Lebenslaufe

Today was the first day of "class" without the real class stuff. We began the morning at 8:30 with worship, and then broke up into small groups of about 10 students each and told our Lebenslaufe. I will copy the info on what a Lebenslaufe is, but it basically means your life story. At first I was a bit anxious to tell it, but after doing it, it felt like eveyone in the room was family, which is a wonderful way to begin the school year, or in my opinion, any small church group.

Guidelines for Lebenslaufe.

Each of us comes to new relationships and new situations with a unique life history. This life history is usually a series of stories which have particular meaning to us. Re-telling those stories in the presence of persons who have not heard them before enables us to discern new meanings of those stories and allows the others to relate to us with more depth and understanding.

The guidelines below are designed to provide some structure for the telling of your story. Using these categories, tell your story in 15-20 minutes and then allow others 5-10 minutes to react and comment to it.

1. Summary Information. Name; age; matiral status; number, age and sex of your children (if any); birthplace and "hometown;" names and ages of parents and siblings with note of any who are deceased; present employment, hobbies and interests.

2. The Meaning of Your Birth. Each of us recieves an oral tradition about how our birth was recieved and handled by parents and significant others; give your understanding of this.

3. Injunctions. Most of us recieve specific moral or religious injunctions from parents and significant others throughout the course of our development. Examples of these include, "You will never be as good as (sibiling);" "You are too... (serious, childish, scatterbrained)... for your own good;" "God expects you to... (behavior, vocation)."

4. Major Losses and Dissapointments. List these and any meaning you have given to them. these would include bereavements, separations, failures.

5. Major Successes and Transforming Events. These would include religious experiences, promotions, achievements, marriage, births of children, etc. which have had some transforming effect on your life. Give particular meaning ascribed to these events.

6. Medical History. Includes suffering or significant changes in your health; may be covered in (4) or (5) above.

7. Socio-cultural History. Cultural heritage, geographical moves, family rituals which have shaped your understanding of the world.

8. Religious History. Baptism, confirmation, converion, changes in denomination, early religious memories, etc. which have shaped your life.

9. Key Relationships. If not mentioned above, note family members, pastors, teachers, mentors, heros, friends, enemies, authors, etc. who have had a significant impact on your life.

The above material can either be given in these catagories or in chronological fashion with these catagories being noted in each era, or chapter, of one's life.

I would suggest you pick a Saturday that most people in your group can attend and take a break between every third story. Try to keeps group limited to 9 people or less.

A great article from the July/August issue of The Moravian by the retired Rev. Willard R. Harstine.

Worship Wars

"Guess what? They used guitars in church today. It got way too loud!" "The organ prelude sounds like a concert to me; I came to worship, not be entertained." "The service today was almost 75 minutes...that's too long." Why can't we sing some of those good old hymns instead of these new ones that nobody knows." "I can't believe we're having communion again--we just had it a couple of weeks ago." " I can't see any reason to read four scripture lessons during the service when the sermon is based on only one."

Comments like these represent a kind of warfare going on in our congregations today. These comments and many others reveal that Sunday corporate worship has become a battleground in come churches where a mixture of ideas and approaches tends to satisfy no one. In most settings the liturgical battles are fairly mile, many of them unspoken. But in some quarters harsh words are exchanged openly, while members, musicians, and even pastors come and go based upon what is happening during the weekly service of worship.

The worship war zone has intensified in recent years due to the introduction of new books of worship, a profusion of new hymns, the popularity of Christian contemporary music, liturgical innovations by creative leaders, and a widespread misunderstanding of what worship is all about in the first place. When members voice concern about worship, they are striking at the heart of congregational life. Nothing is ore important for God's people than their weekly gathering on the Lord's day to praise God, deepen their faith, commune together, and commit themselves to the ongoing task of Christian living. If there is discontent with worship, there is certain to be unease about the congregation's life in general. The place to re-establish a solid base for congregational life is in the sanctuary on Sunday morning. A church grows or declines through its worship. A church lives or dies on Sunday mornings.

Worship is a large topic, and people have a variety of options about it. After all, worship has been around for a long time. The Church developed its service around two ancient practices: (1) the familiar Jewish synagogue service which included scripture lessons, interpretations, prayer, songs, and blessings; and (2) the Eucharist/Lord's Supper/Holy Communion which Jesus shared with the disciples the night before he was crucified. These major elements of worship have endured though time and we still gather for worship in the 21st century anticipating these liturgical features.

