Friday, June 29, 2007
Little Grand Canyon
This rock gorge was grand and worth the rocky road induced flat tire to see. Had we not had to change a tire here, we may not have stopped to see the view. The picture isn't doing it justice.
Folk Tale Statue
This statue embodies a Mongolian folk tale about how evil entered the world. What I understood is that there was a hole where snakes and water kept coming up into the world. The hero comes along and crushed that snake and covered the hole with this huge rock. Has a familiar ring to it, does it not?
A Rare Lake on the Plains
This lake was quite an attraction after all the oceans of green we'd driven through at this point. It was a windy day, which helped keep the bugs off. This lake is about 10 miles long stretching West, to the right behind us. We drove the north shore on the right, then headed south west toward the capital of Arhangai, Tsetserleg.
A Roadside Rest Ger
We stopped for a piece of shade and a drink of tea this first day of our trip out west. These are friends and fellow travelers Maider, teacher Turoo, and Pieter and Dennis from left to right.
Western Horses
On a a beautiful early morning during a recent trip into Western provinces by car we were passed by this huge herd of horses. Another resemblence of this country to ours of about 100 years ago. Even the roads out here remind you of what the poineers must have experienced when they went west in wagons where there were no roads. You can't imagine how nice blacktop seems after thousands of miles without it.
After Church Summer Day
Hi there! We just got done playing outside in the dirt in our nice Sunday church clothes. Didn't we do a good job staying clean?
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
House hunting this week in Bowlgun was revealing. Most places that were for sale were unfinished. Even this unfinished log home was not for sale. These workers promised they could build us another like it. But they didn't say they started this one last year. With only about a four month building season because of frozen ground, building a new house from the ground up doesn't seem plausible for us.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Kindergarten Class
This picture was taken on the last day of Maggie and Lydia's kindergarten for the year with some of their friends from their class. Johanna popped in for the photo, but isn't an official member of the class, though she loved visiting whenever she could. That's Maggie and Lydia's teacher in the back.Down the Stretch
Here's Renee and I with our teachers, Turuu and Boya on a sunny last day of May. June will be our last month in formal language study!Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Phone Call Me Drunk
The other day the phone rang. It seemed the person couldn't understand what I was saying, and I couldn't understand who they wanted to talk to. I wasn't suprised to find out they'd called the wrong number...When I was trying to explain that fact, the caller assessed the situation, saying: "I think this guy's drunk", and hung up!
Not perhaps the most shining review of my language or accent. But by her assessment I'm assuming she at least thought I was Mongolian. After all she didn't call me a drunk foreigner.
Not perhaps the most shining review of my language or accent. But by her assessment I'm assuming she at least thought I was Mongolian. After all she didn't call me a drunk foreigner.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Thailand Vacation Highlight
Thankful for a gettaway to sunny Thailand, here Renee and Lydia enjoy life from atop an elephant.
Under Sea Trip
On our recent vacation, Johanna and Renee stand in a tunnel that goes through a huge fish tank at an aquarium.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Worth a Walk...With a Cane
On Sunday, outside the church yard gate, was a man I recognized on his way to church. He carried a cane and walked slowly. I didn't recall his name but remembered being in his house a couple times. I'd not seen him in church before. Maybe the 1.5 kilometer walk with a cane and a limp was the reason why. At just over 50 years old, he was probably the oldest man in church. He strained his eyes to see the words in the hymnal, but sang the words he could. His hand plunged his portion into the offering basket as it passed.
As we left, he was seated in the chruch yard seemingly glad that he came, perhaps contemplating the walk back home. Reflecting on this older brother, I am reminded that our Lord is worth worshipping, worth a walk. Even with all human fraility, even with a limp, and carrying an outward sign of infermity, the Lord of all is worth a walk. So what's stopping people with lower hurdles or less distances to cross - from approaching the throne of Jesus?
