[stpaulswired.org] Thoughts from the Journey

Improving Membership Meetings

At our membership meeting last week we discussed how to improve our membership meetings. We suggested via survey to the members a new approach to membership meetings. And something like 70% responded positively to it.

The proposal was for three new leadership positions at St. Paul’s: a moderator, a secretary, and a procedure person for the membership. The moderator would run meetings. The secretary would record meetings. The procedure person (technically called “sergeant at arms”) would make sure we followed procedures correctly at meetings.

There are two simple reasons for this proposal.

First, it divides the workload. I have enough meetings to plan, run and follow up on. I don’t want any more. The board has enough meetings (12-16) to plan, run, and follow up one. They don’t need any more. And I think in a membership of eighty we should have some people who can run 4 to 6 meetings a year.

Second, it divides the power. This new system provides checks and balances. At St. Paul’s we have authority balanced between three teams. The members have certain authorities. The board has certain authorities. The staff have certain authorities. If the Lead Pastor or Board Chair runs membership meetings, there is too much authority invested in either the Lead Pastor or Board.

That was the discussion we had and we'll continue it at future meetings.

Nick's Mix

Hey all!

When I took over for Steve Barry last summer to fill in as worship leader once he left for law school, I had never lead worship before. And I only knew maybe 3 worship songs. So, needless to say, I was a tad overwhelmed. I actually had him make me a playlist of about 30 songs I could just pull from and focus on over that initial summer/fall.

I really had no interest in contemporary worship music. To me, it was boring, awkward, simple and cheesey. Some of it still is cheesey, haha. If you could string together 3 major chords, one minor chord, call God annoyingly simple adjectives like, "Great" and "Awesome" and do the Hillsong rollercoster (Loud verse, quiet first chorus, loud verse, loud chorus,quiet bridge, loud chorus) then you were pretty much a contemporary worship rock star.

It wasn't until I started leading a congregation in worship that I started to see contemporary worship music as not only a valid genre, but a powerful one. Words like "awesome" which we throw around regarding movies and cars take on a whole new meaning when you are descibing your God. That word takes on its true meaning, not the watered-down, impotent one we give it when describing a touchdown pass.

And as for the simplicity and cylcical nature of most contemporary worship songs... As a musician, it can get boring. But, the fact is... when leading people in worship, who are not musicians, the simpler the better. You want people repeating a theme and worshipping, not openning their eyes to figure out the lyrics of the 3rd alternate chorus and scratching their heads wondering if we will be going next to the 2nd pre-chorus or to the ending verse.

Anyway, I could get into a whole schpeel on my theories and thoughts about effective worship leading, what makes a worship song good congregationally, etc etc etc... but that's a blog for another day... Mainly, what I want to start doing on a monthly basis is to post a simple list of the songs I have been listenning to and meditating on recently. My hope is that it will create a forum for the rest of the worship leaders to share thoughts and ideas and also get a feel for what the congregation is being moved by. Maybe there are songs we worship leaders are thinking of introducing to the congregation; maybe there are powerful songs we've never heard that the church community is already into. So, here is this month's list. Please post your list too! Whether it's one song or ten songs.

Take My Life - Chris Tomlin Jireh - Antioch Community Church You Alone Are God - Hillsong (but especially the version by Antioch) Amazed - Lincoln Brewster

Variety

We had our first 4 and 6 service this Sunday and it went great. The music was acoustic rock and it rocked. Next week we’ll have jazz at the 4 and traditions at the 6. And the week after full band rock at both. Are you catching on to the pattern yet? We’re introducing musical variety into our services.

We used to have one style of music per service with occasional breaks. But we’re trying something new. Having back to back services makes it possible for musicians to do both services and consequently get some Sundays off from serving. It also means that instead of the congregation always getting the same style, they’ll get some variety.

I think this will be a great thing for our church. It’s great for volunteers to get breaks. But more than that, it’s great for our congregation to learn to worship to different music styles. One week’s music style may not be your preference, but it’s probably another’s. And if we have any desire on being a multi-ethnic church (which I hope we do) we have to learn to sing one another’s songs.

I’m glad we’re going for variety. I think it will keep our worship fresh and stretch us a bit. Besides, we’ll have all kinds of world music in eternity. So we might as well learn to enjoy it and worship with it now.

Our Identity

Last night Mark gave a message on John the Baptist. John understood his identity and therefore was able to fulfill his purpose. When we know who we are, we know what to do. John had a life verse: Isaiah 40:3. John had a scripture which told him who he was and what he was to do. I think we have one as well at St. Paul’s.

From Ezekiel chapter 33:

The word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

"Son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you are saying: "Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?" ' Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'

Seven years ago this January, I was reading the book of Ezekiel for my Old Testament survey class at the seminary (and yes I have been taking seminary classes for a long time!). When I read this verse it was as though it were written for me.

I had been thinking about planting a church--going through the pros and cons, feasibility and desirability. But through this verse the Lord spoke to me saying, I have appointed you as a watchman in Northeast Connecticut, you are to do this and if you don’t I will hold you accountable. After this experience, I told Ben we had to plant a church—it wasn’t an option.

I believe the Lord has appointed St. Paul’s as watchman for Northeast Connecticut--that we are to share the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed with our neighbors. And I believe if we are faithless to that call, we’ll be held accountable.

Sometimes the Lord uses carrots to motivate, sometimes sticks. He used a stick to get St. Paul’s started and its good every once and a while to remember that.

Thanks Musicians

At St. Paul’s we have amazing musicians. In this post I want to praise them and thank them. They are talented, committed, passionate, and flexible.

I’m not sure everyone knows how talented these folks are. They aren’t ones to brag. But we have several professional musicians sharing their gifts with us. And the amateurs are amazingly talented as well.

And I’m not sure everyone knows how committed these folks are. For quite some time these folks have been serving week after week after week. These volunteers make Sunday worship happen. We are utterly dependent on them. And we’ve never had a problem with people bailing at the last minute. I’ve never even heard anyone complain about their service. Not once.

And I’m not sure everyone knows how passionate these folks are. They are passionate about Christ. They are passionate about the church. They are passionate about music. Their passion is contagious. I get fired up just listening to them.

And I’m not sure everyone knows how flexible these folks are. This is the easiest group of volunteers I’ve ever worked with in my entire life. They have no egos. They make no demands. They are simply here to serve. They are model followers of Jesus Christ.

This is a humbling group to work with. They make me want to serve better myself. We are very fortunate to have them. I’m very thankful for them. You should be too.

Thanks Joe

I just wanted to thank Joe France for the message he preached last weekend. It was great to have a Sunday off preaching. And it was great to sit under another’s teaching. Nice job Joe!

I particularly liked Joe’s illustration of the family of God as mobile: always moving, ever changing, ever expanding. It’s wild to think of all these Bible characters as relatives, ordinary people like you and me. And it’s wild to think the story continues. We’re part of this great legacy ourselves.

Idle Words

For those of you out there who haven't had the privilege of working retail, allow me to distill the experience into one, simple thought: this job really wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for all the people. Now, don't get me wrong- I love people. Quite possibly my favorite thing in the world is just to sit down with a person and learn all I can about them, especially in a one-on-one setting. I like groups, too, though, and it doesn't even matter the size; from one to a thousand people, I really enjoy being around people. But there's something about being the person that has to stand between another person and whatever thing that person desires that often dredges up the absolute worst that humanity has to offer.

I'm not saying this to complain about my job (I love my job!), or even to complain about my job's often unsavory characters whom Jesus commands me to love even my every instinct instructs me to jump over the counter and go absolutely mental on someone. I bring up my job to illustrate a point. You see, whenever we deal with a customer at my workplace that is particularly unsavory, we are very polite during their shopping experience and then following their departure we will lambast them with a passionate fervor. I say we partially because I'm a part of the store and hold partial responsibility in anything that happens there, and partially because I myself will, from time to time, partake in these verbal assaults.

It's not something I'm proud of- in fact, I'm trying to be quite repentant of it- but I find that it's very easy to convince myself that the exercise in nothing more than harmless venting. After all, none of it is getting back to the person in question- they normally won't be back for at least a few months, at the earliest, and by the time they come back I'm likely to have forgotten their original transgression entirely. Furthermore, it feels, in nearly every case, entirely justified. I was wronged, I was sinned against, and I deserve to express that to my peers with snide overtones and caustic wit.

Well, that's not what Jesus says. I've been reading through Matthew while I'm on this "love pilgrimage" of sorts, and I was incredibly convicted by this passage right here:

"A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasures bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." -Matthew 12: 35-37 (KJV)

We're not even talking about gossip here. Gossip has a connotation of treachery, that the person knows they are speaking of something they should not. This is talking about idle words! Our daily commentary! Banter! Sarcasm, half-truths, witty asides. Not that wit or comedy is at fault- but a laugh isn't worth speaking evil of another.

One of my favorite songs of all time says, "If the eyes are the window to the soul, then the mouth is the door." The things we say reflect who we are inside. I mentioned my workplace, because that's where it's easiest for me (and for many others I know) to slip into this, but this is something that is an overall life issue. For some of us, this has even become so twisted that it becomes a part of our identity. We can get so caught up in the joke that it becomes more important than the person who is affected.

A younger me would say I'm totally blowing this out of proportion. I don't think that's true. Jesus doesn't often speak of the specific things we'll be judged for, so when He says we'll have to give an account for every idle word, my ears perk up. If I'm having to use sarcasm as an outlet to relieve bitterness from a frustrating experience, then I'm probably not as focused on the peace of God as I should be. That's not a judgment; not on me, not on any of us, it's just a statement of fact. When we reach the end, I'm not sure we'll recall who could rattle off the funniest slander (and I've heard some beauties)- I'm pretty sure all that will matter is whose heart looks the most like Christ's. And I'm pretty sure His compassion was paramount to the words that left His mouth.

Just something to think about.

Mario-Cart Master

It’s official. Jeff Liddle is the Mario-Cart Master of St. Paul’s. We had a showdown Sunday night after the 6pm service. Jeff Liddle, Jason Riddell, and me. And that was the order of Mario-Cart greatness.

So Jason and I are back in training, practicing for the next Mario-Cart showdown. Any other would-be challengers feel free to contact Jeff, Jason or me for our next tournament.

But be warned, these guys are good. Real good. I thought I was as well, but I got stuck fighting with the computer drivers in the battle for bronze.

Potluck?

A few people suggested we have potluck dinners in between services. I definitely like the idea of sharing some meals together, but I doubt we’ll be able to do it in between services.

The first problem is logistical. We simply don’t have the parking to have both services in the building at the same time. When one service is full, the parking lot is full.

The second problem is frequency. We did potluck dinners after the Saturday services and it gets tiring week after week—particularly the set-up and clean up. So I don’t think a weekly meal is all that feasible.

But I do think the suggestion points to a great idea. We should find ways as a community to share meals together. Perhaps we could have meals at some membership meetings. Perhaps we could have a summer-cookout off location. Or we could do something else. But I would like for us to share some meals together as a community.

More On Friendship

This weekend we talked about the importance of Sabbath friends: friends who extend you grace and speak truth to you. I cited a few proverbs about friendship. But there are lots more. Here are all the proverbs I considered citing in the message:

A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 12:26

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. Proverbs 13:20

He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise. Proverbs 15:31

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Proverbs 20:5

Like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble. Proverbs 25:19

Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:6

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13