Oh, cold weather, I like you.

Hmmm.  I'm trying to blog in the gap between being around people (I've got about two and a half hours now) and in the gap between weeks that are full.


I was chatting with a dear friend this afternoon over hot beverages and when I tried to describe how the church service had gone this morning, I felt like I was herding cats.  Even now I want to open a new tab and do a Google search for ideas on how to use my language effectively to describe it OR to describe how difficult it is to describe.


It was really good.



Sheesh - even now trying to type it's corralling felines!  It's impossible.  (1) The band included our main percussionist who is very talented and acts as a fantastic type of glue for the whole team.  (2) Our only bassist was also on this week after being off for three months as his new work schedule has made it very difficult to participate.  His schedule won't change for a while but he made an exception this week.  I have sorely missed the bass.  (3) With bass, percussion, electric, violin, four singers and piano, we've got something going.  When people hear the full and energetic sound of a full band, their confidence grows. And when the congregation sees a big band, they pay more attention and work harder to be involved.

(4) The service was packed with songs (both hymns and not-hymns) that are well known and well loved by the congregation and songs that I knew this week's band could lead very well.  People sang with us loudly and happily through every song but the one that was new to them as of four weeks ago.  (Legit.)  I hope loud and energetic also corresponds to sincere and Christ-focused in this case.

(5) Lead pastor said at the staff meeting that we should stop singing the song before the service (what we call the "prelude") and just let the band play.  We made that modification to the postlude a couple weeks ago because only parts of the congregation would sing or be paying attention.  Then another coworker suggested we have a Call to Worship (the reading of a Scripture passage that beckons us to focus our minds & hearts on God and what He's going to do in our corporate worship service) displayed on the projection screen but not read by anyone as has been done in the past.  He suggested white text on a black background (instead of the typical landscape photos we use).  I went for it.

So, song without words (with a gorgeous violin lead), then Psalm 9:1-2 and then a pastor comes up to welcome us and give us some announcements.

I didn't think I'd care too much but the seamlessness of the start of the service was truly refreshing. I daresay we might do it again next week. We'll see. 

I also like that I was told to have only instruments on the prelude instead of asked what I thought about it.  It's a good idea, he's my boss, and the reasoning is biblical.

(6) The songs were rich melodically and theologically and the band played them well.  That trifecta blesses my heart (and apparently blesses many others, too).

(7) I read somewhere recently that we must start our services with songs that declare God for who He is if we expect the congregation to respond to sing in response after the sermon.  The guy who said it (who twote it) said it much more succinctly and sensibly and I fear I haven't even paraphrased it well because I don't fully understand it but I have been trying to apply this principle since I read it.  It's not that easy with limiting factors x, y and z but I like a challenge. (8) How often I forget that when I put in more time and work, often the service runs better - not because I'm fantastic but because God is gracious and works through  me (with me?) - and I am able to connect with Him better as well.  (9) This morning I left feeling small because I was in awe of Him and because I know there are things I need to look into and repent of.

I feel I cherish Him more today... And when I don't put as much effort into doing my job, into planning and facilitating the Sunday morning service, I leave thinking about all my shortcomings.  I leave thinking about what I should have done and what I could have done better.  Room for improvement there may be, BUT I should never be the focus like that.  Should not.

(10) I didn't leave the building right away.  This is huge.  I often want to leave quickly because I am a self-centred jerk.  (11) The sermon was too much for one hearing so I need to get into my notes, to pray for help from the Spirit and I may just listen online at some point this week, too.  (12) I tried something new this week to boost up the visuals and it taught me a bit more about my work ethic and mindset than I was really interested in hearing.  It's still a process.  Glad that I didn't have a bunch of people come and tell me they loved it because it would be great if it just blended in.  With time, I'll try more and more but right now I'm just thinking about how my coworkers felt about it because I want to be on the same page.

