Rev. Cwirla's Blogosphere

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Cor. 1:25)

A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 11:25 am

Commenting on the intrusion of what “church growth methodology" into the churches of the Lutheran Confessions, the sainted Kenneth Korby once remarked, “That’s a Trojan horse with a belly full of Greeks whose interest in the city is not the same as that of her free citizens.” (If you don’t understand the allusion, shut off your iPod, knock off your text messaging, and make haste to the library and read Virgil’s Aeneid before your brain turns to mush.)

Contemporary, Evangelical worship, what I call “Contempogelical” worship, is revival worship, the revival tent come to the stadium, turning the church into a concert venue. The intent is to manipulate the audience (aka congregation) into a certain mood, whether praise frenzy or prayerful somberness. Participation is individualistic - waving hands, rhythmic dancing, simplistic refrains. The focal point is the lead singer of the “praise band”, usually a drop-dead gorgeous female (aka Praise Babe) with a lilting soprano voice wearing a look of virginal innocence combined with a teasing come hither seductiveness. The songs fall into either of two categories - power chord praise songs that extol God in His majesty and glory or pop-ballad love songs, extolling Jesus as lover and friend. Guys put up with the latter category only because they think the Praise Babe is singing to them.

Revival always has a strong sexual component to it. During the “great religious awakenings” of 19th century America, it was noted with some degree of alarm that unwed pregnancies increased dramatically after the revival left town. The predatory boys knew to hang out at the fringes of the revival meetings knowing that the girls were ripe for the picking. It doesn’t take a libido-driven imagination to catch the same sexual undercurrent in a lot of contempogelical worship.

Which brings me to the Trojan horse with its belly-load of Greeks. The ruse, of course, is that the horse, appearing to be a gracious gift and token of friendship, turns out to be a hollow sabotage full of soldiers. Contempogelical worship comes from contemporary Evangelicalism, especially the stadium revivals such as the Harvest Crusade in southern California. Calvary Chapel more or less invented this form in the late sixties and early seventies to reach out to the young Baby Boomers on the beach and the “Jesus people” hippies. The theology is Arminian (not Armenian, those are the folks who make rugs), “decision theology,” wherein salvation is potentially yours and actually becomes yours when you decide to accept Jesus into your heart. The heart is where the action is, and the heart is where contempogelical worship is focuseed.

Adolescent hearts are particularly tender hearted. Teenagers deal with complex emotions and clumsily-handled relationships. Their hearts are easily broken and easily manipulated. They are prone to crushes, to follow the advice of celebrities, and to “idolize” people who portray coolness, such as ministers who can rhyme hip-hop or youth workers who can break concrete blocks with their heads or sultry lead singers backed by guys with lots of cool electronic gear. Don’t think for a hot second that Evangelicals don’t know this. This is their stock in trade. The idea is to grab the emotional attention of the adolescent in order to get them to make that saving decision, to pray that “sinner’s prayer,” to give their hearts to Jesus and commit their lives to Him. Never mind Baptism, never mind being dead in sin, never mind by grace through faith. It’s all about you, which is precisely where the devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh want your attention. On you and what’s going on with your insides.

The use of contempogelical worship in the interest of “relevance” and “growth” in the Lutheran churches is a Trojan horse. This is especially the case when contempogelical musicians are invited to play for worship at a Lutheran event. This is not the same as having a Catholic guest organist or a Jewish violinist in a liturgical service. There the musicians do not speak; they play their instruments according to the strict notations of the music. In contempogelical worship, the “lead worshipper” is also a “worship leader,” often interpreting the song, exhorting the audience to “put your hands up and praise the Lord with me,” giving personal “testimonies” to “how I gave my life to Jesus and how you should too,” and leading the audience in prayer, “Please pray with me, ‘Father God, I just want to lift up…..’”

We need always to remember that in Arminian, “decision theology,” submission to the “ordinance” of Baptism is the evidence you give to God and the world that you’ve decided to follow Jesus and to let Him into your heart. Evangelicals do not believe that people who have not made this decision and had this personal experience are actually saved. Yes, you heard me correctly. Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Orthodox, etc. are not “saved,” in the eyes of Evangelicals, who are on an evangelistic mission (ie crusade) to save them from the clutches of “Catholicism,” which is for them the highway to hell.

I get the call once a year from the recruiter for the Harvest Crusade, a local stadium revival event that happens every August in southern California. They invite all the local pastors to bring their members to their crusade event. Though they boast about how “we have all kinds of Christians gathered here in one place,” the message is quite clear: accept Jesus into your hearts the Evangelical way or you’re not saved.

My point is this. Evangelical speakers, praise leaders, and preachers are not there at a Lutheran event to “celebrate what we all have in common as Christians,” any more than a Lutheran speaking to a bunch of Baptists is interested in talking about how at least we agree that Baptism requires water. They are there to convert, to shape primary theology, to use the tools of music and cultural relevance to get you to open your hearts to Jesus and experience salvation as a personal, internal, emotional event, which they believe you must have in order to be saved. And when we, as Lutherans, invite Evangelicals to lead our worship or speak to our youth groups and conferences, we are inviting a Trojan horse with a belly load of Arminians whose interest in our youth is not the same as our own.

Permit me a personal testimony of my own. I served as foreman on a jury a few years ago. There was a fellow juror who instantly befriended me, knowing that I was a minister. We would eat lunch together most days and talk about our faith. He told me his “faith story,” the familiar narrative about growing up in a marginally Christian home, getting involved in drinking, drugs, etc, and then at some low point in his life surrendering to Jesus and inviting Jesus to dwell in his heart. He was sincere and very pious; his story was quite moving.

He asked me how I became a Christian. I told him that I was baptized when I was five weeks old and raised by godly, Christian parents who taught me about Jesus and brought me to church, and that I do not have a single conscious day when I did not know that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and my Lord, Savior, and Redeemer. In fact, I am thankful for that, because I shudder to think how my life would have come out through high school and college without the Word and the Spirit having their way with me.

My friend looked at me in disbelief and said, “But it’s not supposed to work that way.” And I said to him, “But it did. Deal with it.” He could not comprehend a believer who never consciously invited Jesus into his heart yet always knew Jesus.

I went on to say, “I’m thankful for both our stories. Your story reminds me that the Word of God has power to work faith in the hardened, unbelieving heart and that it makes a difference in your life. My story reminds you that faith and salvation are a free gift of God’s grace and not the result of some decision that we made. When you prayed to God for salvation, that was faith at work before you uttered your first word of prayer, and when I remember my Baptism, I am committing my life anew to Jesus who has always been committed to me.”

You could tell this was a “theologically challenging” moment for him. As a Lutheran, I could receive his faith story at face value as the work of the Spirit who works “when and where He pleases in those who hear the Gospel.” But as an Evangelical, he had a hard time receiving my story in the same way.

And therein lies the point: That cute praise babe, that hip-hop rhyming pastor, that muscled sports idol, that power chord praise song and lilting Jesus love song have more in mind than simply sharing a personal story of faith. They want to shape your story to be the like their story, otherwise you aren’t actually saved. In other words, they want you to become in your hearts Evangelicals.

As they say, “Beware Greeks bearing gifts.”

Edited on: August 06th, 2008 2:13 am

Comments:

Re: A Belly-Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 12:04 pm by jim claybourn
Wow.

That is the most concise, cogent description of this worship style and its ulterior motives that I have ever read or heard!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I can't wait for a response from a happy clappy.