As we left, he was seated in the chruch yard seemingly glad that he came, perhaps contemplating the walk back home. Reflecting on this older brother, I am reminded that our Lord is worth worshipping, worth a walk. Even with all human fraility, even with a limp, and carrying an outward sign of infermity, the Lord of all is worth a walk. So what's stopping people with lower hurdles or less distances to cross - from approaching the throne of Jesus?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Long Time No Write
It's time to get something dow in the journal I guess.
The big news is that Renee's mom, sister and friend from Ohio were here for a two week visit. A good time was had by all I think. We didn't wear them out too much with seeing sights, as there just maybe aren't that many to see. But we had fun spending Easter together, and one night at a resort where guests sleep out in a Mongolian tent. Is was about 20 degrees and snowy outside, which was great. They give you a fire and wood inside your Ger, so you can keep warm, if you don't mind getting up in the night to stoke the fire.
Our new strategy for church growth is also developing. Several church members have begun new churches in houses of new believers. This territory is uncharted for most of us, and the enemy doesn't like it where souls are stolen away from his fire. But it was glorious to see five people receive the Christ's hope of heaven in a single week last month. Pray the momentum keeps up.
The girls are all healthy and school is coming along pretty well for Renee and Jeremy. There are days when it feels like we were designed to be here, like life makes more sense here. And there are still days when it doesn't. We thank God for friends, Mongolian and foreign. And we thank God that his people generously sacrifice some of what is given to them, so that we can have this front row seat to Christ's expanding Kingdom. We welcome your prayers to send God's Spirit ahead and beside us in the battle. We will also like to pray for you in your struggle too.
The big news is that Renee's mom, sister and friend from Ohio were here for a two week visit. A good time was had by all I think. We didn't wear them out too much with seeing sights, as there just maybe aren't that many to see. But we had fun spending Easter together, and one night at a resort where guests sleep out in a Mongolian tent. Is was about 20 degrees and snowy outside, which was great. They give you a fire and wood inside your Ger, so you can keep warm, if you don't mind getting up in the night to stoke the fire.
Our new strategy for church growth is also developing. Several church members have begun new churches in houses of new believers. This territory is uncharted for most of us, and the enemy doesn't like it where souls are stolen away from his fire. But it was glorious to see five people receive the Christ's hope of heaven in a single week last month. Pray the momentum keeps up.
The girls are all healthy and school is coming along pretty well for Renee and Jeremy. There are days when it feels like we were designed to be here, like life makes more sense here. And there are still days when it doesn't. We thank God for friends, Mongolian and foreign. And we thank God that his people generously sacrifice some of what is given to them, so that we can have this front row seat to Christ's expanding Kingdom. We welcome your prayers to send God's Spirit ahead and beside us in the battle. We will also like to pray for you in your struggle too.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Mongolian Gospel Message
Есuс диваажинд одоо амьдарж аврагдсан хuмuuстээ мuнхийн сайхан амьдралыг бэлтэж байгаа. Тuuний итгэчид диваажинд ороно. яг одоо ч гэсэн ийм сайхан амьдралыг эхэлж болно.
This paragraph says that Jesus is now living in heaven where he is preparing a nice eternal place for those he has saved. Believers get to go. This nice and never-ending life can begin right now.
This paragraph says that Jesus is now living in heaven where he is preparing a nice eternal place for those he has saved. Believers get to go. This nice and never-ending life can begin right now.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Life Lighter - Prayer
Prayer night was eye-opening. Just people sitting on a floor talking about what matters most to them. More than this, it is people supporting each other in ways that trancends the fragile bands that characterize so many relationships.
One of the things I've been celebrating these days about Mongolia is how unpretentious a people they are, albeit sometimes stoic, but definately not an over-polite people.
So here comes a young man wanting to be prayed for, sits in a circle of 20 of his peers. A few of them put their hands on him and speak words of strenth, power, victory into his life. He believes but desperately needs help overcoming a destructive habit. The room comes alive with words of love and strenth. Eyes are closed, hearts and spirits are opened and changed, for only a minute, or perhaps for eternity.
