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dg
Monday, 30 March 2009
Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Plateau...
This is an article I wrote for our 'Heart Head Hands' regional newsletter which is sent to worship leaders in our region...... it has bits of other things I've written on here.... thought you might tolerate it.
Plateau
Plateau; we are all tempted to do it. We want to reach a point where we can stop; where there is no cold wind blowing or storm brewing; where we can take stock and enjoy the view across the road we’ve taken upward, grateful we’re not where we were.
It can be a good thing - to take in all that God has done in our church family - but before we know it, the people will set up camp and begin to build tents and lay foundations. ‘Hey, this is a comfortable spot - much better than where we started from – let’s stay here for a while.’
A while becomes a year. A year becomes a decade. A decade becomes a generation or two. A couple of generations become a denomination. What began as a movement ends up as a monument and, before you can blink, the Church across a nation is in decline.
There is a little myth developing in our sphere of the Church - that churches who want to grow need to make one important leap; from hymns, organs and choirs to songs, bands and worship leaders. And then everything will be alright again and the metaphorical pews (because they are now padded chairs) will be filled once more. Although this a simplification of a great intention - for churches to have culturally accessible and relevant worship - it is still a little myth because this is not a one-way-fix-all journey - what is more important is that those changes signify a new intention; to keep moving forward.
We all face the problem of trying to move our churches forward in worship; it is not just the concern of those whose worship originated in a different decade (or century). It is incredibly easy, if your church is stuck in an older model, to envy those churches that are doing a newer thing. And it is just as easy, for churches that have made steps forward in their recent history, to pity those who have not made the same progressive strides. Both are missing the point.
We need to ‘press on towards the goal’.
How quickly have many churches swapped one tradition for another? Drums, Keyboard, Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Worship Leader, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Repeat Chorus Ad Infinitum..etc…etc…etc…
We cannot stay where we are - we have to keep moving; keep creating; keep expressing our worship in new and different ways. And often we may get a sense of where that might be - a new sound or instrument or song that is out of our ordinary - and we know that some people won’t like it. They just won’t. They may even make a fuss. They may even leave the church and curse you for your new and careless ways. But that doesn’t really matter - what matters is that we still have to keep moving. You cannot ‘plateau’ and ‘grow’. (I just made that up - it rhymes and everything!)
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” Jeremiah 1:17
As leaders we cannot be terrified of the people because He will terrify us before them!
There will be a time when we have to encourage His people to pick up their tents, leave their camp and press-on, up the mountain again, because even though the view here is good, there are better vistas to be found.
At some point we will have to make a stand. We will have to take a risk. We will have to risk failure and embarrassment and disappointment. We cannot press on without risking something - maybe even to risk losing some of the good work we have established. But if God has called your church to push on in worship, then you have to push on in worship.
I can’t tell you how or when your church needs to move forward - I have a couple of ideas for our church, but that’s our business! - and I cannot tell you the best way to make those changes happen. I can only tell you that you have to do what God calls you to do; to step into it with confidence that He loves your church way more than you do; confident that He wants His worship way more than you want to give it to Him; confident that He always keeps His promises.
Our churches can plateau or they can end up going in a hundred directions but the Kingdom of God only goes two ways - onward and upward.
Plateau
Plateau; we are all tempted to do it. We want to reach a point where we can stop; where there is no cold wind blowing or storm brewing; where we can take stock and enjoy the view across the road we’ve taken upward, grateful we’re not where we were.
It can be a good thing - to take in all that God has done in our church family - but before we know it, the people will set up camp and begin to build tents and lay foundations. ‘Hey, this is a comfortable spot - much better than where we started from – let’s stay here for a while.’
A while becomes a year. A year becomes a decade. A decade becomes a generation or two. A couple of generations become a denomination. What began as a movement ends up as a monument and, before you can blink, the Church across a nation is in decline.
There is a little myth developing in our sphere of the Church - that churches who want to grow need to make one important leap; from hymns, organs and choirs to songs, bands and worship leaders. And then everything will be alright again and the metaphorical pews (because they are now padded chairs) will be filled once more. Although this a simplification of a great intention - for churches to have culturally accessible and relevant worship - it is still a little myth because this is not a one-way-fix-all journey - what is more important is that those changes signify a new intention; to keep moving forward.
We all face the problem of trying to move our churches forward in worship; it is not just the concern of those whose worship originated in a different decade (or century). It is incredibly easy, if your church is stuck in an older model, to envy those churches that are doing a newer thing. And it is just as easy, for churches that have made steps forward in their recent history, to pity those who have not made the same progressive strides. Both are missing the point.
We need to ‘press on towards the goal’.
How quickly have many churches swapped one tradition for another? Drums, Keyboard, Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Worship Leader, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Repeat Chorus Ad Infinitum..etc…etc…etc…
We cannot stay where we are - we have to keep moving; keep creating; keep expressing our worship in new and different ways. And often we may get a sense of where that might be - a new sound or instrument or song that is out of our ordinary - and we know that some people won’t like it. They just won’t. They may even make a fuss. They may even leave the church and curse you for your new and careless ways. But that doesn’t really matter - what matters is that we still have to keep moving. You cannot ‘plateau’ and ‘grow’. (I just made that up - it rhymes and everything!)
