OMG!

Our closing worship service at Lake Junaluska on last Thursday was lead by Bishop James Swanson. The whole Conference was centered around "Worship ... Faithful and Relevant", so the Bishop shared about worship. He captured our attention by talking about text language, especially OMG (Oh My God). OMG is used to exclaim surprise. The Bishop turned OMG around to say that our worship should have OMG moments ... moments when we experience the awesomeness of God and our response ... Oh My God! (OMG!)

If you've ever heard our bishop preach, you know he can get going. After writing this blog Annette Spence, Editor of The Call, shared some excerpts from the Bishop's message: In a message titled, "OMG," Swanson asked listeners if their worship experiences led them or their flocks to respond, "Oh, my God."

"What is it about worship that makes you skip and jump and leap and run when you leave that place -- or makes you cry until you have no tears?" he said.

"There ought to be something on Sunday morning that makes a man want to stop squandering his money on alcohol when he has a family to take care of," Swanson said.

"There ought to be something on Sunday morning to make a person say, 'I shouldn't take the Lord's money and spend it to buy season tickets for Vols games.'" [to view the entire artical, http://holston.org/about/communications/the-call/volEEE/num10/ministers-convocation/

After he got going he challenged us preachers to make sure that we are worshipping when we worship. Even if no one else is worshipping, the pastors should be seen worshipping. I'm excited about our Lenten Worship Series: 24 Hours That Changed the World. Someone told me on Sunday that he hoped the series would be as good as the video trailer we've been using in worship. That's what I'm going to do ... look for the OMG each Sunday (pray God reveals what OMG that God wants to share) and bring it. So be on the look out for God.

BIT: Sunday was Children's Sunday. The theme wasn't OMG, but it could have been. The three mini-messages were on worship. Ian Collins lead us with "Worship in All That You Do" with an illustration from Nacho Libre ... excellent! He also referenced the author of the next book our staff will be reading together: The Practice of the Presence of God with Spiritual Maxims by Brother Lawrence. Eryn Hill shared "Worship In All Circumstances" noting the struggles that we all face, including her own struggle with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis ... inspirational! Hope Whitaker brought it home with "Worship in Celebration" sharing wonderful stories about her family, especially her aunt who sings and dances despite being deaf and physically challenged ... Amazing! Kids singing, dancing, reading, praying, drawing, waving banners, playing instruments ... to the glory of God ... it really hit me as I went up to lead The Great Thanksgiving ... I felt so humble to be there ... to be in the presence ... IT WAS A GREAT THANKSGIVING ... and ... OMG!