Leaderboard

In the scriptures Christ and His church is compared to our body. A question has arisen in that, if Jesus is the Head of the church, where on earth would that place men who would be some kind of "head" in God's church? No body has two heads, not even one larger and one smaller....so where in the body of Christ would "male headship" (or any form of human headship) fit in?

I was just thinking this morning (dangerous activity sometimes) -- has God ever given the human race a gift that we have not misused or perverted in some way? I started a list of all the good things He has given us, and it seems we have found a way to ruin every one: Bible EGW Food Sex Intelligence Knowledge Health Health message Gifts of the spirit Technology Creativity Spirit Life Prayer Love Children Parenting Parents Headship (the true definition!) Church Prophecy Instruction Fellowship Worship Beauty Strength Energy ... I'm sure there are many more gifts we have misused or taken to such an extreme that they become more a curse than a blessing.

You are not a Rock Star: 4 Guidelines for Worship Leaders by Clint Archer I use “worship leader” in the vernacular sense of the guy who leads the music. Of course, musical worship is only a smidgen of the worship that happens on Sunday. It’s one candle in the worship array of preaching, fellowship, serving, giving, and parking far away so that the elderly can park closer. But when people talk about liking/hating “the worship” they generally mean “the band.” One congregant who should avoid this is the worship leader. Here are four guidelines for the leader of a worship band... 1. You are not a rock star Like a ball-boy at Wimbledon, the task of the worship leader in church is to get out the way. He is there to lift our attention to God. He cannot do this effectively if he is deliberately showing off his dextrous command of his instrument. Worship leaders need to be humble. They should dress modestly. Sometimes musos have a particular look they are going for in their midweek paid gig; that’s fine. But when they ascend the platform at church their personal brand is expendable. When a drummer complains about being caged in perspex you know he’s more interested in showcasing himself than the Lord. When the bass player requests a solo stint you may have sniffed out another prima donna in cognito. The pastor needs to take primary responsibility for the musical worship. If the band leader demands creative freedom, balks at stylistic input from the elders, or becomes impatient with the limits put on his song selection, then he is not the man for the job. He needs to take his cue from Ethan the Ezrahite (see Psalm 89), not the pop band Better than Ezra. 2. Content is king The leader needs to understand that the content of the songs is the primary concern. Solid doctrine should be the hallmark of every lyric. He may even need to alter the original lyrics (gasp!) to align them with the church’s beliefs. We’ve altered words before at our church. The sentimental, “He thought of me above all,” became the marginally more astute, “He showed His love above all.” When selecting songs and hymns for the church service the priority of one’s personal preference needs to shuffle off stage and slink into the back pew. If the gray-hairs in your congregation enjoy “Mighty Fortress” and the elders agree that it is edifying to accommodate them, then play it. If the musos don’t like it…so what? This isn’t their garage band, this is the service of God and His people. 3. Less is more The music is there to support the lyric. Worship fundi, Stuart Townend, at a music workshop seminar in Johannesburg reminded worship leaders that there are times to skip over the question:”How should I play to make this better?” and ask rather: “Should I play at all right now?” He meant there are moments when it may be best to mute the instruments and allow the congregation’s voices fill the air. It serves as a good reminder that frills, whistles, and bells can be distracting if they trip up the congregation. Case in point: when a lead guitarist is performing a gratuitous solo lead break think of what the rest of us are doing. We’re standing there watching him. I guess we could be using that time to admire the glory of God in His creature’s ability to jam. But in reality most of us are just waiting for our turn to praise God. 4. Worship! The band members are not performing, they are worshipping. God must remain their central focus. He is why they come early to rehearse and stay late to disassemble the drum kit. He is the reason they practice mastering their instrument on their own during the week. Sunday is their offering to the Lord. They need to take a page out the Little Drummer Boy’s songsheet and play their best for Him (pa-rumpa-pum-pum). This mindset also helps the band to develop necessary thick skin when people complain to them. In this iPodian era we have become accustomed to getting all the music we prefer on demand and at the volume we like. We can skip songs and change CD’s mid performance. Naturally the preference for style of musical worship has developed into quite a sticky wicket in churches. Some would prefer more bass and less reverb, others wish the drummer would take a break from banging the kit for a stanza or two, or perhaps even take a six month sabbatical. Some like volume pumped up loud, others want to hear the voices of those around them (or at the very least their own voices!) The plethora of preferences clamoring for attention can be paralyzing for the worship leader. But when one remembers Who the audience really is it takes off the pressure to cater to congregational preferences. http://thecripplegate.com/you-are-not-a-rock-star-4-guidelines-for-worship-leaders/

One of the things that I do is to take complex theological statements and to re-state the in very simply terms. I have hesitated to do this in our discussion of the Trinity, but, I have decided that I will do so: I have a rope. It has three separate strands. They are united together into one rope: One rope with three strands. Each of the three strands is identical.

