Randy Wray’s Blog

It will reach into the 100’s for the second day here in Stockton.

When that Delta breeze is absent we feel every degree of that heat.

It’s a good dry heat - none of that humidity - but it’s still hot.

My friend Tim (who lives in Oregon) always seems to drive down when temp down here reaches intolerable levels.

I expect to see him pulling up any minute now!

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One of the features I enjoy about the MAC is the ability to customize the user interface with widgets.

At the click of button I have access to some very useful and some quite useless apps.

Useful apps such as the guitar chord finder, the dictionary, calculator, volume calculator, stickies.

Useless apps such as a English to Pirate language translator, fish in a tank that go bezerk when you click on the glass and the Chuck Norris words of wisdom for the day.

Today my Chuck Norris widget says:

Fear is not the only emotion Chuck Norris can smell.  He can also detect hope, as in I hope I don’t get a roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris.

And Romans 5:6-8 in Pirate Speak sounds like this:

When we were unable t’ help ourselves, at th’ moment o’ our needs, Christ died fer us, although we were livin’ against God.  Mighty few scallywags will die t’ save th’ life o’ someone else. Although perhaps fer a good scallywag someone might possibly die.  But God shows his great love fer us in this way: Christ died fer us while we were still sinners.

“Mighty Few Scallywags” sounds like the title for a good message.

Arrgh!

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I don’t know that it makes a difference but I like to keep my major message series during the first part and the last part of the year.

The summer months just don’t seem to be ripe for continuity of thought.

So, either I deliver random messages on a whole host of biblical topics OR I string together a loosely connected series.

What does this have to do with you who are reading today?

I’m considering a summer message series that seeks to apply the biblical truths in songs we sing.

No, I will not be expounding the un-doctrinal nature of certain songs and why we shouldn’t be singing them.

I would be considering how our life experience and spiritual journey is affected by and intersects with our current (and past) song selection.

Again, what does this have to do with you who are reading today?

I’m glad you asked - I have a few questions for you . . .

1.  Does it all sound interesting, something worth the time and effort?

2.  Is there relevance to the average person in the pew?

3. What are the top three songs (more if you want) that should be considered?

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The boy comes back from Science Camp and declares his favorite part of the whole week was chapel.

Chapel?

Did they not have swimming, hiking, fishing, or eating?

Without any monetary reward for his answer he described chapel as the highlight of the week.

Tripping over my words, I hurriedly formed a sentence to find out why.

This is not a direct quote (nor word for word) but the essence of what he said:

The music was inspiring, I could understand the songs, we were all involved, and the people were glad to be there.

I listened to his description seeking to become became aware of the elusive, missing ingredient in our own assemblies.

I wanted to understand the difference between the two and why he has never said church was his favorite thing that week.

Energy?  Enthusiasm?  Emotional investment?  Connection?  Palpable presence of God?

We could say the difference was the praise band.

It very well could be the difference.

Although, I don’t think it’s what you do (or don’t do), it’s how you do what you do.

The difference between a forced apology and a genuine, heartfelt expression of sorrow.  (Which one means the most to the giver and recipient?)

If your heart is not in it your offering of worship will never rise above mediocrity.

Another quote from Bob Rognlien (Experiential Worship):

Biblical worship is a life-changing encounter with God himself, moving us to give all that we are back to our Creator.  However, we realize that these kinds of encounters are best-case scenarios and do not reflect the effect of typical worship services today.  Even if we do occasionally witness key turning points taking place during our gatherings, far too rarely do we see in the lives of those who worship regularly the incremental changes that constitute an ongoing process of spiritual transformation.

In the majority of our churches, life-changing experiences, even incremental ones, are more the exception than the rule.  If we are honest, we will admit that our services can easily slip into meaningless rote, driven more by habit than spiritual passion, and that many people attend every week and leave unchanged.

The cynic says “he’s supposed to enjoy chapel at Science Camp, it’s a mountain-top experience.”

His dad says “the reason he’ll abandon this movement is because of attitudes like that.”

What if were serious and intentional about reaching our kids (and I mean truly REACHING them) with a language and culture of worship that speaks to them, that relates to them, that moves them incrementally to become spiritual people?

I think we adults would find ourselves joining them on the journey of incremental life change and spiritual transformation.

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A few thoughts from Bob Rognlien (Experiential Worship:  Encountering God with Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength):

All Christians have a view of corporate worship that is shaped by personality, experience, and historical emphases.  Our presuppositions about the way worship “should be” are largely the results of how we have experienced God in the past.  The beauty of this is that God works uniquely in the life of every person on the planet -we each have our own story with God!  And in the broader sense, each worship tradition has its own story, its own function in the history of Christianity.  However, the tragedy of these presuppositions is that they lead us to institutionalize and systematize that particular aspect of the worship experience.  We determine that this is the way worship is “supposed to be,” and we ignore or reject other approaches.  Even if this is not openly expressed, we all have our quiet bias and subtle pride that not only devalues other traditions but also keeps us from experiencing the full power of holistic biblical worship.

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Lately this is the first song I play when I pick up my guitar:

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won’t grow weary
You’re the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

You can listen to it on the MUSIC tab (not me playing or singing though I do sound remarkably unlike Chris Tomlin!)

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According to this article blogging is good for you.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Blogging is good therapy.

So come on start a blog and let the healing begin.

Although I’m shocked that you don’t care what I had for lunch yesterday.

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The boy left yesterday for a week at science camp.

He was quite excited about the trip.

He was packed about two days before.

He was compliant and helpful around the house.

It’s the first time he’s been away (in his own) for an extended period of time.

I hope I’ll be okay.

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Once upon a time those entering the ministry were encouraged to have a fall back career.

I thought it strange considering no one ever spoke that way about other professions (as far as I know).

The longer you do the professional work of ministry (for me anyway) the more a fall back career sounds like a good idea.

So I took a look at my weekend activities to see if there was any fall back potential.

FRIDAY - went fishing - DEFINITELY a fall back career of choice. I’m still trying to figure out how to get paid to fish.

SATURDAY - yard work - POSSIBLY a fall back career choice. I had my own “lawn service” in high school so I guess this would be going back to my “roots”.

Also on Saturday I went and helped a friend remove some tree stumps from his yard. This work involved using a bobcat (the machine kind not the animal kind) which was a blast!

I tried the animal kind once and it just didn’t work out.

In the process of this work I discovered I have an aptitude for running a bobcat.

I attribute this of course to video games.

I’m not sure if this would be a good career choice but I might purchase one just for its therapeutic value.

SUNDAY - did the preaching thing and helped out at Softball practice. I think a professional softball coach would be way too stressful.

So, it looks like I’m going to turn pro in the pescatological arena.

What’s your fall back career?

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There’s a new mama y papa Mexican restaurant around the block from the church grounds.

I’ve sampled a few things there and really want to like it but find myself unable.

The owners are really nice.

The food is just okay.

“Forgettable” as Simon Cowell would say.

The place is clean, the service is prompt, but the food is just okay.

You can almost smell the desperation as they struggle to make a go of it.

The fact that the menu offers Mexican, American, Chinese, and Espresso might be enough said all in itself.

I’m going to give them one more chance (it’s the least I can do) and see if I can find a memorable menu item.

Hopefully it will be a good memory.

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