Q of the Week — Clayfire Curator

What are the results when worship brings ‘epiphany’ to your congregation?

by Eric Herron | December 26, 2011

Before Christmas, there was Epiphany.

While many emphasize the visit of the Magi on January 6, historically this event on the Christian calendar has also been associated with a number of other aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry. Epiphany has links to the first miracle at the wedding in Cana, Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, and may have even been associated with the date Jesus was conceived, as well as the date he died.

As Church historian James F. White puts it, “The common theme of all these events is Jesus Christ manifesting God to humans.” (Introduction to Christian Worship, 3rd ed., 61.) Epiphany, from the Greek word meaning “manifestation” refers to this. The word Theophany—used for this holy day by Christians in the East—refers to this manifestation even more explicitly.

What does it mean to manifest something? A brief word study concludes that “manifest” as an adjective can refer to something that was previously unclear and is now made obvious to observers.

As a verb, to manifest is to show or demonstrate through actions or appearances.

As a noun, a manifest is a document that lists details about passengers and cargo in transit. A “manifesto” is a ‘public declaration of policy and aims’ especially of political nature.

What do we celebrate at Epiphany? We celebrate God, but not just a fuzzy reference to the person of God. We celebrate a ‘public declaration’ of God’s aims. We revel in God’s plan made more obvious through the missional and miraculous actions of Jesus.

Two weeks ago, when we discussed the Incarnation, we asked a question about the curator’s role in the process of manifesting God. The question was: Can you describe for us the last time you took an abstract theological concept and made it more concrete?

This week, we pose a related question—but one that focuses on the response of the worshiper to such epiphanies we curators attempt to facilitate. The question: Can you describe the last time worshipers in your group had an epiphany? Describe what happens in your context when seekers of God have some aspect of God clarified. Are hands raised and bodies prostrate? Are people ‘slain in the spirit’? Or, perhaps it is a less visible response. Worshipers stunned into a long period of silence? The sudden arrival of a ‘hushed intensity’ among the gathered? Maybe it is more verbal in your church. Spontaneous testimonials? Unplanned, public confessions?

Share with us what results when worship brings ‘epiphany’ to your congregation.

As for the poll, I haven’t been able to think of one this wee… WAIT… I’ve suddenly got an idea! Here it is:

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Categories: Q of the Week

Do you use non-sacred Christmas music in December worship?

by Eric Herron | December 19, 2011

For many people, Christmas is nearly synonymous with music. How else would we know that the season is upon us, except that Starbucks starts rotating its yuletide playlist before the last bit of Thanksgiving turkey has even reached our lips? And, there is a standard repertoire of this music that one hears on radios, TV’s, and piping through mall speakers everywhere. Interestingly, it is a mix of sacred and secular music.

There is no other circumstance that I can think of in which songs about God—even worshipful songs—and songs about pop culture are intermingled on the same playlist. For example, it is a common experience that as you’re searching for that perfect, last-minute gift, you hear: “Santa Baby,” “Silent Night,” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” in succession, blasting from the retail store speakers.

When you think about it, it really is kind of an odd juxtaposition. Last night, driving home from picking up dinner, I flipped on the local oldies station. It felt almost surreal hearing Brick House by the Commodores:

The clothes she wears, the sexy ways
make an old man wish for younger days
She knows she’s built and knows how to please
Sure enough to knock a man to his knees

… immediately followed by Kenny Rogers and Wynona [Judd] singing:

Mary, did you know, that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know, that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know, that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great, I Am.

The mixing of sacred and secular Christmas music often goes unnoticed in general culture. But, in our worship contexts, we wouldn’t get away with such contrast. Or would we?

The church I was at today had a healthy dose of sacred Christmas music, including: “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “How Great Our Joy.” At the very end of the service, a gifted teenager performed a special postlude. It was a very jazzy, piano solo of the song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

With the option to mix sacred and non-sacred music for Advent and Christmas events, what does your church choose? Do you use non-sacred Christmas music in December worship? If so, what is your rationale?

Or, do you choose keep the secular holiday tunes on the ‘down-lowly’ in December? What are your arguments for banning Mel Tormé, Irving Berlin, and Nat King Cole from your services?

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And, just for fun, here’s RollingStone’s reader’s poll for the ten best Christmas songs of all-time. (Only one of them is sacred!)

Categories: Q of the Week

Can you describe the last time you took an abstract concept and made it concrete?

by Eric Herron | December 12, 2011

Let’s play a game. I’ll say a word and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Ready? Here it is: INCARNATION.

