Church services across the world, as well as across history, take different forms. Some are flowered with large doses of shouting and dancing, while others are characterized more by a solemn atmosphere and are intentionally contemplative. At the same time, some of the most formative parts of church services are what those in the audience are invited to say out loud.
Some traditions have utilized a call-and-response format to have everyone participate in liturgies. Many Protestant churches (mine included) follow a format with particular speakers one-at-a-time, while the attenders will speak primarily when they are singing songs of worship. If this is the case, the words we sing are critical, as they are to be the declarations of the values and pursuits of the community.
While I cannot attest to being a worship leader, I believe that the messages of the songs worship leaders select are possibly more formative for members of a church than the message that is verbally spoken. People in this culture of illiteracy tend to remember the arts much easier than they remember a spoken or written word. Singing involves more senses for the lazy who opt not to study or memorize, and thus, it is more likely to form a person’s pattern of thinking much faster.
Need proof? We speak often of the phenomenon of a song getting “stuck in our heads,” or “ear worms” as researches call them. This isn’t just an odd thing – researchers at Dartmouth University have published incredible findings about this. Songs are trigger a part of the brian called the “auditory cortex.” Dartmouth learned:
When they played part of a familiar song to research subjects, the participants’ auditory cortex automatically filled in the rest — in other words, their brains kept “singing” long after the song had ended.
Certain songs get stuck in people’s heads for different reasons, though the primary reason, according to many researchers, is that the song contains thoughts that our brain is trying to suppress, but is unable to shut down. The melodies, rhythms, and meanings continue to play like a skipping record.
For the worship leader, the ability to have the themes of the Kingdom of God etched in the brains of worshippers can be incredibly formative. Couple this with something even more incredible: Those in the service aren’t just hearing the songs – they are also (presumably) singing them, as well. The use of multiple senses at once is a slam dunk way to cause a person to remember something more and to be formed by it much faster.
It is for these reasons that worship leaders must choose their themes very carefully (as, thankfully, ours do). Music (and perhaps video) has replaced literature as the dominant way our culture is formed. We must harness this fact in order to present an alternative culture for Christians to engage to reform God’s good world into what He had in mind from its foundation.
I have a lot of grace for those who are agnostic, that is, unable to commit to believing in a god. There are rational reasons to believe that life doesn’t amount to much other than life, itself. People are born, they live lives with more questions than answers, and they die. Some die of incurable diseases, some of old age, and some in wars that ultimately cause more problems than they fix. In the midst of humanity’s suffering and pain, how can there be something more spiritual than physical?
It doesn’t help that America’s de facto religion, Christianity, isn’t always as loving as advertised. Why would an agnostic look for answers to questions from people who claim to know everything? By nature, agnostics want people to not understand everything.
Fortunately, some Christians attempt to live lives that don’t default to this life of contradiction. Some even go so far as to attempt to respectfully find answers to some of these questions, in branches of Christian thinking like theodicy. The truth is, not all of the agnostic’s questions have flawless answers. Even more revealing is the truth that not all Christians’ questions have flawless answers. In fact, sometimes we have more questions having bought into the Bible’s life-narrative than one might expect.
Christians have answers to questions most questioners fail to ever question. In fact, the Bible takes time in what historians say is the very first portion written to introduce some of these questions. They are delivered by a man named איוב(Job) who was truly having the worst day of his life. In the midst of going crazy, he begins shouting questions about the injustice to God. In a surprising twist, a tornado shows up and begins asking Job questions. The Bible says God was highly involved in the tornadic activity and asked Job questions only God could probably answer like:
Who set up systems of measure?
Does rain have an origin?
Who put the ability to have wisdom in minds?
An ostrich has wings that she waves proudly, even though they have no purpose
How do horses prance so powerfully?
How did hawks first learn to fly?
The questions seemed endless. Perhaps we can think of some more.
How is the sun exactly the right distance from Earth?
Humans are self-aware but other animals are not. How?
Dogs seem to naturally desire to serve humans
The human blood stream is a very long and complex system
Lightning is extremely amazing to watch
The hummingbird’s wings are amazingly fast – its as if he can hover in place effortlessly
It is very difficult to consider all these intricate systems of color and sound and order without asking the question, “How?”
