RE-LAUNCH Update

Hey everyone - just an update on the re-launch. It's just a few weeks away and I'm really excited about it. We've got a new look coming to the blog with a new graphic for the headline and accompanying artwork for the podcast. I've completed two interviews already and will be completing two more before we re-launch. They include a senior pastor of a large growing church, a teaching pastor and stud theologian, a worship movement icon that helped birth Passion Worship, and a VP of a record label. These are just the beginning - I've already confirmed with a few others as well that I know you all will want to hear. God is good!

Stay tuned for more news right here at THINK WORSHIP!

THINK WORSHIP RE-LAUNCH DATE

Thanks to everyone who voted at the poll and to those who didn't but spoke to me through twitter, facebook, and email, as well. There was an overwhelming positive response to re-launch thinkworship.com as a podcast. I'm very excited about this and have been making plans for the re-launch, getting the tech-side down so everything goes smoothly and planning out the first few podcasts. I'm also working on a new look to the blog when we re-launch as well.

As of right now thinkworship.com will re-launch as a podcast on Monday, August 3, 2009 with our inaugural episode. Then we will release new episodes every other Monday after that.

In the meantime - I would love to hear any comments that you have about possible content - subject matter to be covered, books to review, cd's to review, interviews that you would like to hear, etc...

I will be working on getting the first few recorded and "in the can" over the next couple weeks....so stay tuned to this blog for any future updates.

THINK WORSHIP - RELAUNCHING AS PODCAST?

So it's been several months since I have posted anything on the Think Worship blog. I have been asked multiple times by several people for new content, but have yet to make it happen. There are many reasons for my lack of attention to the blog - which I will not go into right now - but there are very many good reasons why I need to begin regularly posting again here at Think Worship.
However, I'm seriously considering relaunching the blog as a podcast. I'm thinking right now that it would be a bi-weekly podcast (meaning 1 new podcast every two weeks) and that it would cover a wide range of topics. The format would change regularly - some episodes would be monologue thoughts about a particular issue involving worship and how it intersects with life, some episodes would be reviews on new music and books, some would be to work through original songs and releasing finished tunes, some would be a breakdown of recent services that I have led out in, but a lot of the episodes would be interviews with people in the trenches (pastors, worship leaders, music artists, movers and shakers, volunteers etc.) and picking their brains on ministry, worship, life etc... Right now I'm envisioning a 30 min episode - but that could be shortened or lengthened depending on the quality of the content for that episode.

My question to you is - would you listen? Is this something that would be of interest or of value? The blog side of things would not disappear entirely - but the focus would be on producing a quality podcast for people to use as a resource in their own lives and ministries.

For those of you who are new to podcasting or have never heard that word before - do a quick google search on it and come up to speed and then bounce back here and let me now what you think.

I have added a POLL over to the top left of the blog - please leave your vote there and also please leave a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

New Blog

My friend, Greg Poore, has begun blogging and I'm so glad he did. Greg serves as the campus pastor at Clear Creek Community Church for the Egret Bay campus. He is a dear friend and a colleague and one of the best writers around. His writings are highly engaging and thought provoking. Add this blog to your reader and visit it often. You will not be disappointed.

http://gregpoore.blogspot.com/

Theology Of Music - Part 2

In the last post I said that I believe music is a gift from God to be used to bring glory to God. Music is a gift from our Creator to turn our affections back to Him. But if you've been alive long enough to have your toe start tapping to a beat you have realized that not ALL music brings glory to God. There are plenty of examples out there that are sinful, evil, and offensive. So how did this precious gift from God meant to bring glory to Him get so distorted and twisted?

Well firstly, we live in a fallen and corrupt world. Original sin taints everything in creation, and music, like every other part of creation, can be abused and distorted and corrupted. Musicians that are tainted and corrupted by sin will produce music that is tainted and corrupted as well. Record labels that employ those corrupt musicians want you to buy tainted music, produced by tainted people, so they can put more money into their bank accounts. They don't ask themselves whether or not this glorifies God - they ask - DOES THIS SELL? They are not concerned with your relationship with God, they are concerned with their bottom line. They could care less about the well-being of your soul - they only care about the well-being of their wallets.