And concerning the unity of our God, which is referred to being as "ONE" here is the counterpart. Gen_2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And there are other instances of this useage. Rev 17:13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. Jer_32:39 And I will give themone heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: Do they have one mind? Will all God's people have just one heart for the whole population? Of course not... Dennis

Gregory, Triunity is a Roman Catholic doctrine. Triunity implies one essence with three expressions. EGW meant what she said that there are three distinct members in the Godhead. As regards those who refer to the expression "Israel, YAHWEH your Gods are one" the objections of the monotheists is that God meant to say that He is just one God, while other pagan imagined gods are many. That idea has aged and faded away. What God was trying to say with the word "One" was that in the Three members of the Godhead there is unity. Pagan gods all have different doctrines and one god requires this kind of worship, whale the other one is at cross purpose with him. The disunity betrays that the pagan gods are human inventions and humans design their gods as per their own wishes. With our God unity is so well settled that God calls His team as being one. It is the same expression as God's idea of marriage. A man and a woman become one. We know that they are still two distinct persons, but marriage is meant for them to seek unity in purpose as God has with His own. The distraction, which monotheists have been harassing the Trinitarians with, is irrelevant. It bears no weight on the subject in this light. Dennis

We had two counties with substantially more votes than registered voters. Mn is hardly the only state. I don't care if those that are resurrected on election day are democrat or republican. In a close election the wrong party can end up winning. Maybe that type of situation is alright in your estimation but it isn't for many. If voting is important, a photo ID is attainable,especially using the help available. Use the same effort that senior citizens put into applying for their benefits and welfare recipients use to obtain their monthly check and food stamps.

I'm an old (65) worship leader. IMO, after 40 years as a worship leader, that passion and virtuosity are part of the act of worship towards God. We do not perform for the congregation; we perform for God. We want to give our best to Him; so we perform! That being said, no one band member should ever stand out. The most talented musician should be a mentor and support of the other members. As an old guy, I am starting to feel irrelevant to younger congregations. It's time to turn leadership of worship (indeed, of the church) over to the next generation. Do we want young people to stay in the church? What better way than to let those young people who are still in the church lead us into a strategy to bring young people into the church? Who knows better than they do concerning the needs of their own generation?

A strained voice called out through the darkened theater, "Please, is there a doctor in the house?!" Several men stood up as the lights came on. An older lady pulled her daughter to stand next to her, "Good, are any of you doctors single and interested in a date with a nice, Jewish girl?"

When thirsty, definitely. However when our mouth or tongues get to the place, dry enough to thirst, I understand we're already dehydrated enough for it to be unhealthy. In fact some years ago I began suffering severe vertebral pain, to the point of considering going to a doctor. Praise God I remembered some advice about dehydration already in progress before the tongue reminds one and it not only started a habit of drinking about 40 0z. each morning, usually, and the pains totally vanished within 36 hours, only reoccuring when failing to drink faithfully. God is Love! Jesus saves!

Tall glass of good down home ice tea....southern style that is! Meaning, its brewed with the sugar in it, the only rel ice tea!!!

And many times it is found to be accurate. There really isn't that good of a reason to not have voter ID. If you really feel strongly about voting there are ways and people to help you obtain one. When it comes to applying for welfare and food stamps people seem to manage just fine

As I said elsewhere about this topic, the truth about the Trinity was settled by the time Sister White wrote The Desire of Ages. There should be no problem with people understanding and accepting the Trinity -- the Methodist & Kellogg view were WRONG -- today Adventists know what's RIGHT, and it's been settled for over 115 years! I especially appreciated the text on page 18 of the document wherein Sister White defined the Trinity's unity of "purpose, mind, and character"... Remember that the entire Universe was created by it being SPOKEN INTO EXISTENCE -- "words" always follow what is in the MIND -- and what an awesome thing to think upon, THE MIND OF GOD, and how that MIND was in total unity among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!