tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-200130592024-03-14T02:57:16.055-04:00Momo's MusingsThoughts on worship, ministry, and life from a Baptist Minister of Music.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.comBlogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-89033123621498863172015-10-01T10:05:00.000-04:002015-10-01T23:11:01.799-04:00Rejoicing in Trouble??? (Romans 5:3-5)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><sup>3 </sup></i><i>We
also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. <sup>4 </sup>And patience produces character, and character
produces hope. <sup>5 </sup>And this hope will never disappoint us,
because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love
through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.</i> (Romans 5:3-5, NCV)</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<br>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was in my second or third year serving <span class="style421"><span style="color: black;"></span></span>as Minister of Music and Youth at Lane Avenue Baptist Church (now The Crossing Community Church) in Columbus, OH, and Dawn and I were exhausted (especially Dawn) in our struggle to balance the church responsibilities with the demands of parenting a very difficult toddler. We knew that Taylor was not your average toddler, but we did not yet know that we were dealing with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0.15in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From my very first Youth planning meeting I had been hearing this one name over and over again. Pete Kelly had served as the Youth Ministry intern a couple of summers earlier, and every story I heard told me that he could do no wrong. He planned the most creative activities that were the most fun anyone had ever had; and the Bible studies he taught were deeper and more compelling than anyone had ever taught before. I soon began to realize that nothing I did could possibly measure up to "The Legend of Pete Kelly." I began to strongly dislike someone I had never met.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After about 2 years, I finally met Pete Kelly when he came to visit one Sunday morning. I tried hard to maintain my dislike (beneath a gracious façade, of course) as we talked after the service, but I was disappointed to find him annoyingly likeable. I just couldn't help but like him. Our conversation was punctuated by my struggle to manage the very difficult toddle version of Taylor, whom I was holding as we spoke. When Taylor head-butted me in the face I mumbled an embarrassed apology and briefly acknowledged our difficulties. Pete responded, <i>"Maybe he is the chisel that God has chosen to use to shape you into the image of Christ."</i> I found it a little easier not to like him after that. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pete Kelly's response was NOT what I wanted to hear. I didn't want theology, for crying out loud! I wanted--no, I <i>needed</i>--words of understanding to help me get through the next few hours. I needed someone to tell me that I would be OK ... that we would get through this. Instead, Pete Kelly gave me a word picture that keeps ringing in my ears whenever I encounter difficulty in my life. it doesn't make the struggles easier, but it does change my focus.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0.15in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) wrote a hymn that I have never seen in a hymnal (though I must admit to never having searched my own collection for the text). I know it from a beautiful choral setting: <i><b>The Master's Touch.</b></i></span></span></div>
<br>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>In the still air the music lies unheard;</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>In the rough marble beauty lies unseen.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>To make the music and the beauty needs</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>The Master's touch, the Sculptor's chisel keen.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Great Master, touch us with Thy skillful hands;</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0.15in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Let not the music that is in us die;</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Great sculptor, hew and polish us, nor let</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Hidden and lost, Thy form within us lie.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><br></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Spare not the stroke; do with us what Thou wilt;</b></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 4pt 0.15in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Let there be naught unfinished, broken, marred;</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Complete Thy purpose that we may become</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b>Thy perfect image--Thou our God and Lord.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<br>
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<br>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That's enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> </i></span></span> </div>
<br>Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-41428367683488524862015-05-13T11:33:00.000-04:002015-05-13T20:59:37.243-04:00Blind to Privilege<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Assigned the
task of writing a story for homework, the young elementary school student began:
<i>“Once upon a time there was a poor
family. The father was poor, the mother was poor, the children were poor …” </i>Further
illustrating the depth of poverty in the household, she continued<i>, “… the maid was poor, the butler was poor,
the chauffeur was poor, and the gardener was poor. <u>Everybody</u> in the
family was poor.”</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We chuckle – or
at least smile – at that story as it reveals the naïveté of a child not yet old
enough to understand the economic privilege into which she was born.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It is important
that we come to terms with our own economic privilege, but in the past few
years I have come to understand that privilege goes far beyond mere economics. Too
many of us live with the same level of blissful naïveté as that elementary
school child … but following Christ calls us to increase our awareness of the
plight of others in our communities who—despite all appearances otherwise—still
bear the burden of oppression. The situations in Ferguson, Charleston, and
Baltimore should teach us that there is still a huge divide. I don’t usually
comment much on politically charged topics, but I am moved to do so today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The last week of classes, one
of the students who played in the brass quintet for us on Easter was uncharacteristically
late for the end-of-semester band concert – the last concert of his college
experience. He had left himself plenty of time to drive back to campus for the
concert, but was unexpectedly delayed because a broken tail-light caught the
attention of state trooper. Despite his exemplary conduct and appearance
(he was dressed in his tuxedo for the concert), the trooper asked to search the
vehicle because he deemed it “suspicious.” With nothing to hide, but also aware
that it would make him late for the concert, he agreed to the search … which
the trooper conducted only after locking him in the back seat of the cruiser.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Knowing this student
as I do, I am at a loss for what might have caused the trooper to sense
anything “suspicious.” Not only is this young man an outstanding student, he is also
president of the student body and holds leadership offices in several other
campus organizations. He always dresses in sharp, business-like attire and
always conducts himself in like manner. In his four years at the college he has
earned the respect of students and faculty alike.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></b>
<b style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Let me be clear here before I continue:</i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> The job we ask our law enforcement personnel to do is more difficult and dangerous than we who are outside the profession can ever understand fully. Faced with the possibility -- however remote -- of any situation becoming dangerous, I think we all would agree that it would be better to err in the direction of too much control than too little. </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">This it not about that.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is about our blindness to the privilege we enjoy that folks we rub elbows with every day never experience. This is about the fact that, simply by virtue of the color of our skin, neither I nor my sons run the risk of that kind of unwarranted suspicion, but our African American friends live with that risk </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">every time they drive</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Friends, that must
change. I don’t know what the next step is, but it begins with awareness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That’s enough to
think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-82018767234428167342015-03-19T16:16:00.001-04:002015-03-19T16:54:22.735-04:00Worship by [your name here]<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the church
growth-movement that began (as I experienced it) in the mid-to-late 20<sup>th</sup> century, North American
Evangelicalism accepted a pragmatic, numerical-increase based approach to how we think about church that
