Happy New Year! 

Speaking of 2012, I want to update you on some things coming up.  First, please note that I will be leaving for my Missions Trip to the Philippines February 1-20.  For those who haven’t heard yet, I will be teaching at our NAB Bible School in Legazpi City.  Specifically, I’ll be giving instruction in worship and the arts to the Bicol Center for Christian Leadership (BCCL) in support of our denomination.  I am still looking for financial and prayer sponsorship, so please let me know if you’re interested in partnering with us on it.  For more information, please go to my Philippines Missions link.

In my absence, Kent Peterson, former worship pastor at Oak Hills and musician extraordinaire, will be stepping into the gap.  Those of us who remember Kent will want to make sure you’re signed up to lead worship the first three weeks of February.  Those who don’t know who Kent is…well, you’re in for a treat!  I promise, you’ll have a blast!

I also want to give you a heads up on our upcoming Intersections: Faith and the Arts conference coming up on March 17.  Last year’s conference was off the hook with some amazing speakers and equally amazing food.  And this year’s conference is shaping up to be our best ever.  So make sure you mark the date, and sign up for this one-day conference.  And bring ALL your artist friends.

Finally, please check out the HEADS UP section for other things coming up on the calendar, including Men’s Retreat, Women’s Retreat, Holy Week and Easter.  We look forward to what God has in store for us in 2012.  So buckle up and let’s go!

by Creative Arts Pastor Manuel Luz

Oak Hills had been reeling as a result of some difficult losses this last summer.  All told, we had six funeral services, including some very dear and beloved people in our congregation, as well as saying goodbye to a beloved staff person who took a senior pastor position in soCal.  Many of us, especially core volunteers and staff, were feeling our emotional gauges teetering near empty from this succession of events.  So we decided to stop the church, and during the month of October, we wanted to simply love and care for one another.  The result was a three-week series entitled, TOGETHER, where we worshiped, shared, prayed, read God’s word, and worshiped some more: in-the-round.

There is a visceral, kinesthetic thing that happens when you are thrust into this in-the-round configuration.  For one thing, you can’t hide in the back of the room.  Everyone is facing everyone else when you are in-the-round.  Also, there is no worship band leading you from up front, no celebrity altar to fixate on.  The band was deliberately unplugged and unadorned (acoustic guitars and basses, snare cajon and shakers, and everyone sitting on stools), and sitting at the back of the circle.  And we deliberately programmed a lot of interactive elements into the services to get people out of their chairs (e.g., prayer in small groups, holding hands, public prayer from the pews, liturgical call-and-response elements). We also celebrated a baptism, a new member reception, and a child dedication in-the-round as well.  It was very cool.

For me anyway.  For others, this was a little out of their comfort zones.  I think the majority of people sitting in the churches in America hide in the implied spectatorship of their pews.  But this was an invitation to fully partake in the community of the believers, the family of God.  This was an invitation to actually experience the mystery of the church in a deeper, more magnified way, without the bells and whistles that often accompany services these days.

And this is why these moments are so meaningful.  Because I know the story of the person whose eyes I look into as I worship.  And he or she knows my story.  And our stories of redemption entwine together in this thing called life.  Truly, this is one of the most personal definitions of the Church—hand in hand, prayer upon prayer, voices blending in a shared corporate emotion—when we can look at one another in the eyes, and I know your story and you know mine, and our corporate worship pours from the shared story that is between us and the Triune God.

I know it sounds corny.  But those of us at Oak Hills needed a place to cry together, to laugh really hard together, to worship deeply together, to love one another and God together.  We needed to be the church together.

Make no mistake.  When the church really is the church, it is an extraordinarily beautiful thing.

There’s a dozen copies sitting in our spot at the back of the auditorium.  On the Sunday prior to your rotation, please check out a book when you pick up your music.  Bring the book (and your music if you are on the worship team) to Wednesday rehearsal, where we’ll have a discussion based on the reading.  Then turn your book in for the next worship team rotation.  Simple!

Some of us have been serving many years. But it’s always good just to review some of the expectations. So here are a few things to remember:

• Always check Planning Center Online.  This goes for both Worship and Tech Teams.
• Always respond promptly to your PCO email invitations.  This allows us to plan better and not have to scramble last minute for replacements.
• Always pick up a book and your music the Sunday before you serve.  Note: Our assignment for October is pages 62-67.  A really quick read.
• Please be on time to Wednesday rehearsal (at 7:00 PM) ready to play (music ready, pencil in hand, instrument tuned).
• Please rehearse your music prior to Wednesday, and listen to the YouTube links if it is a new song.

