Authentic - Discord | Dissonance
Philippians 2:1 – 2
“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, begin of one accord, of one mind..”
Philippians 2:1 – 2
Sing with me, now…
Chorus
I’d like to teach the world to sing;
In perfect harmony;
I’d like to buy the world a Coke;
And keep it company.
That’s the song I’d like…(repeat)
Isn’t that a wonderful sentiment? Anyone 30 or older is likely to remember this little jingle originally recorded by Lea Salonga and used by the Coka Cola company to promote their form of liquid heaven. As I wrote it I could see in my minds eye hundreds of people holding a Coke and a candle sitting together in the shape of a Christmas tree, smiles on their faces and a song in their heart. Wouldn’t it be great if in the immortal words of the renowned diplomat and scholar Rodney King if, “We could all just get along.”
But it seems that harmony is hard to come by. The discord in our homes, in our work place, with our friends and family is reaching a fever pitch. There was a time when divorce was difficult and carried with it a stigma. But in
It would seem the soundtrack of our life has room for only one melody played by one instrument rather than the multipart symphony God intended. And believe me; God is opinionated on the topic of UNITY. He says unity as expressed through love is what will define Believers. The verse you read above from Philippians is only one location where God emphasizes the importance of unity. When God speaks on unity He’s not just waxing rhapsodic about some sentimental yet unachievable goal. He very clearly states that UNITY will define a body of Believers, in their homes, in their work, and in their church. It is a commonality, a family relationship that binds us and keeps us together.
Unity is not ‘sameness’. It’s not a one-man-band or a one-man-show where everyone must do and be exactly like me in order to ‘unified’. It’s like harmony in music. It’s like the many instruments within our Instrumental Ensemble. A flute and a tuba don’t look or sound alike. They won’t play the same notes at the same time or in the same way. In this manner they are not ‘uniform’ at all but when they join the rest of the orchestra to play from the same piece of music the sound that is achieved can bring people to tears, incite the masses to riot or inspire someone to greatness!
Within our music there are moments of discord. We call this dissonance. In well written music dissonance always adds value to the song and leads the player and listener to an even greater appreciation of the story being expressed.
Within godly unity there will be moments of discord, dissonances that are the result of miscommunication, misconception, mistakes and the fact that God is not through with any of us yet. Within godly unity these dissonances are not avoided, but confronted and the resolution always deepens the relationship in a way that adds value to everyone involved.
So how do you protect the unity? Here are some simple ideas that might help…
- Mutual Submission – being quick to submit to someone’s conflicting opinion, not because you are wrong and they are right, but because you value your relationship more than your own opinion. BTW…this has got to go both ways to really work right.
- Patient Understanding – being quick to recognize that God is not through with any of us yet. Give up the knee jerk reaction. Let your first response be to listen without ‘filtering’ and waiting to unload your two cents (some of us can’t afford that much!).
- The Benefit of the Doubt – this is based on trust. Like I said last week, in a Culture of Trust conflict is not avoided because we give one another the benefit of the doubt. We recognize that healthy conflict, like dissonance, will make the song of our lives even better. We assume that those we serve with want the best for the relationship or organization rather than selfishly having to have things, ‘their way’.
- Constant Vigilance – vigilance is consistently doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reason. Constant Vigilance means we are on the look out for things that might disrupt the unity. We work to resolve dissonance. We ignore or crush lies, gossip or deception. We discover the freedom that comes from being unified in spirit, purpose and action without being carbon copies of one another.
It’s a privilege to serve with Believers where UNTIY is the rule rather than the exception. Thank you for being a people who with one heart, one mind and one purpose passionately pursue living the truth of God’s Word in every area of your lives. It’s going to be a great week!
Love y’all, God Bless,
Notes to Notice
Fall Festival
Tuesday, October 31st from 6:00 – 8:00pm is Fall Festival. This year’s Fall Festival will be bigger and better than ever as we fill both buildings with exciting games, challenging events, inflatable’s, train rides, pony rides and more candy than Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory! Parents are encouraged to bring their children in costume. It’s a sports theme (so support your Sooners!)
This is also an incredible opportunity for us to reach out to our community. Invite neighbors and friends. How can members of
Family
Sunday AM, November 5th is ALL HANDS ON DECK! Why? That’s the day we’re asking every member to make special plans to be in Sunday School and Worship and to bring someone with them. It’s a Family Reunion! It’s about relationships! It’s about vision and recognizing the tremendous blessing God has both poured out on us and entrusted to us.