Before going home, everyone stands and with eyes open, holds out their hand so someone across the circle, speaking words to the One who alone can change the heart. Hugs and heartfelt goodbyes indicate a warmth that no windy dark March night can cool. This is life in the light, one that runs on fuel that is free for the asking.
One of the things I've been celebrating these days about Mongolia is how unpretentious a people they are, albeit sometimes stoic, but definately not an over-polite people.
So here comes a young man wanting to be prayed for, sits in a circle of 20 of his peers. A few of them put their hands on him and speak words of strenth, power, victory into his life. He believes but desperately needs help overcoming a destructive habit. The room comes alive with words of love and strenth. Eyes are closed, hearts and spirits are opened and changed, for only a minute, or perhaps for eternity.
Before going home, everyone stands and with eyes open, holds out their hand so someone across the circle, speaking words to the One who alone can change the heart. Hugs and heartfelt goodbyes indicate a warmth that no windy dark March night can cool. This is life in the light, one that runs on fuel that is free for the asking.
Shamanism as I Know It So Far
Early this month I visited for the first time in Mongolia a Buddhist Temple, which is probably still considered the country’s official if not predominant religion. Though Shamanism may be considered a more indigenously Mongolian spiritual expression, it is less defined and not considered religion at all by some. To my knowledge there are no temples to visit. This may explain why all I know of Shamanism is what I’ve heard people say and read in books. I’ve never seen a séance or spoken with a Shaman, yet.
Boo, the Mongolian word for a Shaman, right off can seem a little scary to an English speaker. Mongolians, when asked of this mysterious indigenous spirituality, don’t want to classify it as a religion. Christians may perhaps be afraid to speak or know too much about it, or just don’t know much about it, but seem to say it’s not really a religion. Another non-Christian also characterized Shamanism as not a religion, but more of a gathering of good energy from nature like mountains, rivers and lakes.
He particularly described an event in his life where he was prescribed a spiritual pilgrimage to solve a problem in his high school years. His mother visited a Buddhist monk, and the monk said he needed to go to the mountain three early mornings in a row. He was given specific words to say in prayer. And whether his bad energy was really replaced by good energy, he wasn’t really certain. But the problem that he had faced was taken care of, though he is careful to say, it may have just been a coincidence, or a psychological benefit of believing the problem would be solved, and so it was. It seemed that in this Mongolian’s mind, this was a kind of a Shamanistic prescription, even though it was advised by a monk, perhaps because it involved appealing to nature for power.
Other people tell stories about bad energy, or illnesses, that bring Mongolians to seek a spiritual solution from a Shaman. It seems word of mouth is the means by which the Shaman is located and chosen. Some that have good results get better word of mouth reviews, and more visitors. I heard of a somewhat famous Shaman coming to Darhan from Ulaanbaatar. People were going out to the top of a mountain near a forest to seek spiritual solutions to their problems, because they heard other people were getting what they asked for. Gifts given to the Shaman for services rendered began to grow in value as the news of their spiritual power spread.
In books I’ve read accounts of visitors entering a Ger, or Teepee type dwelling, and the Shaman comes out in an ornate or tattered costume, with a mask and not a little peculiarity. It seems the accounts I read more often are those of old women, who read fortunes from bones, consult the dead, go into a trance, or otherwise try to intervene on behalf of the person who has come for their services. But this image of a kind of poor smoke and mirrors astrologist-fortune-teller can’t be the whole picture.
Other books describe the father of Mongolia, Chingis Khan himself as a great Shaman. Before setting off on his history-altering mission to unite the Mongol tribes and conquer most of Eurasia, he left hundreds of his followers, who were convened in a huge congress awaiting his decision, three whole days in a row. Where did he go? He went up the Bogd Khan Mountain to seek direction. From this mountain he received what his marching orders and power to do what no one before him or since has been able to do.
