We had an eventful weekend. Jane's brother, Mark, came out Friday and left after lunch on Sunday; we had a concert and hog roast at the pavilion Friday night, I preached again Sunday morning, and small group Sunday night.
The concert went well. There was a really good crowd. I have no idea how many people, but probably more than we've had for anything else at the pavilion. I probably didn't know almost half the people there either (which was good). I think a lot of them just follow the band (The Junkyard Band), some were friends and relatives of the people selling the food (who were raising funds for a mission trip), and some were just neighborhood people who either saw the sign or heard the music. I think everyone enjoyed themselves too. That's what's nice about this band - they just play good old time rock'n'roll, and it's all for the crowd's enjoyment. They are all seasoned musicians, and no one is trying to impress anyone... they have nothing to prove... they just want to see people have a good time. And we did. People danced most of the night, and many just sat in lawn chairs and watched too. The people selling food also raised about $1,100 towards their mission trip. Part of it was also from the band - who donated all CD and t-shirt money from the night to the mission trip. I also challenged everyone from church to buy a Junkyard Band t-shirt and wear it to church yesterday. Quite a few did (including me).
I suppose I got to the church around 5 pm to start setting up, and I think I left around 11:15 pm. The band played from 7-10 pm. So it wasn't too bad. This was undoubtedly the least stressed I have been for any event we've ever had. I don't know if I'm learning something in my old age or what.
I also preached again this Sunday. I'd only preached once in the last seven weeks. I had been gone from our church the past two Sundays as well. I am always nervous when that happens, because it seems I forget some of the little things I do and then remember at the last minute, and it tends to freak me out. But it didn't go too bad. However, I can't believe that I preached a one-point sermon... and I totally forgot to deliver the main point! What an idiot I am. I was ad-libbing quite a bit, and I dismissed the whole last page. I don't know what I was thinking. Of course, no one said anything, or noticed. Which isn't real good either. Anyway, it was nice to be back. But there are some serious changes that need to be made, and I'm not at all sure about how to go about them. Most of them deal with having other people do some of the Sunday morning stuff. I 'know' it needs to happen, but I'm just having a real hard time giving up what I do. It's embarrassing.
We got together with a small group at our house Sunday night. It's not really a "small group"... but I guess it is. Anyway, we had an assignment where we were each to write down something good about everybody else in the group. There are ten of us, and we went one person at a time. We went around the circle and each of us read what we wrote about one person, then we moved to the next. I was a little nervous about this exercise, but it ended up being a really powerful thing, I think. There were some laughs, but there were also a lot of tears and real heart-felt moments. It's amazing what can happen in a group of people when you speak blessings into one anothers lives. It reminded me of the time I heard Henri Nouwen talk about giving a "benediction" to people... saying "good things" to them. That's what we did. Man, it was pretty awesome.
But now the weekend is over. Somehow, even after all that, I have stumbled into quite a hole. Mondays really suck.
Peace out; and in.
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