This past Sunday Laura and I visited another area church with friends. This was a small town, country church that had both a traditional service and a contemporary service. We chose to attend the contemporary service. I don't think this little church gets too many visitors. When the 6 of us arrived they didn't seem to know what to do with us. We walked in the doors and there was no signage of any kind to point us to the auditorium. There were several folks standing in the lobby and they just looked at us like, "WOW! Visitors!" But they didn't know what to say to us. I finally had to ask which direction the service was.
Once we got our seats several people came up and welcomed us. There were less than 50 people at the service. A young gal who played guitar and keyboards (not at the same time, obviously) led in worship. She had a beautiful voice and picked some great songs. I couldn't help but bust out laughing, though, as one of the slides containing song lyrics came up on the screen. The song was, "Blessed Be The Lord God Almighty." Part of the song has the lyrics, "And together we sing!" When these words came up on the screen the "g" was notoriously missing. I couldn't help but laugh when everyone sang the words,
"And together we sin."
It reminded me of my Youth Pastor days. I was in charge of our Bible School in which each year 500-600 kids attended. I had just finished the master for the flier and was ready to send it to the printer. Our church secretary gave one final proofing of my work and it was a good thing she did. You know how on a keyboard the "w" and the "s" are close together? Well, we were having a big contest at Bible School and in big letters I meant to have put on the flier the words "COME AND WIN!" Instead, my master copy of the promotional flier said:
"COME AND SIN!"
But in spite of the missing "g" in the lyrics, this gal did a nice job of leading the worship last Sunday. The message was another story. The pastor spoke on the topic of hell but his message was more philosophical than it was theological. I'm still not sure exactly what he believes when it comes to the topic of hell. And there was no mention of the atoning and redemptive work of Christ at all. I'm not sure how you can preach a message on hell without also including the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for our sins. I guess the "g" on the lyrics slide wasn't the only important thing missing at this little country church.
Once we got our seats several people came up and welcomed us. There were less than 50 people at the service. A young gal who played guitar and keyboards (not at the same time, obviously) led in worship. She had a beautiful voice and picked some great songs. I couldn't help but bust out laughing, though, as one of the slides containing song lyrics came up on the screen. The song was, "Blessed Be The Lord God Almighty." Part of the song has the lyrics, "And together we sing!" When these words came up on the screen the "g" was notoriously missing. I couldn't help but laugh when everyone sang the words,
"And together we sin."
It reminded me of my Youth Pastor days. I was in charge of our Bible School in which each year 500-600 kids attended. I had just finished the master for the flier and was ready to send it to the printer. Our church secretary gave one final proofing of my work and it was a good thing she did. You know how on a keyboard the "w" and the "s" are close together? Well, we were having a big contest at Bible School and in big letters I meant to have put on the flier the words "COME AND WIN!" Instead, my master copy of the promotional flier said:
"COME AND SIN!"
But in spite of the missing "g" in the lyrics, this gal did a nice job of leading the worship last Sunday. The message was another story. The pastor spoke on the topic of hell but his message was more philosophical than it was theological. I'm still not sure exactly what he believes when it comes to the topic of hell. And there was no mention of the atoning and redemptive work of Christ at all. I'm not sure how you can preach a message on hell without also including the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for our sins. I guess the "g" on the lyrics slide wasn't the only important thing missing at this little country church.
Be sure to read my other blog entitled "Hope For Hurting Pastors" at www.hurtingpastor.blogspot.com. You can leave a comment at either blog or email me directly at skdistler@gmail.com.
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