Day one - didn't fare so well with the technology fast. But I'm happy with the results. I have NOT been enslaved to the computer, and that's been a very good thing.
Had a great time in the eleventh chapter of Matthew; I continue to be fascinated and enthralled by the man that I follow. Finding myself constantly astounded by what feel like new revelations; I've been in church ALL my life, been a committed Christian for twenty years - and yet it seems that every single day, something new and different appears. It was a source of wonder and joy today, and gratitude. I'm sure it's a combination of experience, time, circumstances and situations - all wrapped together by the active and alive mystery of faith. Way cool. It was great to have some time to just soak in all that today.
I found myself crying a lot this afternoon, moved by music, by words...and I am not quite sure what to make of that. Again, there are pools of gratitude all around. It's not necessarily sorrow, but some emotional release. I imagine I'll have some understanding before the end of the week.
It is really, really cold here - at least in terms of what you might think of as "beach weather". I walked today and found myself quite miserable. No sun, either. But I'm not complaining....
Major in-depth work today was in this book; written by Lee Cockerell, Creating Magic is his "10 common-sense leadership strategies from a life at Disney". Much of it I find very familiar in terms of what has evolved into some intuitive practices in my own leadership. Much of it is exciting, and a great reminder of what really matters. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised at how much I like this book - and how endearing it is.
Here are a few bullet points that I found particularly intriguing or affirming:
Leadership starts with respect for all people.
Effective leaders work hard to create democratic, participatory environments (sounds like a church volunteer structure to me).
Achieve leadership excellence by spreading responsibility and authority throughout the organization; anyone at any level can exert leadership and make a positive difference.
Leadership means making the right things happen by bringing out the best in others (alot like being a mom!).
Authority is nothing without good relationship skills.
Virtually every problem or conflict in the world can be traced to a leadership failure.
Everyone matters and everyone knows he or she matters.
One vital question: "Is there anything else you think I should know?"
That's just the first bit. I've a ways more to go, but so far, I've found this to be throught-provoking and encouraging. Our church is growing, as our my responsibilities. Structural change (another topic Cockerell addresses, which I'm still processing) is on top of us. I want to be ready and be effective.
Tomorrow - Monday - is planned as a technology-free day. That means no internet, no tv, no cell, no twitter, no nothing.
However, there are a few things as yet undone that have to be tidied up in order to preserve my mental sanity for the remainder of this week. So I might have to aim for Tuesday for my fast.
Here's some of what I hope to accomplish this week:
Ha. Go ahead, laugh. But I can't wait to dig in.
By the way, I had an incredible moment during my five hour drive. It's been a long time since a piece of music moved me to tears. Now, I've been pretty amped up for the past five days, so I'll grant that it might be more about my hormonal state of exhaustion and perhaps just a need to cry. (If you're female, I know you understand that.)
But I popped this cd in on my drive, and as it unfolded, I just couldn't help it. My heart was just torn to bits. There's something so authentic and genuine and raw about these songs; I want the entire world to hear it.
So pick up a copy, willya? I can't afford to buy it for everybody.
Holly Furtick wrote an incredibly powerful blog post last week.
You should read it. Especially if you are part of Powhatan Community Church - or any church - you should read this post.
And, after you're done reading, do something.
And leave a comment and let us know what you did.
Here's an excerpt; the emphasis is mine.
I'm just saying - this is truth. I have experienced it this week. Maybe you have, as well.
Let's fight.
"...do I think that there are forces in this world that want to attack and/or distract us during a time of year when many many people will come to church for the first time (or maybe first time in a long time). Absolutely.
How do I fight? Well first of all I am aware. I see a negative attitude that rises up inside me as an opportunity for there to be a tension in my marriage. I am sensitive to the Holy Spirit. I try to spend more time meditating and praying as I go throughout my day.
I am also not going to bring up a conversation that may cause a disagreement...If the enemy cannot get at my marriage through a moral failure, he is going to attack through the seemingly small.
You may be reading this post and think, this is not for me. I am not in the ministry. This post is for everyone.
If you are in the ministry, open your eyes. Be aware, be sensitive, be prayerful.
If you are not in the ministry, be in extra prayer for your church, your pastor, your church leaders and for their families. Pray for smooth services, functioning equipment, plenty of volunteers, good health, the list can go on and on.
This is a fight worth fighting because people's lives are at stake. Put up your dukes."
I'm so proud of this kid. David is having a great year at school. His teacher, Monica Gerow, is outstanding. Between his natural maturation and her incredible skill, she's managed to unlock the key to his head and his heart.
Not too long ago, David struggled to read. Tonight, as he whipped through his earth cycle study guide, I got all emotional. He zipped through the whole thing and retained almost everything he read.
My baby is growing up. Not such a baby anymore. I'm very proud of him, very grateful for teachers who invest their lives in our children, happy that he has three big sisters and a strong older brother who love him and push him to be his best - to be "A Brawley".