Re: A Belly-Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 1:23 pm by Andrew DeLoach
Permit me to play advocate to the other side for a moment (and I apologize in advance for the length). Having grown up in the same type of churches (about 3-4) you're talking about, I have about 23 years of experience with them. In that time, I never once encountered anyone who thought "accept Jesus into your hearts the Evangelical way or you're not saved." It was never taught in public, nor was it ever spoken in private. My sister is now 25, and though her testimony would say that she "accepted" Christ as a young child, she has still not been baptized. Thankfully, after speaking to her about it recently, she has finally deemed it important and is going through a "baptism class" at her church. Say what you will about the decision theology (and I'd certainly agree), but never once did I or anyone in our church presume that she wasn't 'saved'. No, to them baptism is just the 'outward expression' of your committment to Jesus, that you want to tell everyone about it, and so it's a decision to be made when you feel comfortable. Again, poor theology, but I've seen nothing to lead me to conclude that she or anyone else in those churches presumes her to be 'unsaved'.
As to Kari Jobe and other so-called 'praise babes', I don't think she deserves the harsh responses she is getting. I agree that the style and intent of this type of worship is completely entertainment-driven and ME-centered. The last church I was involved with before converting to Lutheranism was the epitome of this type of church. Loud, young, hip, tech-savvy, happy-clappy, emotion-based, totally focused on me and my feelings, and totally determined to helping the attendees 'experience' God. However, I still don't think they intend to shape your story like theirs "or you're not saved". In my experience, these people - especially the worship groups - are whole-heartedly devoted to God, totally zealous and desirous of knowing God and pleasing and serving Him and their neighbor. They deserve great credit for that. Unfortunately, their theology in those departments is sorely lacking. But I have seen up-close and first-hand how they operate and what they believe, and the fact that they believe they are right. I think this is more a matter of them having an incomplete understanding of general christian theology - law/gospel, baptism, worship, etc. I honestly will not fault them for believing they are doing it right, because I see many other different denominations and individuals - Lutherans included - who think the same for themselves. To fault the 'cute praise babe' for earnestly hoping to bring people closer to Christ - regardless of the faulty method - is simply wrong. And I will definitely attest that when I was an evangelical at these worship gatherings, I couldn't care less about the 'praise babe' leading worship; my focus (unfortunately) was on myself and my worship of God. Kari Jobe may be one of the cutest girls this single guy has ever seen, but she's much more rare a worship leader than made out to be. I do not think, based upon my own history, that they want you to be just like them as evangelicals, but just like them as devoted/committed/(choose your adjective) followers of Christ. Excepting the major players in the church-growth movement, as for the average layperson attending these churches, their intent is right, but their theology and resulting method is wrong.
The way I see it, the discussion should not be about the evangelicals. The problem is the synod, and their allowance of this type of theology at a district gathering. Rather than beating up on the praise babes, we should be taking issue with our own, as well as teaching the evangelicals the true gospel and proper theology. That's what helped me see why I needed to leave those churches, and it's what my parents are finally starting to see. I'm not worried about "the horse which once Odysseus led up into the citadel as a thing of guile". I'm worried about the guards who are giving it a spot in the center of the city.

Re: A Belly-Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 2:36 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
I greatly appreciate Andrew's comment above, which is based on his experience. My article was intentionally written not to make specific mention of any particular singer, person, or group. Obviously, there are some connections with discussions going on in the blogosphere, but those are secondary to what I am writing here.

I do not wish to engage in ad hominem attacks on people. From all that I have seen and heard of Ms. Jobe, she is a talented young musician who sincerely wants to use her gifts in the service of God's people and to spread her confession and understanding of the Gospel. Would that Lutherans would be so zealous for their confessions! I would love to attend a concert of hers, but she is not a performer but a worship leader, and that's where things get problematic.

I do not agree with the premise, which many Lutherans have bitten into, that Evangelical style does not come with Evangelical substance and motive. I do not fault Evangelicals for being overtly Evangelical; in fact, I praise them for that. They are more "confessional" than they realize, and more loyal to their confession than we are to ours.

The fact remains that when you push Evangelical teachers hard enough, they will admit that the Roman Catholic church is a "false church" and its sacramental offshoots (ie Lutherans, Episcopalians) are no better off. I have personally heard John F. MacArthur, a recognized Evangelical teacher, refer to the Lutheran church as "one of those false, sacramental churches" during one of his baptismal services in which he rebaptized the baptized.

Whether it is explicit or implicit, the same "gospel" that drove Billy Graham crusades and Wesleyan revivals in their heyday, drives Evangelical worship today: That Jesus Christ potentially died for all but actually died for and saves only those who accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. An analogy for this would be the electrical outlet on your wall. There are 110 volts of potential energy awaiting you, but you need to plug in in order for that energy to be actually yours.

I believe it is this notion of "plugging in" to the potentiality of salvation that drives the emotionalism and subjectivism of Evangelical worship, and that this way of worship undermines our very understanding of faith, grace, Christ, atonement, and salvation. Whether a particular Evangelical intends to do this is quite beside the point. It is imbedded in Evangelical theology and worship as much as Aldersgate is imbedded in Wesley. You can't have one without the other.

