I won’t say the name of the church or the word, but this morning an older gentleman named Luther offered the opening prayer in the service I attended, and in his plea that God help us stop “whining, and complaining, and griping” he also included one other word that means much the same thing but usually isn’t said in church.
My head snapped up as I looked around to see if anyone else noticed, but the moment passed and eventually I returned to the accepted posture of corporate prayer, even if my mind was no longer following along.
Actually, it was a good prayer, one that we could all pray occasionally. Philippians reminds us to do everything without complaining, so the spirit of Luther’s prayer was certainly in line with God’s will.
And it definitely puts a new spin on being “seeker sensitive.”
5 Comments »
Leave a comment
Jennifer Taylor
My Other Sites
Twittering @seejenwrite- seejenwrite: Looking forward to hearing @susanisaacs and @donmilleris tonite. Flexing my fingers in preparation for copious note-taking.
- seejenwrite: Buying tix for trip to Orlando in January!
- seejenwrite: Here are my thoughts about the Twilight craze, from earlier this year: http://ow.ly/E3Vc
- seejenwrite: @FlowerDust See you there!
So how hard was it for you to not laugh out loud?!?
Very.
I keep coming back to re-read this story for a little giggle! How funny. I remember hearing gasps when I said “butt” from the pulpit. HA! Luther has sure moved his church along.
In a midwestern well thought of church a few years ago a counted the number of “our fathers” spoken in a public prayer by a “respected” elder. He fired off 47 “our father”s in a 5 minute and 4 second prayer. I got as much out of that prayer as I usually did his others.
- An elder-in-hiding
…”accepted posture of corporate prayer.”? The “visuals” we have since the middle of the past century show the 1st century “posture” to be one’s eyes wide open, looking up to Heaven. I use this frequently in those few corporate settings in which I find myself these days. It is an (overused word) awesome connection to God.
Parenthetically, as for a related issue, the clapping-in-church thing, when I clap I reverse my hand position from the normal, worldly position, right on top, to left on top, to show a difference and an honor to God. I also clap the Morse Code for J C, Jesus, the Christ: dot, dash; dot, dash, dash, dash, dash. In a long applause time by the assembly, it is possible to barely get in 2 sequences, but stay within the general rhythm of the group. Interesting, you might want to try it. It beats all that mindless, worldly clapping around you that merely applauds the “performance” and, therefore, has so upset so many.