<sup>Hello, friends,

Below is an intense passage that shows how we are to be willing and able to submit to Jesus' deep healing of ourselves in order for us to be part of the One who really does the ministering to others. Not everyone is always ready for this kind of submission. Remember, though, that God respects our defenses and will not force his ministrations on us. We should respect others in the same way. As you read how Christ wants to cleanse each of us, realize that this scene is the Passover "Last Supper" and Jesus already knows Judas has been corrupted by the Evil One, putting into higher gear Jesus' journey to the Cross. He took time with his disciples for this at such a moment.

3</sup>Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"

⁷Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

⁸"No," said Peter, "you shall never wash my feet."
Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."

John 13:3-8 NIV

...be glad in it.

This has nothing to do with anything previously said or any relevant topic at all (except worship itself!), but I want to share something with you.

This has been an extremely busy December for me, and thus my family. There have been many mornings when it'll hit me that, "Oh, I've got [this and that] to take care of today, and then I've got to talk to [this and that person] about [this or that], and then I've got to rehearse for [whatever is coming up], and then..." -- just the busyness of the day staring me straight in the face (and laughing an evil laugh). So I'll be going about my morning, and then I'll hear my just-three-year-old Caleb singing his current favorite song: "This is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. We will rejoice, we will rejoice, and be glad in it, and be glad in it..." The simplicity of that song sung by a young boy, the simplicity of its message, and the simplicity of the truth that God, our Creator, our Abba, never leaves us or forsakes us, is something that God uses (almost) daily to change my attitude and remind me of his love for me and his wonderful healing presence.

I'm thankful for this day, and and I hope you are, too.

Powerful message!

Hola amigos, and I hope everyone is well. Marilyn, I enjoyed reading your post and viewing the accompanying picture.

I know that we are the "WAG", but my thoughts today center primarily on the sermon. Aren't the sermon and service inextricably intertwined?

I've thought a lot over the years about the balance in worship service between "light" and "heavy" -- serious and somber, heady and joyful, joy and sorrow, reverence and relaxation, etc. We've talked about this a lot in our meetings. And, in the past, a perceived imbalance in this has been the source of much personal frustration with the church.

Today, I thought, had an excellent balance between the two extremes. Mark's sermon was direct, hard-hitting, to the point, and meaningful. It had me thinking and praying hard about how the message of Galatians impacts my life. Likewise, it had the same effect on the two people around me (my wife and a 19 year old).

At the same time, I laughed a lot during the service and sermon. I didn't feel entertained, just relaxed and enjoying it. The humor and lightness didn't seem "programmed" or designed to loosen the crowd up; it came across as a natural reflection of Nat and Mark's relaxedness up front. (For example, Nat had that little background ditty going while the kids were taking an hour to leave the stage. Also, during the sermon, Mark said a number of unobtrusively funny things.)
None of this took away from the reverence and focus on God. Yeah!! I was so psyched, and I hope we can pursue this effective balance, avoiding straying to either extreme.

See you guys soon I hope,
Walker

In Lieu of Email

Here is an elaboration on my brief email response to previous conversations on healing:

I simply don't see the church being a healing place as a redefinition. The Ann Landers reference, "Church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners," helped me when I was younger to tolerate the "perfect" people at church. When you consider that Jesus did more healing than any other work while he was walking around here in the flesh, how else could his ministry through the Holy Spirit be? I have, and do, experience healing by God's power and love all the time, including while worshipping at CHBC. He is the only healer.

In the recent conversations about this I sense a kind of anxiety about how we do church. There are churches that I know of, that have weekly healing services that specifically address the injuries, illnesses and pain of body, mind and soul. Do we want to introduce something like that into worship at CHBC? I've done a bit of reading on healing. It is something that can be led. There are forms used for a broad congregation that are powerful, but not quite as personal as imaging and meditations, the latter not always being comfortable for some folks. I had a copy of one congregational prayer, but couldn't find it in my stacks of paper.

This summer I sang in the Duke Chapel choir with Nelson. One morning I realized that something was missing there that is very commonly found at CHBC. I called it to Nelson's attention. He completely agreed and we both thought back on other churches we've attended that also had, other than in the pastor's office, a lack of this one element. You know what it was? It was Kleenex! CHBC has more boxes of Kleenex around than any buildings I've been in except funeral homes and hospitals. Our read on that is not that other churches are insensitive to the emotional needs of struggling congregants, but that the Bible Church might just have more emotionally fragile and needy people there. Remembering this anecdote after writing the first couple of paragraphs was kind of like zooming out in perspective about why this topic seems so urgent to the group. Something to ponder.

