Gettin' comfy a year later

I have now been attending 2 churches for about a year.

Either I'm becoming quite comfy in my newer church, or my AV background allows me to be obnoxious in the middle of a church service.

One of the female pastors was sharing a bit about a recent missionary trip before she started preaching, and at the beginning she had a little issue with the volume and assumed it would be resolved. It wasn't.

I was about four rows back and I could hear her just fine. Still, I've learned that what I consider perfectly audible, others consider too dang quiet. Five minutes progressed, she showed slides, and her mission trip was discussed rather nicely. As she pulled open her bible to start preaching, I leaned forward slighty, and with my "announcement voice" told her

"You might want to grab a handheld mic because we can't hear you."

She fumbled a bit with her battery pack, one of the techs started talking to her, and eventually she got her switch moved from "standby" to "on".

I'd like to think I didn't embarass her, but I saw no reason to draw attention to it afterwards. I rationalized that if anyone was going to want to hear something, they would want to hear the sermon. And if someone was going to talk back in church, why not me? (Charismatic, we ain't.)

So derive from this two lessons: I have absolutely no problem looking like a jerk in church. I'll mention technical/format issues during your sermon time any day of the week. (Most likely Sunday, I'd assume.) Also, just use handheld mics. With cords. Lapel mics are pure evil.

Your brethren- an easy mark

Howdy,

I have to admit that when I need a favor, my church is one of the first places I consider going to. So far I've

• asked for money/donations for my cancer activities
• asked for some help interviewing couples for a movie I'm making
• gotten at least 2 quilts (and countless free meals)
• received some emergency shelter and last minute rides home
• gotten help moving
• gotten an interview... and then a job from my youth pastor
• asked for volunteers/donors for a blood drive

Yes, there's something to be said for a church community which will bail you out (not literally, who do you think I am?) of the hard times.

Maybe it's because I've known these folks for a quarter of a decade. Maybe there's some sort of residual guilt that they know I'll tell my parents if they don't help me.

...or maybe they're just good, decent people who know I wouldn't ask unless it was important to me. Ya never know. ;)

Gettin' those relationships...

When I started this whole church-search thing (which, in case you've missed me sayin' so, is over. I'm a stick-with-what-works kinda guy. I feel fine, thanks), one of my goals was to meet some nice, cute, interesting Christian gals.

And I have.

More importantly, I'd like to think I have a pretty fair start at a friendship with a rather interesting gal. We've e-mailed and now we're even Facebook pals. Awww....

Oh yeah, and she's engaged. (Twist!)

Yes, I will take whatever relationships come my way. Jogging buddies, church compatriots, female acquaintances, and even "more". But I'm rather content with what's come my way.

First off, she's a nice gal. Interesting. Family had a rough start, born Jewish, just got baptised last week (or is that last-last week now? I dunno.), an interesting person to be sure.

Then there are the cats at my small groups home who are ridiculously tiny and cute and don't mind me picking them up and mercilessly petting them. ;)

I have the people I can't live without. I have my associates. My coworkers. My fellow congregates. And some folks that are a gloriously messy hybrid of the above. All in all, I'd say I have a stash of interesting and amusing relationships.

Besides, if you're working on a relationship with Christ, why not start off with other mere mortals? They're good people, darn it.

Changin' It Up (From the comfort of my own couch)

Yesterday was the exception that prooves the rule.

Normally I'm only to happy to go to church every Sunday. Get out, surround myself with Christian folk, and sit up straight in a chair. (I still maintain that it is physically impossible to sit up straight in a wooden pew for any length of time greater than half an hour.)

Emphasis on "Normally". I don't know what it was yesterday. Maybe because I woke up late from my morning nap and would have had to rush. Maybe my commute to Ballard/Belltown is getting to me. Or maybe I'm just a lazy son of a gun. For whatever reason, I ditched the outside world. I don't think I even unlocked the door all day. Stayed home with the cat and the couch.

