Chris Schoon lives in Hamilton, Ontario, where he serves as lead pastor of First Hamilton CRC, an urban church rooted in the Durand and Kirkendall neighborhoods. He has a ThD in missional theology (Wycliffe College/University of Toronto) and has taught courses at Redeemer University College and Calvin Theological Seminary. His worship-related interests explore how worship as a gathered people intertwines with the life of God's people outside of worship. Chris is the author of Cultivating an Evangelistic Character: Integrating Worship and Discipleship in the Missional Church Movement (Wipf & Stock). He occasionally blogs at www.christopherjschoon.com and can be found on Twitter and Instagram @chrisjschoon.
The Importance of Preparation
We would see Mr. Tony out on his front porch early on those summer holiday mornings scraping the grates on his large grill, pouring in the fresh charcoal, and starting up the fire that would run throughout the day. He would tend the coals all morning, making sure the flames were just right and that all the coals would get a turn in the middle. He would turn them over, scoot them around, and occasionally pick up a couple that had fallen to the side.
Last August, Zac Hicks posted on the Reformed Worship blog about a few metaphors related to mission and worship that have been meaningful to him. He referenced a couple metaphors from Ruth Meyers’ book Missional Worship, Worshipful Mission and then offered a metaphor of his own.
Throughout church history and across denominations, God’s people have given a privileged place within worship to the reading of the Ten Commandments. In my experience, the Ten Commandments have usually been included as a Call to Confession or as a Call to Holy Living. In the first instance, our attention is drawn toward how we have fallen short of God’s expectations. Our sin is exposed. In the second, we are called to live more faithfully in response to God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
I knew it would be an emotionally heavy week. Recently, I participated in a Mental Health First Aid training offered by Mental Health Canada. In a similar way to a Red Cross first aid course, this course is designed to equip first responders with information, skills, and resources needed to identify and provide care to someone experiencing a mental health crisis. I highly recommend this course for those who are in the Canadian context and can access it.