Whether Chingis Khan considered this act religious or just a simple spiritual transaction is not known. We do know that with all his faults, he was known for his great tolerance of world religions. Reciprocally, I hope Christians can learn more about the spiritual hunger that Shamanism meets. I hope this tradition is not demonized by missionaries, but studied to discover how Christ might choose to enter an existing indigenous spiritual dimension in the Mongolian identity. Could God use His power to meet natural needs of people, and grant them the hope of Heaven as even an unsought bonus to temporal needs? Would Jesus accept a Christian spirituality where people only came to church when they needed healing or other intervention, as they do with Shamanism? I don’t yet know.
Boo, the Mongolian word for a Shaman, right off can seem a little scary to an English speaker. Mongolians, when asked of this mysterious indigenous spirituality, don’t want to classify it as a religion. Christians may perhaps be afraid to speak or know too much about it, or just don’t know much about it, but seem to say it’s not really a religion. Another non-Christian also characterized Shamanism as not a religion, but more of a gathering of good energy from nature like mountains, rivers and lakes.
He particularly described an event in his life where he was prescribed a spiritual pilgrimage to solve a problem in his high school years. His mother visited a Buddhist monk, and the monk said he needed to go to the mountain three early mornings in a row. He was given specific words to say in prayer. And whether his bad energy was really replaced by good energy, he wasn’t really certain. But the problem that he had faced was taken care of, though he is careful to say, it may have just been a coincidence, or a psychological benefit of believing the problem would be solved, and so it was. It seemed that in this Mongolian’s mind, this was a kind of a Shamanistic prescription, even though it was advised by a monk, perhaps because it involved appealing to nature for power.
Other people tell stories about bad energy, or illnesses, that bring Mongolians to seek a spiritual solution from a Shaman. It seems word of mouth is the means by which the Shaman is located and chosen. Some that have good results get better word of mouth reviews, and more visitors. I heard of a somewhat famous Shaman coming to Darhan from Ulaanbaatar. People were going out to the top of a mountain near a forest to seek spiritual solutions to their problems, because they heard other people were getting what they asked for. Gifts given to the Shaman for services rendered began to grow in value as the news of their spiritual power spread.
In books I’ve read accounts of visitors entering a Ger, or Teepee type dwelling, and the Shaman comes out in an ornate or tattered costume, with a mask and not a little peculiarity. It seems the accounts I read more often are those of old women, who read fortunes from bones, consult the dead, go into a trance, or otherwise try to intervene on behalf of the person who has come for their services. But this image of a kind of poor smoke and mirrors astrologist-fortune-teller can’t be the whole picture.
Other books describe the father of Mongolia, Chingis Khan himself as a great Shaman. Before setting off on his history-altering mission to unite the Mongol tribes and conquer most of Eurasia, he left hundreds of his followers, who were convened in a huge congress awaiting his decision, three whole days in a row. Where did he go? He went up the Bogd Khan Mountain to seek direction. From this mountain he received what his marching orders and power to do what no one before him or since has been able to do.
Whether Chingis Khan considered this act religious or just a simple spiritual transaction is not known. We do know that with all his faults, he was known for his great tolerance of world religions. Reciprocally, I hope Christians can learn more about the spiritual hunger that Shamanism meets. I hope this tradition is not demonized by missionaries, but studied to discover how Christ might choose to enter an existing indigenous spiritual dimension in the Mongolian identity. Could God use His power to meet natural needs of people, and grant them the hope of Heaven as even an unsought bonus to temporal needs? Would Jesus accept a Christian spirituality where people only came to church when they needed healing or other intervention, as they do with Shamanism? I don’t yet know.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Survived Tsaagan Sar - the Big New Year
We just got done celebrating the Lunar New Year. Wow, what a lot of national food! That, coupled with the word of the holiday "eat!", made for a very filling festive three days. The exact same food at every house we visited: Tea, Mutton, Meat Dumplings. Mix in some candy, vodka, horse milk, home made pastries, and you get a feel for how these three day just kind of blurred together. In all we vistited 8 homes across 200 kilometers.