My standard Sunday consists of a barrage of tv-dom, and yesterday was no exception. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. The Incredibles. Stargate: SG-1. Still, I figured I needed something resembling a sermon/message, so it would have to be either VeggieTales or The Passion of the Christ. My stomach is stronger than my mom's, so I went for the second option.

I'm still impressed by the movie. Take away the buckets of fake blood and it really is a beautifully shot flick. The moody building where we see Judas make his deal. The shots of the moon as the clouds roll by. The hilltop where it all happens. My favorite part is where Jesus is building a table and has a nice conversation with his mom. Good stuff. Helps me see Jesus in a more human light.

For example: Jesus is walking (perhaps limping would be a better description) with his cross on his back, trying to get up the hill. His mom sees all this and tries to run to his side. The look in his eyes (Jim Caviezel was quite excellent, as always) just showed how much he cared for this woman. It brings up a quote/idea which I fully subscribe to;

Don't ever underestimate what a person will do for someone they love.

I find that to be mind-numbingly true. People will stay in battered relationships. They'll endure hours of childbirth or midnight shifts to cover the bills. People will absolutely throw logic and caution to the wind if it means helping someone they care about more than themselves.

So when I see that look pass between Jesus and Mary, I don't see a fake-blood soaked actor in a foreign country with carefully planned cameras and lighting. I see someone who loves this person, and countless others, and is willing to undergo whatever suffering and agony he has to in order to save their lives.

If someone said I could save the lives of everyone I knew by being shot, I'd like to think I'd still do it. (Doesn't mean I'd like it...)

Kudos also go to the person that helped Jesus carry the cross. And of course, to one of my favorite people in the bible, the criminal. He sees Jesus up on the cross, bleeding and dying. If there was ever a time when you could doubt this person, it would be then. But that's the time that he chooses to believe and asks Jesus to take care of him. Bruised, cut, and soon to have his life expire, Jesus still takes the time to care for someone else.

Yes, I'm aware that there may be historical inaccuracies. The cross may have been shaped like a T, not a t. Maybe this person was here instead of that person. I don't really care. Details are just that, little things to make a picture clearer. In this instance, all I care about is the story.

The story is of a man who went through inordinate suffering (I'll spare you the cinematic details. It's rated R for a reason) just to take care of the rest of us. Many who he didn't know at the time. So I got a reminder of that.

Sounds like a perfectly good church service to me.

A little change o' pace

Sometimes my favorite church services have been a completely unplanned mess. Sometimes ya just gotta chuck the sermon to the wind and let God work in God's own strange ways.

In my home church, if the pastor feels like they aren't supposed to give a message, they won't. Both the current pastor of the church and the one before that. If God tells them to sit down and shut up (which I'm sure God does in a kindlier, less offensive manner), then they do. Maybe we'll end up singing songs out of the hymnal. Maybe we'll all just listen to what's been going on in other people's lives a bit more than usual; hear how God is working in their daily walks. Suits me just fine. Sermon, no sermon, it works.

This Sunday was a bit like that, and it was a nice change of pace. Sang some songs, had some announcements, and then a fellow (Trace Bruno? I think?) who was in town and is having a concert next month came up and played a song on his guitar. Watching a guitar player is always more fun that simply listening to one. He was moving his little wooden clamps, slapping the paneling and the strings, he clearly has his own style and has spent quite a few years on it.

Then they called up some gals from The Sold Project (www.thesoldproject.org). They tried to show a video... let's just say this newer church of mine has some difficulty getting their AV act in synch. They callled up the two gals, and we got a quick little lesson on the international slave trade, and how The Sold Project was created to confront the problem through helping people in Thailand and educating folks about what was going on. The DVD played, and we heard a little bit more about it.

Following that was a brief sermon about the disciples who cured the slave girl of her prophecy gift, and upset the masters because they had been deprived of their income. It referenced the scripture a little, but mostly it built upon the importance of being aware of slavery.

Then we sang some more, Trace played some more, and there was that grand ol' communion. I don't think we focused on any one aspect of church for more than ten minutes in a row. It would probably be a bit too fragmented for my tastes to do it on a regular basis. For this one time though, it was a nice break from the norm. Got an education on all sorts of things. All focused around God. Not too shabby.