For a complete list of expectations, please refer to your State of The Heart Worship Team handout (see me if you need a copy).  Thanks.  As always, it is a privilege and a joy to serve the church with you, and be the church with you.

That being said, we’ve had a lot of fun this summer.  We’ve had another wild and successful Arts Camp, another July Arts month, and a truly inspiring Summer Mosaic.  The photos in this blog are from this Summer Mosaic which raised awareness and support for the Twin Lakes Food Bank.  Thanks to everyone who participated to make this a success!

As we kick off this new ministry season, please be aware of the following:

Adult Choir ::  The Choir kicks off our season on August 24 at 6:30 PM with a little reception and first practice upstairs in the Chapel.  If you’ve been thinking about being a part of the Choir, please come on out that day, or any Wednesday evening.  We consider the Choir to be an extension of the congregation, so the only requisites are that you love God and you like to sing.  The Choir is directed by Becca Viola.  Hope to see you there!

Worship Team ::  Our rotation of Worship Teams begins Wednesday evening rehearsals on August 31 beginning at 7:00 PM. We’ll be continuing to tweak our existing rotation, but if you’d like to move to another week, please let us know.  We will be starting a new devotional study beginning in September. Of course, Tech Teams are encouraged to come and join us for the devo as well.

New Fall Series ::  We are presenting a new series on relationships/marriages in September entitled, “On The Rocks: Strong Relationships in a Turbulent World.”  This five-week series will be a great opportunity to bring your friends, neighbors, and family to a message topic that will be relevant and immediately applicable.  We encourage you to pick up a flyer and prayerfully consider who you’ll be bringing to church this fall.  Also, we’re featuring the Drama Team during this series, so if you’re interested in participating, please let me or Director Judi Alexander know.

On-Campus Baptism ::  We will have a Baptism on October 23, as a part of the One Service Celebration that day.  If you’ve never been baptized, please consider doing so, both as a visible demonstration of your faith, and as an act of obedience and moving forward in your walk with God.

Worship Series ::  I’m pretty excited that we’re going to have a five-week series, specifically talking about the importance and privilege of worship, in October and November.  There’s a lot of creative things we can do during this series as well, so there’s a lot to look forward to later this fall.

Other Stuff! ::  We have a lot of things happening between now and the end of the year.  If you’d like to find out more, check out the “Heads Up” section of this blog.

Ooops!  ::  Due to a number of unforeseen events, we’ve had to postpone our IMPACT Volunteer Appreciation Pool Party, which usually happens at the end of the summer.  We still intend to have it, so please stay tuned for more details.

Music Between Services :: Throughout the month of July, several Oak Hills musical artists will perform between services each Sunday.  Look for Hickory Wind playing “not your normal country” (July 3), Teresa Harbert sharing cello duets (July 10), Michaela Nasello on vocals (July 24), Becca Coloma on classical piano (July 31), and others to appear in our lobby.

Art & Soul Gallery :: Look for visual expressions of the arts in our Art & Soul Gallery.  “Quilts: Color, Comfort, and Worship” will run through July 14, after which the Gallery will display the artwork created by our children from Arts Camp.

Arts Camp :: One of the highlights of our year, Arts Camp is a once a year day camp where children explore the arts through Dance, Drama, Music, Musical Theater, Woodworking, Pysanky (Ukrainian egg art), Photography, Silk Screening, Ceramics, Cartooning, Culinary, and so much more. During this week, children are given an opportunity to express the creativity given to them by their Creator and to experience the arts fully and passionately in a society where many opportunities for this type of expression are being cut.  This year’s Arts Camp runs July 11-15.  Cost is $65 per child (limited scholarships available).  Contact the church for more information.

Summer Mosaic :: Dubbed “An Evening with the Arts,” our Summer Mosaic is an opportunity to see the very best of what the artists of our church can do.  Featuring dance, visual arts, drama, music, and other expressions, this concert is free to the entire community.  As it is a benefit for the Twin Lakes Food Bank, we encourage everyone to bring canned goods or other non-perishable foods in lieu of admission cost.  This Summer Mosaic will be Saturday evening, July 30, beginning at 6:30 PM with a gallery reception and 7:00 PM with the program.  We highly encourage you to come out and bring your friends and neighbors to this event.

Summer Vacation ::  As per our custom, the Choir will be off from June through August.  We will be resuming choir rehearsals on Saturday, August 24.  In addition, the Worship Team will take a break from mid-week rehearsals from June through August.  We will resume Wednesday rehearsals on August 31.

