So many tales to them the possibility that it is almost a cliche '- unwanted and abused stepchild. In almost every case, the daughter of a previous marriage. father to marry the love of his life, which carries a girl before passing. He remarries in desperation for a woman who already has at least three older daughters, all of which are ugly and offensive. He then goes on, leaving his daughter to become a slave to her stepmother and stepsisters.
Damage unwanted stepchild - who gets the crumbs tossed it improves constantly reminded how lucky you are not allowed table scraps. But do not pity them too. They are in such humble circumstances there is no way to go up, but every "rags to riches" story to begin with a rag.
members of our Church in the contemporary worship team is often related to our service as an "unwanted stepchild" of our church. We always say a chuckle and a smile - our service is well established and has been drawing a decent crowd on Sunday morning for the past ten years
.Most of us feel that we were long enough to prove the value of the contemporary style of worship, but we also know that ten years is just a drop in the bucket to the average Methodist. We can laugh when I joke about it, but sometimes too loud. Nobody knows better than jokes bald man with no hair, but you can not help but wonder if it is not wincing from the inside, and he laughs with you. So is "stepchild" of contemporary worship team.
interesting thing about "rags to riches" tale does not end so much as to sacrifice the way we get there. I think there are some lessons we can learn from two different approaches to this familiar story.
If the story is told in America, it's always a fairy godmother who makes it happen through a strong dose of magic. Cinderella gets vicious transport and magic makeover to win the heart of the prince at the ball. Not a lot of effort on her part there.
of the European version of the same fairy tale Cinderella are using their wits to out-smart and out maneuver her stepmother and sisters. It mixes with the cleverness of fraud do end run around those who are trying to prevent its success, and captured by the prince with a winning combination of good looks and women long.
Contemporary worship in traditional churches, teams often have good reason to feel locked into the role of unwanted stepchild. We are also long in our trade rags for riches, at least the wealth that can be measured in increased attendance and win souls for the kingdom of God. The question is - which model of Cinderella we choose to follow the
?Strong believers in the supernatural, it is common for us to put God in the role of fairy godmother in the story. All you need to do is to pray - and wait for the harvest. Bend your knees, say the word, and the rest to God. Wait for the magic. benches in the contemporary service will be fulfilled, and the worship team was justified in the eyes of all.
This is not a lack of faith in God that leads me to believe that this is the wrong approach. Prayer is an essential starting point - all our efforts doomed to failure without it. It is God who sends the harvest, but Jesus reminds us to ask the same prayer that God would send laborers to bring it in as well. Welcome to the field.
The European version of our Cinderella specializes in hard work and deceit to achieve his goal. Good worship team members will be hesitant to use her to model. It smacks of using trickery or deceit in order to succeed. Deception does not sound like the right approach for God fearing leaders, nor should be. But there is nothing wrong with the work.
We need to take a more active role in our ministry. Field workers are not waiting for the harvest to come to them - they go out into the field. This means active participation in our communities, and constant openness to the ways that we can meet the needs of those in our sphere of influence. We are the hands, and we must not forget.
May be there is no place for fraud and deception in our position as the unwanted stepchild of the church, but it is certainly the place for wisdom and strategy. The Bible requires us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) Solomon prayed for wisdom first, and was granted additional gifts as a result. the entire book of proverbs is swearing that some wisdom to lead his steps, and contemporary worship teams in churches will be the wisdom of traditional value above all other virtues.
must exercise wisdom in our relationships with members of our community who are not comfortable with contemporary worship and the inconvenience they cause. Even in situations where we really are relegated to our unwanted stepchild role, we must always respond with love and patience. We are striving for the same goals, even if you decide to take different approaches. We must build bridges, not fences.
It is also wise to form a deliberate strategy for attracting and retaining unchurched in our community. The Apostle Paul wrote that he needed to be "all things to all people, and we should follow his example. If our goal is to reach people for Christ, we must meet them where they are, do not bemoan the fact that they are not where we wanted to be. We must develop a process to draw them in, give them a style of service that makes them want to return and lead them in the formation of long-time relationship with Jesus Christ.
the European model of Cinderella is the best hope for success for the "unwanted stepchildren" contemporary worship team. However, regardless of the approach taken, Cinderella is a triumph occurs when the prince marries and goes from rags to riches. The success of the contemporary worship team is growing service that is reaching lives for Christ, but let's never forget that the whole church is the bride of Christ. We already enjoy that relationship, regardless of the chosen method of worship.
No matter where our worship team falls in the "pecking order " of the Church, God's love for us never changes. Regardless of the wrong-minded thinking and attitudes that we can bring each other from time to time, there are never any unwanted stepchildren in the family of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment