This past week we had a locksmith come to re-key some of our doors.  He brought along a young assistant who was maybe 19-20 years old.   As I was talking with him I mentioned something about a key to the  “Organ Room”.   The young assistants eyes got big and and he said hesitantly,  “What’s an organ room used for?”   I could just imagine the picture in his mind … a dark room in a basement where body parts are harvested from unsuspecting members!     




“Are you kidding me?” I asked him.   Do you not know what a church organ is?  He replied that he had no idea.  I asked him again,  “Are you kidding with me?”  He assured me again that he had no idea what a church organ was.  “Come with me”, I said.  I took him up the narrow stairway at the back of the building that led to the room where the organ pipes are assembled.  He stepped into the organ pipe room and exclaimed,  “This is way cool!    I explained how the billows worked and how the sound was produced.  “You mean sound comes out of these pipes!”  He was totally amazed!  He couldn’t quite imagine how all those pipes would make music.  

That young man’s experience made me think of how we often conduct church.  We become so wrapped up in our traditional ways of doing “church”, with our songs, our terminology, abbreviations … all the things that we do that make sense to us but are totally foreign to someone unfamiliar with our church.    I wonder ... are we communicating the “Good News” in a way that makes sense to us but that makes no sense to an unchurched person?

That young man made me wonder if he saw organ music as something that belonged in a museum, or (if he could heart it) if he would find it pleasing to listen to.  I’m not opposed to organ music - honestly I’m not!   I’m just looking at broader issue of how effectively we communicate our message. I wonder if we are too frequently guilty of answering questions that are not being asked.   Do we provide solutions for problems that are not perceived?   I am certain that we could improve in how we connect with the community around us.  







The POWER PRAYER group that has begun meeting on Sunday (at 7am here at the church)  mornings has begun to pray that the Lord would show us how we can better minister to the needs of our community members.  This Sunday morning group is praying that the Lord will pour out the Holy Spirit upon us as individuals and upon our church that we might become effective, loving representatives of Jesus Christ to our neighbors.  

This past week our local Adventist pastor’s met for our monthly meeting where we talk and pray for our churches.   We began discussing plans for this summer’s Outdoor Church.   We all agreed that we hated to have our churches closed on  Sabbath since we always have guests who visit on Sabbath and we didn’t like the idea of them coming and finding our doors locked!  Plus, we all agreed that we should come together to serve others, not just fellowship with our friends.  And so we have come up with another idea!




On Sunday, August 11 our congregations are going to come together in Skinner Butte Park to provide a free breakfast and concert for the community.    People can enjoy a wonderful meal and enjoy a concert at the same time.   The details have not all been worked out yet.   There will be something for each church to be involved with and it will give us a wonderful opportunity to connect with our community.  

In the meantime, if your schedule allows, why not come and join our prayer group this Sunday morning (unless canceled because of icy weather) as we pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on our church.