Secondly - we are tainted and corrupt as well. Though covered with the blood of Jesus and eternally secure by our faith in His redemptive work on the cross - we still fight the sinful flesh in which we live on a daily basis. Bob Kauflin says, "Listening to music is never neutral, because our sinful hearts are involved ( James 1:14-15James 1:14-15 [14]But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15]Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (ESV)

This text is from the ESV Bible. Visit www.esv.org to learn about the ESV.

). Listening to music without discernment and godly intent reveals a heart willing to flirt with the world. We get into trouble when we don’t THINK about the music we listen to."

So if music (rhythm, melody, harmony, etc..) is not inherently evil then we need discernment to know what music is ok for us to engage with. Here are a few things that you need to begin to THINK about as you engage with music in your life.

• Content - are the lyrics of the songs that I am listening to ungodly or unbiblical? I hear people say all the time, "I don't listen to the lyrics, I just love the music and the groove." We are followers of Christ - we are commanded to guard our hearts and to renew our minds (Romans 12:2) - how can we do this if we aren't aware of what we are putting into our hearts and minds? If we don't know what we are listening to - then we need to find out! Every song you listen to doesn't have to speak to the grandeur of God, but it shouldn't push you further away from Him either.


• Community - what community of people or what culture does this music connect me with? Whether we agree with it or not music builds community - when you hear certain styles of music you immediately form an impression of the people producing this music and the kind of people and culture associated with that music. Those impressions may be good, bad, or neutral, but we all have those impressions. As Christ followers - we need to be aware of these associations and remove ourselves from the ones that would either destroy our testimony in the world, cause another believer to stumble or obstruct our relationship with God.


• Control - Music affects us. That's the reason God gave it to us. He gave it to us to affect our emotions to be stirred and moved to glorify Him. But because sin now taints the music we listen to we need to be aware of those affects in our lives. How does the music I'm listening to affect my emotions? Are temptations amplified when I listen to this music? Would I turn this song off if certain people came around? Why? Does this music feed my desire for worldly things or for eternal things (1 John 2:15-16)? We must identify the ways in which the music we listen to controls us.


• Cherish - Music is life for some people, but like anything else in life it can be worshipped. It can become an idol. It can take the place that only God deserves in your life. What is music to you? Is it something used TO worship God? or is it something to be worshipped? Let's not make a golden calf out of our iTunes collection (Exodus 20:5).

These are just some starter tools to help you begin to engage with music in this fallen world. Perhaps now would be a good time to go through your own music collection and run it through these filters.

I will end with this scripture from - Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK about these things.

Theology of Music - Part 1

What is the purpose of music? Does it even have a purpose? Is it good, bad or neutral? Does God care about music? Should I care about music? These are questions that every Christian needs to answer to be able to live out 1 Corinthians 10:31.


Music is all around us. I would venture to guess that not a single day goes by where you are not exposed to music. It could be a commercial on the radio, perhaps television or movies, or maybe the crazy punk that drives by your house blairing his stereo at ear-piercing levels. However it happens - it happens. Whether we like it or not music is an everyday part of our lives and, therefore, we need to THINK about and develop a good theology of music.

According to Webster's II: New Riverside University Dictionary, music is "the art of arranging tones in an orderly sequence so as to produce a unified and continuous composition". The reality of it is, though, that music doesn't have one concrete meaning. Music seems to make no sense. It comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. Literature says something, and the visual arts show something. Music seems only to show or say itself. Yet it feels like the most intimate, the most direct and true art. It means different things to different people depending on the context and culture. For some it is their passion - they live, eat and breathe music in every part of their life. Music defines them. For others - they are simply content to have music be in the background, seemingly unaware that it is even there. There is classical, pop, rock, country, opera, blue-grass, modern, instrumental, experimental, punk, acid, blues, hip-hop...and the list just goes on and on and on.

The reason we have so many styles of music is because music affects us. It is the great mood enhancer. The lyrics, melody, rhythm and chord structure all work together to produce an amazing emotional effect upon us. Music is an emotional language that engages with our souls. It can make us feel joy or stir up excitement. It can bring about feelings of sadness and distress. It can move us to tears or make us smile with glee. But is that the end goal of music? Is that it's purpose? Is that why we have music?

