This is Church

It’s three years and one day since I decided to become a Christian. I find it hard to comprehend that so much could have happened in such a short space of time, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Over the last few years, I have often talked to friends and family that don’t share my beliefs. They rarely understand why I’m so passionate about the church and what it stands for...or simply don’t understand the relevance of the church in today’s society. What frustrates me actually isn’t that a number of the people I talk to don’t believe what I believe - I know that God already has a plan for them that really doesn’t depend on my involvement. Rather, what frustrates me is the antiquated view of the church that is so prevalent in society today.

The general perception of church

If I was to conduct a survey amongst non-church goers examining their view of church as a whole, what would they say? Based on my previously atheist views from a little under four years ago before this whole journey began, I would have said the following:

Old fashioned building; steeple, pews and bell a must. Collar essential. Stained glass windows, candles, and organ. Hymns that musically are a million miles from anything I, or the majority of the secular world would generally listen to today. Nothing that is relevant to me.

I could go on a lot longer. To be perfectly honest, these views aren’t unjustified. Many churches today are like this. But this isn’t the church as I have personally experienced it. This isn’t the church as many millions of people know it throughout the world. The rising church today is an entirely different place.

This is church

A place where the word ‘religion’ is redundant; the word ‘relationship’ is far more apt. A place where people don’t talk at God; they meet with God. Where God speaks to us, through us and into the darkest facets of our lives. This is church.

A place where community isn’t something that only existed in the 1950s and hasn’t evaporated with the ASBO culture. A place where people care about you above what you can offer them. A place where your development and personal growth are valued far above your social status and financial situation. A place where people from all around the area meet through a common love; Jesus. A place where people do things out of the goodness of their heart...nothing more, nothing less. This is church.

A place where the songs that are sung are more similar in style to what you would hear in the charts today than the hymns of yester-year, but with complete focus on Biblical content. A place where electric guitars and drums are common-place...the kind of songs that you can comfortably listen to on your iPod. A place where people sing with passion about a living Saviour - not (if you were anything like me as a child) a place where you sheepishly mime the words and hope no one notices that you aren’t really singing. This is church.

Bubbling beneath the concrete of the media stereotypes surrounding our faith is a different kind of church. A dynamic place that along with the word ‘religion’ disregards the word ‘tradition’ and instead focuses on building a church centred purely on solid Biblical teaching. The church wasn’t designed to be known for its graveyards and steeples; it was designed to be about a loving God and His people. It was intended to be God’s hands and feet on the earth...a beautiful exchange between the Creator and the created.

At this point, I do need to stress a few things. Steeples, bells, pews, stained glass windows and organs are not bad things themselves. There are plenty of churches in the world filled with these things and steeped in tradition where God is doing incredible things. What I am saying, however, is that I do have a concerns for the many people that wouldn’t call themselves Christians who see the emphasis of our faith more about the traditions we have instituted than the God that created us, sacrificed himself for us and laid a path to eternity for us. I also need to stress that if you aren’t a Christian and are reading this, I’m not for a moment suggesting that you aren’t capable of being a good person - there are many, many millions of fantastic atheists in the world. With that said, I do feel that the world in general is becoming more and more interested in financial wealth than good morals. Finally, I need to highlight that the church I described isn’t perfect. I heard a great quote once that Christianity would be perfect if it wasn’t for the people. We are all deeply flawed human beings and are extremely prone to making mistakes - either in our treatment of others, in the example we set or in the temptations we give in to. I’d like to highlight that although there are many huge positives to the church I know, I am not for a second saying that we have it all together. We don’t. I am a perfect example of someone who is nothing like the person I would like to be! All we can do is try to get to that point as quickly as possible!

I’ve been pondering this all day at church and it highlighted some things for me. It’s not the message of Jesus Christ that is changing. Instead, it’s the communication of the message that is changing. It reminded me of telegrams and iPads. There was a time where telegrams were the new and exciting way to communicate a message; much like the traditional church that I mentioned earlier, there was a time where it communicated God’s message in such a way that people could do nothing else but pay attention to its presentation. It was both culturally relevant and significant. However, in a modern world of iPads and smart phones, a telegram wouldn’t have quite the same communicational impact on a younger generation. Take the exact same message and present it to a child on an iPad with some shiny animation and the impact would be entirely different. The challenge isn’t in the content of the message, but in helping people to engage with it. The message itself is timeless:

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (John 3:16)

Let me emphasise that the message needs to be timeless. After all, that is the ultimate focus of our faith. The minute we falter on the teachings of the Bible is the minute we begin to trust in ourselves over God, which can only end badly. Let me also emphasise that if the God chooses to move powerfully amongst His people the style, delivery and presentation of the Word of God is entirely irrelevant!

