Monday, February 14, 2011

Sunday Mind Dump (Monday Edition)

So, two weeks in a row doing the Sunday Mind Dump on Monday...It can only mean one thing. I've been busy! So let's dump:
  • An interesting first day at Central Park in Toledo. Still not sure if it's the right place for April and I long term but glad God has given us the opportunity to step in and provide some help for them over the next few months.
  • We sang a couple of songs with just April and I on the guitar. Very nice and loved hearing people passionately singing with us. Very cool!
  • After church we had lunch with an old friend (we'll o.k., not a friend who is old per se! But a good friend!) It was nice to catch up and hang out for a few hours.
  • John and Shelley came to Central Park Sunday...since they are two of my favorite people in the world that was awesome to see!
  • After church and lunch we went over to my old HS and watched Bree Lauer to her drumline thing. Very cool and a great job to all the kids in the drumline!
  • A few things I am chewing on this week: Why is it that spouses see things so differently? Still pondering how and why God placed us with people that are so different that us guys? (No there aren't any marital problems! Just me thinking out loud)
  • Why do we allow the way we worship in church define us? Traditional people hate modern worship...people that do modern worship can't stand traditional worship....I mean I have my preferences, but does it really matter since we worship in spirit and not by the actual style of worship? To me it's a cultural thing and not a worship thing.....we take that cultural thing and turn it into a war..It's a war that's gone on in churches for years and if we stayed at Central Park it's likely a battle that would be fought again....just questions I am pondering.
  • I guess it's time to end this rant and move on to something more productive.
  • Night all.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i kick my day off right with my favorite kind of music and routine, and if that means my spirit is affected differently than yours by different things then so be it. it doesn't matter if it's what i grew up with or have just grown to love, it is what it is. it's not just music -- for some people style of worship means being in nature, for some it's a liturgical service, for some it's a hymn and for some it's going heavy on a drum solo. we weren't given the same spiritual gifts why on earth would we be given the same motivations or worship style. don't call it a war (especially before it starts) and maybe they will see genuine truth -- God created each one of us as unique individuals and each style (music or otherwise) of worship is just as important as the next AND it's probably one of the only instances where Tolerance would gracefully appreciated and instrumental to building Kingdom instead of tearing it apart -- without sacrificing what is important. it's to be appreciated, this uniqueness that God has given us even if it is culturally defined. learn from it, man.

Jeff Renner said...

You are correct. The problem seems that people like what they like (which is fine by me) when it comes to worship. If you're asking someone to come in and lead a church or a ministry and you want them to grow the church it has to be something that they breathe....I use the term war because that's what people make it into, not because that's what I prefer. Seen it too many times to not use that word. I believe it breaks God's heart, but we still do it...

Anonymous said...

Each church has it's own language, and our 1st language is often the best way we know to express ourselves - so it is a felt NEED that to feel like we are worshiping we hold on to what is familiar to us. A leader must be sensitive to the language of a congregation to gain the rapport to have an influence on the people. So many leaders fuel the fire, or the war, inviting sin into the core of the church by speaking a completely different language (or taking sides) because they think it will be more effective overall. A good leader will operate as a curator, mediator, and innovator without reveling in the mess of the battles; then a church will finally be able to worship "in spirit and truth" and forget about waging the war. Sheep follow their leaders or whatever is in their line of sight; leaders shouldn't make it more difficult to find the Shepherd. Praying for your journey.