I would respectfully offer my answer – the Christian God is the God of wonders.
I recently listened to a speaker take several hours to relate how the book of Lamentations relates to everyday life today (this one message, for example). I could not help but nod my head at many points, but shake my head in dismay at others. Let’s be honest: Americans have lost the ability to grieve and weep. Let’s be more honest: We don’t usually like it when people grieve and weep.
Rembrant - Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem
Tradition says that several hundred years before the birth of Christ, a prophet named Jeremiah nestled into a cave to spend time alone. There, “The Weeping Prophet” spent an agonizing time sobbing with pen in hand, writing poetry to attempt to make sense of a disaster of earth-shattering and life-altering proportions. He begins:
Oh, oh, oh… How empty the city, once teeming with people.
A widow, this city, once in the front rank of nations,
once queen of the ball, she’s now a drudge in the kitchen.
And later:
Jerusalem remembers the day she lost everything,
when her people fell into enemy hands, and not a soul there to help.
Enemies looked on and laughed, laughed at her helpless silence.
Jerusalem, who outsinned the whole world, is an outcast.
All who admired her despise her now that they see beneath the surface.
Miserable, she groans and turns away in shame.
Jeremiah had easily one of the most difficult ministries of any person in history. He recognized a series of sins and faults of Israel and with groaning, put words to it.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we see other instances of people weeping and expressing their grief in outward ways. Ezra ripped his clothes. Jesus wept. Job went on a verbal tirade, then witnessed God, Himself, go on one of his own. Jeremiah’s entire book has several gut-wrenching prayers and muses about things not going well. Most of the lesser known books of prophecy are that way.
Fluoxetine, aka Prozac, aka Happy Pills
Americans have an addiction to happiness and entertainment, myself included. We must constantly have something to push, watch, or hear. Most Americans would rather take a happy pill to make them happy for the rest of their lives than know how to deal with human feelings. This makes for very productive lives, but lives of suppressed feelings. People can go decades without grieving major life changes like injuries, deaths, and shattered dreams without allowing their emotions to have their time to settle. Its much easier to watch a movie with someone grieving than to grieve ourselves.
What’s more damaging is our inability to help others to grieve.There is nothing worse than having someone there to listen to us grieve something that cannot be fixed, but they keep saying that “everything will be okay” or try to “fix it.“ I’m not going through anything right now, but if I were, that’d be the last thing I’d want to hear.
In a person’s darkest hour what they need more than answers is someone to help ask the questions. A person who will sit in silence and not feel the need to “move things along.” A person who promises to bring dinner every day to ease things. A person to babysit the kids. A friend who will cry, too. Weeping is not for girls – weeping is for humans.
When we encounter someone else in their darkest hour, we should shut off our cell phones, toss our watches, and pull up a chair. Jeremiah’s laments would have been a whole lot easier if it were a cave for two.
When we encounter the worst day of our lives, we should not be afraid to spend time alone sobbing. Its okay to ask a lot of questions and not have a lot of answers. Its okay to protest injustices. But we must remain steadfast with our convictions that God is a good God, who knows what it is to suffer both as a human and having created humans who derailed His plans through sin. God is acquainted with grief, for He has suffered.
Need a way to open up to God? Try brutal honesty – He likes it.
Perusing some friends Facebook profiles, I am happy to say that I have friends on both extremes of the political spectrum. The truth is, there is room for gray areas more than the most outspoken critics liberals and conservatives are willing to declare. Disregardless of one’s political opinions, there are significant problems with the viewpoint most Christians employ when describing their allegiances. Derek Webb’s “King and a Kingdom” assists with this issue:
The truth is, I am both an American and a member of God’s Kingdom. I am not an American Christian, I am an American and and a Christian. The difference in one conjunction is massive, as my first allegiance is not to patriotism, stars and stripes, a Constitution, or elected officials. This system of government, however dazzling its foundation may or not be, is secondary.
