aaron brockett

Wall Street...

I must confess that here lately I have been a CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, junkie.  I need to stop.  Seriously, after an evening full of doom and gloom you have some of the craziest dreams.  I also have to admit that I am following the presidential election closer than I ever have in previous years.  I've always had an interest, but this time around things are different.  Have you ever noticed how much President's age while they are in office?  I think now I know why.  Think what you will about our current President, but imagine having to wake up in the morning to some of the issues he has had to face in the last 8 years.  How would you lead?  What call would you make?  Regardless of who becomes our next President in November, I am praying for him. 

One of the questions that I've received here in the last week or so is, "So, what do you think is going to happen with our economy?"  Fear is a legitimate emotion to have in times like these.  Some think it means Jesus is bound to show up now at any moment.  That's possible.  However, I can't help but think of Jesus' description of His return...something about it being like a thief in the night.  In other words--unexpected.  In all honesty I have no idea what is going to unfold in the coming weeks and months, however, I am at peace knowing that there is a God who does.  God never asks us to be secure as much as He asks us to be prepared and obedient.  If we have our sense of security in the right place, or should I say "right Individual", then whatever transpires could serve to be an opportunity in which the church really shines as a beacon of hope to a world that has put it's hope in something that can vanish literally overnight.  Materialism has been a pandemic in our nation for years now and I suspect has deafened our ears to a God who has never stopped communicating with us.  If what has provided a false sense of stability for us is shaken, we might begin to hear once again...
"In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.  Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel."  Isaiah 29:18-19

Cutest boyfriend...

I was browsing through my hard drive this morning and I stumbled across an old picture I had almost completely forgotten about.  This is me from the summer of 1997.  Lindsay and I were dating at the time and I was doing an internship at a church in Los Angeles while she was 2,000 miles away in southwest Missouri.  She had been invited to Girls State, which is a political camp of sorts for teenage girls.  One evening they had a contest with all the girls in which they would submit pictures of their boyfriends and the judges would award the "cutest boyfriend" award.  And guess who won?  That's right--as if you had to guess--this is me believe it or not.  Take a look at that hair!  It wasn't easy creating that long-flowing wave of hair.  I think it was so long I could put it in my mouth.  At the time I thought that was really cool--now it just sounds gross.

Same kind of different as me...

I just finished a great book a few days ago that I highly recommend.  It is entitled Same Kind of Different As Me and is a true story written by two unlikely friends--one, a former slave from the South and the other a white art dealer from the city.  I started it and couldn't put it down.  I think I finished it in 3 days (but one of those days was Labor Day so I cheated).  Anyway, without giving away too much about the book, Denver Moore finally jumped onto a train out of the South and headed to the city where he would live on the streets as a homeless man for most of his life.  Ron Hall was coerced by his wife to leave their upscale neighborhood and begin serving in a dowtown shelter.  Ron and Denver meet in that shelter and the rest of the story is a record of their developing relationship with each other, their relationship with God, and how they overcome tragedy and discover how God can use two very unlikely men in a very similar way.  If you pick it up, let me know what you think...

Too Bright...Too Loud...

I'm a pastor.  I get asked from time to time why.  That's a good question, one I have to ask myself periodically if only to keep me refreshed and on target.  It's easy to get out of balance if you don't ask yourself solid, fundamental questions regularly.  I'm a pastor for two primary reasons:
1) God called me to it.
I know, I know...that statement is so common, especially within a church, but it really is true.  I wasn't a natural born leader growing up.  I was a quiet, shy, average little kid who preferred to stay below the radar.  God has a tremendous sense of humor to put me in the role that I have now.  It's actually a really good thing--I know that it's not from me.  I couldn't have fabricated or forced this if I wanted to.
2) People
I met with two young people in their twenties today--a guy and a girl--who are both young professionals and relatively new in their faith.  They've been coming to TPCC for a few months and God is moving in their lives.  I get pumped every time I have those kinds of conversations.  Both of these individuals had something in common--they have stayed at TPCC because our church has "engaged" them on some level.

That is why I am in ministry...to engage the disengaged with the love of Christ.
I looked up the definition of the word "engage" this afternoon.  It means: "to connect and to hold".  I love that.  I want our church to "connect and to hold" the attention of people who need to know Jesus.  It defines our campus, our ministries, my preaching, and our worship.

That leads me to something I really need to say.  Our creative and worship teams work incredibly hard to create "engaging" environments that will connect and hold all people--regardless of where they are spiritually--to a relationship with Jesus.  I give them a reasonable amount of freedom to come up with creative ideas to do this.  God is a creative God and has gifted us with some pretty creative people. 

Last Sunday I thought the team knocked it out of the park.  It was creative, but it wasn't over the top.  However, I'm reminded often that worship is just about the most subjective area within the church.  Two people can have the same experience and offer two completely different evaluations of it.  I've received a very small handful of emails complaining or expressing concern over the worship.  The two primary complaints are: 1) Too loud 2) Too much like entertainment

I should first preface my response by saying that the majority of those I speak with or receive emails from about this are incredibly gracious and it is obvious that they are communicating with a spirit of unity.  I want my response to be matched with that same grace and unity.  There are one or two emails that have disappointed me, but hey, they are people and I've been guilty of this at some time or another in my life as well.  Let me give a few responses:

• Guitars and drums sound loud even if they aren't even being played--that sounds crazy, but it's true--especially red ones.
• Everyone hears sound differently.  Our team has instruments that help them read how loud the sound levels really get.  I'm fully convinced that we could put the sound at every imaginable level and someone wouldn't like it.  This isn't a cop-out to keep blaring it--it's just reality that what one person hears, someone else hears differently...we need to take that reality into consideration.  The team is working hard to get and keep the sound at an appropriate level.  If they mess up, don't shoot em--love em. 
• Psalm 150 is a worship service.  Listen to what it says: "Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with the tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Maybe it's just me, but this description sounds loud.  How do you clash cymbals quietly?  However, I'm sure that someone will tell Gabriel to keep the trumpet down.   
• I think heaven will be filled with blinding lights--enough said.
• I've gone to a few Colts games and those people go nuts...I would love to see that kind of enthusiasm for God in a worship service.
• We shouldn't confuse "engaging" worship for "entertainment".  The verb form of "entertain" means, "to take into consideration".  Not such a bad thing in my mind when it comes to the gospel.  I think heaven will be way more engaging than any rock concert.  I can't think of one arrogant or showy personality on our worship team.
• Repeating the same words multiple times in worship isn't such a bad thing...it works in the Psalms.
• Worship isn't about me.  I dislike country music and gospel quartets, but I would still worship to it, because worship is primarily about bringing glory to God...not my comfort level.
• We are completely open to constructive critique...that's just a part of what it means to be the Body, but when offering a critique, let's be sure to tell the team often what they did do well.  They spend hours prepping during the week.  It would be kind of like me preparing a meal all week for some guests, only to have them complain about how much they disliked it all evening.  We can certainly have the freedom to express an opinion of dislike, but build them up by telling them often what you did enjoy. 
• Over the course of my life when it comes to the worship style debates I've heard some people make the comment that they will just skip worship and come later for the teaching...really?  WOW is all I have to say.  I think we need to read the Psalms and Revelation again. 
• Our team will work hard in the future to be sensitive to the feedback from people.  I tell them all the time to listen, respond with grace, and to never push complaints back in a disrespectful way.  Our goal is engagement...not distraction or disrespect.  In the future, some ideas will work and others will bomb.  But we'll keep trying.  I'm grateful for grace.  I might need it after you read this post...