I had the privilege of going with my youth group to Autumn Soul (the Methodist youth weekend in Bangor). It was a fun weekend with all the usual antics. The photo is the youth groups annual masterpiece of filling the local fountain with fairy liquid and letting the bubbles overflow.It was a strange weekend for a few reasons. First, There is a problem getting the young people to engage in what's going on. The phone is the first thing that usually comes out during worship, and then theres just complaints about how its not good enough for them and they just end up messing about.
I can understand their frustration with the songs though a wee bit. It just felt like there was no structure in the songs picked. All the songs were just the same lyrics rearranged a wee bit with a different tune, it was hard to find anything with real substance to really relate to God with.
Maybe it's just that I am getting old. I remember when I was 16 and had just become a Christian, I didn't question anything, I just took it all in and worshiped God. Now that I know 'more' I seem to question everything, and I wonder is this part of what God meant when he said we must become like children.
Paul Flavel was the speaker. He's an Aussie who lives in Birmingham and he spoke about justice and the lies of this world that we buy into to do with what we look like, where we're from, what we do etc. He also talked about what it means when Jesus said 'When I was hungry you fed me', for example standing up for the outcast kid in school.
2 comments:
hey there how are ya?
i am a very close friend to one of the band members at autumn soul, i just have to make one comment about your dairy for the weekend, is that everything the band do up on the stage is not for themselves but for god, they got into the spirit of god up there and they echo'd some lyrics, chorus's verses etc, they wernt out to please all the youth groups which were there, it was the youth groups which had to listen to the message which the speaker, band and the seminars were giving about god not youth groups listening to much to the music and stuff and critisizing.
hey!
first off sorry for the belated repsonse, didn't think such an old post would get a comment!
Second, I would like to apologise for any offense incurred. I would never suggest that the bands motives during worship were anything else other than God, for that would only be judgemental of me.
I only offer some contructive criticism as surely it is our reponsibility as Christians to offer God the best of what we have, and during that period of time, I was going through feelings of malaise for some of todays worship music (which u can see on further posts)
Also, as for our group of young people, i hated the fact they were criticizing, I was just so desperate for them to engage with their Creator
Much love,
Chris
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