How Hollywood and the Church are the same

Hollywood is a very formulaic town. They make things they know have worked in the past and will more than likely make money in the future. Which is why we have six of these horrible movies, four of these confusing movies, and three of these tearjerkers. 

The Hangover is literally the same story three times over! 

And TV is not immune to this effect either. Take a look at this little math equation:

American Idol = The Voice = America's Got Talent

For as much we might think that the movie or TV business if full of creative people and innovative ideas, it really is a very conservative town.  

The same is true for the Church. We tend to do thing that we know had success in the past. So we keep doing things exactly the same.  

Over. And over, And over. 

Back to Hollywood for a second. Everyone knows that the Office should have stopped before the last season was made. Even me, a fan of the show, admits the last season had very few good moments. But Hollywood knew it would 'sell' and so they made it.  And now the greatness of the show is tainted because of one 'should not have been made' season. 

The Church will do the exact same thing. We have a great idea, then we will run it into the ground until everyone is tired of it. Then we will, for tradition sake, keep on doing it.

Over. And over. And over.  

Until we are left with a ministry that no one wants to do, and it has drifted from the original brilliance and now limps along tarnishing the otherwise golden legacy it created.  

So I wonder how could it be that if the entertainment business is not very risk taking, and Churches set themselves up as entertainment producers then I suppose we will continue to function as Hollywood: Formulaic.

"Praise songs" coming to an end...

Just like Newtonian physics states, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, this includes not just apples falling on heads but also movements in culture.

NPR had a story the other day that gave a glimpse into the push back to "praise music" in the Christian Church. 

While this article is short it is worth a read.  I will give you a minute. Go ahead, I will wait. 

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The debate about worship music usually is limited these days to people's likes and dislikes. And that somewhat misses the point. While praise music is generally easy to sing and I have even been moved by the emotional aspects of this music, part of my joy of singing in worship is that it is different than the singing that I do in my car or in the shower or at the karaoke bar.

When we sing in worship we are not just singing with the people next to us. We are joining in on the song and music of the saints and sinners that come before us. We are joining in the melodies and songs of the ages past. Our voice unites with the voices that once sang loud in our sanctuaries and faith that our voice becomes lost and yet becomes larger.   

Praise songs are great and have their place to be sure, but that time may be coming to an end for now. Because in a world that is constantly changing and people are looking for things to "ground" them in the storms of change around us, songs that have deep roots give people a solid foundation to withstand the waters. 

Perhaps the "new" blended worship service is not a praise song or two and a hymn or two, but hymns that have been re-imagined. As they say, we are living in a mash up culture and when the church mashes up contemporary music influences with ancient lyrics you get greatness.  

Less blueprint and more game plan

It is common for Christians to talk about God's plan for our lives. Part of this theological statement is rooted in the truth that human existence is not without purpose and direction. This life is not aimless and that each individual life is a part of a much larger movement. 

What is often forgotten in the statement "God has a plan for your life" is that this statement is a metaphor. And like all metaphors there is room for interpretation. And like many metaphors, there are dominate understandings of the metaphor, which solidify and become the implicit understanding of the metaphor. For instance, when we think of unplugging our first thought might be that we are talking about getting away from stressors in our life. However, in a music setting, if we talk about unplugging we are not talking about stress but about going acoustic. 

And so in a world that is dominate by economic thinking, business models and five year plans, we tend to think of God's plan for our lives much in these regards: preset, rigid and unchanging. Put another way, we might think of God's plan for our lives as God is an architect and God has drawn up blueprints for our lives and it is out job to 'fit' our lives into that preset plan.

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I suppose that works for some people. However I have seen this create more stress and worry in people than I have seen it help. I am asked questions like, "What is God's plan for my life?" or I hear college students try to 'find' God's plan. It seems like this cat and mouse game is never ending and full of frustration. 

Rather than thinking of God's plan as an architect with a blueprint, might I suggest God's plan is more like a game plan a coach would have for a team. 

God's plan for our lives is more rooted in hope, dream and desire rather than specific, directed, and concrete. It is the hope of the coach the team would play well, score points, keep the other team off from controlling the tempo, work together, have fun and enjoy the game. The coach might even have a general direction that can help achieve these hopes - run up the middle or pass the ball to the outsides or focus on good base running - but the coach does not have overly specific set of instructions. The coach does not dictate each pass or every serve. 

The coach understands that as the game happens things have to change and in fact the original tactics may have to change in order to achieve the game plan. The coach may see the team is not running well and so in order to live into the game plan, the team has to switch from a running game to a passing game. The other team may be overwhelming and so the team needs to change from a physical style to a finesse style. And everyone on the team is fine with changing tactics because they all know the game plan. 

Which is way a coach has a game plan not a blueprint.  

God's plan is less blueprint and more game plan.