Having said all that, I envy the Evangelical zeal for spreading the name of Jesus and marvel at how much they do with so little theology. For that I am ashamed and repent.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 6:49 pm by Rob
The focal point is the lead singer of the "praise band", usually a drop-dead gorgeous female (aka Praise Babe) with a lilting soprano voice wearing a look of virginal innocence combined with a teasing come hither seductiveness.
...
Revival always has a strong sexual component to it.

This is very true. For most of my high school and all of my college years, I was the Praise Dude, leading worship alongside Praise Babes on a weekly basis. Though it was never intentional, the nature of this sort of music, its setting, and its delivery method is sexually charged. Low lights, throbbing bass lines, and girls singing with breathy passion just have that effect on young adult males, sorry. When I started seriously dating my wife, these sexual overtones were almost unbearable, though I didn't realize until afterward how much the sort of music I was playing had to do with it.

This belly full of Greeks comes second-hand from the one American evangelical churches received when they started playing the game by MTV's rules.

By contrast, worship at Higher Things this year was one of the most refreshing experiences I've had since becoming a Lutheran. The sheer volume generated by 600+ students singing the liturgy was amazing. This is worship I can properly call salty, borrowing none of its terms from marketers and pop radio. It was the most emotionally-involved worship I've experienced since my days as Praise Dude, but with none of the low-light emotional vulnerability evangelicals sometimes call "authenticity".

As one more aside in this rambling comment, I wonder how much of the evangelical worship's intimate tone comes from the words its adopted, and the traditional worship words it has jettisoned. For example, I've never heard the word "passion" used in the liturgy, yet it's the name of one of the most popular worship conferences in the country. Our liturgies may declare "lift up your hearts!" (or if we stick with the ancient phrasing, "hearts up!"--thanks Pr. Cwirla!). But this phrase operates in an entirely different space from phrases about being "touched" by God. Asking that our prayers rise before God as incense produces a powerful image, but its power is complete different from metaphors that imagine God in close physical contact, breathing in our ears, tearing at our hearts. Neil Postman wrote that "Language is ideology." What is the ideology evangelicals accepted when they adopted the language of modern worship?

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 6:57 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
From what my friends who were former Praise Dudes themselves tell me, another name for the male lead singer might be "Praise Babe-Magnet."

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 7:12 pm by Rob
That's why it's such a blessing that I met my wife when I did. She was a lapsed Roman Catholic. My Praise Dude status meant less to her than it would to an elderly Ft. Wayne prof. Blogger Smiley

She just played along and waited for me to grow up.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 8:11 pm by Jen
Very interesting. My story is more like your jury-friend's story. I asked Jesus into my heart. Something DID happen, but I can't begin to understand what it was. The change in my was like night and day. In the past 20 years the Spirit has led me here, to Lutheranism. A renewing of my understanding of scripture has taken place.

When I met my husband (raised WELS), I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that he had never been born again (aka asked Jesus into his heart). I knew of no other way to receive rebirth. I continued to quiz him about this because I wouldn't marry him until I knew he had been born again. I finally got him to explain that his faith became his own at his confirmation. I just trusted that he must have received rebirth upon his confession of faith in his teens. Sadly, he was never able to explain to me any Lutheran doctrine. He was just as dumbfounded by my faith as I was by his.

As an mutt Christian I had no doctrinal depth. I had a lot of opinions. I gathered various interpretations of scripture from here and there and exchanged poor ones for better ones as I came across them. My encounter with Calvinism was a huge turning point for me. It made me address things I had never thought about before, like synergism. I learned a lot but never subscribed to the 5 points. Not long after I (long story short) I picked up the BOC and that's where I discovered Lutheranism.

Evangelicals aren't bad. They just don't know any better. They mean well. And if an unwitting Lutheran/Catholic/Presbyterian happens to ask Jesus into their heart, no harm is done. In fact, it might be a turning point in their life as it was in mine. Blogger Smiley

The Spirit will lead them into truth.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 05th, 2008 at 8:20 pm by Joe
This is exactly what I experienced at an Assembly of God church. I attended this church for about 1 1/2 years before I found a LCMS church.

My old church did it with a full orchestra. The music would play beautifully and then melt into the background as we finished singing the chorus for the 18th time. The pastor would start talking in an inspirational manner and then he would say, "Can we hear that chorus one more time?" The music would swell, the hands go up in the air and there we have it - a wonderful moving experience. I think this type of musical manipulation prepared us for the sermon that was to follow.

