I have a lot of time to think. Both of my flatmates are away, and when i find myself alone for long periods, I tend to start thinking aloud. The more I hear my own thoughts, the more they expand.
Recently I've been thinking about a session I attended at a conference at a big church in the city. I went to this particular conference last year and didn't enjoy it, so I had low expectations to begin with. The only reason I went along was to see my pastors from hastings.
I could never be comfortable attending a big church. Especially a church with so many lights flashing you leave with a headache... and 5 projectors, numerous video cameras, flat screen TVs, and various other technical gear to rival Harvey Norman. The whole time they were singing (their own songs that no-one knew, with 2 members of probably NZs most well known worship band), I couldnt help but wonder how many people they could have fed or medicated.
This particular session was about dreams/dreamer... and I noticed that the visiting speaker from a well known church in Australia, (which he didnt fail in informing us may be the fastest growing church in Australian history) managed to use what the Bible says about Josephs dreams and somehow paired it with... goals.
And when we're not listening to how many people attended a certain event, and how many were saved, and that a particular church has grown from 74 to 1874 people in 2 years (for example)... we're listening to the people talk about how great the movement is, about other denominations dropping the ball when it gets hard, but not this one!!!! *amens and cheers from the crowd* That God has chosen this movement to somehow save NZ... which I'm sure sounds good over the few days of the conference.
The thing that most stands out for me about this conference actually occured last year. An important leader was going up the front, and we were all told to give him a "prophetic clap"!
And how does this tie in with bible college? Before bible college, I was oblivious. I attended church, camps, conferences, etc. and I agreed with everything that sounded good to me. God was whoever He was made out to be and I accepted it. Bible college ruined that, and yet I still wouldn't change it for the world. I started to take notice of what I was hearing, and comparing it to what I was learning... and it didn't always add up. I don't claim to know everything, or even anything... but I do know that I cant attend a church that puts so much value on numbers, on "winning" people (is that the best term you can come up with!!???), on having a great worship band with lights and cameras and jumping, and singing about giving Jesus a big shout. That may be for some people, but its certainly not for me.
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2 comments:
You know you're welcome at Cession any time. The only bummer is that it would be a bit of a trip for you.
Thanks. I have thought about it, and certainly enjoyed the visit last year. It seems to have the qualities of church I'm looking to be a part of. Are there many around my age? I noticed that there were alot of married couples.
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