I sing the song "Blessed be your name" a lot... on Saturday at Worship Practice, for 2 Sunday morning services, and for Monday morning assembly. It's one of those typical worship songs with 2 verses and a pre-chorus and chorus that can be repeated a hundred, billion, trillion times! I love the song... I really do. My housemate even re-wrote the song to fit our lives here in Dar last year! But let's face it, after singing it at least 6 times in one weekend, it becomes a boring song!
This last Sunday at church, we did a great song... before and after the teaching... in both services. It's a simple "1 verse, 1 chorus, 1 bridge" song. Yet, we sang it for 8 MINUTES during the first service! (Yes, one of my housemates timed it.) You try repeating the same words in succession for 8 minutes and see how you feel! I can't even count the number of times we repeated the chorus. Yes, the song specifically related to the teaching, but seriously! Didn't people get the point after the first time we sang the chorus? By the second service, it was new to the people, but repetitive to the worship team.
As much as I hate to admit it, I am bored of most of the worship songs we sing at church. (It almost seems like a sacrilege for a Worship Leader to admit to being bored of worship music... shouldn't I feel the Spirit of God infusing every word and phrase with passion and presence?)
(and now I am wondering if God ever gets bored of hearing the same thing over and over again... Maybe not... Rev 4:8 "Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty-- the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.' ")
and then comes the question, if the praise team is bored, should we fake it so that "worship" still has energy and passion? or just trust God to touch people with His presence and ignore how we feel? or skip the song and sing a new one?
Where am I going with this blog... not really quite sure, except to say that if anyone has any ideas for some new worship material, please let me know! It's hard to sing the same songs 6-8 times each weekend for 3-4 weeks in a row... especially when many of the songs are written in the same key (Jesus chords anyone?).
Monday, June 7, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
While cleaning off my "desktop"...
Now is the time of the year when I condense all of the random files that I have stored on lots of different computers over the course of teaching, rushing, printing, and grading of one school year. While in the process of waiting for files to move to the "Recycle Bin," I ran across a collection of poems from last year's English teacher. I thought this one was a good one...
He Passed the Test
Long before
most of the world's
recorded happenings happened,
Abraham
underwent
his Ordeal by Hope.
He believed God
to be faithful who promised
a seed (concept not viable)
a son (less
than knife-edge survival potential)
a land (one burial lot -
a life-time's total investment)
and descendants in such profusion
that
their number would rival
the stars!
Mixed up, yet
fiercely battling
circumstantial contradiction
awesomely, Abram/Abraham
became the friend of God.
His trusting, tortured endurance,
his strong argumentative prowess,
and finely-honed obedience
crashed through ancient harsh blood-ties
staking all on God keeping his word.
His never-swerving conviction:
THE ALMIGHTY IS, AND HE ANSWERS
prefigured to men's understanding
the God
who raises
the dead.
Abraham's faith has earned him
A posthumous decoration
'Reckoned by God as righteous.'
With inheritance rights for the children.
He Passed the Test
Long before
most of the world's
recorded happenings happened,
Abraham
underwent
his Ordeal by Hope.
He believed God
to be faithful who promised
a seed (concept not viable)
a son (less
than knife-edge survival potential)
a land (one burial lot -
a life-time's total investment)
and descendants in such profusion
that
their number would rival
the stars!
Mixed up, yet
fiercely battling
circumstantial contradiction
awesomely, Abram/Abraham
became the friend of God.
His trusting, tortured endurance,
his strong argumentative prowess,
and finely-honed obedience
crashed through ancient harsh blood-ties
staking all on God keeping his word.
His never-swerving conviction:
THE ALMIGHTY IS, AND HE ANSWERS
prefigured to men's understanding
the God
who raises
the dead.
Abraham's faith has earned him
A posthumous decoration
'Reckoned by God as righteous.'
With inheritance rights for the children.
-Grace Westerduin
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Miss Connell, are you staying at HOPAC?
...a question I have received a number of times the past few weeks. As Term 3 closes with Final Exams, Graduation Plans and House Sports Competitions, our students here are beginning to wonder which of their teachers they have to say, "Good-bye" to, and which they can simply say, "See you next year." After many discussions with AIM and the principals here at HOPAC, I have been able to say to my students, "See you next year."
Last "Fall" (aka: the Hot Season here in Dar), God very strongly impressed upon my heart that I needed to stay in East Africa... specifically, here in Dar es Salaam. But I knew that in order to stay on the field with AIM, I needed to take some Bible classes. (A problem faced by all of us AIMers who didn't go to Bible college.) So I started looking into online and distance learning courses. One of the other teachers here, who is also with AIM, directed my to Gordon-Conwell's Dimensions of Faith series. This looks like a great program, and I have already started Survey of the Old Testament 1! However, this takes time.... time... and more time... An issue I have struggled with here at HOPAC.
As a full-time Chemistry teacher, and part-time Swim Coach - Lifeskillz Teacher - Worship Leader, my free time has been limited and scarce. A problem when I need to listen to at least 3 Bible lectures a week next year. Also, HOPAC has been unable to find a Physics Teacher for next year. With a minor in Physics, and 5 years of experience teaching it stateside, it was a conversation I knew would be coming... "Kate, would you be able to teach Physics next year?" At first, I refused knowing there would be no way to teach Chemistry and Physics AND still carry all of my extra-curriculars. After a number of discussions, and prayer from many different people, it has been decided that I will teach both Chemistry and Physics, part-time, next year and drop all of my extra-curriculars until I have finished with my Bible Classes. An arrangement I balked at at first, thinking, "Then why am I here? I could do that in the States!" until God gently reminded me that He didn't call me to stay in the States... He called me to teach here.
So when this school year ends, in three more weeks, I will spend some time in the States with my family, then head back to Tanzania for a few more years of work here at HOPAC. God has been so faithful these last two years... let's see what He has planned next!!
Last "Fall" (aka: the Hot Season here in Dar), God very strongly impressed upon my heart that I needed to stay in East Africa... specifically, here in Dar es Salaam. But I knew that in order to stay on the field with AIM, I needed to take some Bible classes. (A problem faced by all of us AIMers who didn't go to Bible college.) So I started looking into online and distance learning courses. One of the other teachers here, who is also with AIM, directed my to Gordon-Conwell's Dimensions of Faith series. This looks like a great program, and I have already started Survey of the Old Testament 1! However, this takes time.... time... and more time... An issue I have struggled with here at HOPAC.
As a full-time Chemistry teacher, and part-time Swim Coach - Lifeskillz Teacher - Worship Leader, my free time has been limited and scarce. A problem when I need to listen to at least 3 Bible lectures a week next year. Also, HOPAC has been unable to find a Physics Teacher for next year. With a minor in Physics, and 5 years of experience teaching it stateside, it was a conversation I knew would be coming... "Kate, would you be able to teach Physics next year?" At first, I refused knowing there would be no way to teach Chemistry and Physics AND still carry all of my extra-curriculars. After a number of discussions, and prayer from many different people, it has been decided that I will teach both Chemistry and Physics, part-time, next year and drop all of my extra-curriculars until I have finished with my Bible Classes. An arrangement I balked at at first, thinking, "Then why am I here? I could do that in the States!" until God gently reminded me that He didn't call me to stay in the States... He called me to teach here.
So when this school year ends, in three more weeks, I will spend some time in the States with my family, then head back to Tanzania for a few more years of work here at HOPAC. God has been so faithful these last two years... let's see what He has planned next!!
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