Shannon was inducted into the National Honor Society today, carrying on a fine family tradition. It was extra special, because I always play a little "mood music" for the tapping ceremonies. For a few years now, I find myself sitting at the grand on the stage and playing appropriately-semi-formal chord progressions, with a dash of Pachelbel and Bach and the occasional old hymn. I enjoy it, and I usually tear up as I watch my kids' peers join a rather elite group. Shannon finally gathered the credentials to get in, and today was her day. She was announced and subsequently tapped by her sweetheart, hugged by her dad and stepmom, and then I got up from the piano and skipped across the stage to give her a hug myself. It was very cool. I am very proud.
On that note, the entire household has A/B honor roll grades, save for one pesky little C in a statistics class. I'm extremely pleased with my kids' efforts. Unfortunately, the two carrots that dangled in front of the boys for straight A's are still dangling - maybe next nine weeks.
I'm getting ready for a one-week study break next week. The kids are going with their dad for spring break, and I'm going to hunker down, disconnect and get some reading and forward planning done. I am really, really looking forward to this with great anticipation - and not because I'm tired. I am eagerly awaiting the chance to work, uninterrupted. I know God's messing with me, and I'm ready to do some wrestling. I have a ton of books to read. I have a date with God.
Still reeling from the impact of last Sunday's service and the implications for our community. Life is messy. Community is messy. Churches sometimes make it messier. It's a challenge.
The girls are full-swing into raising funds and planning for their summer mission trip to Macedonia. I am incredibly proud of them. They are focused and excited.
Sarah has finalized plans to spend the summer in Germany with our cousins. She'll care for their kids and live as a big sister to their family for about 8 weeks. I'm thrilled - and petrified. Learning how to let go in a major way. I find myself wondering what, exactly, I was thinking when I said, "Yes! What a GREAT idea!!!" But it is, indeed, a great idea. My head knows that. I've got a few weeks before my heart believes it.
Every time I turn around, something else musical is going on. Friday night, Sarah's playing with the band she has half-way committed to - The Half Jeffersons - at a club in the city. A guy from our small group is playing a swing band show that same night. Our PCC band is playing cover tunes at The County Seat Restaurant here in town on Saturday night. Another PCC group is playing a prayer breakfast on Friday morning in Midlothian. Of course, there's Easter coming up - lots of music and a choir to boot. The girls just got a call to play and sing at the upcoming Relay For Life event.
We're busy.
We're broke.
But I'm not anxious about it. Considering this:
If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you'll lose it, but if you let that life go, you'll get life on God's terms. - Luke 17.33
Yes. In spite of my tendency to grasp and cling, that's what I want. I'm learning to let go. I do believe that in the end, life on God's terms is better than the melted mess left in my hands.
Last summer, a young man in our community was murdered. Teen-aged sensibilities, cars, drugs, insults and guns; a devastating combination.
The boy who lost his life was black. The kids who shot the guns were white.
During the trial a few weeks ago, tensions were high. Folks were looking for justice, for answers. Tension that has simmered below the surface of the friendly faces in the community began to erupt. The subsequent jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter caused a great deal of grief for those who felt it unfair, unjust and biased against the African American community. There were peaceful protests and marches and a lot of media coverage. The hot story for the media was, of course, the racial tension simmering in Powhatan county.
Not long after, some idiot planted KuKluxKlan literature throughout the county - surreptitiously, of course; stuck in mailboxes and yards, inviting folks to join their organization.
(Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth, just a little.)
Several pastors got together last week to talk about what the local church community could and should do. The silence thus far had been deafening; and so, plans were made, and in four short days, we organized a community Unity Service. And new relationships were formed.
Last night, after worshiping in our own churches on Sunday morning (still, the most segregated place in our community), we came together. Since we currently worship at the high school, which was to be the host site (thanks to the generosity of the Powhatan School Board), PCC was very involved in most of the practical aspects of the gathering.
We threw out an "all-call" for anyone who wanted to sing in the community choir, and scheduled a 4:00 rehearsal. We had no idea what to expect, but we'd put together a few song ideas and decided that we'd do what God's artists do - we'd create something.
We ended up with about 75 folks in the community choir - with huge diversity. Black, white, Baptist, Pentacostal, Mennonite - it was a jumbled mess of humanity. And, oh, did we sing.....
I've never witnessed anything like this in my life. We sang loudly and it was glorious, all those voices. From the stage, we looked out over a crowd that represented every color, tons of churches - and many folks with no church affiliation, who just came in search of peace and unity. We estimate that around 900 folks were in the room last night, and it was an incredible surge of energy and positive power, reflecting the incredible depth of strength God provides when we humble ourselves to one another, submit to Him and just get together with one simple purpose: to say that we are His people.
We got news coverage, and it was positive. The reports did not flash back or focus on the negative - they showed a community commited to grasping hands and declaring that things could and should and would be different.
At the end of the service, all the area pastors were called onto the stage. Representing black and white churches, all of whom worship and minister in different styles, our leaders stood together to demonstrate something far beyond anything we could have manufactured. I still have no words for what I witnessed.
