Brad, Phil, Vicki, Julie, and all musicians on this list.
Let's start our own Church and Phil can be the Pastore, Brad, you can be in
charge of worship services, and Julie, Vicki, and all other musicians and
myself, we can take turns playing for the different services.
Kathy can lead the choir. We could find a good job for everyone on this
loving list to keep you all busy.
Love,
Pat Ferguson
At 08:14 AM 12/16/03 -0600, you wrote:
>Kathy,
>
>I appreciate your wisdom. Actually my frustration with the worship here is
>pretty much contained within the family. I've not even said too much to
>them, as it is obvious to them without my saying so. The music director
>knows we come from a bit different service, and he actually wants to know
>more about it, but haven't set time aside to meet and talk about it. I
>serve with only little encouragements here and there when it seems they are
>naturally lead towards a direction which lends itself to be more worshipful
>and less cold and methodical. When I returned to Texas for a visit last
>March was it? Anyway, I met with our Worship Leader/Associate Pastor to
>discuss stuff about worship, this while we were yet at our old church here
>in Wisconsin, and that is one thing I remember him saying was to not say...
>"Well in Texas we did this, at our old church we did this" but rather just
>encourage for encouraging sake with subtlty. It will be interesting we have
>a person coming in to do worship on January 4th, my hope is he is a
>worshipper and doesn't sound like a DJ with one hour of air time under his
>belt to show as an example of what to shoot for. I do not mean that
>disrespectfully, but merely that our heart of worship come through without
>holding back. We had one lady, actually the music director's wife which is
>no longer on the team for sake of teaching Sunday school now, who was a
>keyboardist on our team who is a worshipper, not super charismatic, you
>don't have to be, but knew when a song was to be spent more time singing
>because it was right, people were responding, and not cut because the cold
>frigid power point said "song over". That is so very frustrating. I'd like
>to take that power point and create a "fatal error". hahahaha. We are so
>concerned with backgrounds to the power point, if the chorus is listed once
>twice or what not. People will follow a leader if he sings an additional
>chorus, they are not singing wind up robots, and ought not be taught to act
>as such. What am I to learn here? Probably patience? I don't know. I see
>our numbers dwindling, and not that numbers are everything, but they can be
>an indicator if one is being effective in the community. We hit with a
>splash, but to be expected, some of that splash is dispersed outwardly as
>well. I know what really made people want to come to church at COTR, and
>I'd like to share that with them here. Things like including the
>congregation in on what the church is doing around the community and around
>the nation. If there is a missionary sent out from the church, constant and
>updated reminders of the difference they are making and etc. is good to
>make the people feel they are a part of a happening church making a
>difference to others besides keeping the doors open and electric paid. If
>there is a food drive, tell how many pounds of food helped how many people,
>if you have a booth at a fair, tell how many people were affected and
>talked to. People like to see progress and growth in something. People
>like to see a show for what they invest their time and talents to, they
>want to see that the money they give makes a difference and just doesn't
>keep the pastor there preaching to them Sunday after Sunday, but has
>something more than that for it's agenda. People who come to church hurting
>and needing of prayer or help, how is filling out a card and putting it in
>a box in the back going to help them in their moment? I'm use to the
>service ending like... "For those of you that have somewhere to go, chicken
>in the oven, kids to pick up or find all is well, you can go that way
>*pointing towards the doors out of the sanctuary*, for those of you who
>need prayer for anything , healing, for things in your life, we are here to
>help and pray with you and you come this way *point towards the platform*
>and I'll or someone here will pray with you to help you with your needs".
>Now if you were hurting, looking for help, and leery and unfamiliar of
>church as a whole, which church might you feel to return to? Perhaps I'm on
>a bit of a rant lol, but it is only because I see potential to be a help in
>the community. We have a pastor that has good messages and a heart of
>worship himself I believe, but it seems there is a point of plateau, a
>point of needing of phase 2 to kick in with a new plan to bring about
>stability. Part of that is an actual building. We are utilizing a school
>auditorium, which has it's perks, but setting up and tearing down is
>wearing out a few people, we've asked for help, but you know the rule
>20/80, 20% do 80% of the work. I am not the pastor, I do not know all the
>details of what is going on with the major plan, I do not know the
>financial burdens of the church, which really ought be very little other
>than the pastor's salary, but if I'm wondering this stuff, I'm sure there
>are others as well who wonder where to now? What are we doing outside these
>walls? We have a Connection Team to serves people at funerals and in times
>of need, how about hearing how they are doing, who have they helped out? Or
>how many this month. What about the youth, what are they up to, what things
>are they doing to reach out? What about the Alpha program, how many people
>are being positively affected by it? All these things that could be there
>to charge the members and give it a reputation of a happening place and a
>place worth investing your time and etc. to. So. I'll end my rant for now
>lol. I'm not totally disgusted, it may seem like it, but it is a hunger I
>have and a bit starved of that encouragement in seeing how we are making a
>difference to others.
>
>Brad
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