How Far is Too Far?

As Pastor of Creative Arts, my office is located beneath our stage. When our bands play I can hear them - I feel them too, because we have a pretty cool sound system. So, I usually don’t work at my computer while the band plays but its Thursday night and rehearsal is almost over. All that is left is the instrumental prelude for the band to practice and I begin to type.

And then I hear it - that all too familiar guitar riff. You know that one riff that forces you into an involuntary muscle contraction resulting in an air guitar solo? Yep - that one.

The riff I hear through my ceiling is indelibly etched in my mind – my roommate in college played it at least fourteen million times. I can’t immediately recall the title of the song or the band. And then it starts coming to me…Randy Rhoads…. Ozzy Osbourne … Crazy Train…and then the band hits me

Black Sabbath. Oh no, I am playing Black Sabbath in church this weekend!

I break into a cold sweat. Could it be that this time I have gone too far?

During our Arts workshops people sometimes question me about using the Art of popular culture in our Worship services. After all, the use of “secular” art seems contrary to Paul’s directive in Romans 12:2:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. …

The truth is there probably has not been a worldlier band than Black Sabbath. Not good, right? But later in 1 Corinthians 9:22, Paul also says:

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.

There seems to be a paradox here. But perhaps what Paul is saying is there needs to be a balance between two things: conformity with the world and isolation from it.

Paul was an amazing evangelist living in multiple worlds himself: He was a Jew, a Roman citizen, and part of a largely Hellenistic society. Additionally, he was a part of the Church. I am sure he realized the need to be apart from the world but he also dealt with the reality that in order to reach the people around him, he had communicate with them on their terms. So, the question bears asking:

How do I know when I am too far into the pattern of this world?

I think Jesus gave us a great model for figuring that question out in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus said, “You have heard it said, ‘an eye for an eye’ but I tell you do not resist and evil person.” He said this about several issues: Murder, Adultery, God’s Laws, etc. He took the thoughts of the culture and refuted them with His Divine Truth,

You have heard it said ... but I tell you...
You have heard it said … but I tell you…

You have heard it said “I am going off the rails on a Crazy Train” … but Jesus tells you, “Everything will be made new…”

I think as long as we keep our focus on the second half of that statement , I think our worship will honor God and help us reach those he has asked us to find,