bored stiff

another day in the office. i am often bored to death sitting inside the 'four walls' of the church - what am i supposed to do, come up with programs to start? after i've done a little preparation for the weekend service i'm often at a loss as to what to do. i really enjoy working with sound systems and cleaning house, but how profitable is that in the big picture?

one of the best things i do is grab a book and head to the local coffee shop. i get some reading in. i am able to soak up some vitamin d outside. and i often run into people from church or the community and strike up a conversation.

the irony of conflicting philosophies

the two things i enjoy most about going to church are playing music and preaching. it is highly ironic that these two elements have little value in my definition of 'ministry' and how i see the kingdom of God.

1. music is one of many mediums in which we can connect with God. 'worship' music in american churches has in large part become a hyper-feminine exaggeration of the real deal; we have placed far too much emphasis on what we feel during a corporate singing experience and judge how good it was by how many goose bumps we were able to raise. our lyrics often reflect our feelings and stray from focusing on who God is and what he has done. and our music leading has become highly egocentric: we love our rock stars, even in church. worship is for the most part how we live our lives 24/7 and what we do for a few minutes during a 'worship' service is only a small part of our relationship with our God.
2. preaching is also egocentric: lets all gather around the wise one and listen to what he or she has to say. there is little or no interaction and the pressure is on the preacher to deliver a good message each week so the preacher spends too much time during the week whipping up another barn burner and spends less time with people. aren't we supposed to be coming together and all of making a contribution? but that would not be feasible in a large group... but when did large groups become important?
3. i appreciate that liturgical churches make the sacrament of communion the central focus: who Christ is and what he has done for us and is doing for us today...
   

discipleship = friendship

i don't care much for the common definitions of 'ministry'. this common definition includes programs that keep people busy but fail to connect them relationally, large groups of people, large statistics, events, spiritual mile posts like 'salvation' and 'water baptism' and 'the baptism in the Holy Spirit' and involvement in 'full-time ministry', etc., etc.

no, i think real 'ministry' is much simpler and less discernible.

we are commanded to 'go make disciples'. Jesus modeled discipleship as hanging out with a small group of followers for several years even before they really 'believed' and certainly before they were 'saved' or 'baptized in water' or 'filled with the Holy Spirit'. sounds very much like friendship.

so if discipleship equals friendship and we can only be friends with a small amount of people... (we can have many acquaintances though) and friendship can be determined by something as simple as having someone into your home for a meal and conversation, then success in 'ministry' can often be as simple as having friends for dinner. forget the large events and busy, draining programs - we are influenced relationally and seldom corporately. if we are going to do this whole 'going to church' model, than it has got to be simple, it must not keep people busy at the expense of them never having time to build friends. we are to be friends with God, friends with other believers, and certainly friends to people outside our faith community.


we have had several families / couples into our home already in this new position and we are reminded that this is where the rubber meets the road. sunday morning, preaching, music, events, etc. all may or may not have their place, but friendship is the heart of God.