A recent blog by Jon Acuff, titled *“The Worst Thing Ever
Put in an Offering Basket”, reminded me of some stories from my own past.
Acuff’s piece mentioned an offering check that was written
to a church, but before it was placed in the offering basket, the donor wrote “VOID”
across the check face, then woite “Drums Way To Loud” above the signature
line. (Yes, ‘To’ was misused.)
The complaint itself may or may not have been valid, we don’t
know. To be sure, drums which are too
loud is not uncommon in churches—it IS a percussion
instrument, after all. But the way the complaint
was handled was clearly out of line with Christian principles on a few levels.
I play guitar. I have
played guitar in church since about 1970.
I was there in the early days of what we know now as “contemporary
Christian music.” And I’ve had my share
of “complaints” from well-meaning saints as well as some just plain ol’ mean-spirited
people. Here are some examples.
Some of us in the youth group of a church put together a
folk group with acoustic guitars and our youth leader set about seeing if we
could get invited to churches to sing. I
remember at one church, as we got off the van, the representatives from the
church saw our acoustic guitars and promptly told us we were welcome, but the
guitars would have to stay on the bus.
Another church saw our guitar cases and informed us that we
could not play in the church “sanctuary.”
But, we could, if we insisted on using guitars, play in the church
basement. I’m assuming that decision was
based on the well-known fact that Jesus doesn’t go to the church basement, and
so there would be no offense.
Ten years later, touring with a professional Christian music
group, I had a similar experience, this time with drums. Our group was booked at a church in Waco,
Texas. We were set up, sound check done,
ready to go for the worship service.
Then, the church elders saw the drums on stage.
The elders were beside themselves. This was clearly something they were
unprepared for. The church pastor knew
all about our group, our setup, and he was excited for us to be there. The elders, not so much. So, they “compromised.” Without the pastor’s knowledge, they went
into a classroom, got one of those giant blackboards on wheels, and brought it
into the “sanctuary” and placed it between the drums and the altar. This solution was apparently decided upon due
to the fact that, with the blackboard in place, God couldn’t see the drums, and
would therefore not be offended.
All of these protestations and “solutions”—all designed to “protect”
the church, are really nothing more than some people interjecting their own personal likes
(or rather, dislikes) into areas God himself has already ordained as acceptable
forms of worship.
What pleases God is worship from the heart. If we, the church body, spend more time and
effort concentrating on achieving that goal, and less on whether we sing Psalms,
“choruses,” or hymns; whether we use organ only, piano only, or whether we have
a full orchestra—including drums, then we will be about the business of seeking
to truly worship God from the heart.
My father was a conservative, Southern Baptist preacher and
pastor. I will be forever grateful to
him for not only allowing guitars in church,
but for encouraging me to play and
sing in church. So much so that 9 days
after receiving my first guitar I sang and played in church. His thought was, if it glorifies God, why wouldn’t you use your talents in that
way?
Think the drums are too loud? Tell the Instrumental Director! The story of the person using the withdrawal of their
offering as a form of complaining shows exactly what their focus is on: themselves. Is this what God desires? What's in their heart?
What's in your heart? What's in YOUR offering?
“…Speaking to one
another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:19, NIV
*For the full story, see http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2012/10/the-worst-thing-ever-put-in-an-offering-basket/