is deeply influenced by marketplace capitalism. The
church-growth movement was all about finding sure-fire methods to reach
more people for Christ (a laudable goal); and the substantial numerical
growth of certain churches that applied those methods was taken as
validation of those methods. The painful reality is that, despite 30+
years of adopting proven church-growth strategies, the total number of
people in North America who identify as followers of Christ continues to
decline. (I must admit that the scientific side of me wonders if we
would have experienced a steeper decline in those numbers without the
church-growth movement ... but there is no way to test that theory.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marketplace capitalism so pervades everything in North America that we scarcely notice it unless we think about it (much in the way that we scarcely notice the air we breathe unless we think about it). Although the marketplace
mindset has produced quite a few mega-churches (and lest anyone misunderstand my critique, I do believe that thousands have come to Christ through many of them), many other churches -- churches that have
tried their very best to implement those same "sure-fire" methods -- have have plateaued or declined … and some have died.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are
already <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/bhpub/edoc/living-proof-live-2015-poster-greenville.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=1FAF154W9TVZ6M3REZG2&Expires=1726000356&Signature=kY81xeNHNP4kZekGHLcK8NB71Xo%3D">posters</a> all over our town for the Beth Moore event in Greenville this coming July. Right beside Beth Moore's face on the poster is Travis Cottrell's (looking cooler than I ever will with his strategically unshaven face and hip hairstyle), and underneath her name are the words <i>“worship by Travis Cottrell.” </i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Beth
Moore and Travis Cottrell both probably love Jesus more and better than
I do, so please understand as you read further that this is not a criticism of either them or their ministries.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I often remind the folks in my congregation that NONE of the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic words from scripture that
we translate into English as “worship” has anything to do with music. Not one. But what
does Travis Cottrell do at Beth Moore events? He leads music … and make no
mistake, he does it really well (while looking cool and hip, too). Perhaps the main reason that I continue to rant about the erroneous practice of calling music “worship” is that far too
many Christians continue to think of “worship” primarily in terms of something musical that someone does (that we get to soak up as recipients of what they do). Complicating this mindset is the assumption that if we can only get somebody cool and hip to lead (and add fancy lights and sound) then more people will be drawn to our church -- and perhaps to Jesus</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> ... that is until they hear about the cooler, hipper stuff going on at the church in the next town over.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hear me clearly: while I am firmly convinced that Travis Cottrell is a committed worshiper of Jesus Christ, <i>Christian </i><i>worship is not what Travis
Cottrell does at Beth Moore events. </i>Worship is not just being led in singing by a gifted artist like Travis Cottrell. Worship is not limited to a musical activity.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Long before our current high-profile, high-energy, high-tech, deeply stirring worship gatherings in huge arenas, C. S. Lewis wrote:</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Neither the greatest excellence of a trained performance from the choir*, nor the heartiest and most enthusiastic bellowing from the pews, must be taken that any specifically religious activity is going on. It may be so, or it may not. (from the essay <i>On Church Music</i> in <b><i>Christian Reflections</i></b>)</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Replace "choir" with "gifted worship leader" to bring the quote into today's context.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I continue to
think and pray about how to respond to these realities, my heart and mind are
drawn toward the importance of <b><i>Christian community </i></b>among our
people and the understanding of <i>C</i></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>hristian worship as how those who seek to follow Jesus Christ engage with each other (and all of creation for that matter) before God. </i></span></span>At the <a href="http://festivalbythesea.org/2015-youth-festival/">2015 Youth Choir Festival by the Sea</a>, our Sunday morning worship
service included this wonderful hymn text by Fred Kaan:<a href="http://www.stmga.org/Pdfs/0809/Beatitudes/SpetPutPeace.pdf">Put Peace Into Each Other's Hands</a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That’s enough to
think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.</span></span></div>
Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-83585011173731578052014-12-10T12:17:00.000-05:002014-12-10T12:22:59.625-05:00Be Here Now (Kyle Matthews)For a couple of Sundays at least I have used the words “Attending to God’s Word” as a heading in the worship bulletin. I believe that the words <i><b>attendance</b></i> and <i><b>attention</b></i> probably have a common root. You may not know, but I take medication for attention deficit disorder every day. Living with ADHD means that I have more trouble than most folks being <i><b>attentive</b></i> … in other words, being mentally present as well as physically so. Medication helps, and I've learned some effective skills to compensate over the years.<br />
<br />
My friend <a href="http://www.kylematthews.com/">Kyle Matthews</a> recently released a new CD. Every time a new CD of his comes out, I find that his words intersect with the struggles of my life. I'm not at liberty to share the experiences of others, but I know that I am not alone in that. This link will take you to the published lyrics of the title cut:<br />
<br />
<i><b><a href="http://www.kylematthews.com/track/672299/be-here-now?trackship_id=747810">Be Here Now</a></b></i>. <br />
<br />
My sons and some of my friends tease me about my enthusiasm for Kyle's work. Please note that I gain nothing from this plug. You will find words that can heal the broken places in your soul in any of Kyle's CDs. But this most recent one is especially worth your time -- particularly if you are, or have been, in local church ministry.<br />
<br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-25960871560578285282014-12-05T13:30:00.000-05:002014-12-05T13:40:01.201-05:00Music ≠ Worship<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Worship ≠ Music, and Music ≠ Worship; but 21st century North American evangelicalism sees them as practically same thing. Go to any conference and look at the schedule. When it says “worship” it almost invariably means that someone will be leading music (or in some cases just doing music) up front with the (often missed) goal of getting everybody to sing together. Scripture says that we are to sing to God as an act of worship, so what’s the problem? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In a recent Christianity.com article, journalist Todd Pruitt asks: <a href="http://www.christianity.com/church/worship-and-hymns/is-your-church-worship-more-pagan-than-christian.html"><i>Is Your Church Worship More Pagan than Christian?</i></a> Problems arise when </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>... music is viewed as a means to facilitate an encounter with God; it will move us closer to God. In this schema, music becomes a means of mediation between God and man. … Music and ‘the worship experience’ are viewed as means by which we enter the presence of God and receive his saving benefits. … This is a common pagan notion. It is far from Christian.</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pruitt then shares 4 consequences of viewing music itself as an encounter with God found in the book <i><b>True Worship</b></i> by Vaughan Roberts (neither the book title nor the author's name is familiar to me). </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><b>God’s Word is marginalized.</b></i> Scripture reminds us that faith is generated as we encounter the living Word of God. Feelings may be involved, but the presence of feelings does not indicate worship.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><b>Our assurance is threatened. </b></i>If we depend on music in order to feel close to God, then it is the feelings we are seeking, not God.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><b>Musicians are given a priestly status. </b></i>We prize their ability to create a “worshipful” atmosphere more than their faithfulness to Christ.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><b>Division is increased. </b></i>Because musical taste is subjective there will be a wide variety of musical preferences within any given group of people. But we segregate ourselves according to style preference. </span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pruitt finishes with this thought:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>Scripture is full of exhortations to God’s people to sing and make music to the Lord. … But it is important to understand that music in our worship is for two specific purposes: to honor God and to edify our fellow believers. Unfortunately, many Christians tend to grant music a sacramental power which Scripture never bestows upon it.</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.