In the three years since I became a Christian, I have had the immense privilege of experiencing church all over the UK as well as Albania, Lithuania, Poland, France and America. I have seen the vibrancy of the emerging church; from congregations of 10 people to 20,000 people, God is at work in His kingdom. In our church, we have seen God do incredible things amongst us. Lives transformed, the broken put back together, the hungry fed, hope restored to the hopeless, peace embracing the restless. And that is just the beginning. I believe that cracks in the media concrete are starting to form. In time, I believe that the stereotypes will be entirely dissolved and the world will see the church for what I absolutely believe it is: The hope of the world.

Jezus, Zot Perjete

I haven't blogged for a while - to put it bluntly, I haven't made time for it. However, I felt that the last week warranted a bit more of an effort.

Yesterday, I returned from an 8 day tour in Albania with the Kerith team which was utterly incredible. But the point of this blog isn't really to talk about what we did. If you are looking for that sort of information, Stuart explains it brilliantly in his own blog - click here to read that.

Instead, I wanted to keep things short and talk about a song that we sung at church, entitled "Came to the Rescue" by Hillsong United. In the refrain, the lyrics proclaim the following:

In my life, be lifted high

In our world, be lifted high

In our love, be lifted high

The highlighted line is what particularly spoke to me today. We had the immeasurable privilege of singing four of our own Kerith Worship songs entirely in Albanian. As one of the songwriters at Kerith Community Church, words can't really explain what an honour that is. We got to live out that highlighted lyric in an entirely new way. A short distance from the enormous lake, and with the breathtaking mountains that surround Pogradec as our backdrop, we worshipped Jesus with brothers and sisters from an entirely different culture. I loved that, whilst we spoke two very different languages, we shared the incredible understanding of the joy of salvation.

Stuart mentioned some of the statistics - I pray that we see lasting fruit in Albania; that hundreds, thousands, millions of lives are transformed in the country and throughout the world. I pray that I can continue to play the part that God has given me in this world, fulfilling some minuscule contribution to the Great Commission and becoming more like Jesus in my journey to achieve it.

Please pray for Albania too - I truly believe that God has big plans for the country.

Drink for Thought

I just read an article that estimates alcohol abuse (NHS costs, crime costs and lost of productivity) alone costs the country £25 billion a year. (Read it here)

£25 billion is an awful lot of money. That works out around £415 for every man woman and child in Britain (according to the article).

For those of you that are interested, take at look at some of the life changing things that you can spend considerably smaller amounts of money on (for those that aren't, skip to the point):

http://www.watoto.com/get-involved/needs-list

https://www.tearfund.org/get_involved/give/give_main/one-off_donations/general_fund/

http://www.watoto.com/sponsorship

I'm going to get straight to the point:

Imagine if the finances wasted every year on both alcohol and the abuse it causes was spent instead on eliminating issues of poverty and injustice in the world. We'd see the change we often hear people talk about become a reality. Or at least, go a good way to getting there.

Let me highlight that I'm not saying that people shouldn't drink at all - although that would be my personal preference. Rather, I'm talking about a dream of eradicating the excessive drinking that is so normal in today's society.

Surely, saving the lives of millions of people trumps a night in a drunken stupor? Perhaps we need to find a way of connecting with poverty and injustice that we find it so easy to ignore.

This is all a projection of my frustration at helplessly watching people suffer. I wish I could do more. I will find a way. Bear with me.

Kerith Worship Academy

I'm still planning on writing a blog about encouragement at some point, but I'm struggling to find the time! Instead, I wanted to talk a little bit about Kerith Worship Academy.

I really want to encourage anyone reading this to consider taking part in one of the six Kerith Worship Academy courses that start in September 2011:

Level 1 (Beginner - years 5 to 8)

Keyboards in Worship

Drums in Worship

Electric Guitar in Worship

Level 2 (Intermediate/Advanced - years 7 to 11)

Vocals in Worship

Drums in Worship

Electric Worship

So what's the difference between Level 1 and Level 2?

Level 1 takes beginners and puts them into a position where they have all the skills to get through a basic worship set, as well as looking at the theology behind the songs that they are singing and provoking questions about their faith.

Level 2 is aimed at people who would already be at our youth band (Revolution) standard. This course teaches advanced skills and techniques that not only seeks to get them through a worship set comfortably, but also looks to give them the skills to improvise, write and arrange their own parts to any songs. There is also a much greater emphasis on theology - students from all disciplines come together for the final half hour, looking at what it means to be a Christian in the 21st century. In term 1, this is in the form of the Youth Alpha Course, which we will use as a foundation for development in terms 2 and 3.

We have already seen fantastic technical and spiritual growth in our youth band due in no small part to participants of the Kerith Worship Academy courses - my prayer is that within a few years, Kerith Worship Academy will have had a noticeable impact on our worship teams, not just at Kerith Community Church, but also in other churches around the area. For more information, why not have a look at the following links:

Kerith Worship Academy Website

Kerith Worship Academy on Facebook

Kerith Worship Academy on Twitter

Don't forget to also watch our promotional video too:

I'm really looking forward to seeing what God does in the next few years!

Mum/Mother/Mummy/Mom

Anna Louise Butler

Born 19th September 19(Censored)

Wife of Paul Butler

Mother of David Betts, Daniel Betts and Isabel Butler

Twenty two years (two months and two days ago to be exact), Anna Butler gave birth to twins; and in so doing earned herself the title of ‘mother’. As one of those twins, I’ve had the privilege of spending pretty near every day of my life with her and, despite (somewhat reluctantly at times) having to share her attention with my brother, been the recipient of an overwhelming amount of her time and energy. She’s phenomenal.

I find it a little daunting to think that at every single moment in my life...EVERY moment in my life...my mother has loved me unconditionally, worried about me (unconditionally!), thought about me, loved me and missed me unconditionally. My earliest memory involves me balancing precariously along a wooden beam at nursery - I love that my mother was there and can remember me at that age far more vividly than I can. Even at twenty two as I arrive home from work, my mother is there. How much more incredible is it that my mother is not just my mother; but that she managed to start at the deep end with two children at once, before adding a third later on?!

My mother lost her own mother at eighteen. I can’t imagine that. I’d be lost without mine. For me, that’s an even greater testament to the amazing woman that she is. For a while she was a single mother with twins. I can’t imagine that. I can barely look after myself, let alone myself and two small children as well. I have never gone without, never suffered, never felt any burden or strain. Yet, I am not spoilt. Thank you mum, I don’t know how you managed that!

I don’t want to ramble much more, as there is actually another point to this. I am very fortunate in that I able to work with, spend time with or lead a number of people at my church. I spend countless hours with the church community; something that couldn’t make me happier. I also have the privilege of being able to try and make some small impact on the people around me. The reality is that the majority of people that read this blog will be people that will know me rather than my mother, but don’t see or hear about the amazing woman that she is. However, if you have been impacted by me in any way, I want you to know that you have automatically been impacted by her. For example:

If I have taught you guitar: my mother (and fantastic step father) paid for my guitar lessons and encouraged me to practice.

If I have helped you revise: my mother was the person that helped me to learn to read and write - I wouldn’t have had the ability to help you with anything if it wasn’t for her.

If you have been impacted by a song I’ve written, or something I’ve said: my mother is responsible for the guitar lessons, the piano lessons, the singing lessons, the violin lessons, the music composition lessons and the freedom to read, write and learn about anything I want.

If I have given you a lift anywhere: my mother (and fantastic step father) paid for my driving lessons, and sat with me as I endangered their lives in the name of L plates!

If I have led you in any capacity: my mother (and fantastic step father again) ALWAYS provided (and still helps to provide) me with everything I needed to learn and grow; whether books, tuition or otherwise, my mum would provide it.

If you enjoy my company, if you are influenced by me in any way or if you have benefitted from something I have done in any way whatsoever: my mother is responsible for it. She is my biggest influence and my best mentor.

This is a bit of a long shot, but if I’ve made any difference to you, I’d really love you to thank Anna, my mum. Whether a comment on the inevitable Facebook link, or an email to davidcbetts@googlemail.com (I’ll forward them to her so I don’t

give away her email address...she'd kill me!), it would really mean a lot to me, because I know it will mean a lot to her. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Whether you’re twelve or sixty, I would be extremely grateful for your input as with your help I can truly convey how thankful I am for my mother and all she’s done for me.

I appreciate that this whole thing might not be to your taste, but I really couldn’t care less. I think my next blog entry will be all about encouragement anyway - let’s not cheapen heartfelt encouragement just because it isn’t the norm!

(Definitely going to kill me for this pic!)

Boxes of Song Boxes

On another late night drive home, I put my music collection on shuffle. This is rare for me - I’m much more of a ‘one album at a time’ kind of person. However, one of the songs that played had quite a profound impact on me, but not for the reasons you might think. The song is called ‘Try’ by Nelly Furtado:

This happens to be one of my favourite songs ever, although not necessarily for the words or melody - though both are pretty good. Rather, what I realised was the amount of extra information connected to me that was stored deep in the recesses of that song. When that song plays, I find myself traveling back in time to a past reality. It’s almost like the song itself is simply an elaborate packaging for more information. For instance:

‘Try’ takes me back to 2004. Initially April 2004, to be exact. I remember the girl I was in a relationship with at the time sending it to me on the eve of a ski trip to Sunday River in the United States. I remember missing her way more than was appropriate at that age to - but I didn’t know any better at the time. I remember listening to the song on the American-styled school bus in Boston, on a Nokia N-Gage mobile phone with headphones that weren’t really worthy of their purpose. I can still picture the retail park we visited, as well as the cafe we mobbed as I watched my credit deplete faster than I could stand; delighted with the realisation that I actually had signal, and with it a means to communicate with life at home. I remember the mistakes I made that week, the lessons I learnt (briefly) following that week and the summer that soon proceeded it. It was during that year, and that song, that my obsession with tuna and sweetcorn became apparent. It was also the year and song that defined the trajectory that I’m currently on. The latter stages of that year were home to some of the largest struggles I’ve faced in my lifetime...and ‘Try’ by Nelly Furtado played repeatedly throughout. I would have been in an altogether different place without them. Lastly, it reminds me of friendships that were broken and never restored. Listening to this song reminds me of how such immense closeness can turn immensely sour. I remember how much I wish certain friendships had turned out differently.

Now, I would be shocked if you felt the same about this song when you heard it. But I wouldn’t be so shocked if you had similar memories attached to different songs. Today I’d like to put it to you that the power of music is not in its technicality or how beautiful a song sounds. That’s just music. Instead, I’d like to suggest that the power of music is in its storage capacity. We each carry 'song boxes', filled in varying amounts with memories, pictures, locations and people. In fact, our iPods and MP3 players are simply boxes of song boxes. Perhaps this is just me...and I’m really very happy for it to be just me...but I honestly do believe that the power of a song lies in its storage rather than its sound.

For example, some of my favourite songs are directly linked to some of my strongest memories:

“Say” - John Mayer

“Solution” - Hillsong United

“So Much Love” - The Rocket Summer

“The Little Things” - Colbie Caillat

“Zebra” - John Butler Trio

“Mighty To Save” - Hillsong

You may have heard of some of those songs. They may mean nothing to you. Maybe they do mean something to you. Either way, they aren’t just song titles to me; they are song boxes with a whole host of memories locked inside.

This is why I love music. This is why I couldn't imagine spending my life doing anything else. I'd rather dedicate it to reorganising, repacking and writing my own song boxes, because let's face it - I've got a while before I run out of memories to store!

Like Glass Buckets - Part 2

I am a glass bucket filled with sand.

Perhaps you haven’t read my previous blog entry. If not, I am fully aware that the above statement is a little out of the ordinary. Feel free to scroll down to the previous post first in order to shed some light on where we’re at.

So often we can hide who we really are, where we’re really at, or what’s really going through our head. What’s on the inside (our ‘sand’ in this analogy) becomes hidden beneath an artificial shell that portrays something that we determine more acceptable for others to see.

When we are our most real, our external selves are like glass buckets that reveal to others exactly who we are on the inside. These glass buckets display the sand and in turn, the sand reflects our true selves. However, there is a problem with glass.

It is not very strong.

When we present our real selves to the world around us, it is easy to become more fragile. Our harder shells could deflect and absorb personal attacks because, after all, it was only a representation of what we wanted to be rather than a direct reflection of who we were. However, when we become like glass buckets, criticisms can smash, crack and break us. We have to lower our defenses and hope for the best. When it’s put like that, it’s pretty hard to be real isn’t it? In Jesus’ day, a law-obsessed group of people called the Pharisees were so intent in looking like they had it together that they created shells that didn’t really reflect who they were on the inside. In Matthew 23:25-28, we read Jesus’ opinions on this:

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

I am certainly guilty of being like a 'whitewashed tomb' sometimes. There are times where I'm so embarrassed of who I am and so petrified of the impact a few harsh words could have on me that I end up trying to be something I'm not. I'm realising more and more that the challenge of following Jesus isn't appearing to be doing the right things at the right times. That's easy. The challenge is doing the right things for the right reasons at ALL times and reflecting an authentic character from the inside out. God's sanctifying work in us is life-long, and He loves us regardless of our weaknesses. There is no need to find artificial strength in catering for the opinions of others. Similarly, there is no need to find strength in being artificial to find acceptance in the opinions of others. Our strength comes from God, and God alone, as the psalmists highlight quite nicely:

Psalm 28:6-8 (New International Version, ©2011)

6 Praise be to the LORD,

for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

and with my song I praise him.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people,

a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Psalm 118:13-15 (New International Version, ©2011)

13 I was pushed back and about to fall,

but the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and my defense^[a^];

he has become my salvation.

Becoming like glass buckets filled with sand is dangerous. Presenting ourselves as we truly are will not always be pretty, and we will almost certainly get hurt when we rely on ourselves. With our own strength, we are fragile and weak, and can barely carry our own load. But God is our strength. He will carry us through the hard times, and the rewards for working on our character will be phenomenal!