I believe that music is a gift from God given to us to re-direct our attention back to him. Music, ultimately, is here to bring glory to God. We are to use, enjoy, listen, and play music all to the glory of God. Music is given to us by God to be used to draw our hearts and our gaze back to the Giver of the gift. In 1530 Martin Luther wrote in one of his essays: "I am not ashamed to confess publicly that next to theology there is no art which is the equal of music, for she alone, after theology, can do what otherwise only theology can accomplish, namely, quiet and cheer up the soul of man, which is clear evidence that the devil, the originator of depressing worries and troubled thoughts, flees from the voice of music just as he flees from the words of theology. For this very reason the prophets cultivated no art so much as music in that they attached their theology not to geometry, nor to arithmetic, nor to astronomy, but to music, speaking the truth through psalms and hymns."

So what are we to do with this knowledge? How does this play out in our everyday lives, in our churches, on our mp3 player? Does this mean that the only kind of music that we should listen to is "worship" music or "christian" music? Should we only play or sing songs that have scripture in them or mention God or Jesus? Or is ALL music o.k. for us to enjoy?

The basic components of music (melody, harmony, rhythm) are not inherently evil. Music written and/or performed by non-christians can be good for us and music written and/or performed by christians can be bad for us. Praise and worship is not the only association that music has in the scriptures. You can find it connected with working, playing, war, funerals, and other everyday events.

So which music should we listen to? How do we make the right decisions about which music is ok for us to listen to and which is not?

This will be the topic of discussion over my next few posts as we THINK about worship together.

Feel free to join in the discussion.

Slaying The Beast

Below is my response to some friends of mine on a worship leader forum that were having a discussion on whether or not churches should offer different services with different musical styles.


Which style of worship does God prefer?

Classical, Chant, Hip Hop, Jazz, Loud, Soft, Complex, Simple, Organs, Guitars, Choirs, Soloists, Eastern, Western, Opera, Country...????


We have created a consumer Christianity monster with our segregated worship. We have made worship about our wants, desires, preferences and conceptions and not about gospel-centered, cross-focused, biblically based corporate gatherings. We have become hypocritical pharisees and tell people that worship is all about God from the pulpit, but then, with our actions, we communicate that worship is really all about them. In fact we believe it so much that we will create a service with ANY style they ask for if we have enough people that demand it. If we want to slay that beast and create a more biblical culture we have to stop defining what church we attend with adjectives like emergent, modern, contemporary and traditional. The gospel unifies the body of Christ - it does not divide.

Every church has a musical center that they orientate around, but the word that describes that center should not be the label we attach to promote our church gatherings. The only word I find in the Bible consistently attached to worship is GOD or a name referring to Him - not a style, method, demonstration, activity, or organization.

In fact - New Testament worship revolves around the reading of God's Word, prayer, exhortation, encouragement, sharing meals together, encouraging one another - the edification of the Body! And the only description of music we find useful to a corporate setting in the NT is when Paul exhorts us to "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19, Col. 3:16).

How can the Body be edified when it is separated and divided seeking to satisfy it's own personal desires rather than putting others interests ahead of their own?

I wonder what Paul would have to say to us if he were here in this discussion?

"Beloved - why are you so concerned with meaningless quarrels over musical styles. Is God not infinite? What musical style is there that can, by itself, capture the profound and complete mystery of the Divine? Brothers, do not be mislead into the deceptive thinking that some would have you believe about musical styles. For they say, "This style is better and reaches more people", and, "I prefer this style because it's what I'm used to." No, you gather in the name of the Lord at the foot of the cross celebrating the gospel in which we ALL find forgiveness and redemption. Set aside your petty differences and let the world see the power of the gospel as it unifies and cleanses His bride."

or maybe not...

Corruption and the Gospel

Have you ever gone to your computer to retrieve a file and received an error message that said something like - "the file you tried to open is corrupt and non-readable"? It basically means that this file is jacked up. I know that some of my more intellectual (see nerdy) friends would be able to tell me exactly what it means - but ultimately it means - it's jacked up!