First thing that comes to my mind is dinosaurs. The best dinosaurs (in my opinion) were carnivores. Meaning, they were (only) “flesh-eating” creatures.

Second thing that comes to mind is that line in the famous Christmas hymn—perhaps the most coldly theological and least emotionally accessible line in all of Christmas music: “Hail, th’incarnate deity!” (It IS pretty cool how the “the” is contracted, though.)

Jesus—deity incarnate, meat-eater (I’m pretty sure), God “in the flesh” arriving on the scene—pretty much sums up the reason for the season. Incarnation is our theme this week.

When it comes to curating worship, one way to describe our role as leaders is that we are “incarnators.” Just as God became incarnate so that God would not remain inaccessible to us, we also “put flesh” on illusive God-concepts, obscure theological ideas, doctrinal suppositions that would remain inaccessible to the common mind and heart unless they were to be enlivened through some sort of artistic medium. Through incarnation, we attempt to make the intangible tangible and the invisible visible.

So, as one who takes care to make sure God is made flesh on a weekly basis, can you describe for us the last time you took an abstract theological concept and made it more concrete? What was the concept? What medium did you use? What was the response you received from worshipers?

Tell us the story in the comments of this blog post. While you’re at it, give us some “feed” back on this week’s poll…

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Categories: Q of the Week

What is your congregation’s most celebrated holy day and why?

by Eric Herron | December 5, 2011

It would seem ridiculous to say that Christmas is not the favorite holiday of Protestants and Roman Catholics. However, compared to Holy Week and the Resurrection, it might be fair to say that Christmas takes the backseat, while Easter rides shotgun. Whether or not you agree with this hierarchy of festival importance, when it comes to the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is fair to say that Christmas and Epiphany top the liturgical calendar—and not just chronologically.

There is a theological reason for this. A core tenet of Orthodox belief is the concept of deification, a doctrine neatly—if not a bit scarily—summed up in Athanasius’ famous statement:

He [Jesus] indeed, assumed humanity that we might become God.
Athanasius, De Incarnatione, 54 [CSMV, 93]

For those worried about the implication of the wording here, another Eastern father clarifies it somewhat for us:

The word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ… did through His transcendent Love, become what we are, that He might bring us to be even what He is Himself.
Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 5

These statements describe the Orthodox foundation for sanctification—the process through which we become like Christ.

In light of this, it is no wonder that Christmas is paramount for the Orthodox believer. The arrival of Jesus in the flesh—even more so than his death and resurrection—signals the arrival of the new and hopeful possibility for humanity.

The Orthodox emphasis on Christmas gave us the idea to spend this first full week of December discussing worship in the tradition of the East. In addition to some reflections from our bloggers of Protestant heritage, we’ll also hear Tuesday from one Orthodox worshiper as she describes the look, sound, and feel of Orthodox curation. Let’s kick it all off with a question…

Based on the way your congregation celebrates throughout the year, which day gets the most attention? Is it Christmas? Easter? Something else? If you need a little help assessing this, just think about how much money, effort, and time go into a particular annual observance.

In the comments of this blog post, share with us the most celebrated day of the Christian Year at your church and tell us why you think this is so.

Give this week’s poll a look, too. Pray about your answer and let us know if your eyes were closed or not.

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Note: Both quotations from Eastern fathers were taken from the book One With God, by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, 26.

Categories: Q of the Week

What are your creative plans for Advent this year?

by Eric Herron | November 28, 2011

The first Christians had to “wait” for about 400 years before they observed their first Advent season.

A council in Spain in A.D. 380 decreed that “From December 17 until the day of Epiphany which is January 6 no one is permitted to be absent from Church.” This is a precedent for the season of Advent at a time when Christmas itself was still unknown in Spain. By the fifth century, a forty-day season of preparation for the Epiphany was being practiced in parts of Gaul. (This paralleled Lent and began about when Advent now begins.) Rome eventually adopted a four-week Advent before Christmas.

James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship, 3rd ed., 62.

Our modern Advent celebrations beckon us to gather up all of our creative-powers. The four weeks of celebration are rich with latent expectation, desperate to be given voice. As worship curators, we are in the unique position of helping people recognize and express their expectations. Expectations about how each of our own lives intertwines with the Incarnate.

When it comes to this, the first season of the Christian Year, what do you do? What are your creative plans for Advent this year? If you are seriously behind and still in reflection/brainstorming mode, maybe this question is better for you: What have you done for Advent in years past? Is there a ritual, visual, song, or something else that reappears each Advent in your church?

Share with us your favorite past (and present and future) Advent curation in the comments of this post.

And now, the Poll you’ve all been waiting for…