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  • You are here: Blogs Directory / Personal / Anonymous Confession of a Lunatic Friend Welcome Guest
    Anonymous Confession of a Lunatic Friend
          My blog... not sure what else to say... but I'm sure later I'll think of something profound to put here!

    Fri, Oct 27th - 12:57AM

    What does your worship look like?



    Thank you to those who have made comments on my "confessions" on worship... they've been AWESOME! Especially, the "rockabilly" comment... no offense intended. :) Now I would like to explore what worship looks like at your church... I would love it if you would share what worship looks like at your church in regards of music. I realize and believe that the "worship" service is from the opening moment to the final "Amen" but for the sake of my "research" I want to look at the music section of your worship service. Of course it's only "fair" that I start... right??? We open the service with an instrumental number either just piano or full band (piano, bass guitar, rhythmn guitar, drums) Often we have one of the high schoolers from our local high school band who will play as part of prelude. Then we have the beloved announcments or "ministry opportunities" and scripture reading, prayer and then the music. We usually start the set with an upbeat "toe tapper" and when certain people are in church it becomes a HAND CLAPPPER (yeah!) then move the set toward more reflective songs of praise to God. The set will almost always have one hymn sometimes two. As I pick the songs I try to use songs that relate to Pastor's message and/or a focus on who God is in our lives or his attributes. This leads us to our family prayer time. We close our service usually with a song from the set or the Doxology.

    Comment (4)

    Wed, Oct 25th - 12:39PM

    Hymns... Psalms... and Spiritual Songs



    First thanks for the great feedback. I haven't had a chance to read the scriptures referenced but will soon. And please know, that as long as I have breath "Amazing Grace" will be sung as it was written. We actually sing Amazing Grace everytime we do communion. (Which is the first Sunday of the month and at our Christmas Eve Service). It's such a neat time... we've finished communion, Pastor prays, then we sing the first verse... as we begin to sing the "last" verse... "When we've been there 10,000 years..." we join hands across the aisles everyone is holding a hand well except me at the piano... then we finished with lifting our hands as a congregation and sing "Praise God... Praise God... Praise God..." Then we have a hearty AMEN from our dear brother Don who sits in the back... Pastor gives a final benedication and we go out hugging one another... What prompted my the last post was my frustration... and I guess it's my frustration at the resistance to change. I realize and understand that change is VERY difficult for many people. I understand and respect that (tho, it FRUSTRATES me to no end at times). So I guess I need to continue to search the scriptures for the Biblical foundation, encouragement, whatever God leads me to... to help "change" to be less scary. I am stuck between the rock and the hard spot... Pastor wants a more "contemporary" sound to the hymns... May I not develop leposarsy (hope I spelled that right) at this statement... I wonder how he would react if we did his favorite hymn, "And Can it Be" in a rockabilly style!!!!! :-P Just kidding... I would never do ANY hymn in a style that would be offensive... God bless

    Comment (4)

    Mon, Oct 23rd - 12:14PM

    Hymns... what's the Point



    OK, I've been the worship "director" at my church for almost 5 years. This is an old church in that it's been around for MANY years. But we are diversed in age with young families, families with teenagers, a few with grown kids and seniors. The ethnic make-up pretty much anglo-saxon white. When I was given the responsibility of worship at my church we had gone through 3 years of MAJOR worship wars. Mostly because the pastor at the time was hiring college students from the local Christian college. Great kids, great musicians, but no clue! OK they had a clue, but they never took the time to get to know the people. One of the young ladies had chosen 3 songs that the church had NEVER sang and most probably hadn't even heard them. I pointed that out during rehearsal but she was like "It won't matter they'll be ok" You guessed it... they weren't... And it is hard to worship when you don't have a clue what the next word is going to be. Anyway... I digress from this "anonymous confession" I have a wonderful, godly man who plays guitar in the band. But when it comes to hymns it's "They should be played as they were originally written and these Maranatha arrangements are pointless because they use different harmonies that people don't know." As I think about my church there's maybe 10 people who do the harmonies anyway... I bring this up because this latest conversation happen a week ago yesterday after Pastor preached about evangelism and reaching out to the lost and unchurched. Some NEVER sing hymns because they don't reach the "new generation." I truly believe that the hymns contain tremendous truths that EVERY generation needs to hear. But I also believe that to the unchurched or to those who have walked away from the church of their youth that those 4 part hymns create a wall. So my question... which is more important... "the message" or "the music"?

    Comment (4)

    Thu, Oct 5th - 5:42PM

    Summer is Over...



    Summer was entirely too short.  But alas, every year I feel that way. I guess it's the sign of old age!  Tho, I still think I'm too young to have a Junior in High School.  But then again, I feel WAY TOO old to have a 7 year old!  Especially THIS 7 year old!  Seriously, he's a great kid, just way too much energy sometimes. 

    This Saturday is the Western Days Parade in San Dimas.  The parade starts at 10:00 on San Dimas Avenue at Gladstone.  The significance? The church I attend is on the corner of San Dimas Ave. and Gladstone.  This year we will be out on the corner and around the parade route to provide bottles of cold water.  Coffee and donuts for the workers, all for free.  Our Pastor has been stress the importance of being Salt and Light in our community.  If you think about it on Saturday say a prayer for those who will out representing our church, and more importantly the body of Christ, are a positive representative of the Lord. 

    Last Sunday Pastor shared from the following scripture: 

    1 Thessalonians 3:11-13(New Living Translation)

    11)May God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus make it possible for us to come to you very soon. 12)And may the Lord make your love grow and overflow to each other and to everyone else, just as our love overflows toward you. 13)As a result, Christ will make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy when you stand before God our Father on that day when our Lord Jesus comes with all those who belong to him.

    He was encouraging us to grow in our love for each other and EVERYONE else.  And as a result of our growining in love Christ will make our hearts strong, blameless, and holy.

    I've been attending a "holiness" based church all my Christian life (30+ years) and I'm not sure I've ever heard a holiness message approached that way.  I really like that concept.  It's a process it doesn't happen overnight, it grows!

     



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    About Me

    Name: Holly Magnuson
    ChristiansUnite ID: hollymag
    Member Since: 2006-04-18
    Location: Covina, California, United States
    Denomination: Wesleyan
    About Me: January 2008 time to update my story! I've been married for almost 20 years now. My oldest is a 17 year old senior and my youngest is almost 9 years old and in third grade. Both great kids the younger is being medicated for ADHD. Which creates ... more

    Oct. 2006
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