Having a hearing impairment can be fun at times. I have what my wife calls “creative hearing,” that is, the words I think I heard may not be anything remotely similar to what was said. Occasionally it can be pretty funny. The same is true for children as they learn their native language. One time at our church in California, the processional was Lead on, O King Eternal, the same as we sang today. As I passed a pew, I could distinctly hear a child singing enthusiastically at the top of his young voice, “Lead on O Kinky Turtle.” It made me smile and pause for a second as I wondered what a Kinky Turtle might look like.

But isn’t that the way we all want to sing in church? We want to sing enthusiastically. We want to sing with everyone else. We want to sing stuff that makes us happy, regardless of whether it is about divine kings or bent turtles.

In a small town trying to do traditional high church Episcopal music, we are challenged on so many sides you can get dizzy thinking about it. Like many of you, I was raised with high church Anglican music. It is what I know and love. It is for me the norm for good music in church. I married a Roman Catholic, and thought I was doomed to guitars and bad music for the rest of my life.

When he was in Athens, the high point of Greek culture and learning, the apostle Paul said, “I must be all things to all people.” By that he meant that he must talk to the Athenians in their own culture and language in order to win them over to the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. Paul did not try to impose a foreign language, culture, or music on the Athenians. Instead he showed them how their temple to an unknown god was really the God of the Good News in Jesus Christ. He met them on their own terms.

I often look at the church trade magazines and shudder when I read about theatre seats and “entertainment industry” video displays. I break out in hives thinking about church as entertainment. But then I think about Paul and the Athenians. He converted hundreds or thousands by meeting them on their own turf. How many do we convert by forcing people to sing music that is as strange and foreign to them as Dixieland would be to an African tribe?

Is there anything wrong with your church if it is entertaining to newcomers while they are slowly won over to the gospel of Christ? What about music? One kind of music may make one generation or existing church members comfortable and happy. Another kind of music may be attractive to people who know nothing else about the Episcopal Church. Is one of these musical styles “right” and the other “wrong”, or could they simply appeal to two different audiences?

Part of the genius of our Anglican tradition is that it is broad in every scope. We can embrace polar opposites in theology, in worship, in views on human sexuality, in politics, and even in music. We do not force people to do or think any particular thing. We invite them to use their own hearts and minds. Of all the things that make us Episcopalians, this is the primary gift we bring to the people of Muskogee – a place where people can think about their faith.

So I ask you, do you feel good about the fact that our teenagers come and ask all kinds of questions about their faith and they are encouraged to explore and challenge the prevailing views of their friends? Do you feel good about the fact that our adult forum is studying a book titledGoing to Hell, Getting Saved, and what Jesus Actually Said About it? Do you feel good knowing that this book is essentially banned in Muskogee because it clashes with the predominant views on the Bible from other churches in town? You can only buy it here on-line. Do you feel good knowing that ANY human being who walks through this door will be treated with dignity and respect?

We have what is called a “lively faith.” Yes we have a relationship with Jesus and yes, our understanding of scripture includes more questions than answers. It is the questions, the thinking, and wrestling with scripture that can be off-putting to some people who think they need to come to church to be told what to think; they want a step by step formula for salvation. But I guarantee you, there are many other people out there who avoid coming to church because they have questions and they do not want to be told what to think. Do we have room for them here?

Where will Grace Episcopal Church be in three to five years? I see a church nearly twice our size today. I see a church that continues the best of music and Anglican worship while at the same time offering another Sunday service alternative with more contemporary music. I see a much larger, more active youth group. I see us more involved with education in Muskogee. I see us going on mission trips, doing more fund raisers, being recognized in town, and with full parking lots on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings.

Do you feel good about who we are and what we do? Do you feel good about where we are going? Can you see the future with me? Can you roll up your sleeves and help make it happen? This is what Paul meant when he said to the Philippians, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” because God is at work in you.