But I have discovered that I miss it. I miss putting down thoughts each day that mean something to me at that time. I guess more like a personal diary that people are able to peek in on. So I am going to try to redefine what I am doing and not be concerned about if I get any responses or not. This is my online diary -- it's therapeutic for me.
I quote from A. W. Tozer a lot. He was a basically uneducated preacher (in the sense of formal education) from the mid to 3rd quarter of the 20th century. Sometimes he comes across as a bit grumpy, but his insights into many things are as fresh today as they were when he wrote them. Here is one for today:
Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
--Psalm 96:8-9
We of the nonliturgical churches tend to look with some disdain upon those churches that follow a carefully prescribed form of service, and certainly there must be a good deal in such services that has little or no meaning for the average participant--this not because it is carefully prescribed but because the average participant is what he is. But I have observed that our familiar impromptu service, planned by the leader twenty minutes before, often tends to follow a ragged and tired order almost as standardized as the Mass. The liturgical service is at least beautiful; ours is often ugly. Theirs has been carefully worked out through the centuries to capture as much of beauty as possible and to preserve a spirit of reverence among the worshipers. Ours is often an off-the-cuff makeshift with nothing to recommend it. Its so-called liberty is often not liberty at all but sheer slovenliness...mostly there is neither order nor Spirit, just a routine prayer that is, except for minor variations, the same week after week, and a few songs that were never much to start with and have long ago lost all significance by meaningless repetition.
In the majority of our meetings there is scarcely a trace of reverent thought, no recognition of the unity of the body, little sense of the divine Presence, no moment of stillness, no solemnity, no wonder, no holy fear. God Tells the Man Who Cares, 4-5.
I quote from A. W. Tozer a lot. He was a basically uneducated preacher (in the sense of formal education) from the mid to 3rd quarter of the 20th century. Sometimes he comes across as a bit grumpy, but his insights into many things are as fresh today as they were when he wrote them. Here is one for today:
Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.
--Psalm 96:8-9
We of the nonliturgical churches tend to look with some disdain upon those churches that follow a carefully prescribed form of service, and certainly there must be a good deal in such services that has little or no meaning for the average participant--this not because it is carefully prescribed but because the average participant is what he is. But I have observed that our familiar impromptu service, planned by the leader twenty minutes before, often tends to follow a ragged and tired order almost as standardized as the Mass. The liturgical service is at least beautiful; ours is often ugly. Theirs has been carefully worked out through the centuries to capture as much of beauty as possible and to preserve a spirit of reverence among the worshipers. Ours is often an off-the-cuff makeshift with nothing to recommend it. Its so-called liberty is often not liberty at all but sheer slovenliness...mostly there is neither order nor Spirit, just a routine prayer that is, except for minor variations, the same week after week, and a few songs that were never much to start with and have long ago lost all significance by meaningless repetition.
In the majority of our meetings there is scarcely a trace of reverent thought, no recognition of the unity of the body, little sense of the divine Presence, no moment of stillness, no solemnity, no wonder, no holy fear. God Tells the Man Who Cares, 4-5.
5 comments:
I do not dialog well, particularly in writing. But know this: rarely is there a blog entry that I do not read. Sometimes, sadly too often, I do not read them the day they are posted. Occasionally I have a weeks worth to read at once, so I tend to not comment on "old news". Be not fooled! I personally take all of your postings and give careful consideration to each (whether it be Tiger or Tozer,or Phil or Paul). And the good ones(like Paul and Tozer) deserve more time and consideration for thought than some of the others. So even if it is just you and me, I appreciate your thoughts and comments, and apologize for my delinquency in reading "good news".
HEY!!!! Welcome back. Thanks for the post. It took a second and third read to catch most of what Tozer said. The more I read, the more we resemble.
Though I don't desire the "high church" format, I don't like the shoot from the hip approach either. Careful planning, rehearsal by both song leader and speaker, considerate prayers, relevant table thoughts (more than 1 Cor 11) .... the Lord deserves our best! Our people deserve more too.
Glad to see you back.
I love getting to peak into your heart. Thank you for returning!
I'm glad you are back and envious of the number of response you get! ha. Actually, my blogging is for the same purpose you mention, it is for me, a place I can lay out my thoughts and chew on them more, a place where I can let go of what is bouncing around in my head not making sense at times until I put it into words I can see.
You do great. Keep it up.
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