Monday, January 12, 2009

What I learned from being a pastor...still more

OK...so I've been pondering what I posted before. Maybe I was a little hard on the church before. What I think is you can't change unless you know what needs to be changed. And not everything I say needs correction. Most of the time it's just an observation. Here are some more though.

* All people are searching for God, in one way or another. Even people who say they don't believe in God are searching for a god. I sent out an email to my team offering to set up a bible study for anyone who wants to join. I got back a response from one girl stating "
Thank you for including us in your worship and faith, however I ask that I not invited to participate in these types of events. Thank you again for your invitation. " Why would she respond back instead of just deleting the email?? Now I know it's fashionable to bash Christianity. However, I believe God is working on her heart. There was another email that was sent to the whole building for anyone who wants to join the Biggest Loser weight loss program. Should I respond back to that asking them if they think I am an obese fat ass needing to lose weight, or if I don't want to participate, just delete the email?? Easy answer.

* Worship is done in many ways and many settings. In one church I was in there was a "helicopter woman". That's the label I attached. During praise music she would sing, put out her arms, and spin around in praise and worship to God. It was wonderful to see unfettered praise. In another church I have been a part of, the members would be hard pressed to crack a smile. Reverence, they believe, is focused intent on worship, preacher, sermon, singer, etc. In Pete's sermon last week, at one point he said that if clothes had been in the original plan of God we would not have had Eve eat the apple. Adam was standing beside looking at a naked woman and couldn't speak. If she would have put some clothes on instead of standing there naked Adam would have spoken up and told her not to eat the apple. There was a great reception by the members. And then there are house churches, where the main worship meeting of a group of people is in the house of a person. No-one is the 'pastor' but all have the opportunity to share what God has revealed to them. Lastly, music styles are all different, not only here but all across the world.