On that day, let’s fill the platform with musicians; Ushers, let’s get ready for the multitudes God will bring; everyone, let’s be ready for the incredible work God will do in us and through us! Make plans now to be here!
Christmas Plans – “Christmas | Past…Present…Eternal”
This December we’ll celebrate Christmas all month long! How!? The first weeks of December we’ll celebrate with a dinner theater:
“As Time Goes By” – A lifetime of Christmas traditions and celebrations through the eyes of faith, family & Friends.
Written by our very own, Randy Thomas, this funny and family-focused drama will capture your heart as it captures the heart of Christmas throughout multiple generations. This is not musical theater – but a three act play. We’ll need volunteers for acting, stage craft, costuming, technical arts, hosting, food services and everything in between. To volunteer contact Randy Thomas, Randy.Thomas@esp-tulsa.com, or
Sunday Night, December 10th - “Christmas | Past…Present…Eternal” with the Celebration Choir and Praise Band, Instrumental Ensemble, KICK & PreKICK Choirs! During this great concert we’ll share Christmas music and family Christmas stories…stories of Christmas past, present and eternal! We’ll have a Dress Rehearsal on December 9th, from 9am - Noon.
Sunday Night, December 17th - “A Family Christmas HomeComing” with the Families of FBCO. This is the night we sing our favorite Christmas songs as a congregation. This year we’ll have a twist – our special music will come from families within FBCO. Great music combined with stories of family Christmas traditions will make this a night people won’t forget.
Christmas Eve – Sunday Night, December 24th - Every year our Christmas Eve Candle Lighting Service is standing room only! This year we will pack the Worship Center TWICE – with two, hour long opportunities for the people of our community to celebrate the birth of our Savior. We’ll ask every available Choir, Praise Band, Instrumental Ensemble, KICK and Tech member to be available for BOTH Christmas Eve Services.
Christmas Eve Rehearsal 4:00pm
Christmas Eve FIRST SERVICE 5:00pm
Christmas Eve SECOND SERVICE 7:00pm
House Cleaning – the Logistics of Details
Online Blog
Catch current and previous issues of theScore online @ www.thefarpoint.blogspot.com
Online Resources
At www.fbcowasso.org you can now click RESOURCES. Under that heading you will find several categories. Mostly this is Praise Band and Congregational music, but some of these charts include Instrumental Ensemble music and ALL of them include VOCALS – hopefully this can be a resource for us all in the coming days!
Weekly Schedule Reminder
Here are the CALL TIMES for a typical SUNDAY AM – Remember, ON TIME = EARLY | EARLY = READY and from 8:30 – 8:50 we’ll clear the platform and all meet in Fellowship Hall for a light, continental style breakfast and for last minute instructions, prayer & consecration. I look forward to seeing everyone there!
SUNDAY
Þ 7:15am TECH PREP
Þ 7:30 Drama Sound Check and Rehearse
Þ 7:45 Praise Band Sound Check
Þ 8:00 Instrumental Ensemble
Þ 8:15 Special Music
Þ 8:20 Celebration Choir
Þ 8:30 Stage Clear, Doors Open, Background Music & Announcements Run
Þ 8:50 Countdown begins
Þ 8:55 Prelude – Live, instrumental, congregational or choir…
Þ 9:00 Service Begins
WEDNESDAY
Þ 6:00pm Instrumental Ensemble WC
Þ 6:30 Celebration Choir | Tech Prep RM 800 & WC
Þ 7:00 Praise Band with IE WC
Þ 7:30 ALL
(subtle reminder – ‘all’ means ‘ALL’ J)
Þ 7:30 Drama Team RM 800
Þ 8:05 Praise Band & Praise Teams WC
Þ 9:00 Cookie Time!
Sunday AM – 09-24-06
AweStruck – “I Am the Good Shepherd” / Stewardship
Pre-service – COUNTDOWN | CD
PRE-SERVICE
Instrumental Ensemble
SERVICE START |
CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC
Cover the Earth – D, CHART
Your Grace is Enough – A, CHART (no IE)
WELCOME
Dr.
WELCOME MUSIC
O Worship the King – Ab, CHART (no IE)
VIDEO
To Die For 3:07
CHOIR SPECIAL
Jesus Paid it All – CHOIR MUSIC (no IE)
CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC
The Wonderful Cross – D, MSPW2 – 76
How Great is Our God – Db, CHART
MESSAGE
Dr.
CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC
Jesus Paid It All – Eb, BH – 134
INVITATION
Breathe – A, CHART
OFFERING | ANNOUNCEMENTS
Page Cole
Presentation of New Members
Close
Your Grace is Enough – A, CHART (no IE)
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