Inside the mind of a Pastor

This morning while I was worshipping I was thinking that it would be really wonderful for members of the church (and general public) to get a glimpse into the thought process that goes on in my mind in the midst of worship.  This thought hit me because there were a number of profound thoughts that came about but then left about as quickly as they showed up.

Worship at Gloria Dei starts with this wonderful tradition of the choir singing from the hallway just outside our sanctuary (since the space is small it works – for those in larger congregations it might not work as well).  This is a most unique time for me because it usually comes as a moment of quiet contemplation right on the heels of a lot of laughter and casual conversation with folks arriving for worship.  This moment helps to focus my mind as I begin to consider what is about to happen.  Sometimes the particular chorus that is sung brings thoughts to my mind about what I’m about to say or do – other times it is just a moment of peace before the “storm”.

When I enter the worship space a million thoughts rattle through my brain, what page are we on, is everyone here, hope the choir gets seated without incident, did I turn off the toaster oven this morning?  I’m sure these are the same thoughts that go through people’s minds as they sit in the pew were I to interview them.

What strikes me is that in any given morning a line to a hymn or a phrase from a prayer or scripture may strike me in a particularly meaningful way.  These are the moments that I really wish the congregation had a window into my brain – obviously these are very wise statements that need to be shared, but usually by the end of the prayer, hymn, or scripture reading my brain has moved on to something else – so maybe it’s not as important as I thought.  Or maybe it’s the first of several times I will think that thought and I will remember later – at a more appropriate time – the thought and share it with people.

Yes, there are moments I wish people could know my thoughts.  Then I am reminded that God knows my every thought and maybe it is important that these thoughts stay in my brain and between me and God.  Maybe it is our conversation in the midst of worship meant just for me.  Hmmm ….

Ain’t technology grand?

I have to admit, I’m not one of those technology people who jumps on the latest craze the moment is released.  In fact, I’m one who sits back and watches and wonders as others try out new things, lament about all of the issues and then I slowly but surely embrace technology once it is firmly established.

I recall being a little slow on the CD band wagon.  I just wasn’t sure I wanted to be shelling out $15 for my favorite artist on a digital disc when $9 for that cassette was working just fine.  But eventually I jumped on board and my wife will attest that it has been a landslide ever since (if anyone has ideas for how to store over 1000 CDs let me know – because I’m not getting rid of those discs now that I have them).  I was slow onto the cell phone scene and finally have allowed myself to go the route of the smart phone and am trying to figure out how to justify the data plan that goes with the new smart phones. 

But here’s the thing … every time I do finally embrace new technology I LOVE IT!! 

Today I sit in my office setting up my new work computer and it is phenomenal!  Now, I didn’t get anything too exciting, and it is still day one (oh, the issues are bound to come) and yes I did curse a little as I couldn’t figure out why the wireless connection wasn’t happening (until I learned about this cool little button that did it all for me), but now that I’m relaxing a little and testing things out I’m finding all kinds of cool features.  Like this button that lets me update my blog easily!  WOW – this is why I haven’t been updating up until now, because it was too much work (yeah, right, the novelty of this button will wear off soon enough and I’ll go back to not writing very often – you just wait and watch).

I wonder if that’s how our faith life is?  We hear a great sermon, we see a great concert, we do something that gets us all excited but then the newness wears off and we’re back to square one.  How can we keep things fresh and new in our faith life?  Well, reading the Bible for one.  Going to worship, involving ourselves in fellowship for another.  Serving others.  There are tons of ways, we just have to commit to keeping things fresh!  And the best part of keeping our faith life fresh is that it doesn’t come at the cost of a new phone or a new computer (or whatever the latest techno gadget is).