</span>Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-6558410403724754462014-11-03T15:14:00.001-05:002014-11-03T15:14:27.494-05:00Radical Welcome (Kyle Matthews song)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 4.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 110%;">My friend Kyle Matthews sent me a copy of his
latest CD a few weeks ago. I haven’t had a whole lot of time to listen to
it, but as usual his writing hits me right where I live, and draws me to a
healthier place in my journey with Christ. Please allow me to share his words
with you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 4.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.7pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Gill Sans MT"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Come on in! Nobody here will ask you where you've been <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> And being different here is
not a sin—we all fit in!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> We come as strangers, leave
as friends, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> like
next of kin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 31.7pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Gill Sans MT"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I confess a little
fear, a little awkwardness<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> first time I showed up at
this address, who would have guessed <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> it'd come to be the place I
loved the best?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> ... to be
loved and known and not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-top: 6.0pt; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">CH. <b><i>Only those who've been left out<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> can understand what
mercy's about<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> enough to offer
love's radical welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Gill Sans MT"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Gill Sans MT";">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Gill Sans MT","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And love demands that we remember our own circumstance,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> offer forgiveness every
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> a gracious invitation to
the dance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> ... to be
loved and known and not alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">CH. <b><i>Only those who've been left out<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> can understand what
mercy's about<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> enough to offer
love's radical welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">BR. <i>There's a stranger at the door<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> He's
unlike anyone we've seen before<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> Been
uninvited since the day he was born<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> No
room, they said, no room for love.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">CH. <b><i>Only those who've been left out<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> can understand what
mercy's about<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; tab-stops: 13.5pt 27.0pt center 2.25in right 4.5in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> enough to offer
love's radical welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">© 2014 Catalytic Songs,
(BMI). All rights reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Gill Sans MT', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Words printed by
permission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 110%;">Do yourself a favor and go to <a href="http://www.kylematthews.com/">Kyle's website</a> and check his music out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 110%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 110%;">T</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 110%;">hat’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ
to you.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-11377795318186395842014-09-19T16:35:00.002-04:002014-11-03T14:30:02.289-05:00That's Not How Any of This Works!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">You’ve seen the
commercial: Beatrice brags, “Instead of mailing everyone my vacation photos,
I’m saving a ton of time by posting them to my wall,” and points to the actual
pictures physically tacked to the wall behind her. When she brags about saving
time and money by calling a certain insurance company, one of her guests
counters that she saved twice as much in half the time with another company.
Beatrice looks at her and declares, “I unfriend you,” to which she says,
“That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">Whether it’s Beatrice
thumb-tacking pictures to her den wall, Carol on the roof with a bullhorn, or
Milton with his photocopy selfies, the point of the commercials is that in not
understanding something important we risk missing out on something beneficial,
sometimes crucial. Most of those commercials end with someone shaking their
head and gently saying, “That’s not how this works.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">Sometimes I feel like
saying “That’s not how this works!” on Sunday mornings when people use the
passing of the peace in ways that rob it of its purpose. When we see it as a
time to roam the sanctuary greeting as many people as possible, we lose the
opportunity for deeper connection with those immediately around us in the
service. When we use it to carry on an extended chat with someone that we haven’t
seen for a while, we risk ignoring someone who may need a brief touch; and the chat often
continues into the first hymn (last Sunday one lasted through the entire hymn) and
keeps those who are chatting from voicing their praise to God. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 110%; margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">Don’t get me wrong. I
believe that we <i>should</i> do our best as a body of Christ to make sure that all
who gather with us for worship receive a warm, cordial welcome. But can we
trust the church members on the other side of the sanctuary to greet those who
are near them? I also believe that it is important within the context of
Christian community to show compassion for each other, bearing each other’s
burdens. Scripture says that this fulfills the law of Christ. But long one-on-one
conversations about the details of my week (and how I feel about it) belong at
another time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">When I see folks racing
from one side of the sanctuary to the other, or chatting through the hymns, I
want to scream with Beatrice’s friend, <i>“That’s not how this works! That’s not
how any of this works!”</i> because we are missing out on something <i><b>crucial</b></i> when
that happens. </span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">T</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%;">hat’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ
to you.</span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 110%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt;"></span></div>
Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-35025877111628191182014-09-09T17:00:00.000-04:002014-09-09T17:05:29.915-04:00... and also with you.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">On August 16th I accompanied Dawn to the annual Newberry College Music
Department picnic in Lexington. Jim and Sarah Ingram are fabulous hosts, and their house has a spacious deck that provides a great place for the picnic
(we overflow into the carport as well). The picnic is a great opportunity for faculty
and their families to reconnect after the summer, and to integrate the new
faculty into the Music Department family.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Because Newberry College is
associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), this Baptist pastor is usually off the hook as far as being asked to
pray before the meal. It’s an honor to be asked to lead a gathering in prayer,
but I was delighted when Jim asked Dr. Robert Hawkins (professor of organ &
church music) to do so. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">When a Baptist
calls a picnic gathering to prayer, it’s usually something along the lines of
“hey y’all, let’s pray.” Bob called us to prayer with a pattern that (I assume) is
familiar – almost instinctive – to Lutherans. He opened with, <i>“The Lord be with you,”</i> to which most of
us responded, <i>“… and also with you.”</i>
Only then did he say, <i>“Let us pray.”</i> I
detected phrases from the Book of Common Prayer as he framed thoughts that were
fuller of care for the day and for the occasion than anything I might have
prayed. My soul is grateful for how that prayer brought me to a healthier place.
