bald man blogging

our gathering last night was cancelled. 6″ of snow followed by ice. so, no new ideas to share. i do, however, have time to go back and comment on the previous week (#3).

i’d still love to hear ideas for effectively starting a service. my mind is woefully bereft of ideas.

the biggest blunder was clearly my mangling of the lord’s prayer, but only a blunder in so far as i didn’t know all the words. didn’t make for a particularly “worshipful” or solemn moment, but that’s fine. i rather thought the lighter vibe was refreshing. we tend to do somber and reflective very well, while upbeat cheery-ness is more difficult. not that we’re a sad lot; many have the equation worship/church=solemn written into their firmware.

the song and scripture were well received and well executed, but the highlight was the marathon man clip and accompanying prose. not everyone got it; not everyone understood what we were trying to drive home with the clip. but that’s entirely ok. “getting it” isn’t necessarily the point. sure there is an intended meaning with art, but often that is no more than a suggestion, a direction to point the observer as they engage with the piece.

regardless, whether they “got it” or not, they engaged with it. they discussed it and asked questions about it afterward. they remembered it and related to it later in the week. (kerri shared an encouraging antecdote along these lines.) there have been more “on-topic” conversations following the service in the last three weeks than in the previous three years! (slight hyperbole) agree or disagree, like or dislike, understand or not: people are engaging, thinking, considering, discussing, pondering and, hopefully, living.

negative feedback, such as the visiting couple who were too wierded out to consider returning, is so draining. this, however, is just the encouragement i need to continue.

continuing our exploration of james, led us to focus on being “doers” not just “hearers.” walking the walk. having the courage of our convictions. etc. here is how we approached the evening. comments, as always, are appreciated. you’ll have to pardon me, but i didn’t note the songs used.

live music was used throughout the evening. a song was used to gather people to their seats. (here’s a question: what other methods effectively lauch a service? how else do you “start the engine?”) i welcomed folks and ran thru some announcements. these were going to be done during the break between worship and the message, experimenting with jordon’s remarks, but several people were still getting situated, so i needed to fill time.

next i said a word of opening prayer, and then lead the congregation in what was supposed to be the lord’s prayer. i totally botched it. apparently there is something about tresspassing in it that i forgot. it went downhill from there with everyone just trailing off into silence… and giggles. anyway, it was all good. i said a nice loud “amen,” and passed the mic to the band.

a two song set was mixed with an interlude of scripture: a paraphrase from romans 8, given from god’s perspective, as if hewere speaking directly. finally, we concluded with an art piece. a script below was used in conjunction with a clip from marathon man. briefly, dustin hoffman is running in a park, when a younger, faster man passes him. dustin gives chase, only to give up. the first two stanzas were presented, then the clip shown. as the clip drew to a close, with a defeated dustin hoffman panting heavily against a chain link fence, the final stanza was read, ending with the words “what if” as the scene faded.

What if Rosa Parks had given up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama?
What if Abraham Lincoln had not signed the Emancipation Proclamation?
What if Michael Jordan has quit playing basketball after his high school coach cut him?
What if British aviators and citizens had given up in the dark days during the Air Battle over London and allowed England to be conquered by the Nazis?
What if Gandhi and his Indian countrymen had backed down from their English governors?
What if the passengers of Flight 93 had remained in their seats on September 11th, 2001 instead of challenging their hijackers in the air over Pennsylvania?

What if Abram had decided to head back to Ur instead of going on to wherever it was that God was leading him?
What if Moses had refused to speak to Pharaoh?
What is Joshua and Caleb had gone along with their countrymen and the cowardly report of the Promised Land?
What if Peter had returned to fishing permanently after denying Jesus?
What if Paul had not pressed on to Rome?
What if Jesus had passed on his cup of suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane?

What if you stay in bed instead of getting up when you child cries at 2:00am in the morning?
What if you head to the golf course instead of going to work in the morning?
What if you give in to every temptation instead of fighting for and honoring your marriage?
What if you turn your back when someone asks you for help?
What if you decide to turn back at the next obstacle, the next sign of resistance?
What if you pass on the chance to be God’s hands and feet, to be an agent of His love and grace?

What if?

gabe gave another good message, we closed by singing “take my life,” and then we ate… potluck night at hcf.

like before, i’ll post my criticism in a couple days.

i can be brief this week, because last nught was a pretty “traditional” service. corporate singing both before and after the message. the final song of the opening set, the one leading into the message, was broken up with some scripture - a collection from the psalms on god’s faithfulness and perseverance - from the front. the two guys, ben and josh did a good job passing the focus with one leading the singing and the other doing the readings. (one technical note: the sound was a little off volume-wise. not a big deal though.) our video icon/symbol continued to run.

last night was also our monthly “leadership gathering.” once a month the family (those who attend regularly, give financially, etc.) sit down to discuss the busness of the church. feedback on the first week was the major topic. two things jumped out at me like a ghoul at a haunted house:

(1) music - particularily song - must be incorporated in some fashion every week. music, with its familiarity in a church setting and in the culture-at-large provides a much needed touchstone for folks. no matter how much other elements might throw them off balance, song helps to comfort and stabilize. also, music bridges a number of sacred pathways. it can engage both the left and right brain. its power should not be under-estimated.

(2) i was taking notes, and saw comments from different people that directly contradict one another. e.g. the metronome was a great aid to some, but a distraction to others. the moral: you can’t keep all the people happy all the time. don’t try. you can keep everybody happy some of the time, and teach them to appreciate the elements that dont’ ring their bell (so to speak.)

the worst comment to come out of our leadership gathering: a couple who had been away from church for a long time were visiting with friends. they won’t be returning. it was too weird. on the one hand, i was hurt, because i put a lot of myself into the evening, and i feel a bit rejected. (…by total strangers, i know; but rejection is rejection.) on the other hand, i was angry that they’d make such a snap judgement on the basis of so little information. on the third hand (or perhaps that’s my foot) i know god can/will use this in some way. kerri suggested, “perhaps they’ll visit another church in the future, and they’ll stay there, ’cause it isn’t as weird at that other one.” works for me.