"As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe 
yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, 
gentleness and patience." (Colossians 3:12)

(13) The song at the end of the service went so well.  Our pastor's closing remarks stitched the sermon into the closing song like the two elements were meant to be part of the same garment.  He's really good at that.  He also stitches other songs into the beginning and middle of his sermon which blesses me because a) he must be listening/paying attention for that to be possible, b) he is helping the congregation remember what they've sung and draw connections between what we're singing and God's word, c) he and I are [working together] in a way I can't describe.

(13b) Also about the last song, it was a hybrid of an older hymn and a more contemporary song and though I needed to change the key of the second one by a major third and we needed to run over it a few times, the songs just went so well together.  I'm ...amazed.  The hymn was clutch as a service-ender and then I went into my brain database with "contemporary" + "4/4 time" + "medium tempo" + "easy singability" + "high familiarity" + "lyrics that boast about God's general goodness" as my search terms and found one that fit after dismissing two weak candidates.
It was neat that when I explained to the team what I was going for on Wednesday night, the percussionist took a second to imagine it and then smiled saying, "Oh, yeah - that's, like, exactly the same tempo.  Cool!"

I grinned and agreed, "Yeah, I think it'll be good."


A moment later she says, "Do you just wake up with two songs melded together in your head?"  I laughed and said that was sometimes the case but usually I had to think about it a bit.  I have  tendency to be arrogant in most musical situations and I need to stop.  What I realised today when I tried to be anti-arrogant with a comment this morning was that self-deprecation may seem like the opposite but it is not a solution. 

Sometimes people come up to me after service and say how great they thought it was that the music and the message complemented each other so well.  Most of the time I'm shrugging because he and I don't talk about it.  We don't sit at the same table and strategize. He tells me the Scripture passage and that's it.  Last Sunday he said something about how if we each take care of our components the service will take care of itself.  Makes sense.  That's what's been happening, without my being able to put it into words.


(14) After service concluded I closed and covered the piano very slowly to buy myself time to freeze/preserve the sermon in my mind so I could pull it out later and really listen closely to what the Spirit has for me in it before I start talking to other people.  Then I went on the hunt for our lead pastor.  I know that people want to talk to him and he likes to introduce himself to new people but I was determined to find just the smallest window, if I could.  I could wait til next week but I generally like to say things when they're freshest because there's the added bonus of earnestness.

It took a while and I was happy to chat with a handful of people on the way...quite a lot of nice people and none of the conversations felt like painful small talk.  But then, in the main hallway, snagging him JUST as he was finishing a conversation with someone else, I walked up with my hand outstretched and said, "I really like working with you."

I knew it sounded dumb, I KNOW it sounds dumb, I wanted to say it a couple weeks ago but didn't because it sounds dumb but this morning I just went for it because I was bubbling over with gratitude (and YES, I thanked the Lord first...and afterward...and still now...and I'm sure I will tomorrow).  He made the most wonderful face; it was twisted up like he'd just heard a high-pitched whistle.  It was like I had come up and said, "I really admire your brickwork."  It seems to make no sense whatsoever.

But the face had traces of I'm-deflecting-what-I-know-is-heartfelt under the no-one-could-like-working-with-me/why-would-you-say-that?  He asked, "Where did that come from?" which is exactly why I thought my comment was dumb.  Surprised I hadn't thought of a reply (I should always be ready to back it up, as an English major), I gave the caveman answer which was, "from my head...and my heart," but the second part was MUCH quieter and I think he missed it because he was laughing at the first part.

Then he dramatically becomes mock-serious and nods somberly, "Oh."

I continued with a question about sermons but he slipped in, "Ditto," in response to my first comment.  I half-laughed and said, "Good," fully aware I wasn't making good eye-contact.  I continued with my question (from which he inferred a deep compliment, though I didn't plan it that way) and we chatted briefly until someone else came up and interrupted.  I started backing away and seeing this he turned and told me we'd talk more next week.  Then he shook my hand again which was either a "thank you" or he was mocking me.  I'm rooting for a hybrid.


I think what I mean is, "I'm really grateful and excited that the Holy Spirit is working through both of us to do some amazing things here."  It's not really about him...I just like him and want to encourage him.