It was like Mongolian culture on steriods, or for the kids...on sugar cubes. Those little square granulated delights decorated every table without fail. After all, it's a holday that celebrates all things white, and table sugar does a nice job of making the kids feel festive, and adds a frenetic dimension to the parents' frame of reality to be sure.
We made it through with no serious sicknesses, which seems like a miracle, and perhaps it was. We thank God for our continued health, and that we have a whole year before the next New Year festivities!
It was like Mongolian culture on steriods, or for the kids...on sugar cubes. Those little square granulated delights decorated every table without fail. After all, it's a holday that celebrates all things white, and table sugar does a nice job of making the kids feel festive, and adds a frenetic dimension to the parents' frame of reality to be sure.
We made it through with no serious sicknesses, which seems like a miracle, and perhaps it was. We thank God for our continued health, and that we have a whole year before the next New Year festivities!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Johanna Speaks and Eats
When Johanna says something memorable, I usually suggest Renee should write it down.
This time I thought about taking my own advice. So, remembering that this journal is as much for us as for you, I want to record what may be Johanna's her first complete sentence.
We're at dinner, and she asks me for more of the tasty noodle dish called Tsoivang that we're eating. She hands in her empty bowl, we pass it back full, and go on to filling the next bowl:
"I need spoon", she clearly enunciates. I of course don't hear it, and ironically enough, I turn out to be the one who's holding it.
Renee turns and says to her: Did you just say"I need spoon"? Johanna happily answers, "Yes".
This time I thought about taking my own advice. So, remembering that this journal is as much for us as for you, I want to record what may be Johanna's her first complete sentence.
We're at dinner, and she asks me for more of the tasty noodle dish called Tsoivang that we're eating. She hands in her empty bowl, we pass it back full, and go on to filling the next bowl:
"I need spoon", she clearly enunciates. I of course don't hear it, and ironically enough, I turn out to be the one who's holding it.
Renee turns and says to her: Did you just say"I need spoon"? Johanna happily answers, "Yes".
Kids on TV
So a television crew showed up to our schools Lunar New Year party. They interviewed a few of us, and a couple of our kids sang songs in Mongolian. Today we ran into several people who saw the broadcast on TV. I guess seeing foreigners speak/sing Mongolian is entertaining if not news worthy. At the very least it's something to write home about.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Have a Bowl of Cookie Dough
So I'm visiting a family yesterday. Mongolian hospitality never asks if you're hungry. They just start rousing around the kitchen to scare up something, usually of a dairy derivation, to offer you to eat. A cup of tea is handed to me and a huge bowl of what looked like yellow sugar cookie dough with raisins in it was placed in my hands. There was a big table spoon stuck in it.
Then came the directions to do in my predicament: "Eat oil", is what the man of the house repeatedly said. Just like cookie dough, this substance's main ingredient is some kind of grease.
The daughter in law of the house was sitting in the living room (well it's a one room cabin really) with a bowl on her lap, creating an other holiday food for the upcoming white moon new year.
Well fortunately Mongolians are not as big on cleaning your plate as Americans. So I didn't have to polish off the heaping cereal-sized bowl of this pasty yellow substance before I left.
But as I think about it now, you've got to love a culture that not only allows eating uncooked dough, they encourage it. It has become one of Mongolian's National festive foods. Perhaps not surpriszingly with it being referred to as "fat" or "oil" is really pretty good.
Then came the directions to do in my predicament: "Eat oil", is what the man of the house repeatedly said. Just like cookie dough, this substance's main ingredient is some kind of grease.
