working through it before the book launches at Easter.

Dave is a poet and teacher who runs Antler, a multiple offering experiment in developing creation as a spiritual discipline. I have gone to several workshops by Dave and they were always wonderful.

Seedbed, the publishing arm of Asbury Seminary, put out this workbook. Making Manifest is the perfect example of the types of resources Seedbed best shares. I am looking forward to what the rest of my beta comrades come up with.

So keep your eyes peeled on my various networks as I talk about and go through this 28 day season of reflecting and writing.

@revchadbrooks (twitter and instagram)
Facebook.com/revchadbrooks

Beginning Prayer: St. Augustine's Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Whenever I sense the need to deepen my prayer life I often turn to the prayers of those before me. I usually have a few of them in a small piece of paper in my prayer notebook. I was writing a few letters today and sending a few of these cards out and remembered St. Augustine's Prayer to the Holy Spirit. It is so powerful. I love how it really asks for one thing...holiness. As a Methodist we understand any holiness we have comes from God and is brought by our deepening and sanctifying relationship with Jesus.

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

Too Sick to Pray: What I learned about Prayer from Willie Nelson

I am a big Willie Nelson fan. Obsessed. When the times comes around, I might even name a child Willie. During my long hair days in college I even rocked the double braid/bandana look.

I have learned over the years country singers make wonderful practical theologians. They confront the world in a way many preachers should take notes on. In these songs the writers talk about pain,hurt, sin, goodness, human expressiveness and need while exert their influence in a way other writers cannot.

A country song lifts up the primary human emotion needed when asking for forgiveness.

Brutal Honesty reigns.



I love this song. For someone who struggled (and still struggles) with what a good prayer life looks like, Nelson gives us a great beginning point. It comes back to the honesty thing. In his almost sacrilegious treatment of prayer he doesn’t allow his condition to stop his movement towards engaging and encountering with God. I love how in the video he refers to this as “his loophole song”.

He breaks down the condition of life, talks about his own spiritual movement and prays for others. In his frankness of his own life he never breaks apart the idea God was the one moving away.

Yes, the lyrics encourage the false idea the human heart can reach a state of ill communication with God, but the awareness and openness redeem it.

Are we ever too sick to pray?

Determining "contemporary" in your worship service...because it isn't magic fairy dust

Fairly often I am approached by people looking at either starting or taking a serious look at the contemporary services at their church. I usually travel in Methodist/Wesleyan circles, so this can tend to be a really unique situation. Many of these churches are responding to growth/decline trends and see other churches in their town growing and contemporary worship is thought to be part of that.

I have bad news.

As much as church planters, conferences or denominational leaders say it...there isn’t any magic dust existing in a contemporary service.

Yes, it can be a major element of growth and new ministry. Without carefully thinking about it you can create a situation which will only serve as a drain of resources and be seen as a fumble by many of the people you are trying to minister too.

Blindly jumping into the great lake of modern worship music won’t instantly bring new people to your church. Ministry shouldn't happen as a reaction to a downward trend. New ministry happens when we listen to God’s call and have to respond in faithfulness.

There are three key groups of people you need to look at when you are building vision for any type of worship service.

Worshiping congregation-
These are the folks in your chairs right now. With them comes denominational tradition, individual church characteristics and values as well as the group which will bring any sort of worship to actualization. Do you normally follow a liturgy or just go with the Spirit? Background matters in your design phase.

Desired Ministry-
Who do you want to reach out too? Just saying “the lost” or some other version isn’t good enough. Look at your existing leadership. Do they have a passion or call for a certain people group. It might be an age. It might be a description of “families who live on x side of town” or a people group spread out across a portion of your city.

Local Context-
What does your community look like? If you want to start a biker service but you don’t have a single motorcycle dealer or shop...you might want to rethink things. What does the community around your church or neighborhood look like? What do they value or spend time and money doing? What needs can only be fulfilled by the redemptive qualities of the kingdom?

Being able to identify these three groups of people will go far helping you understand what type of service you really need to start to minister in your area.

The beauty of knowing these three groups helps in identifying when plans or ideas are actually appropriate. You can realize when something might not be sustainable before it even gets going. The design of your worship will be appropriate to all three groups.

The small area where all three groups intersect is your sweet spot. This is where you will find the greatest depth of transformation, worship and discipleship. Your aim in any service should be to make this center really strong and healthy.