By opting to be a Christian first, my ethics, political opinions, and viewpoints of current events should be subjected to the ethics, opinions, and viewpoints presented by the Church and Scripture. I am not a Republican, a Democrat, a Whig, a Reformer, a Libertarian, or any other flavor of platform. These each have platforms that, while each including some measure of truth, are not the expressed opinion of Christendom. Liberalism and conservativism are not necessary (though are not sin) for the Christian. These are both worldviews just as much as Christianity is a worldview, and therefore, are not necessarily a requirement to be a Christian. It is acceptable to study Scripture thoroughly and have views that are the same as another worldview, but any resemblance to a particular party or worldview are a coincidence.
Many Christians find their worldviews by following various entities, but border on making these their Gospel. Radio personalities like Hannity, Limbaugh, and Maddow should not be our only source of truth. Television entertainers such as O’Reilly, Cooper, and Olbermann can be consulted for opinions, but are not to be viewed as truth. Bloggers such as Huffington, American Thinker, or Savage are entities that, if they are not primarily pushing God’s Kingdom instead of a particular worldview, are not our only source of truth. Politicians such as Obama, McCain, Pelosi, Palin, and Gingrich will never be the saviors, gatekeepers, or builders of God’s Kingdom regardless of their rhetoric. Most of them are running for re-election more than their beliefs, anyways.
The ethics of the Kingdom are often in direct opposition to what we initially want them to be. We are conditioned from birth to have a certain worldview about economics, war, and other areas by our environment. This conditioning makes it difficult to truly allow God’s ethics to penetrate what we believe to be truth. Issues like torture, privacy, pregancy, are all subject to the Kingdom of God (though with room for gray in a lot of situations).
America is not the Kingdom of God. In fact, 96% of God’s good Earth is comprised of non-Americans. God is building a global Kingdom of people whose allegiance is not to Britain, Israel, Palestine, Russia, Brazil or America. This nation, this Jesus nation, wants to restore God’s creation to its original goodness, from people to planet. And my first allegiance is to this Kingdom, now and forever.
The April 1966 edition of Time Magazine lives in infamy for its bold title: Is God Dead? The cover is on many lists of the best magazine covers of all-time, and for good reason. It pulls at the heartstrings of many and forces us to ask questions we’d rather not ask.
The truth is, at one point, He was. Dead.
It is hard to fathom just how twisted humanity must be to assassinate God, Himself. To think ourselves self-sufficient enough to eradicate the very God that gave breath to our lungs was the pinnacle of the pride of mankind being exposed in the most grotesque of displays.
Deity sprawled across a wooden beam as humanity challenges Him by mockingly saying God couldn’t even save Himself.
An ancient portion of the Jewish text called the Torah had a portion that read:
Ever so haunting are those letters. God’s own law used against Him by humanity, so that every person who is placed across a tree is cursed.
Make no mistake about it. Jesus was executed for political purposes. The idea that the Jews might have a new emperor was threatening to Romans. But the Jews were more haunted by the idea that a Messiah wouldn’t wipe out the Romans to set-up a political Kingdom so they could get revenge. They couldn’t wrap their mind around God not being their flavor of perfect. The Messiah they had spent years inventing wasn’t real.
God, Himself, had killed their idea of God, Himself.
It seemed an injustice and a fraud for this mere Nazarene born in rural Bethlehem to allow people to call Him King of the Jews. This wasn’t the king they’d craved. He had just let them beat Him with no measure of retaliation – what kind of a King does that?
God had a funeral. He was given burial spices even as a newborn. He was placed in a tomb with a boulder to seal to entryway. A soldier of the occupying political regime was placed before the tomb. They said it was to guard the tomb, but perhaps the imagery was the greater intention. The Romans had conquered another potential insurrection by slaughtering an innocent. Once again, the Pax Romana (Peace of Rome) remained. Peace through death. Yet another successful crucifixion.
In the late 1990s, several “Christian bands” began introducing projects with songs dubbed “worship songs.” Artists such as Sonicflood, Delirious, Matt Redman, and others ushered in a wave of chorus-driven songs that were easily transferred into church services, given a few instruments and the ability to axe the organ as the primary instrument. An entire genre of music was born, not surprisingly fueled by corporations who presented Christian labels that were owned by larger companies (which begs the question, “why was there ever a Christian vs secular music debate?”).
I was right in the middle of this movement in my late teens, which made me one of their favorite consumers. Disposable income is a potent tool, especially when a product like Christian music needs a buyer.
