What an amazing fall it's been for everyone over here with my team. We're still walking in the blessing of being in so many places with so many people all over the US and Canada; If you saw the "New Halleluiah Tour" - what a night, huh? God spoke much in those days, and we're still humbled we got to be part of it.  We've all worked hard, and are now gonna rest well over the next month. We're looking forward to being with the folks from FOCUS in Orlando. As well, i'll be attending the Passion 2010 conference to soak in what God is saying, just to pray and be with some great friends. If you are a college student, and you are in the Southeast, you should check out one (or both!) of these conferences

http://focusonline.org/conference/hello-world

http://268generation.com/passion2010/

Now to address something that has received attention as of late - that being a recent twitter post i made in reference to a hand motion known as, "the cross clap". I said i declared war on it. What followed in less than 24 hours was a lot of twitter posts from other people saying, "END THE CROSS CLAP!" someone built a website (lol really?); even several t-shirts were designed. Amazing! Wait a second -  for those of you who've never witnessed this phenomenon, it is when large groups of people (not limited to, but typically a majority of "the younger persuasion") clap in the shape of a cross. So, one clap above the head, then one below, then one to the left, then one to the right (unless you're orthodox, in which case you'd go the other way, being right to left :) ANYHOO……I made a comment about this after observing this happen for the past four years at larger youth events. I had come to realize that, regardless of about what we happened to be singing, people would clap in this fashion, much akin to "the electric slide", or the dance associated with "crank dat", by solida boy. Now, these are not bad dances per se - merely large group movements one would do to create a sense of community and a shared experience, aka, "Hey! look at you! Look at me! we're doing this together!" I would often wonder though, how that exactly related to phrases such as, "Here is our King, Here is our love; Here is our God who's come to bring us back to Him", or, "Draw me close to You…", or "How Great is our God", although typically, faster tempo songs seem to help facilitate the movement better. I found myself asking, "what are they doing? do they know what they're doing?……..but who am i to judge really? Maybe it was a "generational thing". I mean, i do have gray hair and am from Canada. I'm just merely trying to say that i'm not an expert by any means, but i found myself wondering, "why?" 

Right now, someone reading this just said, "why not?"

Here's why not. 

At the end of this past month, i found myself in an arena with 18,000 teenagers (with another 3 in an overflow room), and we were once again, singing some pretty huge statements. Statements that are either inspired by or directly from a book that two billion people call the word of God. aka - the bible. Also, some words came from people who lived a long time ago who also felt passionate about said Bible, and some of their statements contain such huge truths that we're still talking about them. Those are the kind of truths that evoke a response! Amen, right? Of course they do; and our response is what we call worship.  Obviously, it isn't limited to what we're doing while we're singing songs - it actually starts more in the human heart, and then how what has happened inside is now being evidenced on the outside - in the way we're living. This is very true. But, not every thing denotes the same response, right? I mean, there is more than one specific feeling of "joy" - there is elated, or empowered, or victorious, or jubilant. There is a wide variance in this word, "joy". I would venture to say that there's so much variance that we sometimes hit a "default" position, because we don't know how to respond, really.  I would also venture to say that we all don't "get it" on the same capacity really. I mean, someone who's watched cancer dissipate from their body; someone who's juggling a life between two different sets of parents but knows they're loved by God as a Father consistently; someone who's been free of substance abuse for more than 30 days b/c of a great support group and the grace (which we've sung about);  someone who gets a bowl of a protein substance from a relief agency in africa - they get "joy" more than someone who's stinking rich and has never really had a major problem other than some minor daily inconveniences like a bad parking space or bad nails or a latte that's too hot or too cold or not having the latest generation ipod or not getting that 3rd pair of jeans for your birthday  - i.e, "first world problems". 

The thing is, it seems that the people who understand this life of "worship" are the people who've really encountered God in the midst of really difficult and really beautiful things; and those things may or may not actually be in your life - they could be outside you, but still effect you. You could really encounter God through journeying with a friend who's in the middle of struggling with an eating disorder, or trying to stop watching pornography; You could encounter God through helping out at a soup kitchen. You could really encounter God in seeing the brokenness of the world around you and instead of ignoring it, allowing your heart to step into it. To not just be sympathetic of people's situations, but be empathetic. To care. If we did, i think we would have a shared experience of a different kind. In a world where we self medicate with entertainment and social networking, do we really allow ourselves to be empathetic anymore? Are we in all of these different experiences and movements looking for some sort of shared experience? We are; and it's been given to us:

That experience is the cross. 

The cross that represented death; that struck fear in the hearts of people in Jesus' time; Now it represents life**

It represents restoration, and freedom and solidarity. It represents so so so much. That's why certain groups of Christians "sign" themselves with it. To be reminded of a simple truth: that we have been crucified with Jesus. We are dead. and we are alive. In Him. 

So if THAT is the shared experience, then who cares how we respond! We could clap out the rhombus! Think about it - It could be huge! I mean, we're supposed to clap and sing and dance and shout - so why not together? Especially cause i don't think that it's about the cross that's in the clap; i think it's about we're looking for something to do together, right? That's not a bad thing - so why get frustrated? My frustration is the question, are we really worshipping God, or are we worshipping what we're doing in the moment?  That's the danger. Are we, as Pope Benedict says in the book "Spirit of the Liturgy", "self enclosed circle"*?