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">I came away
from a primarily social gathering with a few profound spiritual lessons that I
don’t want to forget: </span></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Though Jim Ingram had already called our attention from our scattered
mingling toward a common direction with the news that the food was ready to be
served, the ancient pattern Bob Hawkins used to lead us to prayer drew us into
a deeper sense of community and belonging. We were not just witnesses to the prayer, but rather participants in it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">Invoking Christ’s presence with us in the meal and in the semester
ahead, Bob called everyone [back] into a different way of relating to each
other. His prayer led us into a renewed mindfulness of the gifts of God and the
assurance of Christ’s presence with us. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">There is always nervous tension at the beginning of a new academic
year, and the Newberry Music department has more than its fair share this year
because of significant faculty turnover. In his blessing, Bob shepherded
(pastored, if you will) his colleagues to a healthier place of relating to each
other. I want to do that, too.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">I always enjoy
being around Bob. His calm, gracious manner smells like Jesus to me. I want to
be like that.</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">T</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: large;">hat’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.</span></div>
Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-10037653975757608872013-08-01T09:34:00.002-04:002013-08-01T09:37:07.057-04:00Can People Find Jesus in What We Do?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Blogger's note: after a hiatus of many months, I'm back (I think).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Christian writer
Rachel Held Evans, author of <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Evolving in
Monkey Town</i></b> (2008), and <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Year
of Biblical Womanhood</i></b> (2012) writes on matters of faith and culture … and
her perspective merits our attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
July 27, 2013 contribution to the CNN Belief Blog relates her experiences
speaking to evangelical leaders addressing the exodus of the “millennial” generation
from the church.</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends
and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be
too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice
and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to
choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science
and Christianity, between compassion and holiness.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian
living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how
millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough
questions and wrestling with doubt.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to
questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need
hipper worship bands. …”</span></i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">And I proceed to bang my head against the podium.</span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The “hipper
worship bands” idea is but one of a number of things that we have counted on to
bring people in … and they’re still not coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hear me clearly:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">there is nothing wrong with a church having
a hip worship band … or NOT having one, for that matter</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s what we <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">DO</i></b> with that band (and everything else) that matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More from Rachel Held Evans:</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing
driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">…</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there;
we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we
long for Jesus. </span></i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/27/why-millennials-are-leaving-the-church/">http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/27/why-millennials-are-leaving-the-church/</a></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">That’s enough to
think about for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peace of Christ
to you.</span></span></div>
Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-83183127700022399312013-01-16T23:54:00.001-05:002013-01-16T23:54:59.875-05:00Musings - Quantum Leap of Faith?In 1989 NBC launched a drama show with a sci-fi back story. QUANTUM LEAP starred Scott Bakula as physicist Sam Beckett, who was essentially “lost in time” due to a mishap in a secret government research project trying to unravel the secrets of time travel. Each episode found Beckett in some time and place in the recent past, occupying someone else’s body but with his own consciousness intact. The goal was always the same: fix whatever had gone wrong in that time and place in order to restore the timeline thus freeing him to return to his own place and time. His friend and co-worker Al (Dean Stockwell) would pop into a scene several times each episode (nobody else could see him … go figure), trying to help him figure out what it was that he needed to do. <br />
<br />
I thought about QUANTUM LEAP a couple of weeks ago as I thought about some folks I know who are going through some challenging situations. To be honest, some of their situations just make me mad, and I find myself screaming stuff at God like: “Where is Your love in this?” … or … “Haven’t they struggled enough?” … or … “You know that this makes it harder for skeptics to believe, don’t You? What were You thinking???” <br />
<br />
When we were expecting Benjamin, Dawn had to spend the last half of the pregnancy – from early March until he was born on May 31st – in bed. A neighbor who was a little too pious for her own good visited one day; and in an effort to be more spiritual than was appropriate to the situation, thought out loud: “I wonder what it is that God could be trying to teach you through this ordeal.” That’s the first time I remember bumping into that idea, but I have heard it several times since … usually with the idea that once you learn whatever it is, then the bad situation will resolve and life will improve … and if it doesn’t, it’s probably because you’re a slow learner. I do not find that mindset supported in scripture. <br />
<br />
I do not understand why God, in His sovereignty, allows some of the things to happen that, in His omniscience He KNOWS are going to happen, and from which He could easily protect us in His omnipotence; but I cannot believe that God brutalizes His children in order to teach us—which is what the mindset mentioned above implies. Life is not an exercise in which all we have to do to get relief from a hellish situation is to learn a lesson God is trying to teach. Every episode of QUANTUM LEAP ended with Beckett, having resolved the situation in that episode, being transported by the miracle of quantum physics (and television special effects) into a precarious new situation. And just before the screen goes black we see enough of his new predicament to feel his trepidation as he stammers: “Oh boy …”.<br />
<br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-33929554588692397162012-06-19T16:45:00.001-04:002012-06-19T16:45:13.501-04:00I usually don't write blog posts into the blogger interface. My blog posts are usually what I have written for my Wednesday evening choir rehearsals, uploaded, checked for text formatting issues (making sure the text that was in italics, or bold, etc. in the original gets treated the same way in the blog upload), with occasional additional stuff that I may not have had room for in the half-page format my rehearsal handout allows. <br /><br />
As I was beginning this process of getting caught up on my blog uploads, amid the cell phone interruptions -- some church-related, some personal, some both -- I discovered that I haven't uploaded anything since January. I have an errand to run quickly now, so there will be no uploading yet (unless I dropbox everything and deal with it at home this evening).<br />
<br />
Anyhow, I hope the one follower of my blog will forgive the unintentional hiatus. Blog uploads will resume (and in playing catch-up I will be posting several per week).<br />
<br />
Grace and peace,<br />
<br />
Mo.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-56077901618616543792012-01-25T17:17:00.001-05:002012-01-25T17:19:52.247-05:00A Sacrifice that Costs Me ... What?Second Samuel 24 has this account of God punishing Israel with a plague after King David ordered a census of the fighting men. Though I have known this story for years, my understanding of what got them into the situation is still not completely clear … because the scriptures are rather vague about that part (read it yourself and you’ll see). I’ve studied it in multiple translations and have heard it preached multiple times. I’ve read and heard a number of opinions that all make sense; but they are all plausible conjecture at best – neither contradicted nor explicitly supported by the text. We’ll pick it up in the GNB where it becomes very clear.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>18 That same day Gad went to David and said to him, Go up to Araunah's threshing place and build an altar to the Lord. 19 David obeyed the Lord's command and went as Gad had told him to.</i><br />
<i>20 Araunah looked down and saw the king and his officials coming up to him. He threw himself on the ground in front of David 21 and asked, Your Majesty, why are you here? David answered, To buy your threshing place and build an altar for the Lord, in order to stop the epidemic.</i><br />
<i>22 Take it, Your Majesty, Araunah said, and offer to the Lord whatever you wish. Here are these oxen to burn as an offering on the altar; here are their yokes and the threshing boards to use as fuel. 23 Araunah gave it all to the king and said to him, May the Lord your God accept your offering.</i><br />
