I'd love to get feedback on this conversation I had with one of my church sisters. (She now goes to a different church than I do.)

I edited this only enough to give some annonymity to HER.

HER:
Minister this, minister that... Prophet, Teacher, Pastor.... blah blah BLAH! Everyone is so caught up on titles, they forget their NAME! Smh, you're gift will be evident by how you live. It's okay if people call you by your birth name. I proooooomise, it doesn't change anything! We are ALL ministers of the gospel! #JustSayin #IDontCareIfThatOffendsYouShrug

...

ME:
I was just talking about how even calling each other "Brother" and "Sister" is un-natural. I have a natural sister. Her name is "Susan". Do you think I call her "Sister Susan"? NO! I call her "Susan" or "Sissy". If anyone at church wants to... call me "Corry" instead of "Bro. Corry" I'm fine with it. (BTW, most (I say most, not all) of the ministers I know aren't tied up in their title. I still call Bro. Marc "Bro. Marc" (Now Minister Marc) and I correct myself. He doesn't.) Let's balance this, please respect the position God has placed them in, and call them by title when appropriate.

HER:
When is it appropriate? Why nor just call them by their name? Calling them by a title does what, exactly? Your gift with be very evident in your lifestyle... its not necessary to call someone by their title.... if you do, out of respect... I guess that's cool, but I don't sew why.

ME:
You said it, Out of Respect. I used my sister as an example before, and I just thought of the other side of this, again with the family. When I was young, we always called our aunts (We pronounced it "ants") and uncles "Ant so-and-so" or "Uncle so-and-so" out of respect. I guess I'm flip flopping in my position on this one 'cause I see a little of both sides. If I walked up to my pastor and said "Hey Tom, Can I talk to you a minute?" I think it'd be disrespectful. I'd probably get a cross eyed look at the least. Do I think that he's caught up in his title? NO! He is submitted to God and has a position of respect and honor* in my life. *1 Timothy 5:17 supports this- Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. So, That's why I said we should balance it. Let's not lose our reverence for the position they hold, but at the same time, if you find yourself in one of those positions, don't get the BIG HEAD!


HER:
That's because you're taught to call them by their title, not because its biblical... you can honor without esteeming a title. If he got upset for you calling him Tom, that's a heart check that needs to be done in him... the GIFT is what deserves the respect, the person is the vessel... and when you set yourself up so high that you feel you need to be honored, you've missed the mark. I understand the respect thing, and that's cool, it just shouldn't be enforced... ie: introducing yourself as "minister/ pastor so and so"... that's not your name... that's taking it too far.

ME:
If I were a doctor, I'd expect my patients and the nurses to call me Dr. Corry or Dr. Wauford. If I were a seargent. I'd expect my soldiers to call me "Sgt. Wauford". If I were a police officer, I'd expect my co-workers and civilians to call me "Officer Wauford" when I was in uniform. Using the title gives evidence for the respect and honor we give to each of those positions. If a person has trouble giving that honor, then that is also a time for a heart check.

HER:
I would have to disagree... think there's too much religion in the church today... and just an FYI, I call my pastor, PASTOR Ed... but not always, and if I didn't, he'd have NO problem with it... and he calls himself Ed... cause he knows his name... and his patents didn't name him pastor anything -____- #shrug its all good, though... much prayer needed in the body.

Long Time Gone

WOW! Time flies. I think it's been nearly 2 years since I posted on this blog.

I'm still running the sound ministry, but my numbers have dwindled. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong, of if it's just a season we're going through. If you stumble across my blog, pray form me to have several DEDICATED servants come my way and join our sound ministry.

I can't believe I took so long to post this

My best friend and employer, John, was more than an unbeliever, he was offended at the name of Jesus. He would actually mock Christians.

Praise God! On election day, (2008) He took me to my church, knealt down at the alter there, and said the prayer of salvation!

I had been praying for him for years! Now he can spend eternity with us.

*does a little dance!

Social Networking

My church just started a social networking site. So far, I think it's great. It's only for members of our global church family, so I won't put the link up, but if another senior pastor or bishop (or other church leader) would like to do the same, our Bishop Davis made on NING.

I think it will be an excellent fellowship tool.

Pray before serving

I got a big reminder yesterday that it is very important to pray before the beginning of service. I was training a new member of the team. He already knows how to run a sound board, but needs to learn where we have everything attached, and how we handle duplication afterward.
Another fairly new team member came in as service was getting started. I let her take over for me so she could teach, therefore re-inforceing those things she has recently learned.

All this, and we had a problem that wasn't caused by lack of knowledge or experience. Our CD burner failed to write. Now, after service is a hectic time. The bookstore wants their copies, the workers each want their copy, and everyone wants to go home. It's late, some folks have skipped supper, and most of us have to work in the morning.

I have to give a lot of credit to my 2 crew memebers. Even with the challenge, we got the job done.

Answer to prayer

Our sanctuary seats about 190 comfortably and 250-260 with metal chairs in the isles. (Forgive me if my numbers are a little off, but it's close.) We have about 300 regular attendees if I have followed correctly. This means we have to do 2 services every Sunday.

For the H.E.L.P.S. ministry, that means twice the volunteer hours. (I'll talk more about H.E.L.P.S. in another post.) We had been running the Sound ministry on 4 or 5 members for a quite a while. Near the beginning of this year (2008) we had a meeting with the head of H.E.L.P.S. where we prayed for our numbers to double. In the last 2 months (approx) I have been joined by 2 sisters and 3 brothers. (The 3 brothers in the last 2 weeks!) As a side point, in a church whose ethnic diversity hasn't been very diverse, I am pleased that the sound ministry is currently being served by 5 black brothers/sisters, 3 white brothers, and 1 asian brother. I don't bring up ethnicity to stir up any trouble, quite the contrary. I love seeing the diversity and expect it to spread.

Inaugural Post

Welcome to Tec's Christian Blog.

I will endeavor to post frequently here regarding my faith walk. I expect to post about the sermons I hear, the revelations I receive from reading, or hearing sermons, and the struggles and victories I experience.

In the description of this blog I identified myself as becoming a leader. At the moment, that leadership role is mostly in the Sound Reinforcement Ministry. (We run the sound board) I am aided by a great group of brothers and sisters and supported by an excellent ministry. I am also part of the leadership team of something we call "Circles of Faith". It is a small-group ministry that meets in congregant's houses. My wife and I were the leaders of a previous manifestation of small group with this ministry, and are currently assistant leaders.

I have a calling as a teacher, but have not studied as much as I would like, or perhaps as much as I should. One of my challenges is making time to read my bible. When I do, I generally get out the Strong's concordance and start looking up words like crazy. ("get out" is usually figurative. I generally use biblegateway.com or crosswalk.com vs. a physical bible and concordance.) Some of my posts may have a teaching tone and or ramble a little. (Teacher's prerogative)