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” Jeremiah 1:17
As leaders we cannot be terrified of the people because He will terrify us before them!
There will be a time when we have to encourage His people to pick up their tents, leave their camp and press-on, up the mountain again, because even though the view here is good, there are better vistas to be found.
At some point we will have to make a stand. We will have to take a risk. We will have to risk failure and embarrassment and disappointment. We cannot press on without risking something - maybe even to risk losing some of the good work we have established. But if God has called your church to push on in worship, then you have to push on in worship.
I can’t tell you how or when your church needs to move forward - I have a couple of ideas for our church, but that’s our business! - and I cannot tell you the best way to make those changes happen. I can only tell you that you have to do what God calls you to do; to step into it with confidence that He loves your church way more than you do; confident that He wants His worship way more than you want to give it to Him; confident that He always keeps His promises.
Our churches can plateau or they can end up going in a hundred directions but the Kingdom of God only goes two ways - onward and upward.
dg
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Dancing Choose
he's a what? he's a what?
he's a newspaper man
and he gets his best ideas
from a newspaper stand;
from his boots to his pants
to his comments and his rants
he knows that any little article will do!
though he expresses some confusion
bout his part in the plan,
and he can't understand
that he's not in command;
the decisions underwritten
by the cash in his hand
bought a sweater for
his weimariner too
now i'm no mad man,
but that's insanity
feast before famine,
and more before family
goes and shows up with
more bowls and more
cups and the riot for the
last hot meal erupts
corrupts his hard drive
through the leanest months
shells out the hard cash
for the sickest stunts;
on aftershave, on gasoline
he flips the page and turns
the scene
in my mind i'm drowning butterflies
broken dreams and alibis;
that's fine.
i've seen my palette blown
to monochrome-
hollow heart
clicks hollowtone,
it's time.
eye on authority,
thumb prints a forgery
boy, ain't it crazy what the
lights can do
for counterfeit community;
every opportunity
wasted as the space
between the flash tattoo
and the half-hearted hologram,
posed for the party
now he gloss full bleed
on a deaf dumb tree
cod liver dollar signs,
credit card autograph
down for the record
but not for freedom
angry young mannequin
american, apparently
still to the rhythm
better get to the back of me
can't stand the vision,
better tongue the anatomy
gold plated overhead,
blank transparency
in the days of old,
you were a nut
now you need three bumps
before you cut
not that i should care about,
nothing i ain't scared of, but
i guess you had
to
be
there.
in my mind i'm breeding butterflies,
broken dreams, and alibis
that's fine.
i've seen my palette
blown to monochrome
hollow heart
clicks hollowtone
in time.
i see you figured in your action pose
foam-injected axl rose,
life size
should something shake you
and you drop the news,
lord, just keep your dancing shoes
off mine
he's a newspaper man
and he gets his best ideas
from a newspaper stand;
from his boots to his pants
to his comments and his rants
he knows that any little article will do!
though he expresses some confusion
bout his part in the plan,
and he can't understand
that he's not in command;
the decisions underwritten
by the cash in his hand
bought a sweater for
his weimariner too
now i'm no mad man,
but that's insanity
feast before famine,
and more before family
goes and shows up with
more bowls and more
cups and the riot for the
last hot meal erupts
corrupts his hard drive
through the leanest months
shells out the hard cash
for the sickest stunts;
on aftershave, on gasoline
he flips the page and turns
the scene
in my mind i'm drowning butterflies
broken dreams and alibis;
that's fine.
i've seen my palette blown
to monochrome-
hollow heart
clicks hollowtone,
it's time.
eye on authority,
thumb prints a forgery
boy, ain't it crazy what the
lights can do
for counterfeit community;
every opportunity
wasted as the space
between the flash tattoo
and the half-hearted hologram,
posed for the party
now he gloss full bleed
on a deaf dumb tree
cod liver dollar signs,
credit card autograph
down for the record
but not for freedom
angry young mannequin
american, apparently
still to the rhythm
better get to the back of me
can't stand the vision,
better tongue the anatomy
gold plated overhead,
blank transparency
in the days of old,
you were a nut
now you need three bumps
before you cut
not that i should care about,
nothing i ain't scared of, but
i guess you had
to
be
there.
in my mind i'm breeding butterflies,
broken dreams, and alibis
that's fine.
i've seen my palette
blown to monochrome
hollow heart
clicks hollowtone
in time.
i see you figured in your action pose
foam-injected axl rose,
life size
should something shake you
and you drop the news,
lord, just keep your dancing shoes
off mine
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
In other news....
Hello folks
You can now buy 'Nothing to Fear' and 'King of Love' and other Trinity Albums from our website
Madonna is going out with a guy called Jesus who is 28 years younger than her. You can't make this stuff up.
dg
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