But I'll tell you that what I heard was more magical and beautiful than any music I've ever created. The simple sound of voices singing together - minimal rehearsal, no assignment of parts, just instructions to sing - it was. absolutely. stunning.
I'm thinking that an eternity of worship doesn't sound too bad.
On the practical side, here's the way the service went:
You Are Good - Most contemporary chuches know this tune. We rocked the house. It was a GREAT declaration of the goodness of God, and an incredible way to launch the service.
At the Foot of the Cross (Greg Ferguson/Willow Creek) - This song has always been a challenge (for me) in it's format. There's something about it that has never quite held together in a way that's comfortable. But the message in the lyric is brilliant and was a perfect fit for the night.
Five pastors then spoke, each on a different topic: Love, Forgiveness, Wisdom, Comfort and Unity. They each had five minutes - and of course they each went over, just a bit. Hello - they are pastors! But it was worth it. Each speaker was followed by another pastor representing a different church or race, whose role it was to pray. Beautiful stuff.
We showed A Thousand Questions, a film from Willow Creek that is absolutely stellar in quality and content. If you haven't seen this, you should. If you haven't used it, you should. (You can purchase the dvd from the WillowCreekAssociation.)
As the video ended, we asked folks in the room to gather round for prayer - to find somebody of another race, from another church, and pray together. And the choir began to sing I Need You To Survive, directed by the amazing Aleisha from Little Zion Baptist Church. We moved into a creative version of Jesus Never Fails, with a call and answer from the choir that was stunning and so powerful - and rich for me, because I was able to just stand in the choir and sing.
We closed with Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) and I swear, I felt the heavens break open and the angels sing with us.
What a night. There's little more to say, but my heart is full and will never be the same.
I keep typing various superlatives; "stunning". "Amazing". "Powerful".
None are adequate.
So, just the facts.
This morning, our 'Palm Sunday' service. We have never been traditional in our approach to much of anything, and we've never done much about putting the palm in Palm Sunday. But this year, we did.
But with a twist.
We handed out palms at the beginning of the service. Started with the 10B4 video announcements, and as it ended, the action started in the back of the room. Marc, Elijah and Jenn - drumline kids from the high school - started a beat, and they came down the aisles rocking. They hit the stage, and in a demonstration of extreme coolness, they riffed for a few minutes. It put me over the top - it was AWESOME! Elijah cued Matt with a nod of his head, and in came the guitar opening for Here Is Our King(Crowder). It was a GREAT opening - first time we'd done it at PCC, too.
We mixed things up a good bit, because our pastor came out after that song, gave a push for tonight's Unity Service (more on that later) and another event, and then launched into his message. He explained the scene in Jerusalem on that day - how Jesus entered town on a donkey, a humble king, and the resultant celebration - the "hosannas", et al. He spoke for about 15 minutes, and then led us right into a few celebration songs. We did We Stand (Lee McDerment) - which is a deadly awesome worship song, if you've got a great guitar player with great rhythm and a great crunchy tone (we do!) (Learned that tune at Unleash, by the way - thank you Tony Morgan and Perry Noble and NewSpring!)
Went straight from the energy of We Stand into You Are Good(Houghton), my favorite song EVER. Whooosh.
Offering prayer led into Hosanna(Fraser), another first for us. We struggled a bit in first service, but at 11:00 we found the groove and it was a good tune.
Then Brian came back to transition to part two of the message. Let me preface this by saying that we do not do any other services during holy week - for us, this is it until Easter Sunday. So, we addressed the aftermath of Palm Sunday today. Brian did a wonderful job explaining the "quickest slip in approval ratings in history", digging into the changing attitude of the crowd towards Jesus. He walked off the stage, and Sandy sang How Deep the Father's Love For Us (Townend), another first for our church. It was very clean and simple - her (amazing) vocal, piano, a little synth strings and light percussion. During the second verse, our stage hands brought up a 10 foot wooden cross and mounted it center stage, still in shadows. After the third verse, Brian reappeared - center stage, in front of the cross - and talked about the necessary death of Jesus for our sins. He directed the crowd to walk forward and exchange their palm branches for a nail; a black cloth stretched across the stage, and large nails were scattered across the length of it.
It was a somber crowd that moved forward to take a nail in each hand, and as they moved, Sandy sang the second verse of How Deep; the band (still just keys, synth and percussion) played over a droning bminor chord. We added evocative touches of other chords to create a powerful mood - sort of creepy, sad, overwhelming. Elijah had some sort of bizarre sound effect on the Motif - it was weird, but it really set the mood.
Sandy sang:
Behold, the man upon the cross
My sin upon his shoulder
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
She repeated the last line a few times, and words from Mark 15 came upon the screen: "And with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last."
And Brian came back out and gently, quietly, sent everyone home; with a reminder that next week, we celebrate.
We kept the lights dim, and John played some beautiful celtic music.
It was a moment. More than a moment.
And that's just the MORNING service. Tonight, we hosted a Unity Service for our county.
I can't even begin to process that one yet.
This post is part of the bloggy carnival fun at Fred McKinnon's blog. Check it out!