It will look different in different contexts. All worship communities are both individual AND communal expressions of the worship of Jesus Christ. Some are primarily evangelistic (check out The Skull Church for a great modern idea of this). Others might be a deeply embedded new community (Munger Place is a wonderful example). Your idea and understanding of this center will be really varied.

But even outside the sweet spot, you can further out any type of vision for a worshiping community.

When desired ministry and context overlap, you have evangelism. When ministry and worship collide, you are engaged in mission (Matt Redman’s song Mission's Flame is a great example). In the joining of worship and context, discipleship is developed for unique circumstances.

Usually when people ask me “just a quick question about our worship” I tell them this is and should be a much bigger discussion. I hope this provides some clarity around what intentional worship design looks like..because it matters. It isn’t just a hail mary attempt of figuring out what type of music you want. All decisions need to be made with the three major groups in mind. Spell these out with your team. The center of this will be your strong point. The three overlaps will provide the best expression of evangelism, mission and discipleship.

Worship Design matters. It forms how we talk about God. It’s how we want those we are worshipping with to be formed around God. Our worship is the story of God rising out of the redemption which has happened in our lives. Folks will respond in natural ways. Let’s create natural environments utilizing the knowledge we have about our vision using our known congregation, desired ministry and local contexts to form the best idea of how to lead others in a transforming relationship with Jesus Christ.

I want my worship to be...

Church culture today thrives on preference. Just a quick scan across websites and Facebook pages show how different churches have a really specific ministry. Scores of books have been written to help church leaders shape and refine vision. We are taught to shape everything, including our worship, with careful intention.

All of these are good. We need to have a clear idea and expression of the ministry God has called our congregations to.

But we are also guilty of throwing babies out with bathwater.

The Primary Spiritual Experience
When each person initially begins a relationship with Jesus they hit a mile stone. A foundation is formed in their mind of the particulars of the experience. Later on, new milestones might be reached and new mile markers are added.

I like to call these Primary Spiritual Experiences.

The things which happen during these times should be remembered and written down. However, many times we hold onto them a little to tight. We begin chasing after memories. In my 15 years leading worship I can’t even begin to count the times people have requested certain songs to be lead. The conversation ends with “I just don’t feel like I can connect with God unless I can get back into THAT space.”

When this happens, we are letting our primary spiritual experiences count a little to much. We develop preferences of worship and fight for them in an attempt to remake things happen. It is a spiritual “back to the future” and it affects others.

The beauty of an individual journey with Christ in the midst of a worshipping congregation is how we relate our experience and form them together with others to create spiritual realities in our midst. It’s a way we bring the Kingdom of God into our daily lives.

Either traditional or contemporary, this is still an issue. We think our way is the right way. Everyone else needs to conform to our idea of what affected us best in the past.

Like so many things, we far to often strive to make the past a present reality instead of looking towards to the future and finding out what new might bring to our present.

How might our attempts to remake something keep others from having a Primary Spiritual Experience? Are we holding back the folks we worship with?

Worship is about the future.
Robert Jenson said worship should be “violently eschatological” and he doesn’t talk about crazy end times stuff. As Christians, the basis of our faith is a projection of the future realized in the present. We should never be satisfied with what was. We need to slowly learn to be focused on what could be.

Instead of finishing the statement “I want my worship to be...” and strive to recreate something I want to challenge you to end it with an idea of a new thing happening when Jesus is fully let in. In prayer for the Holy Spirit to take you (and all of those around you) to new places.

What Primary Spiritual Experiences do you hold on to a little to tight?

Related Posts:
Getting a Souvenir From Worship

The Jurassic Park Principle in Worship Design

As a geeky kid growing up in the early 90's, nothing hit my radar quite like Jurassic Park. (well...maybe Wayne's World). I remember when the cool guy who helped me earn my Science merit page in Boy Scouts took me to the opening night of the movie. I had already read my paper back copy of the book several times and was excited about seeing the story brought to the big screen. Jurassic Park was a movie that EVERYONE saw.

While the effects might be dated, I think there is an important lesson church leaders can learn from Jurassic Park when planning worship. I would even go so far as to say it is a timeless message. It is a lesson both worship leaders and scientists creating large and destructive living beings from fossilized DNA should understand. I call it the Jurassic Park principle.

JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD.

You never know when things might get out of control.