Getting Centered

Howdy,

Sunday was a distraction kind of day. There's someone who has been on my mind, and I'm planning to dress up as Batman this weekend and walk downtown for a few hours. ...it's for work. Honest. I sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to take my mind off of little world things in my life that don't really matter and focus on God.

Went into church, took a seat, closed my eyes, it was starting to work. Well, it didn't help that I work under the Space Needle and they picture they showed was of the Space Needle, but still. Every little ounce of progress counts, right?

Songs were going well. I had a nice voice singing behind me during the first set of songs. I even turned around and complimented her during the awkward-chatting-social time, but she seemed to think it wasn't her; that there was some better voice behind her. (I checked over my shoulder later. It was her. Humble, good for her.)

Of course, during the message, the scripture was being projected onto the screen in front of us, when all of a sudden there was a loud -pop-. In my 6 days a week life, I play with LCD projectors all the time. I thought to myself "They either flipped a breaker, or they popped the bulb." The projector didn't come back to life (which makes it really hard to sing along with songs). And I noticed the red and green lights on the projector were blinking away. That means two things: A, it has power. So no break issue. B, when lights blink that much? It is either a warning or an indicator. No good.

So I spent the rest of service thinking about the bulb and wondering if these folks had any idea what was going on and if I should go up to the pastor and tell him and if the bulb could be replaced by the next service which was only twenty minutes away.... sigh.

At least I got the gist of the message before I was horribly distracted. Thirty-forty minutes being focused just on God... that's something, right?

And as a bonus, I got to stand on two wobbly ladders after the service. Can't say I didn't have fun...

Sleepiness

I'm starting to wonder what my small group thinks of me. I'm a reasonably intelligent person, a lifelong Christian, and I don't smell like a musk ox that found its way into a garbage heap. Now if only I could stay awake.

Here lies the problem. I tend to have a double shift on Fridays, which usually means I'm at work for around eighteen hours. If I have a double on Saturdays as wel, then I'm in a world of sleeping hurt. Sunday is my day to catch up on sleep. After church, I come home, crash, and end up becoming one with the couch. The problem is, when I sleep at two in the afternoon, it makes it much harder for me to be asleep at two in the morning.

Such was the case with me this Monday. I had woken up at two a.m. Nothing more I could do about it, no more sleep was to be had, I was just going to be awake. I arrived at work around five a.m. Worked/ was there until about six p.m. Took a friend for hot chocolate, basically just tried to kill time until my small group at seven thirty p.m. If you have started doing the math, you can get why this is intrinsically difficult for me.

My brain tends to decrease in function around eight or eight thrity at night. I find it essentially useless to try and read. Then try and combine that with the notion of being upright for the last nineteen hours. By the time small group is over, I have usually been awake somewhere around twenty hours. (Using the term "awake" as a sliding scale")

That's all just build-up to this question: Is it worth it?

Usually, yes. Somehow I can sneak in a half hour nap and that carries me through until ten p.m. Or I get a Friday night off. Something. In those moments I find that the conversation is intelligent and God-inspired and I can hopefully add to it. Or it can be like it was last week.

My newest "trick" is to start standing about halfway through the second half of our meeting and just lightly walk back and forth. Hopefully it isn't too distracting; it is the only way I can maintain consciousness. This week I outdid my self. I had the bible on the chair in front of me, I was leaning over to read the bible, and I think for a half a second I nodded off because I felt my vertical stance slipping and I jerked my head awake. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fall asleep whiile standing up?

I would much like an earlier start time, but the morning people of this world, including myself, have to have some disadvantages. I just hope that I'm not disrupting anyone else there and that they understand that I'm trying.

Moral of the story: Naps pay off. Embrace them.

Here's hoping I get points for trying..

I'm Critical of Critcism

Not so very long ago, I listened as a man addressed a group of Christians. He was responding to the concept of whether or not the world was worse off for Christianity coming into existence. Wars have been fought in God's name, religious persecution; a fair amount of misery might be blamed at the feet of Christianity, so was it really worth it?

