from the Calvin Institute Conference

I just finished the poster session at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Grant Colloquium. This was a time for recipients of grants from last year and this to talk about their projects.

Our project attracted a lot of interest; I had dozens of great conversations with people curious and excited about Convergence. Several people are trying to do similar things with artists, and with collaborative worship planning, and are eager to learn from us.

I made several connections that I'm sure will continue into the future.

This morning we talked about expressive worship v. formative worship--expressive worship being when we express thoughts, feelings, ideas, beliefs in our worship. Formative worship being when we are spiritually formed as we worship--learning about God, our relationship with him.

Expressive worship reflects, but formative worship also shapes our thoughts and emotions.

From a Barna study: 47% of worshipers understand worship as activity undertaken for their personal benefit...Only 29% indicated that they view worship as something that is focused primarily on God.

I think we've done a good job of experiencing formative worship at Convergence. I know the language I use to express my faith and my understanding of worshiping God has grown in these three years.

transition

Below is the announcement I made at Convergence last night:

The past three years have been a wonderful journey--I am honored and grateful to be a part of such an amazing community. My family and I are at a time of transition, and believe this is the time to step out of my role here at Convergence.

I am resigning as co-pastor effective June 30. There are several factors that have influenced my decision--please know that none of them have anything to do with the people of the Convergence community. I love each of you and hope our friendships will continue.

Living an hour from Convergence is a huge challenge. We had hoped to move closer, but the economy has made that impossible. Because we're so far away, it is difficult for my family to be as involved as we would like to be. We hope to find a faith community closer to home where we can all be involved.

My primary ministry gifts are teaching and pastoral care. While those gifts have helped us build a healthy sense of community, they don't match as well with what Convergence needs to grow and increase its influence, and we all want what is best for Convergence.

From the beginning, we knew Convergence would be a community marked by innovation, change, and experimentation. I am confident that the staff, the advisory team and the trustees will work together to create an effective plan to move forward and achieve even greater success through this transition.

As hard as it is, this is what is best for my family, and I think this will be a positive for Convergence as we strive to involve more people in leadership, and continue to multiply people and ministries.

My focus will shift to completing my Master of Divinity degree at the Leland Center for Theological Studies next year. At the same time, my family and I will be praying and looking for the next steps in our journey.

I will miss being at Convergence, and will miss the people here tremendously. I am grateful for the ways you have supported and encouraged me over the past three years. I want to thank Lisa, the advisory team and everyone in the Convergence community for their support and encouragement.

I'll be in the office most of this week if you would like to stop by. Next week I will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, representing Convergence at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Symposium.

June 28 will be my last Sunday; I hope it will be a time of celebration of what God has done and what God will do in our lives and the life of Convergence.

Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful endeavor. I will always cherish the relationships and accomplishments of the past three years, and will pray that Convergence continues to break new ground and make a positive impact in our community.

Sincerely,

Todd Cullop
tcullop@gmail.com
703-599-0532

P.S. After June 19, please send all Convergence communication to office@convergenceccf.net. You can reach me at tcullop@gmail.com.

article about church and culture mentioning Convergence

Some Churches help Christians view culture through spiritual lenses
by Jennifer Harris, Word & Way

What does it mean to participate with God in “making all things new”?

Many feel the answer to that question is key to the life and liturgy of the church. “We think of ‘creating culture,’” said Winn Collier, one of the pastors at All Souls in Charlottesville, Va. “We are part of—and contributing to—our culture. The question is whether we are doing it faithfully, purposefully and well.”

Brad Andrews, worship arts coordinator for Missouri Baptist University, agrees. People live in culture, he said. “We’re doing a disservice if we don’t help our people connect the dots and see culture through spiritual lenses.”

He cautions against churches using popular culture to seem culturally relevant, however. He feels many churches have gone too far, forcing contextualization in ways that are both inauthentic and unwise.

Andrews visited one church that used a Saturday Night Live skit in worship. Not only did the skit not connect to the rest of the service, it also was poorly executed.

“You have to be honest with yourself in your ability to pull something off,” he said. Churches must use discernment and follow their giftedness.

George Mason emphasizes the need to interact with pop culture, but not allow it to take the lead. Mason, pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, points out that the gospel has a culture of its own. Pop culture is sometimes in conflict with gospel culture but often depicts some of the basic longings of creation.

“I love books, movies and music,” he said. “I think it is valuable to watch and read and listen for those places culture is getting it right and doesn’t know it.”

Biblical literacy is key, he feels. People must first know their own story—the gospel—otherwise they are likely to be drawn into another story.

“If our people don’t know their story, anything that sounds spiritual or religious, they’ll think is the same,” he said.

Convergence in Alexandria, Va., tries to influence, rather than mimic, culture.

“One thing that we have seen is that churches that strive to be relevant to culture tend to be behind,” pastor Todd Cullop said. “By the time they examine and evaluate culture, find ways to emulate it in their programs and style, and implement something, the culture has continued to change and the church is already behind.”

Convergence provides space for studios, concerts, rehearsals, performances, workshops, meetings, classes, artist salons and exhibits.

“We try to connect with emerging artists, those who will create and influence culture in the future, not necessarily in the present,” Cullop added. It is so much a part of community that transforming culture’s values through the work of emerging artists is in Convergence’s vision statement.

The Luminary, an art gallery at The Journey Church’s Tower Grove location in St. Louis, Mo., has a similar approach. Director James McAnally said the church views the Luminary’s role as service.

“It’s a way to serve the people around us,” he said. Some churches serve by starting soup kitchens. “We felt strongly the need to serve artists by finding out what they need and try to provide in meaningful ways.”

The Luminary provides space for artists to work and helps provide resources for aspiring artists to network and become professionals.

An artist’s work is incredibly personal, he said. “By showing them we care about them and what they do, we are serving where it is most personal; it’s a tangible way to speak of the gospel.”

All echo that engaging culture is an essential part of faith. Collier believes influencing culture is theological in nature.

“Creating a culture that lives in line with kingdom reality is an act of Christian obedience,” he said. “God meant what he said—he intends to ‘make all things new.’ He is in the work of creation and recreation. Do we believe that and join him, or do we stay about our own narrow agenda?”

All Souls is planning film nights and book events to help identify the art forms’ inherent value.

“Our conviction is that God speaks in all sorts of ways—and we actually short-circuit the subversive and wildly true nature of the gospel when we try to manipulate everything,” Collier said. “And in truth, with that kind of shortsighted mentality, we often miss the truth that form is offering us.”