Maybe your lighting crew can make a holographic depiction of the Death Star and your Youth Pastor can make it into an illustration on the one Sunday they teach at traditional worship...but should you really?

Maybe you really are getting into ancient liturgy and your community has gotten down reciting the Apostles Creed, but jumping straight into the Rite of Constantinople might go over their heads.

You have a great preaching illustration taken from The Dark Knight Rises, but the last movie most of your congregation saw in the theater was Driving Mrs. Daisy, will it truly work?

For younger ministers, there is a huge temptation to delve off into unknown creative waters when leading our congregations in worship. We might have seen something cool at a conference or around the internet and think it will be the thing that catapults our worship into truly skinny jean worship leader status...but we are willing to experiment at the expense of those we worship with. How far does that truly lead our churches into a deeper and more incarnational aspect of faith?

What might seem really cool to us and a few others could be the theological equivilent of unleashing a pack of velociraptors in the sanctuary. Remember the most important word in Worship Design is context. Sometimes innovative things will match our ministries well. Other times we need to step back and realize something might not be best for our church. This is all part of the process of discernment. Our job as leaders, whether music, logistics or preaching is to present Christ to people and facilitate the worship of the Triune God in the most approachable and accessible way for the people we worship with.

Just because we can doesn't mean we should.

Related Posts:
The Most Important Word In Worship Design
When Worship Attacks
Worship Design Warnings

My Grandfather's ToolBox...and the memory of faith

On Saturday I am taking 24 youth and 4 other adults to Tennessee to serve at Mountain T.O.P. Participating with this camp is a St. Paul's tradition and I am excited to go. I always think great relationships are formed on trips like these.

Since we will be working, I decided I wanted to bring some of my own tools. Anyone who works with their hands regularly understands the relationships formed with an inanimate object...a tool. It can be a wrench, a certain pair of pliers or a favorite screwdriver. We like to have our own tools with us when we know we will be doing alot of work. I am the same way. So I packed tools. Then I packed even more tools. I even packed more after that.

Three Toolboxes in all.

Funny thing is....I didn't grow up working with my hands. It was a fascination of early adulthood. I still can't do some things (I am a horrible mechanic), but I am decent at others. I would never consider myself a craftsman...but I am starting to get handy.

Both of my grandfathers were craftsmen, giants in their trade. It could be a diesel engine or a bread machine...they could handle it. When both of them passed and the family was starting to divide things up, determine what would be thrown away and what should be kept, I instantly started talking about tools. It was my connection to them, the piece of my life discovered when I became an adult. My inheritance was rusty, well work and mostly purchased at SEARS.

One of the toolboxes packed was my grandfather Brooks' old craftsman. It hold various small things and my electrical tools. It just felt right to bring it on this trip. Even though we never worked on anything together...I feel like it connects me to him and he would have enjoyed this trip.

In the same way, faith connects us to those who have passed us. In worship and our participation in the sacraments we do the same things, use the same items and worship the same God with those we might never have encountered. Faith is bigger than us. Bigger than the buildings and communities we might be a part of. This thing we call Christianity has deep roots. Some of them we might never have heard of. Many of them might be influencing us without our knowledge.

But we are part of that great company of hosts. Part of the family of God, the line of redemption connected by Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In this age of fast moving expressions of faith, we need to advocate for our inheritance. We need to be thinking how that which has been passed down is still totally relevant and worthy. In many ways it is the right tool for the job. Just like my 40yr old bench grinder still works great, think of the hymns or readings that can be an amazing part of your worship this weekend.

Historic faith isn't about denying any good can come from new things.
It focuses on how the Great Tradition of Faith teaches us the spirit of what is truly worthwhile. It becomes a discerning agent. When things are cheap we know so but when something new looks transformative we can recognize it. While my grandfathers never knew the wonders of an oscilliating cutting tool, I bet they would have jumped on it. It might have been brand new, but it would get the job done.

When in doubt...what consistently always does the job is the best tool for the job. In many different scenarios.

Related Posts:
The Memory of the Church and my old suitcase

Saturdays in Scripture: Descendents...and understanding the family lists

I am currently teaching a Bible study on 1st John. The first day of class I asked everyone what their favorite and least favorite books of the bible were. Interesting, the least favorite were almost all either Revelation or Old Testament books with long lists of names. When we get confused...we give up. It's a fact of life.