These folks were very outwardly pious and showed themselves to be very "holy" in all of their speech. I am grateful for the church for they took me in when I was exploring this faith.

I made up my mind to leave because I couldn't live up to their standards and the hypocricy. Their man-centrered worship was what really pushed me away as it was too manipulative.

Pastor, you couldn't be more correct. When I left and joined my LCMS church I visited my the Wednesday night service of my old church on night. The pastor's wife made fun of our "sprinking" method of baptism. On another occation, the mother of one of my friends from the AG church said, "Are you still going to that the Lutheran church?" I said, "Yes I am." To that she add, "As long as you are faithful."

As much as they think we have it wrong, I would say that we think the same about them. I don't think we would go as far as saying that they won't be saved.

Thanks Pastor for your post.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 06th, 2008 at 6:11 pm by Sandra Ostapowich
"What is the ideology evangelicals accepted when they adopted the language of modern worship?"

Jesus is my boyfriend.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 06th, 2008 at 6:21 pm by Matt
Pr Cwirla,

All I can say is Amen! Although I fell away from the faith and returned via God's Word preached by charismatic Baptists. Therefore, I spent about 4-5 years in their church. My experience of "praise" is exactly how you described it. Through personal study and a good Lutheran pastor I became a member of a Lutheran church 14 years ago.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 06th, 2008 at 8:33 pm by Mary Joy
Hmmm...I've wandered through many of these various expressions of faith - raised as Lutheran (LCA) and then wandered through Episcipal, Presbyterian, RC, CEC with "charismatic" expressions of all of the above and now...Eastern Orthodoxy. I've hopefully found this to be my final resting place and you all have written my story until this point...

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 06th, 2008 at 9:36 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Speaking of Greeks.... ; )

As long as EO stays saftely ensconced in ethnic isolation and draws only the disaffected refugees from other groups, it will manage to keep its own identity and ethos. But as it reaches out into mainstream American society, the same pressures will be brought to bear on it as every other group. No one is immune from the trivializing influences of an entertainment oriented culture.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 9:56 am by Susan R
I've been waiting for some pop-EO theology to - ahem - pop up for awhile now.
Seems the purer a theology considers itself, the more ripe for corruption.
This is not a wish on my part, but a simple fact. I don't doubt that Satan has EO theology more down pat than most EO people, particularly converts, and he's got a book in the works that Oprah will be shilling very soon. Something that will take this religion to its next level, as they say.
Also, from some comments from those who've left the vacuousness of American Evangelicalism, it seems they, like the rest of Christendom (Lutherans included), are lacking in knowledge of the particulars of their own former confession. What its leaders/spokespeople say doesn't always filter down to being what its adherents believe: they don't know what they believe, or were supposed to have believed; what they would've been required to defend had they stuck around.
You can get away with believing just about anything and call yourself a Christian. But if your only defense of it is what you know or feel in your heart, you're mowed over like crab grass, and the people your bleeding heart lured into it as well.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 10:04 am by Rev. William M. Cwirla

Seems the purer a theology considers itself, the more ripe for corruption.

This is quotable! Moreover, a laity that simply says, "I believe what the church teaches" is a flock waiting for the wolves. There is no excuse these days for every Lutheran to read, mark, learn, and digest the Scriptures and know the apostolic doctrine exhibited in the Book of Concord. If we get fleeced by the false shepherds, it's our own fault.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 10:38 am by Michael G.

The predatory boys knew to hang out at the fringes of the revival meetings knowing that the girls were ripe for the picking. It doesn't take a libido-driven imagination to catch the same sexual undercurrent in a lot of contempogelical worship. It doesn't take a libido-driven imagination to catch the same sexual undercurrent in a lot of contempogelical worship.

It's even more insidious than has been mentioned. Quite a few of these "pastors" have learned Neuro Linguistic Programming, which gets past the defenses of a lot of women and touches them "deep down inside" to the point where, as one of my acquaintances has recounted, a woman friend just after a "sermon" said, "I don't know why, but I'm turned on." These "turned on" women are certainly "ripe for the picking."

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 11:05 am by Rev. William M. Cwirla
I know a few single guys who would love to get in on some of that mojo!

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 12:15 pm by Andrew

I know a few single guys who would love to get in on some of that mojo!