<i>24 But the king answered, No, I will pay you for it.<b> I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing</b>. And he bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. 25 Then he built an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. The Lord answered his prayer, and the epidemic in Israel was stopped.</i></blockquote><br />
I highlighted the part that has caused this story to stick in my mind for all these years. It’s the basis of the primary thought in my philosophy of Ministry through Music:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"> <i>The worship of God and the communication of the message of the Gospel are worthy of nothing less than the very best and highest art that we can possibly muster (regardless the “style” definition with which any of it can be tagged).</i> </blockquote>It is <i>because</i> God is worthy of more than we can possibly give that we devote our time and effort to learning and refining music for the purpose of leading our people in the worship of God and communicating the message of the Gospel. If it’s just about “<i>what I like</i>” or “<i>how it makes me feel</i>,” then showing up just when it’s convenient or when we feel like it is fine. But if it’s about giving God the glory due his name, then it’s worth any cost, any inconvenience. Scripture calls it a “<i><b>sacrifice</b></i> of praise” for a reason.<br />
<br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-40066733540654779562012-01-19T11:12:00.001-05:002012-01-19T11:13:34.137-05:00Our Lives in RuinsI’m not dropping this for any desire for big notice, but it is ever on my mind that I will be 50 years old in less than 3 months. I remember when I hit 40. It was on a Sunday, and a certain choir member or two saw to it that it would be a birthday to remember … from the black crepe paper and such hung the choir room all the way to the black rose sitting in the middle of my desk in a Coca-Cola can that had also been spray-painted black. I remember telling Dad that I had always thought that I would feel more “grown-up” by age 40 than I actually did. He replied that we never feel as grown-up as we think we ought to.<br />
<br />
To our choir members in their 90s (as of last week we now have 3 ... and they are among our most faithful and spiritually alive): I admire you and hope to be doing at least as well as you when I am in my 70s.<br />
<br />
<i><b>I</b></i> hit 40, but it feels like 50 will <i><b>hit me</b></i>. Thinking in that vein, I’ve been meditating on<a href="http://the-dead-poet.tumblr.com/post/15536767547/our-lives-in-ruins"> this essay </a>my son Taylor posted on his blog last week: <br />
<br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-27011504926483935142012-01-12T16:14:00.000-05:002012-01-12T16:14:16.181-05:00Keeping Christ in ...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">During December there were a lot of e-mails and what-not floating around about keeping Christ in Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We see most of these … or an updated version of the older ones … every year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And most of them are well-meaning, but (in my opinion) based on an uninformed idea that someone is trying to “EX Christ out of Christmas” by replacing “Christ” with “X”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I say that this idea is “uninformed” because I don’t want to be uncharitable by using a harsher term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will use a harsher term if, after hearing my explanation, people continue to be unnecessarily belligerent when they see<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Xmas” in print. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">We need to understand that the word “Christ” in the Greek language starts with the Greek letter CHI, which is the ancient source for the letter X in the Roman alphabet (which is the alphabet that English and most of the other Western languages is written in).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Further, you may be familiar with the acronym IXθΥΣ (Romanized to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ichthus</i> – which means fish in Greek and is the reason Christians have used the fish symbol from the very earliest days of the faith). </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">IXθΥΣ</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> is an acronym consisting of the first letters of the Greek words translated <i>Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Greek letter CHI (X) has stood for Christ since the first century, and theology students use it as shorthand in note-taking in colleges and seminaries even to this day (just as they use THETA (θ) as shorthand for God).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">I saw one in December that I had never seen before, and it bothered me greatly because it took well-meaning ignorance to a nasty conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a music video encouraging people to make a big stink over boycotting businesses that substituted “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas”, and to do so with a curt and not at all kind explanation of why you were leaving and not planning to come back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I guess the fact that it was a very slick, professional-quality production increased my level of ... disappointment ... that people who claim to follow Christ would encourage such ungracious behavior. The song encouraged </span>Christians to take offense at something that really shouldn’t be worried about … and to do so in a way that is sure to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">give</i></b> offense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently they were unaware (or chose to ignore) the fact that the word “holiday” has its root in the term “holy day” … a category in which I believe Christmas firmly resides.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A twitter feed I follow clearly stated that there are people who get all bent out of shape about “keeping Christ in Christmas,” but fail to remember to keep Christ in Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To take a cue from the words of Paul in Ephesians 4 … you <i>shouldn’t</i> have learned Christ in this way.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">This MUSING may seem a few weeks late (and I guess it is from a certain perspective) … but keeping Christ in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Christian</i></b> is year-round.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">That’s enough to think about for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peace of Christ to you.</span></div>Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-72310939651934578712012-01-05T12:04:00.000-05:002012-01-05T12:04:54.381-05:00A New Look at a Not-So-Old HymnOccasionally someone will ask me to name my favorite hymn. It’s a question that usually makes me a little uncomfortable because it's usually a loaded question, often coming in a context that implies judgment of my competence as a Worship Pastor on the basis of how I answer the question. My best answer is that it depends on who is singing it, when, and why.<br />
<br />
Noted British hymn scholar and theologian Erik Routley asserted that a good hymn must be well written, well chosen, and well sung. In this, the first week of a new year, one hymn that my mind has been singing (praying, perhaps?) is this text by Harry Emerson Fosdick. This is the version of the text that is in the 1991 Baptist Hymnal.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>God of Grace and God of Glory</b></i></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>God of grace and God of glory,</i><br />
<i>On Thy people pour Thy power;</i><br />
<i>Crown Thine ancient church’s story,</i><br />
<i>Bring her bud to glorious flower.</i><br />
<i>Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,</i><br />
<i>For the facing of this hour,</i><br />
<i>For the facing of this hour.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Lo! the hosts of evil round us</i><br />
<i>Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways!</i><br />
<i>Fears and doubts too long have bound us,</i><br />
<i>Free our hearts to work and praise.</i><br />
<i>Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,</i><br />
<i>For the living of these days,</i><br />
<i>For the living of these days.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Cure Thy children’s warring madness,</i><br />
<i>Bend our pride to Thy control;</i><br />
<i>Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,</i><br />
<i>Rich in things and poor in soul.</i><br />
<i>Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,</i><br />
<i>Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,</i><br />
<i>Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Set our feet on lofty places,</i><br />
<i>Gird our lives that they may be</i><br />
<i>Armored with all Christ-like graces</i><br />
<i>In the fight to set men free.</i><br />
<i>Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,</i><br />
<i>That we fail not man nor Thee!</i><br />
<i>That we fail not man nor Thee!</i></blockquote><br />
As I researched that hymn, I learned that Fosdick wrote it in the summer of 1930 for the opening of the Riverside Church on October 5, 1930. So in the timeline of church music, it is comparatively recent. Well written? Check. Well chosen? Depends on context. Well sung? That’s our job.<br />
<br />
BTW: if you’re leading a spoken prayer following that hymn, PLEASE do not begin, “Let us pray …”. To sing that hymn well, one must pray the text while singing. Better, then, to say, “Let us continue in prayer …”.<br />