Instrumental Workshops ::  I’m excited that we have a series of workshops planned in June.  Local music instructor Jim Spedden will be providing us with workshops in Electric Guitar (Saturday, June 11), Bass Guitar (Saturday, June 18),  and Acoustic Guitar (Saturday, June 25).  We talk a lot about excellence and this is an opportunity for you all to raise the bar in your musicianship.  I highly recommend that you sign up for one or more of these workshops.  (Note: This is also open to anyone you’d like to invite as well.)  Cost is $25 per workshop; sign up on Planning-Center Online.

River Baptism ::  One of the Don’t-Miss moments of our church calendar, our annual River Baptism and Barbecue is Thursday, June 23, at 7 PM at Negro Bar Park (on the other side of the river).  Come on out, hang with us, eat some grub, and see what God is doing in the lives of many people in our church.

Arts Month ::  July is our annual Arts Month at the church.  This includes several highlights of our year, including Arts Camp (July 11-15) and a Summer Mosaic (Saturday, July 30).  For Arts Camp, please contact Colleen Gray if you’re interested in volunteering for this fast-paced and highly satisfying ministry opportunity.  For Summer Mosaic, mark this date on your calendar and invite your friends and neighbors to this amazingly fun event.  Also, if you’d like to provide music between services one Sunday in July, please contact me at the church.

IMPACT Appreciation Party ::  Our annual IMPACT Appreciation Pool Party will be on Saturday, August 20.  Mark down the date and look for more details soon!

How We Measure Time: The Church Calendar

How we measure our days and set our calendar reveals how we define ourselves.  We measure time through life’s milestones and the development of our children, and through the cycling of Back-to-School, Christmas, Spring Break and Summer Vacation. Maybe we chart our year through the calendar of sports seasons or perhaps we tend to measure time by the various shopping seasons, quarters of the fiscal year or the seasons of harvest. The calendars that mark our years both reveal and create the priorities and undergirding story of our lives.

The church has its own calendar, set by the ancient church—with its roots in the Jewish holidays and even more fundamentally in the story of God’s redemption of his people through Jesus Christ (remember our discussion on the meta-narrative in Part 2).  This calendar includes seasons of waiting, fasting, seeking and preparing (Advent and Lent), lengthy holidays of celebrating God’s redemption through Christ’s incarnation and resurrection (Christmas and Easter), and days that remind us of God’s empowering mission to bring others into his Kingdom (Epiphany and Pentecost).

In the midst of this cycle, Holy Week stands out as central, unique and intense.  But the church calendar also includes, like our lives, short and long stretches of “ordinary time,” when we are counting through our days, entrusting God to meet us in the mundane.  Through the cycling of these stories we make our identity and our lives intertwined with the redemptive story of God and learn to see this same story unfolding in our times and places.

At Oak Hills, we have adopted the use of the ancient church calendar in a very basic form for all of these reasons—and as we do so, we define ourselves according to God’s story.

Space Redeemed

As our use of the church calendar demonstrates, our theology has ramifications that reverberate throughout our life. Similarly, at Oak Hills we seek to make our physical surroundings a reflection God’s truth. Just as we believe how we measure our days changes how we live in them, we believe the way we fashion our physical surroundings can orient us to God’s presence. For this reason, we use our sacred space to focus on God’s redemptive story. Using the context where we find ourselves, including but not limited to our auditorium, we work to make our space reflect his beauty and majesty and creative artistry. We also seek to have artistic representations of the Biblical story, because we need to be reminded of God’s story, and because we long to retell this story of Incarnation and Redemption for every culture, time and place on earth.

Implications

• Our church is the primary place for embracing and giving families and individuals, as well as the entire community—a redeemed calendar, a year that invites us through its markers into God’s redemption together.

• Following the church calendar is a spiritual discipline or tool.  It allows us another way to put ourselves into the channels of God’s grace and love.  It doesn’t matter how spiritual or mature we are, the Church calendar continually offers us a chance to enter into God’s story.

• We can recognize and experience the Calendar through signifying colors, and other artistic representations and decoration, through corporate fasting and feasting, and through special services, music and poetry. We use the colors of the church calendar to remind us of how God’s eternal story has entered into our life’s seasons.  There is nothing particularly special about the colors per say; however, we have decided to adopt these colors to further establish the calendar as well as tie into the historicity of the church calendar.

• In our sacred space, we continually seek tangible, physical ways to orient our senses on God’s presence and transforming truth. Thus, the communion table is central because it represents Jesus redeeming gift of himself.  Similarly, through a lowered stage, through the stage dressing and decoration, and even more in our times of worship “in the round,” we focus on the centrality of God’s presence in our redeemed community. We are the church, more than any presentation or performance.