This week I was reminded that it would be extremely appropriate if I should put that error message on a t-shirt and wear it around because I am one jacked up dude. I am corrupt! That felt really weird typing - but it's true - I am corrupt. You see in the beginning God made everything and declared it to be "very good" (Gen. 1:31), and then, through one man, sin entered the world - and with that sin came corruption. With that corruption came death and separation from a perfect Creator. If I want to co-habitate with that Creator I must not be corrupt. Herein lies the problem. How can I, a corrupt creation become "uncorrupt"? Anything that the corrupted creation tries to do to become uncorrupt will ultimately still be tainted by the corruption that is inherently there, thus remaining corrupt. The Creator deals with corruption much the same way we deal with corrupt files - deletion. While that is a crude term to use - it does carry the same connotation - we would call it death.

Corruption in our lives means we must die - and not just physically but spiritually as well. Our souls have been corrupted along with our bodies - that part of us that will live on long after this shell has been cast aside. It will live on eternally separated from the Creator for which it was created to have a relationship with. There is nothing that the corrupted creation can accomplish to remove its own corruption. The Creator set out a long litany of rules and rituals to follow so the corrupt creation could be restored, but sadly, our corruption keeps us from being able to follow all of those laws. The Creator demands that blood be shed for our corruption to be purified - but all of creation has been corrupted so even the blood of innocent animals still carries the curse of corruption. Thus, sacrifices need to be continually offered - for there is no perfect sacrifice to be made once, for all corruption.

This is where it gets crazy.


The Creator - ultimate perfection - offers himself as a perfect sacrifice for his corrupted creation. He sets aside his own glory and enters his creation and lives a corrupt free life. He sheds his corruption free blood, thus securing the payment He himself demanded of corruption. The corrupted creation may now be purified of its corruption by the perfect blood shed by the perfect Creator. This is the only way the creation can be corruption free and thus, restore the relationship the Creator intended to have with its creation from the very beginning.


Jesus' sacrifice on the cross purifies the corruption that the stain of sin has left on our lives and allows us to draw near to an awesome, holy, and perfect God. The blood that he shed on the cross purifies our corrupt conscience and allows us to serve the living God again (Heb. 9:14). It can do this because Jesus was the ONLY person to live a perfect life - his life was lived as a perfect expression of worship - the ultimate act of which was his sacrificial death for others. Just as one mans sin brought corruption into this world - so one mans righteous sacrifice brings purification from that corruption (Romans 5:18-19).

This is the good news of the gospel - My life, stained with corruption, can be restored. The relationship God intended from the very beginning to have with his creation is possible because of the sacrificial death of Jesus.

So now instead of wearing a t-shirt that says - "file corrupted" - I can wear one that says "file restored". That's why I worship. More directly - that's HOW I CAN WORSHIP!!!!

Hot Dogs, Hammers and Hymns

I grew up in a pastors home. Everything about my life revolved around the church. We went to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and any other time something was happening there. I've heard my father preach hundreds if not thousands of messages. And while I can't recall any specific message or notes or outlines, there is one thing that stands out in my mind above all others when I remember my father preaching. I can recall countless times hearing my father quoting his "life verse". A "life verse"(or passage) is one that you continue to come back to to help re-orient your life and focus your passion and vision and mission. For my father it was 1 Corinthians 10:31. I'll quote it as I heard him say it over and over again - from the King James - "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." I can't listen to or say that verse without hearing my fathers voice in the back of my head.

I think it's not the least bit ironic that a faithful pastor, who preached and lived this passage out, would live to see his sons give their own lives to leading others in that same pursuit.

You see, this passage is all about worship. Most people equate the word worship with a church service or a style of music, but those thoughts were never intended for that word. The Bible is very clear on what worship is and is not. The New Testament never uses worship as a synonym for music or a gathering of believers. Don't put that limitation on what it is we were created for.

Isaiah 43:7 says "Everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory..." That means that we were all created to worship and bring glory to God. Worship should, therefore, encompass EVERY aspect of our lives. Romans 12:1, "to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Last time I checked, all of our lives are lived IN our bodies - and this passage makes it clear that we are to present to God as our "spiritual worship" our bodies and everything we do in them.