<br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-15089767898956130132011-12-22T13:46:00.000-05:002011-12-22T13:46:54.967-05:00The Stocking Gifts<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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</style> <![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">These next 12 months will be a year of firsts for my family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of you reading this know exactly what I mean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first year following the death of a loved one, every significant event will be the first … whatever … without them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are in that year, and heading toward the first Christmas since Dad passed away in August.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Christmas will always bring up some memories of Dad that will bring laughter and tears at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was without a doubt one of the most giving people I have ever known … but he never made a big show of the giving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His focus was always on the recipient of the gift rather than on the fact that he was giving it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We could always count on seeing Mom melt into a puddle of tears upon opening one of her gifts from Dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have only given Dawn a very few gifts in our almost 25 years of marriage that have made her cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad did it every Christmas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">When children reach a certain age, Santa Claus passes the filling of Christmas stockings on to the parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sisters and I learned about this phenomenon when we were all three in our teens and we began to see a change in the kinds of gifts we found in our stockings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The usual candy and trinkets were joined by three or four new things with cute little notes attached in Dad’s handwriting explaining why they were in there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost all of them were humorous, like the eyebrow pencil I found in my stocking the first time I tried to grow a moustache (my face didn’t produce a “decent” one until I was about 22 or 23).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good-natured teasing and the laughter that the stocking-gift notes brought came to be one of the things we most anticipated about Christmas morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also Dad’s gift of knowing, understanding (usually), and caring (always) about our lives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">One of the miracles of Christmas is that our God actually steps into the lives of those who worship Him and gets involved in the things that matter to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He did it at Christ’s birth, and He continues to do it by His Holy Spirit in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While other world religions have deities that demand and dictate to their followers, the one true God pours himself out into the lives of those who would accept His love through His gift of Jesus Christ.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt;">That’s enough to think about for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peace of Christ to you.</span></div>Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-5127821280790180142011-11-21T16:43:00.000-05:002011-11-21T16:43:37.657-05:00Lessons I Learned This WeekTwo lessons learned a couple of weeks ago, actually. But I wrote this the Wednesday following the lessons learned. <br />
<br />
I learned two lessons this week that I want to share with you. The first one lifted my heart … the second made me repent.<br />
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<br />
I received a phone call Monday afternoon after staff meeting that appeared to me to be one of my least favorite kinds of calls: a “cold call” either from a sales rep or from a booking agent for a Southern Gospel group. It was a “cold call”, but far from the typical one. It was not a booking agent or a sales rep for a publisher or media producer; it was a composer/arranger whose music I have known for some 20 years or more. While we were on the phone I took a “Golden Rule” opportunity, which I paraphrase this way: do for others what you would like for others to do for you.<br />
<br />
A couple of this gentleman's anthems have been among my personal favorites for the FBC Sanctuary Choir for years. I would share the titles with you in this post, but out of respect for his privacy I want to preserve his anonymity ... you'll see why soon.. As we talked, I took the opportunity to thank him for his work and went so far as to tell him that in my mind, were I to choose a “signature piece” for this choir, it would be this one particular title. He warned me before it happened, but my simple words of appreciation moved him to tears, affecting him more deeply than just revealing emotion in the tone of his voice. On the contrary, he sobbed deeply and unashamedly. Life has him at a very tender spot right now with some health issues in his family too private to share openly; but he shared them with me asking for prayer. Something I must have said gave him permission to be vulnerable and to trust me with something very sacred. Lesson: ALWAYS take the opportunity to say thank you … and go into specific detail when you do. The person you say it to may need that affirmation more than you can imagine.<br />
<br />
The second lesson I learned yesterday (actually, November 8th). The Laurens Baptist Association has a women’s dinner every Fall. This year it was in our turn to host, and they asked First Light to share. Great! More time away from family. Wanting everything to be right for the event, I spent a good deal of time yesterday afternoon getting the sound system untangled and re-routed for optimal functionality (pulled a muscle in my back in the process). Worried over stuff here, I forgot to fill up the lovely wife's car before her trip to Greenwood. Frustrated and irritated, I made the comment to a trusted friend that I hoped that we didn’t have to host this thing again for a good long while.<br />
<br />
During the event, as Edna Ellison spoke and asked us to consider whether we were living our lives as acts of worship, the Holy Spirit convicted me and I had to repent. My attitude toward the event was bad and worse. On the surface I was all smiles and politeness. Underneath I was bitter and resentful. Several times during her talk, Ellison asked, "Are you worshiping while I'm talking?" Or, "Are you still worshiping or has your mind drifted to something else?" Lesson: Romans 12:1 service to others is <i><b>only</b></i> worship if you give it freely without bitterness.<br />
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That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-80920569169309471972011-10-27T16:16:00.000-04:002011-10-27T16:16:51.690-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 10 (final)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:TargetScreenSize>800x600</o:TargetScreenSize> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">A twitter feed I follow posted a link yesterday to a blog with the following quote from a book entitled <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Church that Never Sleeps:</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Sometimes God will allow tough times to come at you immediately when you're following a dream because He wants to find out up front if you can withstand them. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">That makes sense <i><b>only</b></i> if you don’t think about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If God is omniscient (all-knowing), then what in the world does He need to find out?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He already knows!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unbound by time, He already knows the outcome of every big endeavor every believer who will ever walk the face of the earth will undertake … and whether they can withstand the tough times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a nice thought, but it unintentionally denies God one of His key attributes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">There may be some who are wondering how long I will continue just parroting the words of others rather than coming up with something original to share in my Musings. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I sometimes wonder that myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The above thought was original, by the way.) Solomon was right, though, when he wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To think that a profound thought that comes to me has never come to anyone else is a bit arrogant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But that doesn’t keep me from trying to think deeply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading the deep thoughts of others helps.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Today’s entry will be the last that I will share from Peter Scazzero’s devotional book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Daily Office.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one was written by Lynn Baab in her book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sabbath Keeping:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest:</i></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The Sabbath teaches us grace because it connects us experientially to the basic truth that nothing we do will earn God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as we are working hard, using our gifts to serve others, experiencing joy in our work along with the toil, we are always in danger of believing that our actions trigger God’s love for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only in stopping, really stopping, do we teach our hearts and souls that we are loved apart from what we do.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">During a day of rest, we have the chance to take a deep breath and look at our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God is at work every minute of our days, yet we seldom notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Noticing requires intentional stopping and the Sabbath provides that opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the Sabbath we can take a moment to see the beauty of a maple leaf, created with great care by our loving Creator …</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; margin-left: .15in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Without time to stop, we cannot notice God’s hand in our lives, practice thankfulness, step outside our culture’s values or explore our deepest longings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without time to rest, we will seriously undermine our ability to experience God’s unconditional love and acceptance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Sabbath is a gift whose blessings cannot be found anywhere else.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">That’s enough to think about for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peace of Christ to you.</span></div>Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-41305112640214509462011-10-26T13:29:00.002-04:002011-10-26T13:31:42.550-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 9From my rehearsal notes: Wednesday, October 19 -- we're almost caught up and current! Woohoo! <br />
