Church Unbound

As if I didn't get enough of sitting in seminars last week, I took in part of the Church Unbound conference at Montreat this week. It being a holiday, I'm going to just give some random impressions and memorables from the event.

"How can we worship a homeless man on Sunday, and ignore the homeless on Monday?"

Not the "kingdom of God," but the "reigndom of God." That struck me because it seemed to convey in the new language a dynamism lacking in our standard terminology.

It's not enough to believe in Christ; we need also to follow Jesus."

I got to sit in on a seminar on post-modern worship with Melva Costen; way too short; what must it have been like to be on the 1989 hymnal committee with her!! I also sat in on a seminar with Rhashell Hunter, who is no doubt a mighty fine preacher if her seminar presentation is any indication. But it was billed as "worship and preaching" in a new context, and we spent the whole time on preaching. Kind of stirred up those old "if I were still a preacher" feelings in me again. I am looking for an opportunity to talk with folks about the whole gamut of worship development in a new age. The W&M conference was strictly music, and classical music forms at that. CU (the seminar with Costen) had potential, but a one hour seminar barely scratched the surface.

The directory for worship gives some beautiful language about worship that can be very freeing. While there is a tendency to make it's message prescriptive or even proscriptive, it can be seen as descriptive (with wide-ranging possibilities built into the subtext).

I saw more 20-30 y/o Presbyterians gathered in one place than I have seen in quite a while (probably ever). They were caucusing, and, I hope, feeling that this was a chance for them to be affirmed in their leadership of the church. There were several persons in seminars with me who were in their first few years of pastoral leadership, struggling with authentic worship in a new era while being sensitive to and mindful of the needs of the older generations that brought us here.

I also saw my buddy Lamar W. taking in some of the most dynamic of the presentations. Yep, Lamar, I felt mighty small, just like you!!

One of the speakers encouraged the people in attendance to commit to find a worship experience with which they were unfamiliar or uncomfortable, and then worship in that style until it did feel comfortable. Made me glad of my choice to attend Jubilee rather than someplace more "comfortable" last week.