The Church

I used to think the sweetest job in the world would be a full-time ministry position at either a church or Young Life. Thankfully, God has not provided either of those options to me! Impact is, by far, the healthiest church I've ever been a part of. Impact is full of wonderful people. I truly love the men in leadership. I'm serving God alongside of some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for. But anyone who aspires to a full-time ministry gig for anything other than all the right reasons is crazy!

Another fun link... click on the videos to see some church parodies of the PC/Mac TV commercials. It's up for debate whether these ads are good or bad, but I give them at least one thumb up for their creativity/imitation.

(Warning... I'm about to lose all respect for organized thought...)

I've thought many times about how so many churches (including my own) consider themselves to be an "alternative" to traditional church. But aren't all of us "alternative" churchfolk just as "traditional" as the so-called traditional churches we try not to be like? Isn't our predictable "stand up, sing a few songs, sit down, listen to the message" relatively similar to the old-school church down the street and their "stand up, sing a few hymns, sit down, listen to the message" program?

No matter how "relevant" we try to be, there's always going to be a church down the street that is more "relevant" than we are. I want to keep up with the Joneses because I enjoy the way they use technology and I enjoy how friggin good their band is. But is praising God really any more effective with a rockin' band as it is when I'm praising God by myself in my living room? Is God more pleased when I'm singing along with a band full of studio-quality musicians?

I want a new Mac laptop to do my church work on, and yet I'm glad the church is spending its money on more important things. I'm pissed that the music equipment I have at church isn't as perfect as I hoped it would be, and yet I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't really matter. I want the band that I lead to sound like a beautiful sonic blending of U2 and Coldplay, and yet I know God is pleased with his people praising with thankful hearts, offkey, with lots of bad notes, and a complete and utter lack of rhythm.

I want the things of this world and I want to praise God with them. But sometimes I want the things of the world more than I want to praise God with them. I need to remember that I already have all I need. What more do I need when I already have so much more than I deserve?