Post by James PittmanPost by James PittmanHi,
Well the subject says it all. I need some song ideas related to the
call to be holy. Some songs like "Purified", "Create In Me a Clean
Heart", etc. But it would be nice if I could get some more upbeat ones.
Thanks,
Jamie
Depends on the congregation Jamie. <SNIP>
Whoa. Guess I touched a nerve. Rest assured, I believe that our church
is full of people who are honestly seeking to know God and to become
more like Christ. I'm sure there are some that go because of tradition,
etc., but they would be hard pressed not to be challenged by the
pastor's sermons.
A 'nerve'? hey Jamie. I know it's the age of perfect bliss and I'm
just a grumpy old guy..hehe...but..man that's just my experience. You
can either judge me as getting 'nerve struck' or..you can consider the
REMOTE possibility that this is just what I've been dealt.
(hehe..remote? Everywhere I turn in the bible I see a humanity that is
full of deceit and in the end only a handfull of them ever remain in
faith....in fact it is asked 'when the son of man returns, will he find
faith?'. I think it's a valid question..not a cynical one. What do you
think jamie? Is God a cynic or a realist? :-)
Anyway I always hear about these super great churches. I'm yet
to come into communication with one. I travel and do outreach stuff
when I can. The more the merrier is always my way of looking at it with
the shortage of workers in the harvest field and all. I find one here
and there every once in a while. The C&MA pastor who started the
fellowship here became a good friend. We worked together on many things
while he was here and I drummed for the worship band. The guy truly
listened. I've met so few who get into leadership roles who can hear
what another person is saying without the filter
of...self-importance....and bondage to congregational
obligations....blocking out what I'm saying.
As we interacted more and more he began to understand that he
really was getting less and less free to do what God was calling him to
do in ministry and he did some more schooling and got a counselling
position in a school where he's able to impact lives he feels actually
more effectively than as a pastor. The fellowship then boomed in
numbers but.....man. Nobody talks anymore. It reminds me of going to a
campus luthern thing or something with a bunch of kids who are there
because mom and dad will pull tuition if they don't show up :-).
Sometimes people begin to put you in such a place that it just
isn't good for your own spiritual health or theirs in 'perceived church
leadership'. I say perceived because... in my observation 99.9% of the
people who are the followers want to be part of a religious co-dependent
scenario that DOES NOT EXTEND into the other 6 days very far. The tithe
literally becomes an element of paying your dues for most. People
don't even get the fundamentals; that the tithe for instance that is
given by priests is ONLY given to the high priest...not another priest
(numbers 18). Not a bit of the law will go away. God carefully laid
out that OT order to be a foreshadow of things to come. It all has a
place in the fulfillment. Jesus is the High priest. Each NT priest
MUST be involved in ministering in the house of God day and night.
That's what I'm doing right now. I'm instructing those who probably
have never recieved this crucial teaching. Other parts of that priestly
duty include obeying Jesus the high priest and not turning away from
ones in need. Ohhhh my. Here's a perspective builder Jamie. Hehe. I
tell ya what ya do.
1) Help people until they beat you up and leave you in the ditch
figuratively or literally...
2) Let religious people that you previously thought were your buddies
know your situation; that you are homeless living in your van or whatever
3) watch their responses and then remember the story of the good sam.
There's only one real church. Each member considers nothing to be their
own. They consider each other higher than themself. Is that really
what you are seeing with the majority..or even a good portion of the
people in this fellowship? If so..WOW! I'm sure we'll be working
together. A group like that will literally shake a city! I want to
keep up on their activities and work with them in any way I can! Let me
know.
And yes often it's good to do some songs that people are familiar
with of course. It's good to do some new ones too though. Or new to
people anyway. Shine's a fun song. There are lots of good ones out
there. I think....maybe the church NEEDS a little edge. God is
passionate...dynamic. What should we do? Water down our presentation to
blend with the culture? Or shake the culture and let the ones who are
worshipping the stagnancy of it leave if they want? I'm opting for
choice B every time :-) -Bob
Post by James PittmanI recognized only one song you mentioned - "Without him we can do
nothing" - that's probably a bit too edgy for our style. About the
hardest (as in edgy) song we've done is "Shine" by Newsboys. Some of
our "old standbys" are My Redeemer Lives by Darlene Zsech (sp?), Revival
Fire Fall, etc.
We try not to overuse songs; but really, it's up to each individual
congregant to really let the song take hold and not just mouth the
words. Personally, I find it very difficult to worship when I'm
standing there in the congregation trying to learn a new song - I'd much
rather sing songs I know, for the most part.
Jamie