Randoms (7)

...the disconnected, intertwined stuff I'm thinking edition.

Life is changing. There is movement happening all around me. People moving out and others moving in, friend circles becoming more intimate, circumstances aligning, healing encounters, conversations creating thought, thought stimulating growth and growth redefining the old. "Things have been set into motion that cannot be undone." Aslan is on the move.

I've become more convinced in these past few weeks that church is about relationship more so than "worship." I used to ask the frustrated questions;

• What is church?
• Outside of what we've made it - a structure and an institution - what was the intended purpose?

Recently I've just been asking;

• HOW do I worship?

Because in the end, I think my family "does church" pretty damn well. It's how to engage God corporately in worship that we now seek meaning and practice in.

I'm amazed at how people/institutions/leadership seem to "change" once individuals are able, open and ready to change themselves. Perspective is everything. If you are merely a man, you hold no power over others. You can't control or manipulate any part of another's life unless they allow it. Fear is a fallacy, which makes me thoroughly question the ever-present victim mentality of people leaving church, "hurt." Do systems hurt people? Sure. But only if permitted to do so. Jesus kicked out the BUYERS and the sellers at Temple. He had little grace for those who permit themselves to be used and manipulated.

Sometimes I just want to tell everyone to STOP. Stop the show, the charade, the fake boundaries, the rules, the regulated responses, the cause crusades, the right words. I just don't think HE cares about the bullshit. What are we all so busy DOING, really? Jesus' work?

C'mon!

The song Heart of Worship came out of a church feeling like they were putting on a show, the ever-present Sunday morning circus. They spent weeks without music, PowerPoint, singers, microphones and leaders and simply prayed and meditated. Out of the dead silence and seeking, soul searching and sincerity the song was birthed; people coming as they were, stripped down, raw, at-core. I want to live like that. Bare and therefore open. It's all about relationship. I need to worship that way too.

I read this article recently and was blown away. Read it. Please.

I have been challenged to think through decisions and motives for work and worship recently and have been surprised at the role fear, shame and guilt have played. I am learning that these ugly forces are not the intention for my life, for your life. Obligatory worship, relationships, and otherwise are not what God desires for His creation.

If you are in that place, strip down, be naked, and get re-built.

I am.

Being changed. It's my desire to stay in the process.

Let's all stay engaged, friends.