Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sunday Mind Dump

So, I haven't really done the Sunday Mind Dump since we closed Real Life and April and I stopped doing full-time ministry. I thought I would take a few minutes and do a little mind dumping and give those who read this blog a little status update as to what April and I are doing these days.

After we closed RL we just plain took a few months off and relaxed. To be really honest, that church took everything we had and more and we just needed a break. At the start of the new year we started getting ourselves back out there and visiting churches around the area. We hung out with old friends, met some new ones, and just spent some time reflecting. Though our journey we ran across places we "could" attend but no place that felt like home for us.

A month or so ago, we learned that Aprils parents Pastor was resigning his position at their home church and starting a new church in Findlay. We also knew that they would need some help and knowing we had just been down that road we offered to assist them in any way they felt would be helpful. So, after some prayer and speaking with them, we have agreed to help lead worship at 242 Church in Findlay.

Our first morning was this morning and all things considered it went well. Very positive comments from the folks there this morning. It's definitely a different feel than leading worship at RL, not that it's a bad or a good thing. Just different.

On the whole for both of us it feels really great to just be back out there doing what God has gifted us to do. I may get more involved on a pastoral level as we go, and then again, I may not, we'll just see where God leads on that one. For now it's just awesome to stand before God with a guitar and a microphone and worship him. Leading his people is an honor. No matter what style, format, or band. Don't ever forget that. It doesn't matter that it's worship, cleaning up, setting up chairs, teaching kids, or preaching. Serving our God is a form of worshiping him and this morning it felt awesome and humbling that 7 months after closing RL we were allowed to get back at it again.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Readings, God, and His Leading

Over the last few weeks I have been doing some reading on the corporate church. It's clearer than ever to me really, in many ways, how little the church concerns itself with restoration of the broken and hurting. Churches, corporately, tend to care about that which they can measure. That which they can produce and see tangible results. You can't measure restoration of the broken. Yet that's really why we are here isn't it? I mean Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, and to heal up the broken.

I myself am guilty. It's much easier to build a program that to concern ourselves with restoration of the broken. Not sure, what the answer is to this right now and to be honest if I had a nice 3, 5, 0r, 10 step way to fix it then that would in essence be just creating another program to try and produce the desired results.

I had a conversation with a great friend today that got me thinking along these lines today. It's amazing sometimes how God speaks in one area of your life then confirms that word in another. Not sure where any of this is going....but still glad to know God is speaking to me.