Worship Survey - May God Help Us All!

Our church's mission statement is "Connecting People To Jesus Christ through Worship, Discipleship, and Service."

This year, we decided to conduct church-wide surveys with our Sunday worship service congregation for each of these (3) areas of ministry. We started with Discipleship, then we had a survey for Service, and finally, on September 14, we conducted a survey on Worship.

The Worship Survey had the following questions:

Worship has to do with the style of music.
Worship happens only on Sundays.
Worship is the #1 priority of a follower of Christ.
Worship includes tithing.
Worship is demonstrated by the way I spend my time and resources.

(all of the above offered answer choices including strongly agree, somewhat agree, agree, not sure, disagree, somewhat disagree, strongly disagree)

then, on the back of the survey, in addition to the age range and gender box to check, you could write your name (optional) and then there were two really interesting questions with space to write in your answer:

HOW DOES GENUINE WORSHIP TRANSFORM YOU?

IS THERE ANY MESSAGE YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMUNICATE TO YOUR CHURCH'S TRUSTEES OR MINISTERS?

I am now in possession of 468 pages of answers to the above two questions. That's right - 468 pages. (I feel like Congress!)

I have perused these pages over the past 24 hours. I am quite frankly stunned....actually, kind of numb even.

I told a friend today that God is working overtime with me right now because I don't know what to do with what I am reading.

Please understand - I don't for even a brief moment believe that the efforts of the ministry that God has called me to lead, and the magnificent people with whom I serve on a weekly basis are incapable of messing up or even being misunderstood, but
I have never for a moment questioned our motive - NEVER.

And now - after reading many, many of these comments, I guess I just didn't have any idea that there were:

1. people seated in the congregation each Sunday who felt as strongly as they do about things I/we should and should not do as we attempt to lead people to worship and honor God each Sunday and beyond the walls of Sunday services

2. so many who when given the opportunity to "voice their opinion" were so blunt in "voicing it" - while at the same time remaining for the most part - anonymous in their comments.

Me blogging about this is not some lame attempt on my part to solicit pathetic responses of "I am so sorry for you" or "I can't believe this" or "don't let that get to you", etc.....

I am blogging about this because I am deeply disturbed by what I am reading.

And don't begin to tell me I am overreacting.

We are talking about the worship of God Almighty here. The Creator of everything there is. Don't you dare minimize His greatness by telling me in a survey what YOU think we should or should not be doing so that you can feel better about yourself and YOUR church.

Worship is not about us - never has been - never will be. Worship is not about whether we sing your favorite hymn or your favorite chorus. Worship is not about the temperature in the Worship Center on Sunday mornings. Worship is not about whether you got a "rush" out of Sunday or not. Worship is not about how many times the choir sings or the orchestra plays.

I am grateful for many in our congregation whose response to how genuine worship transforms them gave answers and evidence of their true understanding of why we gather each week in that room.

We gather to boldly, respectfully, and reverently proclaim that God is greater than me and therefore worth everything I can offer to Him. That means that I come regardless of the songs, regardless of the leader, regardless of the "presentation" to find a way to make sure God knows that I love Him and choose to serve Him above any other god in my life. I come to confess that I mess up everyday in my attempt to live my life for Him, but that does not change what I bring to Him - even in my brokenness, I come before Him to make more of Him than me, my circumstances, and my feelings.

Maybe this survey is a wake-up call for me. Maybe this survey is of the devil.

May God help me sort this out as I stay the course in leading people to encounter the greatness of God.

Happy 16th Birthday!

Today we celebrate 16 years with Ben Worley!

It's never easy being the youngest of (3) brothers, but Ben has his own style and his own way about him.

Here are ten things I love about Ben:

1. His laugh
2. His loudness
3. His sarcasm
4. His self-taught ability to play the upright bass (arco)
5. His self-taught ability to play tenors (quads - those 4 drums you strap to your body in marching band) and march while playing them
6. His love for God
7. His love for people
8. His love for his brothers
9. His creativity
10. His convictions

Happy 16th, young man - God did good when He made you, and Mom and I are grateful He entrusted you to us......

Letter To The Next President

This summer while on my sabbatical, I attended one of my favorite churches - North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA. Through the years, getting to know North Point's pastor, Andy Stanley has been enriching to my life to say the least.

On this particular Sunday, Andy was in the middle of a very interesting series entitled, "Letters To The Next President". Now before you think he was walking that ever so volatile line between politics and religion, fear not. He knows better.

His 3-part series was a look at leaders in the Bible, and how the way they led impacted those who followed. He then asked the great question - if you could write a letter to the President, and you know He would read it, what would you say to him?

I highly encourage you to click HERE, then find Andy's letters - He wrote (3).

My favorite is the one with the darker brown envelope - entitled:
From: Andy
To: The Next President
Subject: Beyond Approval Ratings

I am still working on mine.

Praying Friends

I receive a weekly e-mail update from a person I have never met. I continue to do so because he consistently includes quotes from various authors on the subject of worship and theology that are always an inspiration to me.

He is obviously a very intelligent, compassionate, and Godly man - based on what I know of him through others who actually know him personally.

