Easter season musings

I grew up listening to a lot of different kinds of music in the 60's and 70's, thanks to my parents. In the 70's, I listened to a LOT of rock. When I repented and came back to Christ in '79, I was involved in a church which believed and taught that it was bad to listen to all music made by non-Christians. Thankfully, at the time I was introduced to good music made by believers.

Also thankfully, I was exposed to the writings of Francis and Frank Schaeffer, and the view that music (and all art) is representative of the human experience--hence, amoral, neither morally good or bad. I then felt free to listen to music I appreciated, and enjoy good art. I also have been privileged to cultivate a dream, that of playing drums and percussion. (I've been privileged to play in worship bands in three churchrs, and in the Rock bands "Stage Dive" and "In So Deep," which we just re-named "Red Reign.")

In the early nineties, I was involved in a Houston church, ChristChurch, where Kemper Crabb and Dave Marshall (ArkAngel, Radiohalo, and Atomic Opera are band names you may recognize) were a couple of the pastors--and who were involved in making music that built up the body of Christ as well as making people think, and trying to transform culture. We were taught at that church to be more of an "outside" church, a people that took Christ to the world, instead of just inviting non-Christians to worship with us and give them the gospel in the context of our corporate worship. They introduced me to liturgical and sacramental worship. (Members of the bands King's X and Galactic Cowboys were also members.)

Later on, I was exposed to the ancient Church's beliefs and practices, and as well to a "missional" and "holistic" way of doing Church. I visited one such church, their coffee house, book store and art gallery in Houston (Ecclesia) and Shirley and I visited another (Fusion) here in OKC.

I am thrilled at these groups, and their movement to real spirituality and toward the ancient Church. I do have some of my own musings that I want to share.

I encourage you the reader here--if you are interested in moving toward the ancient Church and a deeper spirituality, may I suggest that you read the Church Fathers and the monastics? The Church Fathers give us a good idea of what the early Church believed, how they interpreted Scripture (especially those disputed passages about baptism and the Lord's Supper, for instance), what they believed about sacraments and how they conferred grace, and the relationship between works and grace in our salvation. The monastics have a lot to teach ous about working out our salvation, about learning about how to be the Church. All parts of the Church have something to teach us. Not only can we learn from the above-named churches on the subjects of being the Church, spirituality, and the desirability of moving toward the ancient Church--we should jump on the social justice bandwagon with them--read Matthew 25.

As a monk, a seminarian, and a man who will be ordained as a priest next year, my aim is pastoral. My calling is to bring Christ and the ancient Church to you. So I welcome dialogue and any questions you may have. Our number here at Mercy House is 405-470-0174. My cell no. is 713-205-2324. My email is br.francis@yahoo.com. Our worshipping community here in OKC is Chapel of St. Francis (in Tulsa it's St. Timothy), and we meet together Sundays at 10am and Wednesdays at 7pm at Mercy House for Eucharist, prayer, teaching, fellowship, and learning how to be the Church. Two web sites you can check out--www.unitedconvergencechurch.com, and the one for Mercy House--www.netministries.org/see/churches/ch07969.

Please call or email if I can be of any help to you.


br. francis