Looking back on this past year, I’ve realize that it’s not very often that I write on a subject that many people associate with “what I do.” Not that I embody worship, but that I’ve been a leader of public worship gatherings for over ten years and have invested many hours into study and practice of such. I thought I’d share some of my recent journey with worship, the church, and my role in it.

A good friend recently told me the story of a women he met in Africa. What made this introduction interesting was that she referred to herself as “Sarah of 2008.” My friend asked “why do you include the year with your name?” I love her response:

“I’ve come to embrace the fact that both my life and the world around me are in constant motion. I’m not the same person I was when I was five. In fact, I’m not the same person I was last year. Jesus is my life- and because of this I’m changing all the time.”

Hello. I’m Ryan Walton of 2008. Much has happened in recent years and “constant motion” is a good way of putting it. I’ve learned a lot about myself and the idea and practice of worship. I’m neither the same worshipper or leader that I once was. Some time ago, I began running into a few walls as a worship leader. Some of these walls were spiritual, while others were relational and/or physical.

Part of the reason I’ve changed is because the world around me has changed. I live in a different culture and time than I ever have before. The landscape has changed and I’ve needed new maps to navigate that landscape. Unfortunately I think I used permanent ink to draw my old maps and they are a bit difficult to undo. Music and the ways people engage it are changing. People long to connect to it in more intimate and peculiar settings. At the same time I think people are longing for a spirituality that is more holistic, communal, and honest. This has really made me ask new questions about how the church inspires communal praise. Where the rockin’ worship team might have been “the thing” for while, I don’t feel like it is anymore. Perhaps that was a good thing while it lasted- and perhaps not, but the point is that people (at least in my neck of the woods) are looking to carve new paths that begin to make sense of the world we are in. Corporate worship as I’ve known it is radically changing.

I’ve been compiling and documenting a lot of my thoughts on this lately and would love to share them with you on this blog. Having been involved with public worship for some time now, I consider myself knowledgeable…but far from expert. As our community continues it’s experimentation and strange practices, I’d love to share them here. Unless something incredibly important happens- I’m going to devote the next few weeks to discussing this topic. Perhaps I’ll say something deep. But then again, maybe not.

I guess Bono was blasting some tunes off the new album (due in November) a bit too loudly and some fans recorded what they heard. What a bust. I guess that’s part living in this stage of the tech revolution. Check out the full story here.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Rick- but seriously? This “Who Loves Jesus More And Is More Christian” gift to media can’t bode well for anyone.

Here is Part 2 of Mark’s post about subversive culture. I recommend checking it out.

Mark Van Steenwyk over at Jesus Manifesto wrote a great piece on the article I posted a few days ago by Adbusters magazine. I would encourage you to read both articles as they are important.

The money part…

Members of a majority or dominant group may (perhaps) achieve alterity by being ostracized as a subversive or deviant. However, we live in a culture where it is easy for mainstream twenty-somethings (and younger) to embrace the style of subversion. And because they speak a certain lingo, wear certain clothes, and use certain products, it is socially understood that these stylish subversives care about social outcasts, the poor, and the downtrodden, even if no tangible evidence exists of that care. In other words: it is great when people begin to challenge the status quo as they pursue justice and mercy, but how excited should we be when it is very easy in our society to look, sound, and act radical without it costing anything?

Even more, what happens when hipsterism gets so tied into consumer capitalism (you know: Messenger Bags, Hot Topic, ipod, Apple, Moleskine, American Apparel…) that you become a radical in appearance, but a profound reinforcer of the status quo in your way of life?

Wow. I sense so much of this in myself.

I love starting out the morning with an early morning walk through the park and to Temple Coffee, Co. Capitol Park hosts many great memories for me personally- and is a breath of serenity in the midst of urban jungle. It also reminds of the times that I live in with the Capitol building casting it’s shadow over everything. The heavy concrete rotunda is visible from both my home and the coffee shop. Perhaps it’s a reminder to pray. Perhaps it’s a reminder that there is still work to be done. Whatever the case, as I wait for Sean this morning an listen to Sufjan Stevens, I’m feeling a sense of peace that I thought I’d lost for a while.

Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization.

This is an interesting article and as people trying to live “off the grid” ourselves, it’s interesting to see other groups of people trying to form identities both individually and collectively- especially in urban areas like ours. Thoughts?

Confession. I am one.