of a box

Yet another great weekend over. There are many things I could have talked about, but one thing stands out the most, because I learnt that God is really greater than my doubts.

It has been a while since an idea has been floating in my mind to start a service differently. I have been serving as a music leader (or "worship leader" as most churches call us) for a couple of years in CrossCulture. The opening of our services (as with many other churches) is usually lined with three or four songs of praise. Well, today, I wanted to break that monotonous pattern of how we do things.

Ecclesiastes says, "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few."

When we come to sing our songs to God, do we really mean what we sing? Do we really mean the lyrics, "I give You my heart / I give You my soul / I live for You alone" or "I have decided to follow Jesus / No turning back / No turning back," or "I could sing of Your love forever"? These are beautiful words, but if we sing without thoughts or sincerity, they are just empty words bouncing off the walls and ceiling of the auditorium.

With this in mind, I began planning the service. I planned that the service should start with Scripture - there is no better way than that, I reckon. And it was followed by a song of reflection / prayer, followed by a song of response.

Then, doubts.

"Is this too radical a change?"
"What will the church think about this plan?"
"Will the church respond to this type of opening?"

But I thank God for my band members who are ready to support this vision. Although it is our first time doing such an opening, they were on board. The singers read Scripture on stage for the first time. The musicians are stretched to accommodate spontaneity. Truly, I am not gifted in music - I can sing only by the grace of God (that's another story I might tell another day), but I thank God for the talents within my band. I truly love these people.

And after the service today, I have received various encouragements from many different types of people, really. From the young to the old, from the new visitors to the current members, I was amazed at how well people respond to this plan.

So, really, God is greater than my doubts.

As much as we are comfortable with tradition and routine, I am a big believer in becoming the driver for cultural change, whether within the church community or outside it. God is not too small that He needs a box to stay in. Instead, our minds need to be stimulated, to think outside of this box that perhaps contain only a small part of God, and we need to hunger and thirst to know and pursue more of Him. Because the danger is that we become stale when we become satisfied and comfortable with our little box.

Needless to say, I want to pursue greater creativity this year, to speak the Gospel in various other methods. I want to become adventurous with art and music, and work, and life. I want to be the culture-changer - by His wisdom, by His grace.

And I know that the church is built by Christ. And I believe that He shall continue to do a great work in our midst.

Love love love the church... ;)