This post is the 1000th post of the RKWeblog! For over four years I have been blogging and the journey has been one worth it due to the many people I have met IRL (in real life) as well as through this medium because of blogging.

Leave a comment to let me know how you got find my blog and come out of lurker status! In fact, I will be bribing you to do so. IF I receive 100 comments (100 different people) by Christmas Eve there will be an iTunes gift card emailed to a commenter chosen via randomizer.org worth $25!

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Christmas is a good time to bring up the idea of sentimentality and its pull on us with any tradition. Christmas carols being sung in this season surely bring up warm feelings and many pictures of the past. However, how much value do we place on having our sentiment massaged over giving an offering in worship?

The Incarnation of Jesus is one of the pillars of our faith. It is a rare time in modern culture that we can openly sing lyrics “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, hail the Sun of Righteousness.” For that, I love this time of year. But do we emphasize the warm fuzzies over the realities of who Jesus really is and how he desires to be worshipped?

This idea of sentiment is an issue in worship music all year round. It could be missing a favorite singer or musician who cannot be scheduled as often as we like. Or, it could mean newer songs that do not have the rich context of the many years of a life lived walking with Jesus.

To overcome sentimentality we need to embrace the new. Sing a new song! We need to reach new cultures, new people and allow the freedom from our sentimental side to be celebrated instead of mourned.

So, where are you at with all of this? Do you think sentimentality is an issue over giving an offering this season?

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• The number of worship mercenaries will increase do to multisite expansion. All I mean here is that some churches will just hire talent anywhere they can get it to have that sound in music they want. Others will wish they have the budget to do so.
• There will be an interest in moving beyond electric guitar tap delay (think U2 copy) and more freedom to explore style diversity in music. PLEASE!
• Storytelling of all kinds will become even more a part of Evangelical liturgy both in the sermon and in the worship music and life of the church.
• Online worship services will feel more like a normal option for many and more churches will offer that option either live or streamed on Web 2.0.
• Church people will increasingly attend more than one church as families fracture, schedules tighten and culture moves us from relying on one brand of anything for everything.

OK. Chime in on whether this is a future you see or if it is whether its a good thing or a bad thing.

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Recap: Britt Sipe, our Interim Pastor surely is filling the gap with flair! His message was about trusting God in change. (Links below). My daughter Emilie got to co-lead worship with me. I thought of how rich it is to not only have her as a 15-year-old lead but also our 19-year-old drummer Kyle. Check out how great they did in the video.

Set List: The songs from this week…

• A Thousand Hallelujahs – Mark Roach
• Glory to God – Lincoln Brewster (*new)
• Came to My Rescue – Hillsongs
• We Fall Down – Passion
• Sing to the King – Billy Foote

Links:

• Planning Center link
• Fred’s blog with worship sets from all over the globe
• Britt’s sermon on video

I hope you had a great worship weekend. Please share your weekend or feedback.

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