What is a Sacrament?

A sacrament can be defined as a public and corporate act of inward and spiritual grace.  There are two specific sacraments that were instituted by Jesus during his earthly ministry: Baptism (Matthew 28:18-20) and the Eucharist, or as we know it, the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:23-26).  In both of these rites, we believe that in some mysterious way Christ is real and present with us, and the outward symbol or experience transcends our understanding, affording us some inward grace.  More than just symbols, God works through the waters of baptism, as well as the bread and cup of the Lord’s Table, to extend His real presence and grace to us.

In a larger sense, any public act in which we encounter the very real presence of Christ, can be considered sacramental.  Thus, the candles we light during Advent and Holy Week to symbolize the coming of the light into the world, palm fronds on Palm Sunday, foot washings at special services and retreats, and anointing services for the healing of the sick can all be considered sacramental.

Remember that we have stated that one of our primary functions as worship leaders is to tell God’s story.  All of these acts serve to once again retell the Story of God, the meta-narrative, which is our goal in corporate worship.

In all of these sacraments, very common physical objects and acts become vessels of transcendence and holiness. In this they are small representations of the Incarnation—the incredible reality that the transcendent Word, presence and person of God became a man, with a body of capillaries and bone, who lived, and ate food and washed his body and worshipped in a building and came to know himself in a particular family, community and group of friends—just as we do.

Implications

•  Celebrating the sacraments has been a part of corporate worship since the beginning of the church.  Thus, when we celebrate Baptism or the Eucharist, we not only celebrate the present moment between God and His people, but we also tie ourselves to the believers and martyrs of historical Church, who celebrated these acts for two millenia.

We believe something transcendent occurs when we go under the baptismal waters and when we take the communion elements, because we know that Eternal Holiness did enter once and forever into this earthly, fleshly world as a human baby. So this world’s story has been claimed by Him. And as we practice the sacraments in their incarnational power, we know one day all our bodies and all of this world and its long history will be restored forever for his Holy purposes.

•  Sacraments are heavy in symbol and metaphorical language.  There is a poetry to the act of communion, as Jesus explains a deep and profound mystery with ordinary table items.  The arts take on a more substantive role in worship when we understand that symbol and metaphor are a part of the artistic language.

•  Some churches believe that the sacraments are simply symbols, and that there is no special outpouring of God in these events.  Others believe that the outpouring is not only special and evident, but also physically manifest (e.g., Catholic theology).  We are more in the middle, acknowledging the unique outpouring of God beyond mere symbol, but not to the degree that we can define it or find it physically manifested.

[Note: This is the fifth of a nine part series on a Theology of Worship being taught to our Worship Team, Tech Team, and Choir.  Join us Wednesday evenings at 7 PM if you'd like to join the dialogue!]

A Two Way Street

Worship is dialogical.  And this dialogue can be seen as a continuing cycle of revelation and response.  God reveals Himself through His attributes, His mighty acts, and His Holy Spirit, and then we respond in celebration, stillness, prayer, conviction, and gratitude.  This dialog can happen when we watch the stars on a cloudless night, or when we read Scripture or sing in our services, or whenever we tell the story of God.

What does our response look like?  Moses instructed the Israelites to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” (Deut 6:5) and Jesus said “This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matt 22:38). In other words, we are to respond to God in worship with every fiber of our being.  But there is some confusion as to what that means.

What does “Heart” mean anyway?

The heart of the worshiper is a key aspect to the worship experience, but there is some disagreement about what that means.  For many, this essentially means that a valid emotional response must occur, which places the emphasis on emotion, experience, and sincerity.  Unfortunately, worship that is dependent on our efforts toward sincerity can sometimes be manipulated and programmed.  Moreover, this emphasis often disregards foundational issues of obedience and faithfulness, i.e., living the life of a worshiper rather than simply having experiences of worship.

But if we think of the heart in its fuller and more biblical meaning—as the core of an individual “where decisions and choices are made for the whole person” (Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard)—then a worshiping heart can be seen as one that worships as an act of the will, rather than simply as an emotion.  Of course, our emotions are critical in worship.  But God is worthy of worship regardless of how we feel.