Yeah...any pastorly/shepardly advice on how I can swing down there and bring her back a Lutheran??

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 12:51 pm by Michael G.

I know a few single guys who would love to get in on some of that mojo!

Yea, verily!

If you knew you could talk to any woman in such a way that she would be turned on by your words, could you imagine the kind of trouble you could get into?

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 12:59 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Aye, it takes a staunchly confessional man to woo an Evangelical lass and bring her safely back to the orthodox camp. She will pine for her praise band and women's Bible study and will complain of the worship being too "testosterone driven." Some can be won over in time, but many good men have been lured to the Evangelical shoals by the sweetly singing Sirens. You are forewarned.

Then again, being a staunchly confessional man, one might draw the attention of that most delightful of creatures known as the Ortho-Babe, of whom my wife is to be numbered. It has been observed by many a discerning eye, that the orthodox pastors tend to have the most attractive wives, a phenomenon that should not be taken lightly by single ortho-men.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 1:15 pm by Andrew
Your advice is well taken! Thank you, sir.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 1:16 pm by Jen
I'm an ortho-babe, but I'm married. hehehe My husband didn't do anything to woo me to Lutheranism, yet here I am. God is a far better spirit-wooer.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 3:37 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Sorry, Jen. Didn't mean to pull a McCain on you.

Here's what I intended to do:

I'm an ortho-babe, but I'm married. hehehe My husband didn't do anything to woo me to Lutheranism, yet here I am. God is a far better spirit-wooer.

But I'll bet you you married an ortho- (ie real) man.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 6:15 pm by Stan Slonkosky

Yeah...any pastorly/shepardly advice on how I can swing down there and bring her back a Lutheran??

Before you do that, you might want to determine what kind of ring that is on the ring finger of her left hand. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FObjd5wrgZ8 (about 3.5 minutes in).

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 8:41 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Ah yes, the ambiguous left hand ring finger. Some girls like to slip on a "me ring" there, just to keep the wolves at bay. It helps with the "come hither" / "keep away" dynamic which we used to call a "tease."

But never mind all that. Kari Jobe is what, about 24 years old or so? You middle-aged guys best remember that she could be your youngest daughter! (Yet another problem with the Praise Babe.)

Let's get your eyes off the singer, if possible, and your ears tuned to the song. The featured song is a classic power chord praise song (I counted four chords, but I might have missed one.) I give the melody a 2 out of 10 point singability scale; it's mostly girl rocker improv and does not follow the text nor does it do anything to interpret it. The text is loosely based on Revelation 4-5 (and I emphasize "loosely"). The words are hard to understand (which is why they need a projection screen) so here they are for your discerning analysis:

VERSE 1 & 2

Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Holy, holy is He
Sing a new song to Him Who sits on Heaven's mercy seat

(Repeat)

Comment: The song consistently misses the numerology and typology of the Revelation. God is thrice-holy, not twice holy. In the Revelation, the first "worthy" is sung to God in His tri-unity (Rev 4:8); the second is sung to the Father (Rev 4:11) as Creator; and the third to Christ as the conquering slain Lamb (Rev 5:12). The image of the "mercy seat" is not in the Revelation, where the "throne" stands for the Father.

CHORUS

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

Comment: In the Revelation, the thrice-holy (got it right here) is sung to God in His triunity, not to Christ as King of Kings. There is a confusion of Essence and Person here, but hey, that trinitarian theology has tripped up lots of folks. A hint of the "Jesus as boyfriend" kicks in with the non-biblical "you are my everything, I will adore You."

VERSE 3

Clothed in rainbows of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
To You, the only wise King
CHORUS

Comment: In the Revelation, this is God in His undivided Essence or perhaps the Father, depending on how you read it, but decidedly not the Son in His Person. The 5-fold "blessing, honor, strength, glory, and power" misses the 7-fold doxology (7 being a divine number) ascribed to Christ (Rev 5:13).

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

Comment: See above, I'm not repeating myself, even if the song monotonously repeats itself.

VERSE 4
Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is power, breath and living water, such a marvelous mys- tery

Comment: Interesting allusions here. "Breath" and "living water" are symbols of the Holy Spirit, not the Name of Jesus. "Power" alone is not terribly good news, whereas Jesus' name means "YHWH is salvation." Lacking here is the power exerted to save from sin and death. Lacking also is any notion of sin and death from which we are saved.