The daughter in law of the house was sitting in the living room (well it's a one room cabin really) with a bowl on her lap, creating an other holiday food for the upcoming white moon new year.
Well fortunately Mongolians are not as big on cleaning your plate as Americans. So I didn't have to polish off the heaping cereal-sized bowl of this pasty yellow substance before I left.
But as I think about it now, you've got to love a culture that not only allows eating uncooked dough, they encourage it. It has become one of Mongolian's National festive foods. Perhaps not surpriszingly with it being referred to as "fat" or "oil" is really pretty good.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Hospitality Wars
The national new year celebration is gearing up. White Moon is celebrated on the same date as Chinese New Year, starting this February 19, through the 22nd. Mongolians will prepare thousands of mutton dumplings, and give gifts to hundreds of guests visit their home.
The cost of this unfortunately is secondary to the need to show hospitality. Mongolians are so strongly programmed to show hospitality, it's amazing and perhaps the gem of the splendor of their culture. But unfortunately the observation of this holiday seems to play this good character trait against them.
People are so generous and concerned to show others a good time, that this also happens to be the season of people taking loans to buy all the stuff they need to celebrate the holiday. Sound familiar anyone? If you wonder what Americans did for Christmas before the age of credit cards, just cast a glance at today's Mongolia.
I hope our friends' desire to show good hospitality is not the same as Americans making sure we give our kids as good or better gifts than their friends get. I hope their not keeping up with the Jones'. It's just sad to see people taking loans to spend what they can't really afford to buy what they don't need. Competitiveness aside, human nature appears to be alive and well in Mongolia.
The cost of this unfortunately is secondary to the need to show hospitality. Mongolians are so strongly programmed to show hospitality, it's amazing and perhaps the gem of the splendor of their culture. But unfortunately the observation of this holiday seems to play this good character trait against them.
People are so generous and concerned to show others a good time, that this also happens to be the season of people taking loans to buy all the stuff they need to celebrate the holiday. Sound familiar anyone? If you wonder what Americans did for Christmas before the age of credit cards, just cast a glance at today's Mongolia.
I hope our friends' desire to show good hospitality is not the same as Americans making sure we give our kids as good or better gifts than their friends get. I hope their not keeping up with the Jones'. It's just sad to see people taking loans to spend what they can't really afford to buy what they don't need. Competitiveness aside, human nature appears to be alive and well in Mongolia.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Not That Cold
Yesterday afernoon the temperature was dipped down to -25 (-13 F). That was about the coldest I've seen so far.
But then later in the evening, it started to lightly snow and had warmed up to about -15 (5 F).
So maybe this weekend it will be warm enough for some sledding or other outdoor fun.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Prodical Power
Here's a shot of the dramatic telling of the prodigal son story. I realized today from Luke 15 that Jesus told it in response to religious people who were always close to God, obeying his rules and or at least WORKING
HARD at it. They objected to Jesus eating with unreligious and 'unclean' people. Why?
Just like the older brother in the story, they more about their own so called love for God, than about seeing other people transformed by God's love. It hit me today that the Pharasees and teacher's of God's words were jealous of the attention 'the sinners' were getting from Jesus, God Himself.
The older brother in the prodigal son story, far from rejoicing that the younger son was found, like being back from the dead, He is jealous that the attention of His father is heaping on a person considered undeservering or 'less'.
The real thing that the older brother doesn't get is that the love the Father lavishes on his found son, is the exact same love he has for the older son. The Father is rejoicing because he not has a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how much love he has for his sons.
But he and the Pharisees are robbed of receiving that love because they won't join the party that rejoices over the lost, the messy, the undeserving. They don't see that rejoicing over the lost person, coin, or sheep just proves the value of ALL sheep, coins, or above all lost sons and daughters of God!
Self-righteous people won't join the rejoicing heart of the Father, which is mercy, and sacrifice and celebration. And in doing so they miss out on His mercy and celebration for themselves. But joining in the rejoicing of God's heart, we again taste and remember his mercy on us, in our own story of faith.
