My Sweet Lord

As I sat in the waiting room at the eye doctor today I heard a familiar George Harrison song come on the radio. You've probably heard it before.

"My sweet Lord, hm, my lord...

I really want to see you

Really want to be with you..."

George Harrison, one of the Beatles, wrote a worship song! How great right? Not exactly. This is definitely a worship song, but it wasn't written to the God the Father, Son or Holy Spirit. As the song ends, it becomes a Hindu mantra. The catchy "Hallelujah" voices switch to singing "hare krishna" at the end. Harrison was very intentional about his deception in this.

"My idea in "My Sweet Lord," because it sounded like a "pop song," was to sneak up on them a bit. The point was to have the people not offended by "Hallelujah," and by the time it gets to "Hare Krishna," they’re already hooked, and their foot’s tapping, and they’re already singing along "Hallelujah," to kind of lull them into a sense of false security. And then suddenly it turns into "Hare Krishna," and they will all be singing that before they know what’s happened, and they will think, "Hey, I thought I wasn’t supposed to like Hare Krishna!"

Source: George Harrison Interview 1982

Popular music often has repetitive phrases, mantras, meditations, etc. that lead our minds towards sin. And at least in some cases, the writers are very intentional about this, just look at George Harrison's admission. Someone turns on the radio and ends up participating in krishna worship when they sing along to his song. Other songs encourage sexual immorality, incite anger and hatred, promote pridefulness, cultivate greed. But sometimes even "love songs" end up being idolatrous, putting a man or woman in the place of God in someone's life. My point in all this isn't to say that believers can't listen to anything but "Christian music." My point is that we need to be more discerning. I can't tell you how many times I've heard kids and adults say, "I don't pay attention to words, I just like the music." Pay attention, music is a powerful thing and can either help or hurt your spiritual life depending on what you allow into your ears.

Secondly, this song makes the case (in my mind) for why Christian worship music ought to be distinctly Christian. George Harrison's song could really work for just about any religion until it gets to the end. The songs we sing in worship shouldn't be vague like that. It should be clear Who we're singing to and about.

Iranian Christians Released from Prison!

I got some wonderful news in my e-mail tonight and wanted to share it with everyone. I've posted once or twice regarding Maryham and Marzieh, two Christian women in Iran who were imprisoned 9 months ago. They have been released from prison without even having to pay bail! This is amazing, praise God for this act of deliverance. Literally millions of believers have been praying for them around the world, and many have also petitioned their government. This just shows how important it is to stand with our brothers and sisters in persecuted nations. Keep in mind that the charges against them have not been dropped, so we need to keep praying for God to protect them and keep them strong. Click here to learn more.

Yahoo Answers Spiritual Questions

During a little google search this morning I stumbled upon a page within the "Yahoo! Answers" website. Have you ever heard of it? Apparently you can ask a question and other people see it and can respond with their answer. It goes a step further where people can vote on who's answer they think is best. Anyways, the page I came across was from a girl complaining that her mom was overly Christian and always made her feel guilty if she didn't come to church every week.

"...I attend church every once in a while with my parents, but most of the time I am too tired to wake up so early in the morning after a long school week. (it's not like there aren't any sermons on tv in the mornings anyway)..."

It seemed relevant to me to analyze this a little bit, not to pick on this girl, but to consider why people don't place value on gathering to worship on the Lord's day, even when they call themselves Christians. Based on her comments, sleeping is her priority. My assumption is that her main motivation for going to church is to please her mom. She apparently thinks that going to church is primarily about hearing a good sermon, so why can't she replace going to church with simply watching a preacher on t.v? Seems reasonable if that is what she thinks the point of church is.

The best answer chosen by voters was actually better than I expected, but still not, in my opinion, the best response to this girl's issue.

"You can't get fellowship from the tv though. It is good for you to be part of a congregation and to be active in the church. The church is the body of Christ and you got to work together with other Christians, and that probably would involve being part of a congregation. So you should go to church with your mom. It will be good for you. "

Yes the fellowship element is a key part of being a part of the body of Christ, but reasoning that "It will be good for you," probably won't go over well with this person. Isn't that what parents tell their kids when they don't want to eat their vegetables?

I see two main issues here. On the one hand, this girl doesn't get what worship and being the church is all about. She's in the same boat as plenty of other church-goers, especially young people. On the other hand, her mom (according to the daughter) is an overbearing "born-again" Christian who is trying to use guilt to motivate her daughter to go to church. It doesn't help that the mom freaks her daughter out with her long prayers and trying to feel God's presence.

In regards to the first issue, church gatherings on Sunday are not about hearing a good speech from the preacher. It's about participating in fellowship, making music to the Lord, hearing God's word and responding to it, taking communion (you can't do that over the t.v.), and prayer. When worship is understood and experienced in that way, I think you have less of a chance of people thinking that they can replace corporate worship with watching a preacher on t.v. The other important element is that people need to feel connected or welcome, otherwise they are not going to experience the fellowship element or care to keep gathering with a particular group of people. I was made aware of a visitor being relatively ignored at my church recently and it made me sad that this was their experience. Be intentional about welcoming visitors or talking to those who are not interacting with others.

In response to how this girls' mom is handling the situation, where does the bible encourage using guilt to get people to gather with the body of Christ? Forcing her to go to church like this is only going to make her that much more of a spectator rather than a participating worshiper. Besides, Jesus idea of the church is not just that a bunch of people would show up every week on a Sunday morning, go through the motions and give generously so that the cycle can continue. This girl's mom ought to be more concerned with her daughter becoming a disciple. Church leaders and members of congregations should be more concerned with this too. Church health is not measured by attendance numbers, and yet that is what much of our church-culture is focused on these days.

No Marriage in Heaven

I love that John Piper has an "Ask Pastor John" section on his Desiring God website. A lot of people seem to ask great questions, and the most recent post was totally relevant to a conversation my wife and I had the other night. Not to boast, but my wife was saying how she knew heaven would be great, but that it's so hard for her to imagine not being married to me anymore. So here's to my wife and anyone else that has had this question- cultivate an ever-increasing delight in Christ, and help your loved ones to do the same.

Prosperity Gospel in Africa

There was a link to this video in my Monday Morning Insight e-mail yesterday. It gave me a another perspective on why it is so important to strive for worship that is in spirit and truth, and also why it is important to rebuke/speak against those who are false teachers. The prosperity gospel flourished in America, and was exported around the world. As this video shows, the worship that is taking place in these churches is not focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ at all. The corruption of one part of the church in America has infected another part of the church on the other side of the world. Reminds me of Paul's yeast metaphor, "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" (1 Cor 5:6). Lord restore your church to the truth, here in America, in Africa and around the world. Forgive us for spreading this other gospel to our brothers and sisters in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.