What Church is Not

(the church has left the building)

The gathering together of believers for teaching, prayer and worship has been happening since the beginning of the church. They have gathered in homes, schools, public places, YMCAs, and church buildings. They have gathered in public and in private; in open celebration and in secret. The time of day or day of the week doesn’t really matter. The dress of the people, the kind of music played, the brand of coffee served are just details. The important thing is that people are gathering and the name of the Lord is being praised!

It’s important to also think about what church is not. It should not be the only place that we worship the Lord, the only place His name is praised. For we can praise Him in so many ways, by sharing the joys in our life with others, by remaining steadfast in the face of obstacles.

Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

Church should not be the only place we cast our burdens on the Lord in prayer. We can pray at bedtime, before meals, when we get up in the morning and when we drive to and from work (eyes open please.)

Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances.”

Even more importantly, church should not be the only place we find our friends. We should be interacting with all kinds of people, in all kinds of circumstances. We are called to be salt and light to the world.

Matthew 5:16 “… let you light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your father in heaven”

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing

(on the 8th day God created the Hammond organ)

I’ve been a piano/keyboard player most of my life and I’ve played one of those instruments at church for as long as I can remember. At the last church I served we had a great piece of equipment that emulated the legendary Hammond B3 organ, (that sound you hear in so much of the music of the 60’s from groups like The Allman Brothers and the Spencer Davis Group.) I enjoyed that digital rendering and the color it added to the music.

But this past week I reached the pinnacle of keyboarding. Our new church in Toledo has a genuine Hammond B3, rescued from a garage in Oberlin, Ohio. And it was my first Sunday in the band. The digital sound I thought was so outstanding paled in comparison to playing with the Leslie speaker spinning in the cabinet a few feet away. There ain’t nothin’ like the real thing!

The children of Israel came to this same conclusion time after time after time in the Old Testament. God had miraculously brought them out of bondage in Egypt, taken them across the Red Sea, given them manna and quail, and led them to victory over their enemies. But they fell into the trap of chasing after cheap imitations; idols made of gold and wood and stone. When things finally reached the breaking point they would remember the one true God, the God of their fathers, and cry out in repentance. The love and protection would envelope them once again.

Remember, then and now…There ain’t nothin’ like the real thing!

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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