That carries extraordinary implications with it! Thus we see why Paul would later write what would become my fathers "life verse". 1 Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." There is nothing more basic and simple as putting food in your mouth or raising a glass to your lips. We do it everyday, multiple times a day, in different places every day. Paul says this should all be done to bring glory to God. In fact, he takes it a step further and says "or whatever you do". He just brings more clarity to the passage from Romans about presenting our bodies as our "spiritual worship". If there was ever any doubt about what that looks like he completely removes it in the passage from 1 Corinthians.

Worship should encompass EVERY aspect of our lives. Everything we do in our bodies should be done to bring glory to God and express his supreme value and worth in our lives. Eating hot dogs, hammering nails, singing hymns - all acts of worship! All to be done to express God's infinite worth.

And if you need any more convincing about this check out 1 Corinthians 6:20, "for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

We glorify God with our bodies because they don't belong to us anymore! We've been ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus - who drank the bitter cup of God's wrath so that we did not have too. Your body is now the temple of God - so remember - you are always in a place of worship.....

So always worship!

In Response To The "JESUS IS MY FRIEND" VIDEO

So I have had some interesting conversations about the video that I posted a couple weeks back showing a "band"(SONSEED) performing the song "Jesus Is My Friend". I must admit that I found great humor in this video the first couple of times that I watched it. The dated look and sound of it all really made me chuckle and made me want to share the laugh with all of you.

However, upon further thought I realized that I may have jumped the gun on my judgment of whether or not this could be called "worship".

I think to really answer this question we have to first define what we mean by worship. "Christianity Incorporated" would have you believe that worship is music sung by worship artists at worship events, but that is not the biblical definition of what worship truly is. The biblical definition of worship really has very little to do with music at all. It has to do with the complete and absolute surrender of ones life lived wholly and completely in obedience to God. Now, there's only one person who has and can truly worship God in this way - Jesus Christ.

Jesus worshiped God 100% of the time he walked this earth. We strive to do that - but fail miserably many times throughout our day - but nevertheless - that is our goal. So if we use this thought of worship to filter our judgment of the song then we cannot truly and fully answer the question. Why? Because we can't judge the intent of the heart of the performers. We can't say for certain whether they were worshiping or not. We can not determine whether worship is taking place based solely on outward demonstrations. We can say if it is NOT taking place if what someone is saying or doing or singing is not biblical - but we can never say it IS taking place...for only God can see the heart - it's motivations and desires.

We can however dissect the song.

Now - obviously this song is dated. It is NOT relevant to this cultural time period in style, taste, musicality etc., but there are some things about it that are worth noting.

The first verse is pretty sound - Jesus has taught him how to live his life the right way and that He is a friend that can always be counted on. While trite - it is functional.

The second verse however gets a little muddy - He says that Jesus taught him how to pray - that's good - but then he says Jesus showed him how to save his soul. I think I understand what he is trying to say, but it could have been said better. The way he says it puts the emphasis on what he did to save himself instead of what CHRIST did to save him. The second verse ends with a challenging thought about worshiping God with rock 'n roll and with a new instrument.

The third verse tells of how he tried at some point to run away from God, but Jesus sought him out and touched him inside. Again, the message that nothing can separate us from the love of God is nice, but then he goes and compares God to a mounty that always gets his man and that He will "zap" you anyway he can. Well - God is not a mounty - He is GOD! This metaphor is a complete misrepresentation of the God revealed in the Bible. God is not a cosmic police officer that hunts you down when you do something wrong and "zaps" you back into his love. Romans 5:8 tells how God reaches us - "but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." The ultimate act of God reaching out to us was not him "zapping" us but that He poured out His righteous wrath upon His son. Effectively "zapping" him with the condemnation that we deserved.

So this makes this song completely unusable to me. It is not doctrinally sound or theologically correct, but let's continue for sake of demonstration.

The last verse is completely man-centered - the singer, in a nutshell, says that HE(JESUS) loves him no matter what. Yes, Jesus loves sinners, but the way these lyrics describe Jesus makes Him sound like a nice little old man that pats the head of his little grandchild, even though that grandchild is doing silly things, or wrong things. The wink and the grin say - "it's ok, your just a child, I love you, you have my approval to do whatever you want".

