September 13 service

I got to sit in the congregation for this service, so I got a bit of a different perspective for this Sunday.

I had a couple of thoughts regarding preparation for the Sunday service.

Thought 1: As I was singing the words to the songs, I realized how easy it is to sing through them without letting them touch the heart. And the words are deep and should be allowed to be used by the Spirit to touch us. I'm thinking it might be good to ask the people who are going to be leading on Sunday morning to read, preferably aloud, the words to the songs. Reading them rather than singing them can let them sink in - kind of like a speed bump for the heart.

Thought 2: As Bruce was talking about us growing up and being able to handle a sharp knife or matches as we mature, I thought about the Sword of the Spirit. What if we put the text for the coming week in the bulletin so that those who wished to could begin to chew on the Word prior to coming to church? This would not necessarily have to bind us to using that text the following week. It could be the text that we would use unless the Spirit re-directed to something different. It could be put in the bulletin, not as the text for next week's message, but as a verse to focus on through the week.

Thought 3: With the story of Charlotte Eliott, I thought about a technique that I have been learning about in a class that I am taking. It is called digital storytelling. Here is a link that gives a bit of background: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/ One way to think of digital storytelling is parables presented in 21st century media. I could see this technique used with something like the Charlotte Eliott story, or with a parable, or an illustration, etc. Again, it would require more preparation in advance to put together the media, etc. Two weeks lead time would be somewhat tight, but possible.

OK, now some logistics observations:

• Some of the songs were in difficult keys to sing, notably "Be Lifted High".
• I received a comment from someone after the service who was sitting in maybe row 3 or 4 toward the side of the church that the sound was overpoweringly loud. Any observations from anyone who was sitting in a different area? How was the sound where you were?
• Practice before the service was running during the Bible study and was easily heard in the Bible study area. Can we make a commitment to end practice before the study starts? Or is that not such a big issue?