Before the beginning of time, as we (humans) know it, there was a conflict in heaven. That conflict was not exactly an issue of good versus evil as many present it to be. Today, we see that constant tug of war between good and evil. Genocide, famine, greed, and sickness are seemingly counteracted by the goodness of missionaries, churches, humanitarian projects, and doctors without borders. But, is that all there is - the human race choosing between doing good or evil acts?

 

There is the Gospel of restoration which gives us a mission to restore and mend what is broken, but that isn’t the conflict that we live in; restoration is just the temporary remedy within God’s plan of the soon to come total restoration. If we examine Chirst’s brief life on Earth, we may see a different story than just the over used Christmas and Easter stories. Within the context of love, we see a battle of WORSHIP. 

 

This is our modern interpretation of good and evil - two almost equal powers battling to prove who is ultimately stronger. In the end, good always prevails. We see this in today’s best story-tellers: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Batman, Superman, Avengers, and the list goes on. That is not the good and evil that the book of Revelation paints! Lucifer being a creation of God can never be greater than his Maker. God being omnipotent (Revelation 19:6) has no equal, biblically, there is no other who could, can, or ever will be like God. The war is not about good versus evil, but about keeping you alive (John 3:16)!

 

From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, you can find Worship woven within the fabric of every story and page, a snap shot of the greats - Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, David, and Paul - who lived their lives by whom they worshipped, and not by an intuition of who had the bigger stick. 

 

The Wise Men came to worship the baby Jesus (Matt 2). The demons knew who ought to be worshipped (Mark 5). The woman at the well learned that worship wasn’t a place or style (John 4). And Mary gave the best known example of worship (John 12).

 

Jesus Christ being the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) deserved worship before, deserves worship today, and is deserving worship forever! That can raise many questions, but to keep on topic, traditionally, Christians define Worship to God as a relationship, giving honor and praise, and it being a lifestyle. But those definitions can end up as a cliche, “we were made for worship” and even sing “…I’m coming back to the heart of worship.” In many cases, worship has become a war zone of How-To’s instead of Whom-To. Hence the unending debates on worship which I believe is the bate to grab our attention from Whom we need to spend more time with. A very smart man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecc. 1:9) 

 

We worship God not because he demands it; that would be quite the opposite of a loving God to demand worship. But, we worship because of the acknowledgment of what Jesus Christ has done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us. We often do take all of God’s doing for granted. A reality check on one’s worship can be personally measured by the advice Jesus said, “out of the abundance ofthe heart his mouth speak” (Luke 6:45), or “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34) and so what does your heart of worship say?

 

Take a look at our lifestyle, where does the majority of our paycheck go to? Besides your weekly church rituals and last-minute daily devotionals, do we actually devote time to share our worship with others? Is most of your energy going towards accomplishing the How-To’s or in executing the Whom-To missions?

 

So, who do you worship?

 

- Tony Stanyer

Lately I have been hearing and even been part of some groups who are planning on urban ministry. What do we really mean when we say “urban” ministry?

 

In our religious ministry culture, “Urban” has become a code word for ministry to people who elite, or people impacted by poverty, or hip hop culture, or resource-deprived inner city neighborhoods, or all of the above. These distinctives aren’t necessarily bad, but they are very different, and none of them are tied by definition to the adjective “urban”.

 

As a personal opinion I think many pastors, ministries, and wanna-be-next-big-thing can take some advice from Mr. Jeremiah who said “Seek the welfare of the city…in its welfare you will find your welfare (Jeremiah 29:7). ” This is a word spoken by the prophet to a people in exile, a people who find themselves in a place they don’t want to be, among a people they must serve as captives. Urban youth ministry is often like this, marked by serving in a context of exile. At a time when people are looking elsewhere for money, the better life, and greater happiness— people don’t want to be here (Philippines)! Choosing to serve with a posture of longevity and seeking the shalom of the city can make all the difference.

 

How do you define urban ministry, and how does it shape what you do?