Recently, He became ill with cancer, so now each week he gives a brief health update at the conclusion of his regular inspirational updates.

I have noticed two things about this that impress me:

1. He always lists the quote BEFORE his update - that tells me what someone else has to say about worship and theology is more important to him to communicate to his list of recipients than how he happens to be doing physically that particular week.

2. He always begins his health update with "Dear Praying Friends"......

I so love that.......after all, what other kinds of friends would a person want?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is my father's 86th birthday!

For all these years W.J has lived and contributed to so many people's lives in a variety of ways. He has done so in what many would call "the old fashion way" - hard work, determination, and caring for others.

His dry sense of humor, his quiet spirit, and his work ethic have always impressed me, and anyone who knows him.

As a child, I remember him working 12 hours @ day - 7 days a week at the Gulf Service Station. I don't know how he did it.

Together we have built many things in and around our home. They are constant reminders of his ability to use his hands to create something of value. I love "constructing things with wood", and that love comes directly from him.

My favorite of all time is this deck that we built 20 years ago (in the summer of 1988). The people who now live in this house probably don't realize how special that "work of art" is to my family, but I will always remember that experience!
(Good grief, I hope I can build something like this when I am 66 years old!!)


So, thanks Mr. Worley for being around for 86 years. You are a really good man, friend, husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

(The photo at the top of my post was taken a year ago. He is with my sister's grandson. I love this photo and the expressions on their faces!)

Perspective

This week, I have been confronted with what seems like more than the average volume of suffering among friends and colleagues. (I won't touch this subject matter related to what we all have experienced this week by watching the RNC!)

I know I work in a very large church, so the odds (of many, many people around me dealing with most every kind of suffering known to humans) are very, very high.

We are singing a song in choir right now called, "When I Don't Know What To Do". It is an incredible Tommy Walker song. Karla told me after choir rehearsal that someone asked her during that song if she thought anyone in that room truly had ever been at a point when they literally did not know what to do?

Think about that.

I ask myself have I ever been at a point in my life when I literally did not know what to do?

We seem to always have an answer for everything, don't we. If we don't, then we find a way to worry or fret thinking that will help.

We pray prayers that seem to never be answered. We are impatient with God, our family and friends, and most often ourselves. We doubt. We whine. We might even seem comfortable at times in our own self-pity. We can't imagine anyone suffering to the degree that we are, and yet we know there will always be someone who is "worse off" than we are. (Does that really help anyone when we think that?)

(If you're still reading - stay with me - I think I have a point that I am taking awhile to get to!)

Scriptures tell us everything we need for every situation - yet, we still suffer in very real ways.

We are intelligent, resourced, blessed with more than any of us deserve to have, and we wrestle with our guilt (caused by feelings that are in the back of our mind) that it still is not enough because whatever it is that is causing our suffering is real -it's painful, and it just won't go away nearly soon enough.

We don't want to admit that suffering is indeed a part of this life or if we admit it, we surely don't want to wear it like some badge of honor. We also don't want to succumb to the pit of despair and depression that suffering can very well lead us to.

(I want to very careful in this next statement)

I believe that what is very real pain and suffering for someone I know might not be the same degree of pain and suffering for me. It very well could be much worse. It also could be much "easier" (if I may use that word respectfully).

It is about perspective.

I meet regularly with a close friend who reminds me of things I need to be reminded of. Today, he told me this - "Suffering is not a competitive sport."

Wow!

The next time we are in pain, and we suffer deeply over something whether it is for brief moment or it has lasted for years beyond our comprehension - may we resist the urge to judge or compare our circumstances with those around us.

Instead, allow those around us to help us, love us, and walk with us as best they can so that even in our suffering, Christ is made much of.

Little Drummer Boy

For those of you who read this entry and you have small children - be encouraged.

For the longest time growing up, I was not sure just where Ben Worley would "hang his hat" so to speak. He was active, creative, fun, entertaining - all those things kids are and should be. The only sport I ever thought he might be interested in was soccer, but it was way more about running up and down the field and bossing people around and that became boring after awhile.

All of this was good, I might add.

It wasn't until just a few years ago, he started hanging with some friends and they started a band - a band which needed a bass player. I was thrilled. Everyone needs a bass player. There are never enough bass players in the world.

So, Ben takes lessons, becomes a pretty darn good player, and go figure - makes the Franklin High Marching Band as the bass player in the pit.

I am still wrestling with a bass player in a marching band. (they just didn't do those things in my days!)

Well, when marching band season ended, and someone talked him into auditioning on "tenors" or "quads" or whatever you want to call those (4) drums you have to strap onto your body and play in perfect time/rhythm while moving around.

He did just that with the Winter Drum Line, and practiced on his own for hours a day - never having to be asked by anyone to discipline himself to practice faithfully.

That led to his auditioning for this year's FHS Marching Band - not as bass player, but as drummer boy on the "tenors".

The photo above was taken at this year's band camp, and tonight Ben Worley will march with these drums strapped to his body for the very first time at a Franklin HS football game half-time show.

I would have never guessed that years ago as I watched him run up and down a soccer field and boss people around - that it would lead to a different kind of "running up and down" a field bossing people around! (drummers always boss people around!)

My video camera will be rolling......