Church services employed this music, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But in some worship “experiences,” this music was injected into already hyper-spiritualized church cultures that hinged on taking attenders into what amounted to a spiritual frenzy. Don’t take my word for it: consider the imagery that pops into your head when you hear the word, “worship.” Let me guess…something like…
Or the proverbial…
So entire camps and conferences were orchestrated to have entire groups of people have an “experience with God.” I, for one, was totally on board. But then the unavoidable kicked in.
The Law of Diminishing Returns - a production system with fixed and variable inputs (say factory size and labor), beyond some point, each additional unit of variable input yields smaller and smaller increases in output. Conversely, producing one more unit of output costs more and more in variable inputs.
This law applies not just in economics, but in everyday life. For example: suppose a person became addicted to a small dose of drugs, such as cocaine or ecstasy. Eventually, the small dose won’t produce the desired feeling, so increasing doses or combinations must be used to get the same or a better feeling. We see this elsewhere in theme parks, foods, and more. Its a hallmark of consumerism and branding, which makes it a perfect fit for America.
Back to the church experiences, people were attending church services and conferences seeking another injection of a spiritual frenzy, needing the needle of “crying out to God” to be placed firmly into their veins to ensure their connection to God was continued. Whether or not these experiences were genuine doesn’t matter so much as their impact. When someone’s entire Christian life is lived from one “experience” to another, they are destined for failure when the that pursuit dries up.
Not surprisingly, many who thrived on these sort of experiences have either done their best to move from church-to-church seeking these experiences or have given up. For many who have thrown in the towel, since their entire Christian experience was based on this pursuit, they aren’t even Christians anymore (partying and drugs might satisfy that better, in their opinions).
“…Brother Lawrence worked in a kitchen and it was among the pots and pans that he would experience a sweet communion with God. He believed firmly that all of life was sacred, and those who believed times of corporate worship drew closer to God suffered from a ‘great delusion’.”
‘Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him’?”
Not that church services are the problem here, but the mental thought that we need a drug-like injection of worship at a service just to remain Christians is dangerous and will ultimately fail to satisfy. Jesus didn’t come to present a commodity, but a lifestyle. Genuine Christians should worship in groups, but also commune with God throughout their everyday experiences. Worship need not be a frenzy, but Christians simply joining the rest of Earth in thanking God for his grace. Whether that be in a posture of sitting, standing with eyes closed, musing while mowing the lawn, staring at an open starry sky, or joining others in a service, worship need not necessarily involve screaming and singing.
I recently started reading a great book called “Divine Commodity” by Skye Jethani. This work attempts to reveal the pitfalls of consumerism quenching our thirst for imagination and perspective, and thus far, does a fantastic job of it.
Jethani utilizes the perspective and works of nineteenth century Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh to illustrate many of his thoughts. Most of us have seen van Gogh’s most famous painting, an oil on canvas konwn as The Starry Night.
Now, I’d seen this several times, myself and thought it to be dreadfully uninspiring. I never much like impressionism, so I was already fighting an uphill battle. The winds and clouds seemed uninvolved in the rural countryside below, the sun was dreadful, and it just really didn’t evoke any emotions.
Jenthani pointed out something that has made me revisit this infamous painting with reverence and awe. Look at the buildings in this painting and look for something…missing.
Here is the church.
Here is the steeple.
Open the doors.
Lighting no people.
van Gogh
In the midst of a typical night, with God’s lights up above shining bright over a village, one building that should be reflecting the light like a bicycle reflector is more dark than the rest of the community.
One might immediately think, “Well, of course. The church is empty because everyone is at home.” But van Gogh seemed to have other ideas as he sought to “tell it slant.”
“When I have a terrible need of-shall I say the word-religion, then I go out and paint the stars.” -Vincent van Gogh
van Gogh made a habit of hanging out on a hillside, glaring at the open sky. Perhaps this perch was his source of imagination and creativity. But looking now at this painting, I have a new respect for it. When an artist exposes the truth of a culture, brings conviction, and makes those of his particular religion seek to fix their wrong, there’s a word for it. A word most contemporary Christians would much rather ascribe to a televangelist raising money for bigger sets, fancier limos, and a still darkened faith (despite its bordering fraud and manipulation).