And realizing God's grace in our life is like renewable wind from heaven, power for doing what needs to be done, no matter how hard it may seem. Where do you fit in the story? Read it here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2015;&version=31;
HARD at it. They objected to Jesus eating with unreligious and 'unclean' people. Why? Just like the older brother in the story, they more about their own so called love for God, than about seeing other people transformed by God's love. It hit me today that the Pharasees and teacher's of God's words were jealous of the attention 'the sinners' were getting from Jesus, God Himself.
The older brother in the prodigal son story, far from rejoicing that the younger son was found, like being back from the dead, He is jealous that the attention of His father is heaping on a person considered undeservering or 'less'.
The real thing that the older brother doesn't get is that the love the Father lavishes on his found son, is the exact same love he has for the older son. The Father is rejoicing because he not has a perfect opportunity to demonstrate how much love he has for his sons.
But he and the Pharisees are robbed of receiving that love because they won't join the party that rejoices over the lost, the messy, the undeserving. They don't see that rejoicing over the lost person, coin, or sheep just proves the value of ALL sheep, coins, or above all lost sons and daughters of God!
Self-righteous people won't join the rejoicing heart of the Father, which is mercy, and sacrifice and celebration. And in doing so they miss out on His mercy and celebration for themselves. But joining in the rejoicing of God's heart, we again taste and remember his mercy on us, in our own story of faith.
And realizing God's grace in our life is like renewable wind from heaven, power for doing what needs to be done, no matter how hard it may seem. Where do you fit in the story? Read it here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2015;&version=31;
The Unthinkable in Worship
Today at church, the new people were standing to introduce themselves, say where they're from, and whatever else. Though they don't seem to be any less embarrassed about doing this that Americans would be, they don't seem to mind doing it.
One new guy sat in the front row, wore a suit, and introduced him and his wife as believers.
Then the welcome song is sung to them and all the other first time visitors....
Another song or two later and the church leader says goodbye to everyone.
But not before the guy in the front row stands up, grabs the guitar, announces that he's a praise song teacher, and starts playing and singing. Now the unthinkable comes in when you imagine this scene in the church you attended last week. Can you imagine a visitor bum-rushing the show at your church? The response here? Everyone heartily joins in and sings loud and with feeling the chorus: "We sing your praises Jesus!" Under Jesus I guess we're all just part of the family, visitor or not. It was a funny but refreshing experience for me.
A footnote, we were visitors ourselves. We drove 90 minutes north at the invitation of our church in that city. Our pastor put together a drama, worship and testimony team and conducted half the service. The local pastor and worship leader preached and led songs for the other half. The last song...well, next to the last, was a joint effort by both song groups. Then came the guy who jumped up front for the unplanned finale.
I hope God enjoyed his children cooperating in worship as much as I did.
One new guy sat in the front row, wore a suit, and introduced him and his wife as believers.
Then the welcome song is sung to them and all the other first time visitors....
Another song or two later and the church leader says goodbye to everyone.
But not before the guy in the front row stands up, grabs the guitar, announces that he's a praise song teacher, and starts playing and singing. Now the unthinkable comes in when you imagine this scene in the church you attended last week. Can you imagine a visitor bum-rushing the show at your church? The response here? Everyone heartily joins in and sings loud and with feeling the chorus: "We sing your praises Jesus!" Under Jesus I guess we're all just part of the family, visitor or not. It was a funny but refreshing experience for me.
A footnote, we were visitors ourselves. We drove 90 minutes north at the invitation of our church in that city. Our pastor put together a drama, worship and testimony team and conducted half the service. The local pastor and worship leader preached and led songs for the other half. The last song...well, next to the last, was a joint effort by both song groups. Then came the guy who jumped up front for the unplanned finale.
I hope God enjoyed his children cooperating in worship as much as I did.
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