I understand the message that they are trying to get across - they just did a VERY poor job in communicating it with those choice of lyrics.

So is this a worship song?

I would never use this song in a corporate setting, nor would I use it for private worship. Beyond the style and goofiness of it all it is just not grounded in solid doctrine or good theology.

We have to THINK about our worship. Not just the songs we sing or the music we play, but how EVERYTHING in ALL of our lives is our spiritual act of worship to God (Romans 12:1). We must also THINK diligently about the songs that we sing - not only privately, but corporately as well. We are putting thoughts of God into our heads and our hearts as we sing songs of worship and praise - we MUST make sure that they are the correct thoughts lest we find ourselves worshipping a false god.

Come Weary Saints

Things happen in life that you don't expect. Things happen that you were not planning on. Something happens and you suddenly find yourself looking around in shock wondering how in the world you are going to cope and deal with the circumstance. I have found myself living with and ministering to people who are in the valley at this very moment.

Hurricane Ike has thrown a HUGE monkey wrench into my life and the lives of thousands of others a couple of weeks ago and people are still coming to grips with the devastation it has caused and realizing how long the journey really is back to recovery. IKE was not planned. No one asked for it to come up Galveston Bay like it did. No one purposely steered it into our backyard - but it did. It came and did what a hurricane does - devastates!

So what now? Beyond the physical process to recover and rebuild how do we recover and bring relief to our souls? How do we continue to worship God? How do we keep a biblical view while we walk through this catastrophe?

There are MANY answers to these questions. Many of which need to be answered by people smarter than I. BUT, I want to tell you about one tool that God has brought into my life that has been an extension of His grace and helped me stay biblically focused and gospel centered through all of this. It is a CD put out by Sovereign Grace Music called "Come Weary Saints". I have never heard a worship CD like this before. Every song on the album was written for people that are going through trials and tribulations in their lives and helps them to worship God through it all. It helps them to sing and confess biblical truths that center their hearts and lives on the gospel.

It is so easy when you feel the lick of the flames to run away from God instead of to God. We all need to be reminded that He has ordained EVERYDAY! And that no matter WHAT happens He is STILL worthy to be worshipped.

I would HIGHLY recommend that you pick up this album and at into your mp3 rotation. You may not connect with it right now, but I guarantee you that you know someone who does need it, AND i guarantee that you will need it one day - and I know that God will use it to reveal His grace to You as He has used it in my life and the lives of others around me.

"thank You for the trials, for the fire, for the pain; thank You for the strength knowing You have ordained everyday!" (EVERYDAY - COME WEARY SAINTS)

IKE

So if you haven't heard - we had a hurricane blow through town. Ike has done some pretty devastating work around here. Our church is seizing this opportunity to BE the church to our own and to our neighbors. We need help though! Please go to www.ikeassist.org and donate money if you live out of town. This website is an extension of the churches main site and all proceeds will be given to assist others that have been affected by IKE. If your church would like to participate in sending people they are more than welcome to come. We are partnering with C.O.R.E. - Christians Organized for Relief Efforts. Churches can bring in teams of people that are willing to volunteer and assist in the clean up, recovery, and re-build from the hurricane. You can contact me at bloser@clearcreek.org if you are interested in this and I will help get you lined up. If you can't send people, you can send money. Please go to www.ikeassist.org and help us be the hands and feet of Jesus to SO many affected by this disaster.

Is This Worship?

A friend of mine recently sent a video to me that really made me laugh. I watched it three times because I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing - laughing hysterically each time. The next day I began to THINK about what I saw and wondered whether or not it could be considered worship. I will share my conclusion with you in another post after I hear from a couple of you on whether or not what you are about to watch below is worship - in the biblical context of the word. Please don't just leave a yes or no answer. I would really like to know why you think it is or is not worship.

More on the "Healer" controversy

Below you can watch an interview that an Australian television station conducted with Mike Guglielmucci. He confesses and begins to explain what happened.

Continue to pray for him and for God's glory to resound through this devastating deception.