CHORUS

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

(Repeat)

Comment: As I said, there will be no repetitions from me, though that won't stop this song. Zzzzzzzz.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything, and I will adore You

Comment: The songwriter seems to have run out of steam, so we just repeat the first verse, repetition being the mother of all learning, provided something is said the first time around.

Let's see what of Rev 4 and 5 is missing from this song based on Revelation 4 and 5: The four weird "living ones" representing the whole creation, the 24 elders (OT/NT Israel), myriads of angels, BLOOD, death ransom, atonement, priesthood, kingdom. There's enough there for at least another non-repetitive verse, don't you think?

All in all, another generic power chord praise song using biblical words and phrases but missing biblical themes, symbols, and typologies from a book (the Revelation) that is entirely symbolic and typological. It completely misses the dynamic tension of God in the unity of His Essence and God in trinity of Persons, with the strong image of the Father and the Son. To hear this song, it's all about Jesus, even though He doesn't make His appearance until Rev 5.

Sorry, but thumbs down, even from this old rocker hippie, late-Boomer. I've heard better. Try John Michael Talbot.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 8:46 pm by Jen

Sorry, Jen. Didn't mean to pull a McCain on you.

Here's what I intended to do:

I'm an ortho-babe, but I'm married. hehehe My husband didn't do anything to woo me to Lutheranism, yet here I am. God is a far better spirit-wooer.

But I'll bet you you married an ortho- (ie real) man.

huh? He was WELS, but he had since forgotten his catechism. What does McCain have to do with this? You lost me.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 9:04 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Jen - I inadvertently overwrote my comment on your comment box, ala Paul McCain. We give everyone free say around here at Blogosphere. I hope you straightened out your husband vis-a-vis the catechism. Real men can recite the catechism in their sleep while doing 100 one-handed pushups.

Now back to my brilliant analysis of the Kari Jobe song....

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 07th, 2008 at 9:12 pm by Jen
Uh, I need to be catechized, and he needs to be re-catechized, if you ask me. Looking for the right pastor to do it. You're a bit of a commute since we're in the mitten. (Michigan)

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 08th, 2008 at 10:26 am by Andrew
Hmmm...that "me ring" is really throwing a wrench into my plans here. But let's be honest...that song is a much bigger issue. The "Jesus is my boyfriend" stuff is just missing the point, and all that repetition is making me dizzy. One need not be an old rocker hippie late-bloomer to give it thumbs down. Ugh. Cancel my flight to Dallas.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 08th, 2008 at 10:57 am by Rev. William M. Cwirla

Uh, I need to be catechized, and he needs to be re-catechized, if you ask me. Looking for the right pastor to do it. You're a bit of a commute since we're in the mitten. (Michigan)

Don't let the absence of the "right pastor" slow you down. Catechesis is an at-home activity. Start by learning that catechism by heart (pray the catechism), get yourselves one of those nifty reader's editions of the Book of Concord. CPH has some awesome resources these days. Do your daily readings like your daily workout, and you're on your way to becoming a true Ortho-Babe and Ortho-Dude!

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pm by Terry Maher (Past Elder)
Interesting hip Sanctus.

I don't see much of me in the original, but a lot of him -- blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Maybe that should be I just wanna bless you for coming in the name of the Lord.

*i* sing praise to the King of Kings, you are *my* everything, *I* will adore you.

What's the focus -- him, everything and the King of Kings, or me, myself, and I?

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 10th, 2008 at 3:58 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla

Interesting hip Sanctus.

Interesting observation. The shift from the objective third person to the subjective first person.

You see the same with the "hip" invocations:

"We make our beginning in the Name of the Father...." rather than the bare "In the Name of the Father...." Somehow we will manage to get control of the verbs.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 10th, 2008 at 5:19 pm by a
>> ...turns out to be a hollow sabotage full of soldiers

A bit wince-inducing, that locution.

"turns out to contain a brood of saboteurs"

brood/troop/nest/squad, etc.

My two centavos.

Re: A Belly Full of Greeks

Posted On: August 10th, 2008 at 8:09 pm by Rev. William M. Cwirla
Yeah, that phrase left something to be desired. I like the alliterative "squad of saboteurs."