Traditions

Last night, I went to church at Horizon in Bremen. This is the church that has been a huge part of my life over the last few years. Over the past few years, I went on two mission trips to the Dominican Republic, went on retreats in Vermont and Wisconsin, played keyboard in the worship band, and served on the management team. The people are like an extended family and it was so wonderful to catch up with them last night.

Last night, though, was very different. Pastor Jim did something totally radical. Horizon is not really known for doing things like everyone else. Jim changed things up even more last night. He threw the typical message, or sermon, right out the door. He threw out the message style of the pastor standing on a stage and lecturing to the congregation. He threw out the message style that expects the congregation to just listen and absorb what is being said. Ironically, he jumped off the church bandwagon and landed right back in the Bible:

1 Corinthians 14:26 (The Message)

^26-33So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight. If prayers are offered in tongues, two or three's the limit, and then only if someone is present who can interpret what you're saying. Otherwise, keep it between God and yourself. And no more than two or three speakers at a meeting, with the rest of you listening and taking it to heart. Take your turn, no one person taking over. Then each speaker gets a chance to say something special from God, and you all learn from each other. If you choose to speak, you're also responsible for how and when you speak. When we worship the right way, God doesn't stir us up into confusion; he brings us into harmony. This goes for all the churches—no exceptions.

Now, for any of you that have ever gone to church, does this even sound remotely familiar to what you experienced? Last night's service was the closest that I have ever attended to resembling this model... and it was powerful. The message became a dialogue. People were engaged and sharing thoughts and insights. Several people gathered at the chalkboard after the service and continued the discussion for at least a half an hour. No one raced to get out of the church after the end of the service. Why? Because this was real. This was about people discussing and sharing. This was about empowering the congregation to be active contributors.

I was left wondering about traditions. The scripture is quite clear about church gatherings. How have our man-made traditions evolved so far from what is written in the Word of God? It was kind of like a light bulb moment at church last night: "Oh, now this is what church is supposed to look like. Duh."

Yet, this is not isolated to the church. On Friday, we were investigating one of the machines and realized that the annealing chamber no longer had nitrogen ports. All annealers are supposed to have nitrogen ports. Yet, somewhere along the way, someone unknowingly covered up the nitrogen ports, and they were quickly forgotten. Then, we are looking at the machine on Friday and that light bulb moment happens: "What the heck happened to the nitrogen ports?" So Andy pulled off a plate and added ports. This is likely one of the reasons for color variation in our copper. Yet, something so obvious had become hidden over time.