Name's Hi's, Bye's

I just want to do a simple post to remind myself of a few fundamentals of relating to others.

Firstly: the name.

At teachers training college we were taught as professional's how important it is to learn people's names. As a youth leader I have been taught how much it means to learn people's names. But here is my challenge to myself. Regardless of weather I will be teaching someone or weather they will be a part of my youth group I should try to learn as many names as possible not because it is going to make me a good youth leader or teacher but because of how much it could mean to that person you may have only met once before. (I will just need to get over my fear of using up all the memory in my brain) It takes a conscious effort to learn people's name but it is so good when I do.

Hi's

Last night I came back from my flat after being away for a few days. It is so affirming to be greeted cheerfully as soon as you walk in the door. Greetings are really important. This is another one of the basics that I feel I should put more effort into. Don't think that someone else is going to do it. Take the initiative yourself.

Bye's

Have you ever been in a group of people and someone you care about has said goodbye to everyone else in the room apart from you. That's a bit of an emotional nightie ripper that one. Now not everyone is going to like you and have their nightie ripped to shreds if you don't say good bye to them however saying goodbye is one of those basic social skills that we need to master and constantly put an effort into. I'm not quite sure what the ideal good bye is like, but again I think it needs to be affirming. A respectful goodbye is a good start. Goodbye's can be daunting to many, so just a simply goodbye and a respectful glance at someone could put that persons mind at ease that they have been acknowledged and that they are not completely alone once you have gone, that they can return at some put to a safe supportive friendship.

Crazier

Could these lyrics be talking about God? Holy Spirt? Jesus?

I like them.

I've never gone with the wind
Just let it flow
Let it take me where it wants to go
Till you open the door
There's so much more
I've never seen it before

I was trying to fly
But I couldn't find wings
Then you came along
And you changed everything

You lift my feet off the ground
Spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier,
Crazier, crazier

Watched from a distance as you
Made life your own
Every sky was your own kind of blue
And I wanted to know
How that would feel
And you made it so real

You showed me something that I couldn't see
Opened my eyes and you made me believe

You lift my feet off the ground
Spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier,
Crazier, crazier, oh

Baby, you showed me what living is for
I don't want to hide anymore

You lift my feet off the ground
You spin me around
You make me crazier, crazier
Feels like I'm falling and I
I'm lost in your eyes
You make me crazier,
Crazier, crazier
Crazier, crazier

Lyrics: 'Crazier' - Taylor Swift

Worship Should Be Popular!

When Christians meet on a Sunday the congregation come from diverse circumstances. Some people have had weeks from hell while others are on cloud 9. Some are the singing type, some are tone deaf. Some like to display their emotions in public, others like to stand at the back of the room looking staunch.

I have not researched this topic but I know there is a lot of mention in the bible about praising God in a musical manner through voices and instruments. Praise that is a movement of the heart often more so than the head, but when the two are joined that can also be very special. Often our hearts are engaged before our heads.

I was at a service recently and the row directly in front of me contained mostly ladies who on average had at least 50-6o years of experience before I was even born. I found it ironic that one of the songs talked about shouts of praise, any type of shouting would seem very out of place in this context even if it was joyfully directed at God. But what took me by surprise was the comment she made after a hymned had been song and I have to admit the words were great. I was quite warmed by what she said actually. Slightly deaf she is used to speaking a bit loud and was also competing with the organ as she leaned over to speak to her slightly deaf friend. Just as the organ came to a halt her announcement came out in that brief pause of silence at the conclusion of the song, it was there for me to hear. "Wasn't that inspirational" coming from a lady who I would have thought would need a lot to inspire that was a beautiful moment.

It got me thinking about our evening service where the participants are on average about 60 years younger than this lady. As a member of the 'worship team' which leads and co-ordinates the congregational time of praise and worship I would love to think that our time together may be inspiring. A time of entering God's courts with Praise a time of intimacy with God, a time that touches the hearts of those who are present. This may seem like a lot to ask for but I think there is a lot of potential we don't always realize in our times of praise and worship. Think about the power of music, a harp in the right hands, think David playing to a king. Think celebrating of the birth of a child, think a host of angels. Think the dynamics of a band playing in unison, described by a theologian as one of the best images of the trinity, all playing the same song but all unique and different.

When it comes to a congregation we don't all have to be the same. We don't all have to be amazing singers. Actually I don't think we even need to sing, some people love listening to music, it helps them connect with God, but they struggle to multi-task (guys especially). Some people don't even feel like singing or clapping or whatever, but guess what? They are still part of a worshipping congregation and I think that is more the point. I found out that the bible talks to groups of people, it calls groups of people to praise and worship not individuals. Have you ever been swept up in praise and worship? Have you ever had an experience you wish the whole world could be a part of? It's a unifying experience not focused on one another but on God. I have an I have to say it was truly inspirational, the words may have been basic, the words may have been repetitive but my heart was engaged and I was ready to hear from God at the end of it.

