It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear

October 27, 2008

 

Over the past few weeks, I have had the fun of singing in a choir preparing John Rutter’s Gloria for performance next week.   Although, I have done quite a bit of solo singing, it has been years since I worked intensively on a choral piece.  I had forgotten how different it is!

 

First, singing in a choir is not about how beautiful your voice sounds, it is about how beautiful all the voices sound together.  And secondly, when you are a solo singer good pronunciation is about keeping your vowels and consonants as clear as possible.  When you are in choir – pronunciation is about how the audience will hear what you sing.  For example:  if I sing as a soloist “Bless you” – I pronounce it “Blehss you”.  But in a choir, we sing “Bliss you”, because that way the audience will hear “Bless you”.

 

Choirs are pragmatic and I wish churches would be more like them.   Too many church people focus on how comfortable they feel instead of how comfortable a newcomer or visitor is.  They maintain comfort by doing things the same way (We can’t do it that way) even though that way really no longer makes sense in 2008.   Recently I heard of a church (growing smaller by the day)  lodging an official complaint against their pastor because he dresses casually and is seen regularly hanging out in town.  They want him in a suit, sitting in his office.  It doesn’t matter that he is doing his best to make the church more visible in the community and to bring in new people.  The church people don’t feel comfortable with where he is and what he is wearing.  We can’t do it that way.

When will we learn that it is not about each individual feeling comfortable, it is about making the stranger feel comfortable.  When will we learn that it is not about what we say – but what the potential visitor hears?

The Cost of Discipleship

October 15, 2008

 

In broken English, she said that she had come from her pastor to pay the rent.  The congregation I serve is in a poor Northeastern city with a large immigrant population.  We make ends meet by renting the building to four other churches.  The monthly rent for her church is $430 and she paid for November with a wad of twenties, tens, fives, and 80 one dollar bills.

 

This was not the crisp money you get from a bank when you cash a check.  This was wrinkled, tired money that has passed through many hands, and been counted many times.  She watched me with pride and determination as I counted it again and wrote out the receipt. 

And I thought of the bickering and unfocused congregations that I have worked with who have never had to think about gathering enough one dollar bills to pay for a place to worship.  And I thought of the vital church workshops I have gone to where there was a lot of talk about patience and balance and little about passion and risk.

 

But it takes passion and risk for a church to thrive.   My friend, Tom Bandy, says that dedicated Christians are inherently unbalanced people.  Would balanced people risk not having food or clothing, in order to pay the rent for worship space?   This is the cost of discipleship for most North American churches – are we willing to be unbalanced risk-takers for the sake of the Gospel?

Are You a Change Agent?

October 4, 2008

 

As I have been living in a torn up house in the the midst of renovations over the last several weeks, I have experienced again how really uncomfortable and stressful change can be. 

 

I have new sympathy for the churches and clergy I work with who want to thrive.  In order to thrive they must change, and that is tough to do.

 

Our human tendency is to want change, but then to be unwilling walk together through the discomfort and stress that change causes.  Our human tendency is to ask for change, but then be unwilling to take any responsibility for making that change happen.  We look to the “other guy” to make the change.  In churches, that is usually the pastor.

 

But change in a church, community, or country can’t happen with just one person doing it.  One person can be a catalyst, but many have to work together to make a difference.  As Gandhi said:  We must become the change we wish to see.

The next time you say things should be different, ask yourself: 

 

 How do I become the change I wish to see?