My good friend texted me this week with some thoughts from her Sunday worship. Made me think. I thought I would share with you my thoughts.
Exodus 14
The Lord has led the Israelites out of Egypt. He has them wander so that they look confused to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s heart is hardened and he pursues the Israelites. The people cry out to Moses “were there not enough graves in Egypt?” The people and Moses cry out to God for deliverance, and God says to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
Is it possible that sometimes we act as the Israelites? We don’t see a way out. We complain, we cry, we wail, we pray harder and longer. All the while God is saying to us, “Why are you crying out to me? Move on.” Do we ever get “stuck” in "prayer" and forget that God is calling us to “Move On”? Don’t get me wrong, prayer is VITAL. Is it sometimes possible though that we use “prayer and calling out to God” as an excuse to not move forward? I know I have in my own life. Just think about it… The Israelites really thought they were stuck. Believed they were lambs to the slaughter. And in all reality, there was no earthly way out. So they did what any believer would do. They call out to God. But God said, “Stop crying out. Move On!” When the Israelites “moved on,” God led them through what I think would have been one of the most awesome natural phenomenons and escapes EVER. Water piled high on every side, the fish at eye level. Maybe even something prehistoric in those waters. Let’s see Hollywood capture that! The Israelites “moved on,” they walked through a very scary yet awe inspiring ordeal and guess what- God delivered them!
May we have the faith and courage of the Israelites to Move On in our own lives and collectively as part of God’s church in Port Orchard. May understand that our sight is limited and we must rely on God and sometimes just "Move On."
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
WET Meeting Mintues March 21, 2009
What expectations does God have of our corporate worship? Or what does God want for our body?
- Nothing to do with sermon topic, arrangement of chairs, etc… God expects us to come together for encouragement, in joyful assembly to lift each up, not boring.
- Worship needs to honor God.
- Worship should be attractive so that it calls people back to God.
- Worship should engage all people in “bringing an offering” to God- an offering will be different for everyone.
- God wants us to grow. Not for our growth sake but for His kingdom.
How does worship relate to growth?
What expectations do we have of Sunday morning corporate worship?
- Singing, leading, planning should be such that our emotions are touched which can help lead me to God.
- We should be led into an experience with God through study, communion, singing, etc…
- Deliberate and intentional with transparent through lines.
- Time for kids to lead corporate worship.
- Not open-ended and/or nebulous.
- Relevant to my everyday life.
- Connecting people to people.
- Visitor Friendly
Other Thoughts…
- We recognize that we are all in this together and must rely on each other.
- We are not trying to trump one another or feel we have all the answers.
- We fully believe God can and will take us where we need to go if we will open hearts and listen.
- We need to not be afraid to move forward even if it makes us a little uncomfortable.
- Where do we go from here?
March 13, 2009 Worship Engagement Team
A month or so ago, I spoke with the Steering Team Members and the Governance Board about getting some people together to discuss our current corporate worship. The question- "How do we help our body become more focused on God's mission through our corporate worship?" Attached are the meeting minutes. The Worship Engagement Team (or the WET as I like to call it) has met twice. We will be meeting again the week of April 13th if all goes according to plan. In the meantime, we thought it would be wise to lay our thoughts so far out on the table and open up for any input one might have. Please feel free to comment.
Meeting Minutes....
Brainstorming-
What does a Jesus centered worship look like?
Singing to God rather than ourselves
Upwards not forwards
Among us rather than toward us
No worries about what another person may think if I choose to outwardly express in worship.
Freedom to act, be vulnerable and still be safe, no judging
Each other- We are connecting with one another, connecting with God and connecting with His mission
Testimonies and faith sharing
Maybe not one or two persons running “the show.” Enable more people to participate.
How do we help all people actively engage in our corporate worship?
Change configuration of worship so not forwards but together
Individual sharing and testimony
Shared leadership
Enable/empower people/give people “permission” to act on what the spirit is leading them to do in regards to kneeling, standing, laying prostrate, etc…. (may need to come from leadership)
Help people feel connected- involve people
How can we help our corporate worship focus on God’s mission (arrows out)?
Make Jesus relevant to all people. Jesus relates to me.
Less insider language
Don’t always take the path of least resistance, what’s comfortable. Help people move out of their comfort zones.
Embrace newcomers and find places for them to fit in and to work.
Family mentality- Those of us who have been at POCOC a long time are good at connecting as family. We need to reach beyond our “family” and pull in those in our church that are on the outside.
What are we doing already that connects with what we identified above?
Involving kids in leading the worship
Sharing more of the workload, lately
Connecting with each other- moments of fellowship when we had it.
Chad enables people to worship
Challenges-
What are our deficits or things we need to improve upon?
Testimonials- Not safe enough
Connecting with one another, not safe enough to grab a hand, maybe need “permission”
Not putting people to work until they “prove” themselves.
Order of worship- Doesn’t always need to be the same. Maybe use more people.
Using more people may determine the “style” of worship.
Not Intentional- Have a theme. Plan ahead. Be more proactive so on Sunday there is no scramble for people to read scripture, say a prayer, etc…
Family extends to everyone, not just those who have been here a while and worked themselves in.
Other Thoughts
What expectations do we have of Sunday morning?
What belongs in Sunday morning corporate worship? What belongs in a small group?
Our flow/order/style of worship may/can determine our growth.
Our “professional” order or “informal” order of worship will have two different outcomes. What do we want for our body? To stay small or to grow large?
How do we create a paradigm shift in thinking for people who get upset when the chairs are moved?
How do we help worship be less about us and more about God’s mission?
How can we challenge/help people let go of some wrong (scripturally unfounded and detrimental to the body) ideas about what worship should be?
Meeting Minutes....
Brainstorming-
What does a Jesus centered worship look like?
Singing to God rather than ourselves
Upwards not forwards
Among us rather than toward us
No worries about what another person may think if I choose to outwardly express in worship.
Freedom to act, be vulnerable and still be safe, no judging
Each other- We are connecting with one another, connecting with God and connecting with His mission
Testimonies and faith sharing
Maybe not one or two persons running “the show.” Enable more people to participate.
How do we help all people actively engage in our corporate worship?
Change configuration of worship so not forwards but together
Individual sharing and testimony
Shared leadership
Enable/empower people/give people “permission” to act on what the spirit is leading them to do in regards to kneeling, standing, laying prostrate, etc…. (may need to come from leadership)
Help people feel connected- involve people
How can we help our corporate worship focus on God’s mission (arrows out)?
Make Jesus relevant to all people. Jesus relates to me.
Less insider language
Don’t always take the path of least resistance, what’s comfortable. Help people move out of their comfort zones.
Embrace newcomers and find places for them to fit in and to work.
Family mentality- Those of us who have been at POCOC a long time are good at connecting as family. We need to reach beyond our “family” and pull in those in our church that are on the outside.
What are we doing already that connects with what we identified above?
Involving kids in leading the worship
Sharing more of the workload, lately
Connecting with each other- moments of fellowship when we had it.
Chad enables people to worship
Challenges-
What are our deficits or things we need to improve upon?
Testimonials- Not safe enough
Connecting with one another, not safe enough to grab a hand, maybe need “permission”
Not putting people to work until they “prove” themselves.
Order of worship- Doesn’t always need to be the same. Maybe use more people.
Using more people may determine the “style” of worship.
Not Intentional- Have a theme. Plan ahead. Be more proactive so on Sunday there is no scramble for people to read scripture, say a prayer, etc…
Family extends to everyone, not just those who have been here a while and worked themselves in.
Other Thoughts
What expectations do we have of Sunday morning?
What belongs in Sunday morning corporate worship? What belongs in a small group?
Our flow/order/style of worship may/can determine our growth.
Our “professional” order or “informal” order of worship will have two different outcomes. What do we want for our body? To stay small or to grow large?
How do we create a paradigm shift in thinking for people who get upset when the chairs are moved?
How do we help worship be less about us and more about God’s mission?
How can we challenge/help people let go of some wrong (scripturally unfounded and detrimental to the body) ideas about what worship should be?
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Adaptive Challenge
"Partner with our community to bring a positive, life-giving force (event, activity, program, etc...) to the lives of the youth in our community and in so doing open hearts to the compelling message of Christ."
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Partnership for Missional Church – Northwest Cluster Event #6
Cluster Event #6 will be hosted by:
East County Church of Christ
24375 Se Stark St
Gresham, OR
East County Church of Christ
24375 Se Stark St
Gresham, OR
503.666.8485
Directions and Map
Directions and Map
AGENDA
Friday Morning
Elders, Ministers, Spiritual Leaders
9:00 Welcome, Worship, Dwelling
9:45 Spiritual Exercise (Craig and Lisa)
10:30 Break
10:45 Cultivating Missional Leadership
12:00 Lunch
12:45 Twinning Congregations: MET & Hospitality Group Learnings (Mark and Stephen)
2:00 Break
2:15 Phase Three and the Five Documents
3:00 Break
3:15 Dwelling & Twinning (Stephen)
Friday Evening
Elders, Ministers, Spiritual Leaders, Steering Teams, Missional Engagement Teams
7:00 Gathering, Welcome
7:30 Worship & Dwelling
8:15 "Treasure in Clay Jars” Testimonials
9:30 Evening Adjournment
Saturday
Elders, Ministers, Spiritual Leaders, Steering Teams, Missional Engagement Teams
9:00 Dwelling (Lewis)
9:40 Plunging & Conversation Groups (Craig)
10:45 Break
11:00 A MET Fair: Components of Capacity - What We Have, What We Need (Stephen)
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Preparing For Phase Three: Visioning for Embodiment and the 5 Documents (Mark)
2:00 Breakout Training
> METS (Stephen)
> Steering Team (Craig and Greg)
> Spiritual Leaders: Mark
3:15 SMART Plans & Next Steps
3:45 Dwelling
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