Earlier this month in my daily bible reading I was scheduled to read the first 10 chapters of 1st Chronicles. I quickly realized I would be reading 9 chapters of name lists, family lines and ancient census data. I thought about my friends when this came up.

1st Chronicles is part of a larger biblical history of Israel and how her kings affected her. It used to be one large book, but it was divided up into two (1st and 2nd Chronicles). While Kings and their behavior are the main characters, the tension points revolve around the Temple, priests and how well Israel is worshiping. The book ends with the conquering of Jerusalem and the  later return of some exiles. These last verses in 2 Chronicles (36:22-23) connect us to one of the last lists in 1 Chronicles (9:1-33). Chronicles outlines what happens when sin runs rampant among God's people and their leaders and the consequences. Ezra and Nehemiah give us a final end to the story, with two different descripitions of Jerusalem and the temple being rebuilt.

So back to the lists

Yes, a huge chunk of seemingly boring lists dominates the beginning of 1st Chronicles (chapters 1-9). But the very end of the story informs the beginning. This isn't a history being written in progress, but an intentional retelling of the how the current situation came to be, namely the return from Exile. Starting with the descendents of Adam (1:1) and ending the lists with Saul's family, the writer is making sure the line of Israel is told...but in regards to the exile. The story of God's people is a story of how we relate to Him who saved us.

The verse gives us plenty of interpretive hints in  9:1-2

The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the Lord. The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites.

This is an issue of worship. Yes, some bad political decisions were made, but when we read this verse as the beginning of a narrative shift and combine it with the multitude of verses introducing each King in terms of how well they led Israel in worship, a new picture forms.

Worship Matters.

How we as a people relate to God matters. How we decide to honor him matters...are we doing it blindly and without care or do we understand the immensity of worshiping the living God? Our stories connect us because they place us as part of a long line. The beautiful thing is the dramatic inclusion of Jesus Christ. He is our High Priest, the writer and finisher of all things Holy. In Him we are brought into this family of God and are no longer outsiders. Our family list begins and ends with Him!

Hopefully, this gives you an insight into how and why we have those long and hopefully no longer boring lists of families and names.

3 steps to beginning Prayer

Anyone who knows me understands my love for scripture. Of the spiritual disciplines, it always comes to me the easiest. Reading is never a problem. The discipline of prayer, however, only comes to me when I am intentional about it. I have also learned leaning on one piece of the spiritual life will not make up for another being neglected. This last year I have been on a journey towards a deeper prayer life.  I want to share 3 steps to beginning prayer with you that have helped me.

1. Become a Morning Person
The internet lately has been full of people lifting up the benefits of doing morning well. Michael Hyatt has a classic blog post called Slay Your Dragons Before Breakfast. Mornings matter and I am a late night person. But pieces of this have had to change. Carve out some time in the morning for prayer. Don't get stressed out over what this time will look like just yet, just make sure it happens.

2. Find a Place
The spiritual life is a rhythm. Creating a sacred space in your home or elsewhere helps to name and defend the time and idea of a regular prayer life. I made a corner of my music room to be dedicated to prayer. Sometimes I kneel, other times I stand. I am also known to pace around the room. I know this is a place for prayer. Over time, my prayers have begun building this place up as a well of the Holy Spirit. My corner is becoming holy.

3. Start Simple
In my previous attempts at regular prayer I quickly became distracted. I knew more structured praying helped me begin and end times of prayer. The Book of Common Prayer has a prayer reading twice daily that monthly will go through the entire Psalms. I appreciate this because the Psalms have traditionally been the prayer book of Gods people. Using the Common Prayer helps guide my prayer time in the mornings and evenings. It helps me be part of something much larger than my prayer corner when I am praying.

I hope my three suggestions help you. What have you found beneficial in a rhythm of prayer?

Related Posts:
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Creating a Rhythm of Scripture

Scott Erickson and the Crucifixion according to Radiohead

Scott Erickson is the artist in residence at Ecclesia in Houston. I have a very short list of churches I am wild about...and Ecclesia is one of them. My wife and I have worshipped there once and it was truly awesome.

Scott is a wonderful artist and teaches so much about the need for a visual culture in worship. Last Easter he put together this performance piece based of the classic stations of the Cross, with video clips and live painting. The soundtrack to the whole evening was taken from rock band Radiohead.

You can read Scott's thoughts here. You can also watch a live video of the whole event. It is worth your 45 or so minutes.