For me, some of the most profound healing I experience is singing in worship.

Regards,

Marilyn

My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. Psalm 84:2

December 4th

Howdy y'all --

Thanks for all the interesting posts. Nat, I read that article you attached. It had uncanny connections to the events and themes of the service today. In fact, Sr. del Cruz seemed to be talking exactly about that -- turning church from a hotel to a hospital (Katherine and I even came up with an exciting new name for the CHBC: The Gospital!!). His message, and the direction of the sermon, is exactly the sort of exciting move towards following Christ's teaching more authentically that we all need! Lord, shake us out of our complacency and open our eyes to your truth, love, courage, and grace.

A friend brought up an important point after the service: in the past, he has not been so keen on bringing others to our hospital. He has not been too excited about the healing and the medicine it has offered. I appreciated his candor and blunt honesty, and I think that considering such things is crucial if we want to truly be more like a hospital. Are we committed to do what it takes to be welcoming and seeking of the outcasts and rejects? I have to search myself and decide -- because church would look very different if we were seeking the lost to bring in and offer God's healing. I'm daunted by that idea but encouraged that it doesn't, of course, have to be about me. It's, duh, about God (I always forget that)! If the Bible says one thing clearly, it's that through God, all things are possible.

So I offer that question, if you want to respond: What would our church have to do to be more and more like a hospital than a hotel?

Adios!

PS Wow, that "Deliverer" song was extraordinary.

Walker

The Missional Church

Hey, kids. I thank Andrew and Walker for their thoughts, and I'm excited to hear (read?) the thoughts of others!

There is another element that will very much direct where the worship ministry (and the whole church) is headed. The elders have been asking themselves what it means for CHBC to be what some would call a "missional church". There are very early stages of discussion among leadership right now about this, but I want to put that seed in the WAG's heads right now. In a lot of ways, "missional" is what every Christian community should be anyway, but there are many of those communities that have turned inward and forgotten the mission of Christ (which is now theirs) to bring his kingdom and his love to the world.

Mark Acuff gave the elders a copy of an article written by Tim Keller, a Presbyterian pastor in NYC, called simply, "The Missional Church". I would love you all to read it. It's not too long, as you can see. He does a good job of listing some practical steps for churches to regain/retain their mission. Please post any thoughts you have! Thanks.

[Andrew: I know you said you'd post this article, but I'm doing it before you. Ha ha.]

Love you guys.

Walker - Thanks

Thanks for putting some thought to it! Great start to the discussion. I will email your blog to Michelle as I am not sure she is able to access this. I am still looking forward to seeing her draft of our mission statement, and I think it is a great opportunity for collaboration. Can everyone to have a stab?

I wanted to add one thought. We do want to "empower" Nat in conducting the Sunday morning service, but I think there is an irony here. I think the best way to empower Nat is to help him empower the body.

There is a history and context that has led to leadership responsibilities being very concentrated at the CHBC. Another discussion....I think that our number one task is helping Nat and the worship leadership in general to find ways to allow all those anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit to be "unleashed". I think this means really rethinking Nat's role, so in addition to being a very active and skilled "conductor" of the morning service he also becomes an even better administrator and facilitator of others. Through sharing responsibilities, targetting those with gifts that Nat does not have, the "worship leadership", represented by a larger body, can be more effective and comprehensive.

I had a very moving conversation with a pastor of a new church that is starting up. He stated his "mission" very simply with tears in his eyes, (I believe an overflowing of the Love of Christ), "I just want to pour myself into this body".

What would pouring ourselves into the body look like? That's what we are trying to figure out. But for me I think it will be happening when there are even more people leading, planning services, a wider variety of people doing solos, "videos", dancing, praying,administering, whatever.

Couple visuals:

I do not see us just circling Nat,(although that will happen at times)... I see Nat strengthening the circle with our help, surrounding the body.

I also get the picture of a barn dance, with everyone yehawing, not a few folks on stage and everyone looking at them. I know somewhat naive and idealistic, but something to shoot for.

Little bit stream of conscience...sorry.

God is Amazing.

Love you all.