People today become confused and angry because worship means much to them; and not knowing the tradition, each person wants the service to procede as he or she prefers. Every member desires, above all, to "get something" out of the service. So if the music isn't too my taste, if the order of worship is different than expected, if the service is running too long and my stomach begins to growl, or, heaven forbid, if the sermon does not speak to me! -- then there must be something wrong with the worship in our church. And since others feel the same way, but have different opinions about how to "fix" worship, warfare breaks out, either above or underground. What can we do?

Pastors, elders, worship leaders, worship committees and concerned members must begin to take the weekly act of corporate worship more seriously than ever before. The life of the Church depends upon getting it right. What would "getting it right" entail? Three things: honor the purpose of worship, plan effective and complete worship, and encourage lively participation in worship.

First, we must understand that the purpose of worship is to come before God, praise God, hear from God, and respond to God. The focus of worship is God, not us. Worship should point us to God, not ask God to accommodate all of our whims and desires. God-centered worship, though Jesus Christ our Lord, is the basic starting point for worship renewal.

Second, let us plan worship that includes all the important elements, set in a proper order, as it has come down to us in the tradition. Just as we would not think of eating a meal that is deficient in various foods, we should not plan worship that is lacking in basic elements. A service therefore will include praise, confession of sin and absolution, the reading of scriptures, preaching, confession of faith, prayers of intercession, offerings, table fellowship and dismissal, with hymns and special music sprinkled throughout. Each one of these stages of worship will be taken seriously and planned so as to speak for us and to us, furthering our connection to the Lord and deepening our trust in the One who has called us together as a community of faith.

Third, let all worshippers particiapte actively in the service. For example, when there is an "Amen," let the people voice it with enthusiam. When a hymn is sung, let the choir help the congregation to sing heartly. The word "liturgy" means the people's work. Worship is work, not leisure or entertainment. It is the corporate work of the faithful as they gather weekly to express themselves as God's community pointed towards the coming reign of Christ. So all must willingly sing together, confess together, listen together, give together, pray together and eat together in order that God's will may be done on earth. Anything less than aggressive participation is an affront to God and diminishes the Church's witness.

Worship, when rightly conceived, planned and offered brings the people alive as a rejoicing congregation. God is honored, approached, and heard. The world sees evidence of the reign of God in history. Worship wars come to an end. The peace of Christ is with us all. Amen.

This was the back of todays bulletin...I thought it had a good message.

Past our own pain.

You are tired. You have just received a message about a close family member dying. But people are calling for your help. You want to rest, but there seems to be no letup. Finally, you relent and do what you can to help. The message today is about just such a story.

The Miraclous feeding of the 5000 is depicted in all four gospels. In Matthew, Jesus has just heard about John the Baptist's beheading. He is greiving and looks for a place to be by Himself. The respite is only temporary, and the crowd again call upon Jesus.

Jesus heals the sick and the suffering around Him. Confronted with the needs of all the people gathered, Jesus does something that can be explained only through divine intervention. He feeds the crowd of over 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Henri Nouwen, who wrote volumes about the suffering servant, notes that ministry is done not only when things are going well, you are feeling great and life is good; ministry is demanded when you too are suffering. It demands that each of us "bandage our own wounds" and, transcending our own suffering, bring God's presence to those who need God's help.

Today, past your own physical or spiritual limping, think of ways that you too can help those in need of Jesus' healing and the salvation that He alone brings. Do what you can for those who cry out in physical and mental anguish. As you minister to others, tell them about Jesus. Feed them the spiritual food that they need, not only for this day, but also for all eternity.

Robert M. Peek Sr. Pastor of Immanuel-New Eden Moravian Church, Winston Salem, NC.

I choose the name of this blog from my second favourite Christian band, Audio Adrenaline. Its most in response to my dislike of what seems to me, many Christians feeling that we ought not to be prosecuted or put down. We hear how much we out to have our Christian values placed in the government, our judicial buildings, and in the general view of all others around us. It seems that many Christians do not deisre to be persecuted, to be meek, to choose to be hateful instead of loving (not wanting homosexuals in our church).

The song reminds me that as Christians, we are called to be the underdog. To be prosecuted, hated is something we ought to cherish and be thankful for, we should never hope to remove it all from our public lives. Too often we wish to look like better Christians on the outside and weak Christians on the inside than having a strong, personal relationship with Christ and have a meeker, less judging attitude with the secular world.

I don't think its because they don't want to be this way, I just think that many people don't know any better. The problem is that you never hear the point of view of those who have it right, you one's we see and hear, the ones who have the biggest auidence for those who are seeking true Chistanity, they just don't get the fact that we are called to be underdog.

"I've been beat up, been broken down, no where but up when your face down, on the ground. I'm in last place, if I place at all, but there's hope for this underdog. And thats the way we like it."