Several months ago, I addressed the tenants of Gnosticism compared to Christianty. Since then, I have been teaching a class to Christian teenagers about the Apostles Creed, the ancient list of things people are required to believe to be Christians. I did a somewhat blind test comparing ancient Gnostics to ancient Christians. Upon comparing the two groups, I was less than surprised when many believed they belonged in the “Gnosis” column.
Gnostic Cross
The truth is, modern Christianity, as many have understood, it is in danger of crumbling under the force of the very heresies the Apostles aggressively attempted to prevent from distorting their faith. The Apostles Creed was framed to combat the beliefs that are now popular amongst adults and are being passed down to their children.
By teaching the Apostles Creed line by line to teenagers, I have discovered a few things:
Modern Christian youth crave theology teaching that is ancient, well-reasoned, and gives them room to make decisions.
In doing this teaching, assumptions must be thrown out the window. Most youth haven’t thought these sort of things through yet.
It goes without saying that this teaching must be creative, interactive, and utilize multiple teaching methods that adapt to various learning styles.
We must be firm that certain beliefs being thrown out are grounds for not being Christians.
Other observations I’ve made tend to be more general. Since most Christians are neo-Gnostics, we must approach education with these from a missional perspective. Todays individual is presented with a multitude of religious options, but Christianity in its intended format has distinct advantages over Gnosticism, Islam, Hinduism, Atheism, and other religious/non-religious movements.
It seems to me that Gnosticism has grown seeped into Christian thinking for a few reasons:
Dispensationalism, that is, the belief in the rapture as God’s boat of salvation Christians aim to attain
Christians believing the world is evil as morality declines, and thus, yearning to escape the world
Popular media, film (perhaps including such films as The Matrix), and Christian media fueling the prior two reasons
Dialog in funerals, such as, “Being in a better place” and “No longer suffering” (which aren’t entirely wrong, but leave out the rest of the story)
Christians have a hope that is even better than living in Heaven for eternity. We are stoked that one day, Christ will return to Earth to judge the living and the dead, and those who have been dead in Christ will rise first. Those who are living will join, and a reign of Christ will commence. Maranatha.
Among those who believe they are already Christians, the Creed, when restored, is a fantastic tool. It should be instituted as a measuring stick for genuine Christianity.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
Born of the virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
Was crucified, dead, and buried
On the third day he rose from the dead
He ascended into heaven
And is seated at the right hand of the Father
He will come again to judge the living and the dead
I believe in the Holy Spirit
The holy Christian Church
The communion of saints
The forgiveness of sins
The resurrection of the body
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
A simple Google search for the term “new dark age” yields several results from Bad Religion’s “New Dark Ages” to right wing politicos fearing Obama, to fears of Europe being engulfed by Islam. But another less popular (and noisy) group emerges with news that (in my opinion) is more alarming than the others. Here’s a sample text from one source:
Some leading thinkers and scholars have postulated that for all the convenience and expediency that society gets from the Internet, we may actually be surfing ourselves into a new Dark Age.
The arrival of Gutenberg’s printing press, in the 15th century, set off another round of teeth gnashing. The Italian humanist Hieronimo Squarciafico worried that the easy availability of books would lead to intellectual laziness, making men “less studious” and weakening their minds. Others argued that cheaply printed books and broadsheets would undermine religious authority, demean the work of scholars and scribes, and spread sedition and debauchery. As New York University professor Clay Shirky notes, “Most of the arguments made against the printing press were correct, even prescient.” But, again, the doomsayers were unable to imagine the myriad blessings that the printed word would deliver.
Hopefully, you’re still with me. What does all this have to do with anything? I’ve addressed illiteracy in previous posts like this one, but I’m convinced that it goes deeper than I first imagined. The Dark Ages, a historical period between the collapse of Rome and the Enlightenment, came to a close as at least partially as a result of Gutengerg’s printing press becoming mainstream. Until that point, only the upper echelon of society and religion were able to read, making the haves and have nots of society separated largely by this divide. Gutenberg made written text more accessible, and thus, led to people having the ability to greater process new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives.