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As we loaded the CHS Band equipment up after they played their show in Chesnee last Saturday, we discovered that one of my tires was not completely flat, but it was dangerously low. We successfully pumped the tire back up and it held all the way back to Clinton (thanks be to God), but further examination revealed that all four tires were suffering from a case of dry-rot. First thing Monday morning my horse got new shoes.<br />
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The old tires still had a good deal of tread wear left in them, but they were 9 years old and the truck was never kept in a garage or carport. Constant exposure to the UV rays of sunlight with no shelter breaks down the structural integrity of the tires. There’s a parallel in our lives. Our souls were created with a need for Sabbath rest (shelter) on a weekly basis. When I don’t observe Sabbath (and I usually don’t do so very successfully), I abuse my soul and run the risk of spiritual dry-rot.<br />
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As was last week’s quote, this week’s quote is from a book by Wayne Mueller – <i><b>Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives</b></i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. We do not stop when we are finished. We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages, or get out this report that is due tomorrow. We stop because it is time to stop.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Sabbath requires surrender. If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop – because our work is never completely done. With every accomplishment there arises a new responsibility. If we refuse rest until we are finished, we will never rest until we die. Sabbath dissolves the artificial urgency of our days, because it liberates us from the need to be finished.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">We stop because there are forces larger than we that take care of the universe, and while our efforts are important, necessary, and useful, they are not (nor are we) indispensable. The galaxy will somehow manage without us for this hour, this day, and so we are invited –nay, commanded – to relax, and enjoy our relative unimportance, our humble place at the table in a very large world.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Do not be anxious about tomorrow, Jesus said again and again. Let the work of this day be sufficient.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Sabbath says, be still. Stop. There is no rush to get to the end, because we are never finished.</blockquote><br />
As I wrote last week, I share this stuff with you because I need it as desperately as anyone.<br />
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That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-12284568596429882782011-10-23T16:46:00.000-04:002011-10-23T16:46:30.919-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 8Blogger's note: This entry is from my rehearsal notes from October 12. Enjoy!<br />
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As you know, your church staff spent last Thursday and Friday at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. What started in 2001 as a conference to equip and inspire young leaders (about 1500 attended the first one) has grown to a massive scale over the past 11 years. There were 13,000 in attendance in Atlanta this year – and there are additional conferences in the Catalyst “brand” across the US now as well. I’m not one who really enjoys huge crowds and high-adrenaline atmospheres (which has been a large part of the Catalyst experience, especially in recent years), but to learn from the teachers they bring in is worth the personal inconvenience and discomfort.<br />
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This year, however, there was a deliberate effort <i><b>not</b></i> to try to blow the top off the adrenaline meter with the music in the main sessions (there was still enough of that outside the venue … you’d have to go to one in order to understand). My adrenaline-bruised soul found it a welcome change. Wayne Mueller put it this way:<br />
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<blockquote>… we can work without stopping, faster and faster, electric lights making artificial day so the whole machine can labor without ceasing. But remember: No living thing lives like this. There are greater rhythms that govern how life grows … seasons and sunsets and great movements of seas and stars … We are part of the creation story, subject to all its laws and rhythms.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>To surrender to the rhythms of seasons and flowerings and dormancies is to savor the secret of life itself.</blockquote><blockquote>Many scientists believe we are “hard-wired” like this, to live in rhythmic awareness, to be in and then step out, to be engrossed and then detached, to work and then to rest. It follows then that the commandment to remember the Sabbath is not a burdensome requirement from some law-giving deity – “You ought, you’d better, you must” – but rather a remembrance of a law that is firmly embedded in the fabric of nature. It is a reminder of how things really are, the rhythmic dance to which we unavoidably belong.</blockquote><br />
As I write this, it is approaching 3:00pm on Wednesday … my busiest day of the week. My soul is compressed by the must-get-done-before-this-evening-ness of life. I don’t share this stuff with you because I think I have a handle on it. I share it with you because I need it as desperately as any of you. God is not honored by my frantic pace; His work in my life is diminished by it. And I am not alone.<br />
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That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-35337264479626482902011-10-19T18:23:00.001-04:002011-10-19T18:24:42.023-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 7I have returned to the ongoing discussion thread of the past few weeks. Week 6 of the Daily Office study focuses on helping us to establish a pattern of stopping during our day to remind ourselves of the presence of God in our lives and in the goings on around us. If I had been writing the book, I probably would have put this first … but I think it is very effective coming where it does in the pattern of recovery of spiritual health. Sabbath-taking (talking about brief sabbaths throughout the day as well as taking a Sabbath rest during the week) is a lost art in this day and age. We just don’t know how to do it … and I mean myself when I say “we.”<br />
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In <i><b>New Seeds of Contemplation</b></i>, Trappist Monk and theologian Thomas Merton wrote:<br />
<blockquote>Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the good soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>This is no new idea. Christ in the parable of the sower long ago told us that “the seed is the word of God.” We often think this applies only to the word of the Gospel as formally preached in churches on Sundays. But every expression of the will of God is in some sense a “word” of God and therefore a “seed” of new life. The ever-changing reality in the midst of which we live should awaken us to the possibility of an uninterrupted dialogue with God.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>We must learn to realize that the love of God seeks us in every situation, and seeks our good.</blockquote>As I read that back on July 21, I was blown away by the fact that God seeks me in EVERY situation … even the ones that feel totally devoid of the presence of God. God is not limited by our perception of His presence. He is always there. In the words of Carl Jung: <i>“Bidden or unbidden, God is here.</i>” Another way of saying it might be this: <i>“God is here whether I want Him here or not.”</i> Or maybe this (and I really take comfort in this): <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>“Even if I forget to invite Him, God comes anyway.”</b></i></span></div><br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-48446782349993170992011-10-17T11:25:00.000-04:002011-10-17T11:25:46.052-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 6Still sharing gems from Peter Scazzero’s <i><b>The Daily Office</b></i>. I would have found the following prayer meaningful even if I didn’t have an Irish Catholic brother-in-law named Patrick.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Prayer of St. Patrick</b></div><blockquote><i>I arise today</i><br />
<i>Through God’s strength to pilot me;</i><br />
<i>God’s might to uphold me,</i><br />
<i>God’s wisdom to guide me,</i><br />
<i>God’s eye to look before me,</i><br />
<i>God’s ear to hear me,</i><br />
<i>God’s word to speak for me,</i><br />
<i>God’s hand to guard me,</i><br />
<i>God’s way to lie before me,</i><br />
<i>God’s shield to protect me,</i><br />
<i>God’s hosts to save me</i><br />
<i>From snares of the devil,</i><br />
<i>From temptations of vices,</i><br />