So when we bring this sense of purpose to worship, it doesn’t matter if we are “in the mood,” or if it is the style or song we prefer. All of that becomes subservient to the purpose of meeting God and fully responding to his action and presence in our lives.  This is a subtle but important distinction.  Instead of revving ourselves up emotionally for a worship experience, we instead choose to worship—assuming an internal posture of obedience and surrender—as an act of our will, and then allow the Holy Spirit to move us emotionally. Emotions are important, but emotions follow the will, not the other way around.

Worshiping with the Other Parts: Soul and Strength

The passages in Deuteronomy and Matthew listed above aren’t meant to be an anatomy lesson, describing heart, soul, and strength as discrete parts of a person.  These human aspects are much more interconnected and blurred than that.  That being said, we can safely assume that Jesus meant for us to love God also with our intellects and our bodies.

So what does it mean to worship with our intellects, our minds?  In “Part 2: God’s Story,” we discussed the foundational importance of telling God’s story in worship.  This is not possible without engaging one’s intellect in the process of remembering, relating, and responding to God’s revelation.  This is why we use responsive readings, use Scripture in our call to worship, study the Bible in the sermon, and choose songs with more lyrical depth and integrity—we engage our minds as we develop a greater understanding of God’s attributes, ways, and story.  We also must do the hard work of understanding ourselves as we go through the process of spiritual transformation.   And sometimes, this is a stretch for people.

Worshiping with one’s strength is another uncomfortable stretch for many.  The Bible describes many bodily forms of corporate worship: singing, shouting, clapping, stillness, hand raising, dancing, drumming (insert your own drummer joke here), bowing, etc.  Obviously, the body plays a physical role in interacting with God in worship.  Often, we hear people say something to the effect of, “well, I didn’t feel like raising my hands, and I would be feel like I’m faking if I do.”  We would argue, however, that God is worthy of lifting our hands, whether we feel like it or not.  As we stated above, worship is not primarily an issue of feeling but of choosing.  This is why we encourage everyone to choose to raise hands in anticipation, to clap with joy, and to kneel with reverence—for God is worthy, regardless of our comfort level in that bodily expression.

Implications

• When we see worship as a dialogue, an interaction between the divine and humanity, the eternal and the temporal, the Holy God and His people, we begin to see it as the transcendent and mysterious and holy act that it is.

• Worship begins as an act of the will, an act of obedience and surrender that allows God to have control of our lives (Romans 12:1).  When we come before God and engage in dialogue with all we are, worship becomes an act of the will that unites and engages all aspects of our personhood: our intellect, body, emotions, history, and unique personality.

Question for Discussion

•  When you are in corporate worship, are you aware of the dialogue (revelation and response) that flows, not only horizontally (between you and others, the worship leaders, and the pastor) but vertically (with God)?

• Where is the “stretch” for you in worship? Is it in using your body? Engaging your emotions? Paying attention to words and their meaning? If we don’t give all our hearts, soul, strength how does it affect our ability to meet and respond to God?

•  If heartfelt worship were merely about feelings, how about when you don’t “feel” like going to church?  Or you don’t “feel” like raising your hands?  Or you don’t “feel” like giving to the offering?

10. Where else will you find a Conference where you can start a sentence with, “A dancer, a musician, an actor, and a Baptist pastor walk into a bar…” and be literal?

9. Dave the Horn Guy, one of our main speakers this year, finishes every show by crowd surfing.

8. Our culinary artists, led by Lee Friedmann, will once again present a now-legendary spread of artistically delectable food for lunch.

7. Speaker and painter Frank Ordaz, who has worked on such Academy Award-winning films as E.T., Return of the Jedi, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, will reveal why Harrison Ford never runs out of bullets.

6. You can wear a beret, a tie-dyed ascot, or a cape, and not feel out of place.

5. Worship will be led by Chaya, an Oak Hills’ favorite who has lead at our Women’s Retreats and played at our Schlopp House Cafe.  (By the way, she’s just released a new album of jazz standards called Mood For Love.)

4. Intersections is one of the few places in Folsom you’ll be captivated without being held captive.

3. Paxson Jeancake, local worship pastor, author, and musician, will speak on worship and the arts.  And Paxson is a fun word to say.

2. We’re especially excited to have Joel Kilpatrick, award-winning and best-selling author, journalist, and larknews.com founder, speaking.  (Yes, Joel is one of the sons of Bob Kilpatrick, author/songwriter who spoke at last year’s conference.  No, we will not introduce Joel as one son of a Bob.)

And the number 1 reason why you should come to Intersections:

1. Co-Senior Pastors, Kent and Mike, will not dance.

To reserve your spot at our conference, please email us at impact.admin@oakhills.org.  Cost is only $25 at the door, and includes the gourmet lunch and a book.  See you there!