I was driving in The Woodlands today and I saw a motortrike like this… hrmph.
Getting Things Done
Yes. That was my office (and our dog Tucker). As you can see, it had become quite a mess! Most of it is my fault, but I had a little help from our sweet 21 month old daughter as she likes to play with stuff in Daddy’s office. It had recently gotten to the point where I no longer wanted to work in my office. Instead, I would grab my laptop and head to the dining room to work. However, that was not always profitible because I have a 21 month old daughter (see above).
I recently started reading a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen. It was recommended to me several years ago by my good friend Rod Brace who is one of the most organized people that I have ever met. I tried the basics a few years back, but as you can see above, they didn’t stick. After getting fed up once again with my disorganized life, I realized that the best thing for me to do was to suck it up and begin to get things done.
Last week I set aside some time, purchased the office supplies I would need to implement the process and I got to work.
I got to work at about 7:15 am and was not finished until about 6 pm that night. No lie. It took forever, BUT it was well worth it!
As of Wednesday this week, I have been using my system for one week and I am really getting things done! Is your life unorganized? If so, you are probably overwhelmed by all that has to get done, things being overlooked, or outright forgetting to do things. Let this be an encouragement to you, you can get things done! Let me know if I can help.
Thinking about Corporate Worship
I couldn’t sleep last night. Not because of anything in particular, just one of those nights where sleep didn’t come easy. As I lay awake, I started thinking about the ‘worship movement’ that is taking place in the Church today and the emphasis on personal worship. There is such a huge emphasis on worship style, methods, songs, etc. that we can quickly miss the One whom deserves our worship.
Also, what has come of the corporate worship experience? If you think about it for a minute, you’d quickly realize that we bring a lot of people together to worship individually. Now, I know that people are encouraged to sing the same song, facing the same direction, and all, but is it just me or is there an increasing emphasis made on the experience of the individual rather than the glorification of Jesus? Plus, aren’t we called to worship God as a people, not just as a person?
Shouldn’t individual worship be defined as our whole life and not just an emotion (see Romans 12:1-2)? Listen, I’m not trying to be just another negative voice in the worship discussion. However, I am convicted that I have not been viewing the call to corporate worship appropriately. We need a little more of ‘us and God’ and a little less of ‘me and God’. I think we’ve gotten pretty good at ‘me and God’.
This trend also emphasizes the lack of community in the Church today. In my experience, there appears to be more authentic community being had at coffee shops and bars, than in the church. Why is that? Perhaps there is a connection between our view of worship and our view of community? The idea of community in the world is a group of people with common interests that derive benefit from one another. However, isn’t there something more that Christ calls us to? For instance, aren’t we to care for widows and orphans? What if that even means more than paying their light bills and feeding them? What if it means that we do life with them with the aim of encouraging one another to love and good deeds (see Hebrews 10)?
The more I consider these things, the more I realize that we must return to a higher view of corporate worship. If you want to close your eyes and raise your hands, that is great, but don’t do it at the expense of the community as a whole. I wonder how pleased God is when we are pouring everything we are into OUR worship, but ignore those in our midst who are suffering, hurting, or just weak in faith? That must be connected to loving our neighbors as ourselves in some way…
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord as commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” – Psalm 133 (ESV)
