LCMS Convention
Monday, July 12, 2010 at 6:44AM All this week I am at the 64th annual convention of the LCMS. LINC has our booth there and I'm spending time meeting with people when I can. I spent some quality time with Oscar and Mark from LINC NT yesterday as well as Paul Meuller from LINC Twin Cities.
After listening to the reactions from the opening worship service that we put together, I realize even more how many complainers are in the church. There is nothing that this church body can do together without some group of people going on and on about what they didn't like. There were things that even the planning team would have liked to be different, however, it was a worship service. God received the glory and His truth was proclaimed.
Some of the comments ranged from the the sound level to the quality of the mic'd voices. Others were absurd, complaining that the voice of one of the praise singer was too "sultry." Jesus accepts all kinds of worship, even Mary Magdelene's risky worship behavior. Can't we just bask in the glory of God for a minute without interjecting our opinion based on our preferences? Others have complained that we had a reading and prayers in other languages, saying that we were again becoming Roman Catholic by not doing doing things in the language of the people. The words were printed for everyone to read long, so people understood anyway.
Most of all, I realize that there are many who are so focused on the little things that they have no time for reaching the lost. They despise new forms of outreach even though many people are coming to faith through them. I say we focus less on winning the hearts of complainers and focus more on winning the hearts of those around us who need Jesus. -------Mark JunkansLINC Houston
Reader Comments (1)
I thought the opening worship was amazing! It had so many worshipful elements from different genres of music. What a wonderful experience to worship with so many fellow believers and praise God with our hearts and voices! I've been in worship situations that were not what I prefer, but I believe we can worship when we center our thoughts on the Lord and His Word. I pity those who just criticize and don't take advantage of such opportunities. Thanks for sharing this.