So why should music be popular? By popular music I mean the type of music that is going to engage the most people at a heart level. For some, hymns do this quite well. For others however, that would put them off. Some sacrifices are going to need to be made by some members of the congregation because not everyone enjoys the same type of music. The type of music is not the point though, the point is getting a congregation to worship and praise our God, therefore the most logical kind of music would be the music that is most popular with the participants and using this music to engage our hearts with our God.

Finally I hope our praise and worship is inspiration through the lyrics we are using and through the team spirit. I hope it is energetic, heartfelt, consuming, spirit filled, joyful, and also unifying as we come together as a body to put God in the place he is meant to be or perhaps put ourselves in the place we are meant to be.

Verbal vs. Written Reflection

I used to have a diary that I tried to write in every day. I started it ten years ago when I was fifteen because other people who I respected did a similar thing. The tipping point was the tragedy of someone I knew dying. Should I add that it was a girl I liked who was only 16 years old. My first entry was how I was feeling at the time and the thoughts that were coming to mind.

This writing became a habit. Not over night but over the years it built up although over the last year or two it has declined. Seldom do I write reflective statements these days. But I have tried to substitute it with interactive verbal reflections. This way I feel I am being more accountable. My view of reality is more likely to be held in check by others perceptions. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing, perhaps it is my attempt to feel more connected with others. My attempt to be more accountable to what is going on inside my head, my attempt to be more communal, to learn how to share and interact with others, to make my thoughts more malleable. But perhaps my thoughts have become to malleable. I mean the social tendency these days is that your words do not always match up to your actions, we say things lightly, we are not afraid to take different sides, explore different views. Theres a word that gets used quite a lot these days by young people, it's called "jokes". This word is readily available when an embarrassing thing is said, it's a way of telling people to hold what you just said lightly.

How often do we use sarcasm? Quite a bit. How often do we say stuff that we don't literally mean? Is this affecting out thinking, are we willing to stake a claim in the sand let alone concrete?

Writing is a little different. It's a bit more black and white. We write something and especially blogging once we have published it. We can't say "jokes" to people if we think they are getting offended by what we are saying, because potentially thousands read it and we can't monitor all those reactions. So perhaps then we need to be a bit careful about what words we use. Perhaps we need to think about what we are saying more because what we are saying is more the point as opposed to in a conversation half the point seems to be simply having a conversation, is it just me or do most conversations seem meaningless?

My point is, instead of excluding myself from seemingly meaningless conversations; if I want to practice saying stuff that I perhaps can-not retract so readily and therefore need to be more sure of, I should write more stuff that will be open to public scrutiny.

The truth the truth and nothing but the truth

I enjoy teaching.

But twice this week after posting some thoughts through email or blogging, I have then come across some new information that showed how unbalanced I am in what I teach.

I like to think that I know a reasonable amount about the bible compared to the average person on the street, but I'm constantly reminded of the need to keep learning.

But I love it.  I love finding out information that deepens my understanding.  I love having my life illuminated for what it is by the light of scripture or some one's wise words.  No matter how great a teacher we are or will ever get, the most valuable thing to a teacher is to be a learner.

Often we feel the need to promote Christianity, but I think more importantly than promoting it is to be a Christian.

Often we feel like we have to know all there is to know about Christianity, but I think it is more important to put into practice what we already know.

If we don't focus on being a Christian and what we do with our lives then we are not promoting the real thing seeing as the bible teaches that our lives are an example to others.

The Attraction Lenses

It was recently bought to my attention that sometimes attraction of the opposite sex can be mixed up with inner desires (or deficiencies) which means you are attracted to the person as a means of fulfilling your inner desire rather than being attracted for who they are.

That is unfair on the opposite sex. They are who they are. They are the attraction. The attraction should not be what they can do for you like a means to an end. We should appreciate them for who they are. Once that inner desire is fulfilled, where would that leave them, worthless?

One small example: If you have an inner desire to be more selfless you may pursue a relationship with someone who excels at selflessness in the hope that is will rub off on you or even your children. Remember you marry a person you value for who they are not for what they can do for you. A 50:50 relationship can be confused as two halves making a whole. 50:50 simply means equal contribution. While I’m not sure if 50:50 is biblical the bible says TWO will become ONE.

Now I want to refer back to the title ‘the attraction lenses. Inner desires that can often be unbeknown to us tend to focus our attraction towards fulfilling these inner desires, which can come across as ‘captain intensity’ not a good captain in my experience (did I say my experience?). And all this because we have these inner desire lenses we may not even know we are wearing.

So I suppose to take off these lenses you need to get rid of the inner desires by meeting them in some other way. If your inner desire is to be more selfless, be more selfless and tell yourself from now on you are more selfless and will continue to be even more selfless in the future.

With these lenses removed imagine what attraction would be like then, as if the opposite sex was not attractive enough already ☺ You will be able to sip and savor the cup of a pure relationship, without guzzling down the contents because your thirst drives you to quench your inner desire.

Am I preaching to myself, yes of course I am. If you haven’t worked that out yet, maybe you should get to know me more.
Peace =)