As long as I have been in ministry, I have a recurring dream that borders on a nightmare. The details have changed through the years, but the basic premise is the same . . .
While at Mt. Carmel Church in Monroe, NC, I’d dream that worship was ready to begin, the church was full, there were newcomers to “wow” . . . and our overhead projector didn’t work (this was the 1990s, OK? An overhead projector was cutting edge). We’d have to sing out of hymnals.
Then in the early days of Good Shepherd, I’d have the same dream with a couple of slight twists: it was now PowerPoint that wouldn’t work and part of the waiting congregation would be people from Mt. Carmel Church in Monroe. The very people I wanted to make sure experienced the “coolness” of this new church!
Then just last week, it happened again. Only this time, it was the new lighting and stage design that didn’t work. All the colors, warmth, and fabric — gone. We were left with a plain worship palette. And the sound system didn’t work, so as Chris Macedo was inviting people to stand and sing, it look like he was mouthing words with no sound. And who was in the worshipping congregation? Those same dear friends from Mt. Carmel!
Oh, it’s good to wake up.
And to understand that perhaps God is telling me something about relying more on man’s technology than His Holy Spirit.