I’ll admit that I really like to be in the know about things.  There is some secret pride(yeah I know thats a bad one too) in being the first to know something.  Maybe because it artificially inflates my errant belief that I am smart.  Maybe because it makes me momentarily more sought after for knowledge.  Or maybe it’s because I’m just plain nosey. 

I’m pretty sure we all know how harmful gossip can be though.  We have probably all fallen victim to it and made someone a victim of it in our life.  I heard an interesting thought about hearing gossip the other day.

I listen to sermons from various preachers on my way to work in the mornings.  This particular sermon contained the statement that they would stop people from telling them gossip because of the obvious fact that if the person wanted you to know they would have told you and the lesser fact that does create a momentary sense of pride in ones own actions.  It creates a fleeting sense of judgement.

That however is not the main point I took away.  I had an altogether obvious, but new revelation.  Maybe it’s better that we let the person tell us their story because while as an outsider we may be able to get a grander perspective of the whole situation, listening to their perception of the situation will really enable us to be in their shoes for a moment.  To be more understanding of the how and why of the situation.  If we had the precursoral knowledge, we have already formulated our vision of why what they did was wrong our ability to empathize is limited.  Our relational point is destroyed.  Our ability to listen and respond with an open heart is ultimately ruined.

I noticed this survey on facebook that asked the question as to whether you preferred to sing from a hymnal or a projector. 

Honestly I prefer the projector because I don’t have to flip to the page in a hurry to catch up and the person running the projector can skip the third verse for me.  Let’s sing the first, second and fourth verses. 

Also using a projector illustrates to me some level of preparation for the service.  We aren’t just going to pick up a book and randomly select songs when you are forced to pre-load them to a projection program.  While last minute changes can and are made, there is a certain level of preparation that goes into the constant utilization of the projector. 

Why do people dislike the projector?  Probably because they don’t know what to do with their hands now.  Once you free them from the death grip of a book, the non-charismatic feels kind of like Ricky Bobby in his first interview.  They don’t know what to do with their hands.  This lack of direction at first feels like trying to dribble a football.  Awkward.  But as time progresses we realize the freedom allows us to lift our hands to God during the service.  We can clap along with the song.  We can feel free to kneel and pray without having to worry about our neighbor who was sharing the book with us. 

Sometimes it’s nice to go back to that structure, but realistically that structure can become the point of the worship service, not the movement of the spirit.  And when we let ourselves get distracted by tradition or structure we limit the potential of God to move in our church.

It seems here recently I have had a problem with motivation. 

Not in everything, but in a few important things.  I noticed a pattern of motivation I had when I was in sales.  I would be incredibly motivated for two months at a time and then a one month period of demotivation. 

How much more efficient would I have been if that one month of demotivation had been one more month of motivation?  About 33% according to numbers.

I think the problem we have is where we derive our motivation from.  If it is from some temporal thing, it will wax and wane.  We will have a tidal surge of motivation, only to retreat to almost nothing.  Then a resurgance. 

Our motivation isn’t gone, it is merely in another place.  I have to constantly find new tools to motivate myself.  And honestly what better motivator than that of my place in the body of Christ. 

Do you want Jesus to come back and find you at half speed? 

Not to scare anyone, but realistically if he were to come back, would you be remotely satisified with the pace you are currently operation at?

The internet has become a great tool to be used by Christians.

The problem is that many traditionalists view it to be a place full of evil.  The internet is evil in their opinions.  Much like the idea of having a piano in your church during the 1800′s or the introduction of “alternative” instruments for contemporary worship.

The problem here, as is the case in most situations, is perspective.  We want to blame the internet for problems because we refuse to look inward.  We refuse acknowledge that if we didn’t desire the things out there, they wouldn’t exist.

People aren’t just putting stuff on the internet with the hopes of tripping followers up(like we really need any help there).  They put it up there to make money because they have no moral opposition.  They only allow us to reach our desires more easily.

The internet allows us to see the depths of peoples illicit desires more readily.  The fact that so many “sinful” sites exist alludes to the popularity of that particular sin.  Where in the past we could hide our shameful temptations inside the confines of our own home, the internet has made the inside of our homes open to anyone with internet and a capable device.

In the 40′s and 50′s Alfred Kinsey came out with the Kinsey Reports which outlined human sexuality more accurately than any study in the past had done.  It got to the meat of the issue and elicited much contempt from the church at that time.  Instead of using that material to address any biblical issues with his findings, they attacked him attempting to invalidate his data.  The problem there is that an attack on the validity of any issue more often that not will provide the exact opposite response.

Historically speaking, the church is late to dinner on just about every advancement out there.  We have become so comfortable in the confines of our snow globe that anything that upsets that must immediately be eliminated.

Instead of waiting for the innovation to become mainstream to evaluate its usefulness, maybe we should spend a great deal of time exploring the edges of innovation so we can be ahead of the curve.