<i>From every one who desires me ill,</i><br />
<i>Afar and anear,</i><br />
<i>Alone or in a multitude.</i><br />
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<i>Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,</i><br />
<i>Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,</i><br />
<i>Christ on my right, Christ on my left,</i><br />
<i>Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,</i><br />
<i>Christ in the heart of every mane who thinks of me,</i><br />
<i>Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,</i><br />
<i>Christ in the eye that sees me,</i><br />
<i>Christ in the ear that hears me,</i><br />
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</i><br />
<i>I arise today</i><br />
<i>Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,</i><br />
<i>Through a belief in the Threeness,</i><br />
<i>Through a confession of the Oneness</i><br />
<i>Of the creator of creation.</i></blockquote><br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-13935694156891114122011-10-12T14:30:00.000-04:002011-10-12T14:30:29.065-04:00Words of Wisdom from THE DAILY OFFICE - part 5Blogger's note: Still catching up on posting. This entry is from my rehearsal handout from Wednesday, August 31.<br />
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I find it interesting (though not at all welcome) that today finds us with two choir members out of town to look after parents with age-related health issues. We will be careful to lift them up in our prayers not only now, but in the days to come. Your prayers for me and my family in a similar situation were life-blood to us.<br />
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Even though it has taken me more than 8 weeks to go through Peter Scazzero’s 8-week spiritual journey, The Daily Office, it may be about time to let this be the final Musings in the series … next week’s Musings will tell you whether I decided to end it here or not. Here are some of the things I found noteworthy enough to copy into my journal:<br />
<blockquote><i>We want to follow Jesus into the abundant life of resurrection. But we are less than enthusiastic about following him into the Garden of Gethsemane</i>. ~ Peter Scazzero.<br />
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<i>Catastrophic loss by definition precludes recovery. It will transform us or destroy us, but it will never leave us the same. There is no going back to the past. … It is not therefore true that we become less through loss – unless we allow the loss to make us less, grinding our soul down until there is nothing left. … Loss can also make us more. I did not get over the loss of my loved ones; rather, I absorbed the loss into my life … until it became part of who I am. Sorrow took up permanent residence in my soul and enlarged it. … One learns the pain of others by suffering one’s own pain, by turning inside oneself, by finding one’s own soul. … However painful, sorrow is good for the soul … the soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can grow larger through suffering.</i> ~ Gerald Sittser<br />
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<i>Getting off our thrones and joining the rest of humanity is a must for spiritual maturity. We are not the center of the universe. The universe does not revolve around us.</i><br />
<i></i><br />
<i>Yet a part of us hates limits. We won’t accept them. This is one of the primary reasons grieving our loss biblically is such an indispensable part of spiritual maturity.</i><br />
<i>Embracing our limits humbles us like little else</i>. ~ Peter Scazzero<br />
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<i>We should bring to God what is in us, not what ought to be in us. The “oughts” will keep us from telling the truth. They will also keep us from feeling the truth. Especially the truth about our pain. </i>~ C. S. Lewis</blockquote><br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-47547342345112046652011-10-05T16:18:00.000-04:002011-10-05T16:18:41.109-04:00Oh, to Be a Fly on the Wall This Evening!As you read this, Larry and I will be driving together to a conference in Atlanta. You will be led in rehearsal this evening by two of the finest musicians I have ever known: Dawn Driggers and Dr. Charles Gaines.<br />
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Dr. Gaines is professor emeritus of music at Presbyterian College. He holds the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, and the Doctor of Sacred Music degree from Union Theological Seminary. He is the founder and former conductor of the Laurens County Chorale, and is the founder and conductor of the Greenwood Festival Chorale. Since Dawn began accompanying the Laurens County Chorale, and a couple of years later, the Greenwood Festival Chorale, Chuck and his wife Jean have become dear, dear friends of ours; but it took me a couple of years before I was comfortable calling him “Chuck” instead of “Dr. Gaines.”<br />
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Dawn holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree (cum laude) from Samford University in Birmingham, AL. Music Ed was typically a 5-year degree program at Samford, but Dawn finished it in 4 (and added 16 hours of foreign language). Although she is best known locally as a pianist and accompanist, her undergraduate degree was not in piano but in voice.<br />
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At Samford there were three ways to cover the requirement of a senior vocal recital: <br />
<ol><li>Studio Recital (performed before faculty and invited guests)</li>
<li>Degree with Recital (aka DWR – a 30-minute public Senior Recital)</li>
<li>Samford Performing Arts Program (aka SPAP – a 30-minute public Junior Recital and a 60-minute public Senior Recital)</li>
</ol>Only the best vocal students were allowed to do DWR or SPAP. I hated the way I sang in college (and so did most of the voice faculty), so I just did a studio recital. Dawn, on the other hand, was a SPAP student. Looking back, she sometimes wonders if she had been in her right mind to try to do all that she did. The fact that she also fell in love with and agreed to marry me confirms that she was … indeed … crazy. In addition to accompanying the Laurens County Choral and the Greenwood Festival Chorale, Dawn also teaches piano and voice privately in our home, and accompanies and teaches voice to music minors and secondaries at Newberry College.<br />
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So why would I like to be a fly on the wall this evening? The shoe is on the other foot. <i><b>Dawn</b></i> is conducting … with <i><b>Chuck</b></i> accompanying. You’re in for an interesting (and productive) rehearsal.<br />
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That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20013059.post-76203800717708605092011-10-04T10:53:00.001-04:002011-10-04T10:54:14.170-04:00Words of Wisdom from The Daily Office - Part 4Readers of my blog may be aware that I try to write a half-page column every week for my Wednesday evening rehearsal(s). I'm aware that only a small percentage of my choir actually reads them. Their available time is as limited as anyone's. Most of the month of August I was in my hometown at my Dad's bedside in the hospital as he traveled the last few days of his journey through life. I was blessed to have people filling in for me at church giving me the freedom to receive the blessing of having that time with Dad. I was able to plan the rehearsal and write the column for the second Wednesday that I was away. This entry is from that rehearsal on August 10. I'm gradually catching up with getting them uploaded to the blog. I could do them all in about 10 minutes, but I like the idea of something new every few days better. That's how I would want to read it if I were following the blog. To my one blog follower: I don't even know you, but thanks.<br />
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The past few days have been anything but boring for me. I can’t tell you how much your prayers and words of encouragement that have been passed along to me mean. Long story short with Dad … nothing is headed in any direction quickly, and his condition keeps sending very mixed messages concerning prognosis. A setback in one area will have us concerned that the end might be near, then 10 minutes later he will respond better to physical therapy than he has the two previous days (that’s just a for instance from this morning). As far as prognosis, it’s anybody’s guess. He could last weeks to months like this, or he could take a turn suddenly and be gone in a few hours. What we do know is that he will not again be healthy enough for anything other than a full nursing care facility.<br />
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Mom and the sisters have mentioned concern that all this weight is on me, but I am holding up fine (except for a little loneliness at the house between supper and bedtime). One thing that I think is going on is that the discipline of following Peter Scazzero’s The Daily Office has given me a grounding that has enabled me to bear up under the load. It really doesn’t feel like a burden at all. It’s just what I need to do right now.<br />
In addition to the above, I am deeply blessed with a wife and sons who have taken up the slack at home (and some at church) in order to enable me to be here looking after Mom and Dad. Added to that blessing is a church family that has blessed my presence here in such wonderful way. Words fail to express how deeply moved I am to be the recipient of such grace.<br />
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From The Daily Office, a quote from Chaim Potok: <br />
<blockquote>“One learns of the pain of others by suffering one’s own pain, by turning inside oneself, buy finding one’s own soul. And it is important to know of pain. It destroys our self-pride, our arrogance, and our indifference toward others. It makes us aware of how frail and tiny we are and of how much we must depend upon the Master of the Universe.”</blockquote><br />
That’s enough to think about for now. The peace of Christ to you.Morrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04442776673039428910noreply@blogger.com0