I of course argue no. That while people's attempts may not always go as I would like, their intentions were hopefully to further God's kingdom. In my view, it is the every day little decencies we perform that lead us to a belief in Christianity, not the wars and attacks that we're a little too quick to jump to.

Well, the leader's response was to start off with, "All due respect, but" and then went on to call this specific author he had named an imbelic, uncomprehensible, dumb, moron.

... : Uh huh...

Now, I have my opinions about people. There are actions that my friends and coworkers do that simply boggle my mind. I'm not stupid, I'm not flying off the charts, I'm what I refer to as: smart enough. I'd like to think I'm smart enough not to replicate this mistake.

Look, the specifics don't really matter. It was a respectable enough fellow addressing a group of Christians. Knowing that much alone, I would argue that most would agree that different actions probably should have been taken. Singling out one author and calling them unintelligent because they think differently? That we think things through in opposing manners? That's not being stupid, that's offering up a possiblity for debate.

Bill Maher and I think very differently. But he, in so far as I can see, is no dummy. There are people that have been President in the past few decades that I think were unwise in their policies and how they executed (sometimes, literally) those policies. But having acknowledge our differences, I wouldn't go so far as to call them evil.

In my book, God is love. Insulting someone and claiming they lack intelligence seems unloving; unkind, if you will. I like to think that we, as Christians, can be better than that.

I like discord. I don't like how it frustrates me when others won't agree, but I do appreciate that we can all see things differently. It just solidifies my beliefs in my head and sorts them out that much clearer.

Church goes kaput, Worship does not.

Howdy,

It was only last week that I was bragging about what a steadfast churchgoer I was. How I would weather (heh) the storm and get my kiester to church. How I was a church attending machine!

And then this weekend happened.

Sigh. I'm a stubborn twerp, but I ain't completely stupid. And as I found out on Monday, the Sunday service was nixed anyways. Hence their online note: http://www.seattlequest.org/blog/2008/12/worship-home-guide-sermon-1221

Sermons via online!

Now, myself? Not a fan. One of the reasons I didn't really fit into Mars Hill was because they're "polished". Their services are created with a certain televised aesthetic in mind, and that's just now how I like things. I prefer intimate/ close up. I think that's the reason this little video sermon thing doesn't repulse me quite as much. My experience with this little video that the Quest folks put up is that it maintains a one on one feel. (Probably brought on largely by the fact it was shot in his home office, the lighting is funky, and he didn't edit out his reaching for the camera buttons) ;)

I can see the appeal of online/broadcast sermons. I do. If you just can't make it out of the house (newborns, weather, elderly), it certainly is better than nothing. Sure you sacrifice the presence of a person who's actually looking at you the same time you're looking at them, but there should still be a God-sent message, right?

Eh. I think someone would have to really sell it to me to get me to do it every week. I want the face to face. I'm quite content to stare someone down and tell them I think they're wrong. I tend not to, let us have our little God disagreements, but a pastor can tell if an entire audience is shifting in their seats. There are visual cues to keep the speaker in check and help them realize if the sermon is "clicking" or not.

And wouldn't ya know it, their Christmas Eve sermon, where they always get a packed house, was cancelled too! But no online video/guide, so maybe they figured one a week as enough. ;)

So, after having 3 church shindigs killed off by snow in the last ten days, I'm realizing a few things. A: I like the face to face. I don't really relish the drive, but I like the interaction. It's the only Christian to Christian time I can count on.

B: Sometimes you just can't make it. It is not enjoyable, and one can at least try... but sometimes you're just gonna stay put. The end. (Hospital stays come to mind.)

C: The internet is a good way to announce to the masses that you're closed. Perhaps even offer up a substitute to those folks. But it doesn't cover everyone. (I have no internet at home, and that's the way I like it!) They'll figure it out for themselves eventually.

Or so one hopes. :D

-PC, a media major, but a face-to-face Quaker first