Good, Better, Best

Many years ago, I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The show was memorable—falling chandeliers and soaring vocals. But there were lots of other little things I remember about that night, which had nothing to do with the show. The ladies room was way too small, maybe only four stalls, poorly built. My now sister-in-law was with us that night; then, she was just a girl my brother was dating, so I barely knew her and felt awkward making small talk. I also remember that in the program that night, there was a list of donors to the Kennedy Center, with fancy sounding names, like “Golden Circle” and “Maestro’s Circle” suppporters. In fact, there was an entire tiered program of donors with higher and more expensive appellations.

No one wants to be “basic.” No one wants to be average. I read in a book recently that no one wants to be “medium” so companies like Starbucks don’t use terms like small, medium, and large as a specific marketing choice. Visa “gold cards” gave way to “platinum cards” because we would all much rather be better (or at least have a better-sounding name).

The service planning committee at Severn River Church is an opportunity for our church to go from the basic package to the deluxe version of ourselves. By taking time to analyze and brainstorm, we are able to add in creative layers of media, music, visual and performing arts. We correct minor miscommunications and improve intangible things like transitions and preparation.

We could stay “average” but we would rather improve week by week until we are the best we can possibly be. Now, we just need a fancy-sounding name.

Zoom Lens

Recently I was at a baby shower where the guest of honor was preparing to open gifts. Someone called for a photographer, and I volunteered to take the pictures. I had a pretty decent seat, so I figured I could take some good snaps. Unfortunately, I didn't have my own camera; I had a friend's camera. The first thing I noticed was that there was no zoom feature on her "point-and-shoot" camera. I realized I've become pretty accustomed to using my zoom lens to isolate just the image I want. I can eliminate distracting stuff in the foreground or be a little more creative with the focus.

Then, just the other day, I was on the community college campus, taking some reconnaissance pictures for our "God in the Great Outdoors" service. I wanted to get some basic shots of the amphitheater area, so that we could analyze the sunlight and shadows. I stood up at the top of the amphitheater, and used my zoom lens to focus on certain areas. It took me about three minutes. I actually felt lazy, standing in one area and zooming my focus all over the place, rather than just walking down to the open area. It's so easy to stand far away and use the lens to do the work for me.

As I stood there, a thought struck me that some people prefer to do ministry like that. To stand back and zoom in for a quick strike, perhaps isolate one particular person or one individual event, and then zip right back into the distance. I think when it comes to ministry, it's better to walk all way down and actually participate in the wide-angle perspective that includes everything.

Better Together

Recently I have been able to spend time with my brother and sister in a different way than I have previously. I have shared bedrooms, meals, and more of my CDs than I ever wished to with my siblings. Now I’m sharing a new responsibility of service planning for Severn River Church. We meet weekly for a serious and productive discussion of the previous week’s worship service, before turning our attention to the upcoming services and events. The meeting works well, because obviously, we know each other extremely well. There is no subtext to our discussions, no personal agendas.

The best part for me is that this meeting allows each of us to focus on what our individual gifts are; for three people raised in the same home by the same parents, we each have unique personalities, and Severn River Church gets the benefit. My sister is very relational. She loves to greet and serve people. She has a natural gift of making strangers feel like instant friends. She also loves children, decorating, and humor--she is one of the funniest people I know! My brother is the classic peacemaker, a person able to see value in everyone’s ideas and make people feel like they are connected to a group. He is a leader and a big-picture thinker. When I sit next to them in our meeting, I realize that I am not very funny, like my sister. I am not a peacemaker like my brother. My contribution is creative ideas and organization of details. My sister likes to joke that if we forged our three personalities, we would make the perfect person. I doubt that’s true, but I’m glad that we can bring three different perspectives to the table in our meetings.

I have another weekly meeting with a friend named Sue. Sue has a personality almost exactly like mine. In fact, we have scored within a few points of each other on different personality tests. When I meet with Sue, our similar personalities are so complimentary that one might think we can’t really sharpen each other, but that meeting is just as valuable as the service planning meeting. We push each other, question each other, coach one another, and commiserate together about how annoying everyone else is!

As we left our meeting today, Sue said, “We are better together,” citing the Biblical explanation of the Body of Christ in I Corinthians 12:12-27. I thought it applied to my meeting with Sue, my almost-mirror in personality, but it was also appropriate for my meeting with Ben and Sarah, who are in many ways my opposites. We are better together.

Book Review: The Yada Yada Prayer Group

This novel is the first of seven novels which I devoured over the last couple of weeks. All of the books can be found in the Anne Arundel Library system, which is where I discovered the first book and became subsequently addicted.

I have read all types of Christian fiction—the good, the bad, and the really cheesy. These novels are light-hearted and fun, due to the author’s descriptions of each very unique character. The best feature of the novels, though, is the emphasis on prayer and worship that is the core of every book.

The plot begins with Jodi Baxter, a self proclaimed “good girl” who has been a Christian all her life. She agrees to attend a women’s prayer conference one weekend with a colleague that she barely knows. During the conference, she is paired up with eleven other women in a prayer group for the few days of their conference. However, the women bond more than they expect to through some difficult circumstances happening in one lady’s family that weekend; they form a permanent prayer group, meeting bimonthly, from all over Chicago. Their differing races, ethnicities, worship practices, and economic backgrounds make for a very interesting prayer group, but in each novel the group faces more and more challenges, which only serve to draw them closer. I felt that these books were not only entertaining, but really convicted me about my own prayer life. These fictional novels model a stronger Christianity that many a true believer has.