The Dude Abides.

I love the son of "Sea Hunt" . Bridges has always had a way with film for me. Kinda slow but wise and cool.

Have not read this book yet by Cathleen Falsani but cant wait to. Looks like she's reading my mail about reaching creative people.

Hey Jeff was the innovator in half of modern preachers wearing bowling shirts and I think he got the idea for wearing a bathrobe smoking jacket from Eugene Scott. Ohhh the circle is complete my friends :)

Anyway tonight on my deck it's 1AM. Sirens are blaring, dogs are barking and lives are changing.

I think often of modern church and it's purpose. We certainly have a world full of men who've studied scripture, been to seminaries and believe they have the current version of "church" down pat.

So I wonder, as a worshiper, and an artist and creator. How does it all "church" take me to the Source so I can sit, stand or pass out with fellow believers and "worship" Him till I can put the world aside and be filled with enough of His presence to shut up and be quiet and listen to Him not men..

Here's one of my difficulties. What IS the focus of corporate worship. When we all meet together to enter His gates with thanksgiving, sing psalms and praise to His name, break bread together and in seeking Him get filled with His promise to inhabit our praises.

I want the Dude to Abide!!! Silence all the program makers and announcement makers and theology shakes. Just give me Jesus " as artist Larnell Harris once sang. "and I'll never be the same again". How do we get there.

We are all creatures of habit. Whatever good or bad religion we grew up saturated with, we think of that as the "God" standard.

A predefined liturgy. An open service that's 3 hours long, a formula to make sure every department in a ministry has "face" time on Sunday, and most if it revolving around a "message" of teaching.

Well cool! Hows that working for worshipers.

I often say. If you are a new believer, you really need to crash into the Word and listen to as much teaching as possible to get foundational stuff into your brain and pray for discernment as to what is real and what is goofy opinion.

I think in modern church we teach pastors (teachers) in seminary to be "Peter". Your rise and fall as a pastor will most likely be based upon your "bringing it" every service and everything else that happens in that service is to help you "bring it" to a captivated audience.

I can't blame pastor/teachers because like priests for 100's of years, they are taught to do this.

I'm not saying I have the answer and not sure I want to even share my opinion here, but somethings wrong.

I'm my finite worshiping brain and soul this happens.

I do some kind of devotional or read a scripture or set of them. I meditate on it and begin to praise and thank God. He inhabits that and I begin to get a heart of thanksgiving and start that process of worshiping and adoring Him. Somewhere in that mix it will get quiet... and then.... suddenly... the things of this world, the outside voices , the music , the teachers all grow strangely dim and I begin to hear HIS voice. ahhhhhhhhh. Glorious. Marvelous.

In that moment my heart is laid bare and He begins to speak to my heart and spirit and in 1 second He can do more than a song or a 1,000 sermons. or updates or programmed "things".

Then I say. How can that happen in a corporate worship service...

By all the "stuff" and talking or by doing whatever is needed to get to the throne room.

Oh ohh here it comes...So what brings you there, What helps you find that spot, that place where God is doing the ah haaa's to you.

Is it in the message and the program, or in the intimacy of worship. Give me a percentage of what that looks like to you.

Then why, why do we plan corporate worship to not do what we know we should do....?

Prayer is that secret place. yup. no doubt. But for most they just don't have the capacity to spend enough time praying to get there. But, worship is prayers set to melody and it can break through where prayer can be distracted by every whim and noise and grocery list in your head.

Seminaries. that's my culprit. For all the great things they teach, they seem to teach a view of encountering God that much of the modern world is running from today.

Rather than change they condemn and cry, milk toast heresy and whatever else helps us continue down roads that are not producing intimacy with God results on Sundays around the world. Around the world people cry out for God. In America we quietly nod a head or raise one hand and say amen.

I want the Dude to abide. That's it.

If a message and announcements and updates brings that intimacy on then "forget about worship" I'll go back to playing just secular music to music lovers till Jesus returns and go to church, falling down in awe and adoration during and after sermons..

I'm just a bit confused I guess. It looks so clear to me.

In future posts I'll get into "milk fed" each week or learning to feed yourself.

ordering from a menu to get fed, or learning to hunt, fish, cook and clean in ministry.

Until then I seek the One and hear Sam Elliots voice say "The Dude Abides".