So now, in 2009, the trend myself and others are observing is that postmodernism is leading to a new way in which youth are viewing information. Knowledge is no longer a journey of exploration, but a commodity that is so easily accessible, it is passe. Perhaps the thought could be bullhorned:
Everything is already known, and I can find it in a matter of minutes.
This makes knowledge no longer power, but robotic. Reading in high school is no longer a journey, but a chore. Huck Finn has no pictures. Rather than reading (even blogs, commentaries, and newspapers), students today consume media only that involves imagery and sound. The parallels to the hundreds of years in the Dark Ages are enormous. In those days, the real way education took place was spoken word and paintings or other artwork.
Some will call Harry Potter, Twilight, and other novels encouraging. But these pail in comparison to the number of youth who have consumed High School Musical. I’m not in favor or against any of these, but seek to make a point that the best selling novels influence minds very little compared to other media. Film, YouTube, television, video games, text messaging, and other media are the books of today. Imagination long ago left the cutting room floor, as lights and sounds have replaced it. Only the great thinkers of today have creativity and imagination (and some of them are still just following the media others are giving them). High School Musical is a standard example of the power of media: 37 million views as of today for this music video alone on YouTube doesn’t lie.
IMPACT The impact of this movement on Christianity is massive. Gone are the days of assuming Christians have/are reading the Bible. Instead, we must assume that upcoming (and perhaps current) Christians know very little of Scripture, the Creeds, the Parables, and more. This presents opportunities to shape Christianity in new ways, but also makes the work of those who are sharing the faith much more burdensome.
Most Christians over the centuries have been aware that the Apostles’ Creed is the benchmark for someone being a Christian or not. But in this new, illiterate generation, this concept is foreign. When teaching students about it this week, one who has undoubtedly been in church her whole life, asked, “I don’t even know what it is? What if I don’t agree with something in it?”
We must not approach these Americans as if they are lazy. We must approach them as an opportunity. The New Dark Age has arrived.
Several unfiltered, un-thought-out thoughts I’ve had today.
Listening to “The Benjamin Gate,” I realize I really miss this band. My favorite South African band rawked.
The American Church is headed for an identity crisis, the likes of which we may have never experienced before. I am confident that we will survive, but fear there will be a lot of pain.
Even in a five year span, the issues we face in MYC Remnant (then “MYC Internship”) have accelerated. We’ve gone from talking in classes and needing to go outside to sexual abuse/confusion, fighting, needing to define “Christian” and more. Unbelievable.
The Oscars aren’t cool anymore. At all.
If 12 year old girls with cell phones got a hold of Twitter, the fail whale would reign 24/7.
Giving up something that shakes up your routine & mental clarity for lent really makes you re-examine life. I highly recommend it.
Humans aren’t made to live a college lifestyle. The more I look at it in hindsight, the more I am baffled that society expects this.
I’ve said for a long time that LOST island isn’t in a place so much as a time. I predict the re-institution of Dharma before the show ends next year.
I’m more and more turned off when Christians are overly into politics. Let’s be honest: conservatives have as many answers to the worlds problems as liberals. And none of them will work.
Having a puppy is awesome.
I am impressed more and more by the Apostles Creed. That document was unbelivable.
Sky Angel feux-satellite network, which features a bazillion Christian networks and is sponsored by TBN, is unbelievably odd. I find it comical that they have FOX NEWS, but no CNN. Talk about targeting your market.
I haven’t had Buffalo Wild Wings in a week and a half. I might be getting restless…and its Boneless Thursday.
@HollyLGrier The amazing thing is that after 45 minutes of 15 Remnant students working on bulletin boards Wednesday, 2 were left standing. 10 hours ago
The Durant interns. Yesterday was around 3 hours of pulling weeds. I taught them a class for an hour and they begged for more. So I did. 10 hours ago
@Joshmyersband The group also cleaned up/weeded our community garden & pumpkin patch yesterday with the best of attitudes. 10 hours ago
Perusing some friends Facebook profiles, I am happy to say that I have friends on both extremes of the political spectrum. The truth is, there is room for gray areas more than the most outspoken critics liberals and conservatives are willing to declare. Disregardless of one’s political opinions, there are significant problems with the viewpoint most Christians employ when describing their allegiances. Derek Webb’s “King and a Kingdom” assists with this issue:
