Experiences In Church Transformation

Quit talking!!!

One of the very important aspects of being a Christian leader, or actually any Christian, is regular communication with the Lord.  However, that can also be very scary.  Just like conversations with other humans, you have no control over what the Lord may say back.  There may also be times that the Lord wakes you up in the middle of the night to have a convesation. 

Recently I was sharing with one of the leaders of the church that I was uncomfortable by a comment that he made.  He indicated to me that he mentioned what he did because the Lord had decided to have a conversation with him in the middle of the night.  After the two of us dialogued about what he had shared with a group, it became clear to us that the Lord was creating some tension for us to help us determine if we are still on the course that the Lord had set or if we needed a course adjustment.

I jokingly said to the leader, "Quit talking with the Lord, it can be unsettling!"  While I said the comment in a joking manner and we both laugh, there is some reality to it.  Maybe that is why individuals choose not to be in conversation with the Lord regularly.  The reality is that some of those conversations can be unsettling and make us uncomfortable.  However, if we come to realize that the Lord only seeks to benefit us, we quickly can see how being unsettled will lead us to even greater things.

So don't sto talking.  Just realize you may not always be comfortable with the course of the conversation!

Oh NO, it's here

In my last blog post I talked about the anticipation in regards to a projection screen arriving.  Within 48 hours of that post, it arrived.  Now you would assume that I was terribly excited about its arrival but within 72 hours, I was anything but excited.  You see, with the arrival of the screen came the realization that I huge learning curve had just been dumped into my lap.  I had to learn a new way of organizing worship, a new computer program in much more detail than I had known prior, and a new way of even leading worship.  Of course, this learning all needed to take place on an already very hectic week.  I was ready to scream.

Thank goodness time changes perspectives.  This week has been much better with the learning and the time management.  I was able to devote a large portion of yesterday to helping my administrative assistant learn the new computer program and to revamp the way that I put the elements of a worship service together.  There has been an increase in organization and an ability to get key players more involved.  I am excited about worship this Sunday and an opportunity to fully integrate the new technology to enhance our worship of the Lord.  There have even been a few members comment on how great an addition the system is to our worship (and they only saw 1/3 of the service utilizing it last week).

I am sure that there will still be some glitches to work out.  I am sure that I will continue to make mistakes with the system and its use.  But what an exciting time it is for our congregation and the worship of our Lord.  Like a friend said to me, "It is kind of like having a baby, you anticipate what great joy it is going to be but when it comes time for the arrival, you realize what a learning curve you now have."