One of my firm beliefs about life is that each and every day, indeed at least each and every year, we should find ourselves in position to be confronted by, and transformed through, the thoughtful deliberation of ideas and concepts that challenge our thinking on even the most basic of things that we take for granted. I rarely write about the same topic for two consecutive Mid-Week Messages in order to stay out of a rut, but I must say that I am being thoroughly renewed and refreshed by the group study of Psalm 96 that we have been engaged in for the past couple of weeks. There were several things I had in mind when I started the group, primarily, as I have mentioned earlier, to give us a biblical perspective on all things worship. A secondary motive was to make sure that every one in the congregation had the opportunity to be a part of the discussion as I reflect on the new worship schedule we have had this summer and the possibility of making it a permanent change. One of the biggest mistakes we make in the church is that we all want to have our opinions followed but we seldom want to be a part of a discussion, open to differing points of view. So, by making sure that we had a common starting point for the discussion (2, actually; Psalm 96 and the author's commentary), and that there were two opportunities each week (one in the morning and one in the evening) to be a part of the discussion, we would have almost completely eliminated the excuse that someone's voice would not be heard. We would also be following the idea that instead of one-on-one discussions/confrontations, we would be in the midst of Christian conferencing with our brothers and sisters.
What makes these conversations especially difficult is that each of us has our own deeply-held convictions about what is the right way and the wrong way to do things. It also is easy to move into the idea that if it is what we want, then it must be what is best for the church. I have LOVED the first two weeks of conversations that we have had, for we have seen a wide variety of viewpoints, some agreement, some disagreement, and some arguing. The reason I have loved these discussions is that we are confronted with the reality that we all have different ideas of what needs to be done, and we all think we have good reasons for feeling this way. All of you receiving this e-mail are at the point in life where you know that the basic human condition is to resist all change, and then to resist change that is not our idea. Where the biggest growth has occurred in these discussions, it seems to me, is the realization that even those of us who are the most open-minded are faced with the fact that we bring our own biases and prejudices to the table.
Why bring all this up right now? I've been your pastor for a little over a year now, and God has done many great things in the time I have been allowed to be with you. This congregation has the potential to do many great things for the kingdom of God, now and in the future. However, we must put ourselves, as individuals and as a congregation, in the position to realize that our biases and prejudices can be good (in that the more viewpoints we have in the discussion, the better), but can also put us in the dangerous position of things having to be our way or the highway. As people of the Christian faith from the Wesleyan tradition, we must be vigilant in upholding our doctrine and disciplines, but acknowledge that far too often, we allow this zeal to transcend things that have nothing to do with whether or not people will spend eternity with the Father or not (like times and styles of worship).
See you Sunday!
Lamar
What makes these conversations especially difficult is that each of us has our own deeply-held convictions about what is the right way and the wrong way to do things. It also is easy to move into the idea that if it is what we want, then it must be what is best for the church. I have LOVED the first two weeks of conversations that we have had, for we have seen a wide variety of viewpoints, some agreement, some disagreement, and some arguing. The reason I have loved these discussions is that we are confronted with the reality that we all have different ideas of what needs to be done, and we all think we have good reasons for feeling this way. All of you receiving this e-mail are at the point in life where you know that the basic human condition is to resist all change, and then to resist change that is not our idea. Where the biggest growth has occurred in these discussions, it seems to me, is the realization that even those of us who are the most open-minded are faced with the fact that we bring our own biases and prejudices to the table.
Why bring all this up right now? I've been your pastor for a little over a year now, and God has done many great things in the time I have been allowed to be with you. This congregation has the potential to do many great things for the kingdom of God, now and in the future. However, we must put ourselves, as individuals and as a congregation, in the position to realize that our biases and prejudices can be good (in that the more viewpoints we have in the discussion, the better), but can also put us in the dangerous position of things having to be our way or the highway. As people of the Christian faith from the Wesleyan tradition, we must be vigilant in upholding our doctrine and disciplines, but acknowledge that far too often, we allow this zeal to transcend things that have nothing to do with whether or not people will spend eternity with the Father or not (like times and styles of worship).
See you Sunday!
Lamar
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