You know, for the first 2000 years, Christianity was a cultural force of influence in the world, yet at the same time - it was counter cultural. It intersected with art, science, philosophy, charity - every avenue of society - because the love of God is worth talking about in every avenue of society.  As it penetrated hearts, it came out in all of these places. Yet, there were times when certain "cultural events" would be "baptized" in a way. This process is called inculturation. A good example would be the spring solstice, which helped illustrate the new life found in the resurrection of Jesus - hence, we see God already active in culture before the gospel is fully revealed. 

A bad example would be trying to "baptize" group line dancing, because it doesn't need to. It's okay - it's just dancing!  There's no "Christian" version of dancing - it's just dancing! If that's the case, then the question that should be next asked is, what's the right place and context for it? Is congregational singing of worship songs the right place? I know of some wedding receptions where it was a blast! But that was a celebration of a different sort. In this case, what is the counter cultural thing to do? Is it to not dance or sing at all? No - the scriptures and those who have gone before us clearly show us we're supposed to use all our faculties as we pray. Yet, history shows there is an evolution of prayer that "weeded out" right things at the wrong time. In Corinthians, Paul had to address the fact that people were coming together to worship, and were getting way too much into celebrating, and not enough into what the main point was of coming together - to remember what Jesus has done.  

You know, I love Ecclesiastes, and how it so plainly lays out "there is a time..…for everything under the Sun." There's a time and place for most things. There is definitely a time and place to celebrate the human family and have fun and rejoice; and in that, God is made known and glorified. But is that time when we're singing TO and ABOUT God? That's my question for you to ask (if you feel like asking). It's about the intent of the heart. Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew, "rend your hearts, not your garments". In this case, i think our "garments" could be our "outer trappings"; i.e - what we're "doing" and calling prayer. But what about people who don't know any better? They're just doing what everyone else is. Can it be at fault? You're exactly right. You can't fault a 15 year old who doesn't really know how to worship- if all they've been taught is to "do". Even all the traditions i celebrate as a Catholic - they are not primarily about doing - they are about being. The activity is merely a framework for an interior conversation. This is the "tragedy" we're facing today - a generation of people who don't know how to pray. Prayer doesn't start with "doing". Prayer starts with us "being" loved by God. Recklessly. Hopelessly. Relentlessly. That is worth a response that is more than hand motions. Worship is about HEART MOTIONS.  So if you are in leadership, and you're not teaching the people you minister to how to really pray, pray, pray; to learn to listen and respond;  to commune with God in His word (and sacrament)  and each other and live it out and share it; to see what can happen when people come together and pray and sing with  expectant hearts that the Holy Spirit is going to change lives - if you're not showing them how service is worship and worship is service and how it all comes full circle when we come back together and talk about what God has done and is doing and will do - then we're missing a huge opportunity, and i know that you and i are accountable for that. Not to each other primarily - but to the leadership you serve, and to God; then to each other. 

Someone right now is saying, "but they're just teenagers!!!"

The mother of God was 14 when she gave birth. 

Josiah was a 16 year old King who sought God and turned a nation back to Him

David was barely a teenager when he slew a giant and began a journey than ended in becoming King. 

Timothy was a teenager when he journeyed with Paul

St. Mark (the gospel writer) was rumored to be a young man when he followed Jesus. 

i think you get my point...

We live in a post Christian world. Here in the west  (i can't talk about Asia or Africa - i've never been)….i wonder some times if people peer into the "fishbowl" that is the Christian subculture (all denominations included), looking for a way in - looking for a shared context based on how to be in the midst of the inconsistencies and suffering in their life, looking for a reason to hope, based on a reason to love.I wonder if they find it.  I pray that what they encounter are relationships and hearts that have found that reason, and are living it with every last breath they have; that as they do, they are celebrating God and clapping and singing and dancing and shouting with authentic hearts. 

So - to #endthecrossclapp or not? If it isn't authentic, by all means. Someone asked me on twitter why would say that, esp. since 18,000 kids were my "audience", and why "bite the hand that feeds me?" 

I mean it when i say no offense (as in, i'm not offended), but if i start looking at anyone purely as any form of commodity or sustenance, please shoot me. God is my provider, and I love Him and I love people and I love music, and that's why i do what i do. If it means i offend some people because some things bother me, so be it. I'd rather be honest than not.  I think what God cares about is intent. He loves hearts that are real and honest. So let your worship of Him be that.

And if you cross clap, or rhombus clap, that's awesome ;)

Have a wonderful and joyful Advent and Christmas season. Be loved and be love. 

matt

*in the reference to "Spirit of the Liturgy", the Pope ( in this case )was talking about the effects of turning the Priest around to face the people after Vatican II, and the danger of it being too much about us, and not enough about God. 

** to understand the cultural context of what cross clapping would look like to a 1st century Jew or Roman or Greek - imagine being able to clap in the shape of an electric chair. The cross was a device for Capital punishment. The fact that God used it as the way to destroy sin and conquer the grave is so counter cultural, that i wonder by clapping in it's shape, we're lessening the impact. 

***since the start of writing this thought, some people have started a #savethecrossclap - and i have to wonder - with all the energy people have put into this - if we got as passionate about the gospel and people; what we could do. It would be inspiring.