Tag: harmony

Posted in communication, friends, loving others, Scripture

Harmony

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”  John 13:13-14

They came to church one day.  I like church…most of the time anyway.  One of the things I like about church is that it is so inside down.  Like, if you go to a concert, the most expensive seats are right up front.  If you go to a ballgame, you pay extra to sit down where the action is.  That’s not true in church.  The high value seats are all the way at the back.  There might be 150 seats and only 50 people but most of the folks sit in the high-priced back seats.  I can’t blame them. 

The story is told of a young preacher who was excitedly telling the people that Jesus was coming back.  He said, “Jesus said, Behold, I am coming quickly.” He said it three times, each time just a little more enthusiastically.  When he said it the third time, he lost his balance and fell off the stage and right in an older lady’s lap. He was so embarrassed and apologized profusely.  She said, “That’s ok son, you warned me three times.” Well, anyway, I get the sitting in the back thing.

Now, not because I was a pastor, but my wife and I always like to sit near the front.  I do like to be where the action is and trust me…it is rarely crowded. Well, one day, a couple came and visited our church and guess what?  They came right down and sat on the second row.  I was surprised and when I said hi to them, I told them how glad I was to have them…especially on the second row.

Well, church started and, in case you are not too familiar with church stuff, usually we sing a while and then the preacher (in this case that was me) would speak a longer while.  Make that a lot longer.  So, as we were singing, I could hear this voice singing behind me.  It was the lady who was visiting with her husband.  She had a nice voice, and she was singing harmony and it seemed she knew most of the songs.  Well, they just turned out to be real nice folks and the best part…they came back and sat week after week in the second row.  She kept singing and I could tell she really seemed to enjoy it.

After several weeks, after services, Judy and I were talking with them after church and I asked her, “I enjoy your singing.  Do you, or would you, like to sing a solo for us?” Without hesitation, she simply said, “No thank you.  I just enjoy singing harmony.” Singing.Harmony.  That struck me as pretty profound.  For many folks, getting the opportunity to sing in front of a pretty large crowd would be seen as an opportunity to perform.  But not for her, she was content to be one of the worshipers…just singing harmony.

There is an old southern gospel song by the Oak Ridge Boys that said, “Nobody wants to play rhythm guitar behind Jesus, everybody wants to be the lead singer in the band.” That song has stuck with me all through these many years.  It is a good reminder to make sure that I remember that when I stand on a stage and speak—Jesus is the star of the show and I am just a rhythm guitarist somewhere in the band.

You see, pride is a dangerous thing—especially in Jesus circles.  If anyone taught lessons on humility it was Him.  He is the guy who performed slave labor one night and washed the feet of everyone in the room.  And then, He said, “Now I’ve set an example for you.  You should do the same.”  I don’t think it was about washing feet.  I think it was about putting everyone at the front of whatever line you are in.  It means remembering that you are not the most important person is the room.

It may surprise you to know that church can be a real pride factory. You would think that it would be the opposite, but people will be people and sinners will be sinners…even forgiven ones…even in church.  So that is why my friend’s response was so, insightful.  She didn’t need to be on stage, in fact, she didn’t want to be on stage.  She was content to be singing harmony amidst all the worshipers on any given day. For sure, some people have to be on stage and that’s fine.  We just need to remember that we are there because of Him and for Him.  And if we forget…well, He has ways to remind us…like falling off the stage.  And when we do, if we do, well, it’s good to know that He’s got that, too.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Family, friends, life, loving others, Scripture

God’s Symphony

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.” Romans 12:4-5

What if we could all just get along? Having zipped through four decades of pastoring, you can well imagine I’ve seen and met a whole bunch of people. Some went to church and some didn’t. Some had met Jesus and some were still looking.  Some were kind and some, well, weren’t.  But one thing I learned is that all of them were people that God created and all of them were precious in His sight.  Oh, and I learned this, when the ones who had met Jesus came together in unity and harmony, they were a force to be reckoned with.

A while back, my wife Judy and I attended a jazz concert out at our local college. The band was called, “Courtney Cox and the Little Big Band.” They weren’t a big band, only ten members” but they were so good. Their unity and the harmony that brought made them a musical force–yup–to be reckoned with! Check this out. 

A few days ago I received a devotion that talked about how a couple of really smart psychologists surveyed different members of eleven major orchestras. They asked how each section of instrumentalists perceived one another…what they thought of one another.  Here’s what they found out. The percussionists were viewed as unintelligent but fun-loving, while the string players were seen as arrogant and stuffy. The brass players were described as loud by many, and woodwinds were viewed as quiet, meticulous, and a bit egotistical.

So here’s the big question. With such different perceptions of one another, how were these orchestras able to make such wonderful music? Well, quite simply, they were able to put their biases aside and look to the leadership of the conductor. And when they all did that, they could make beautiful music together as one orchestra. Wow is that powerful or what? No matter how different–each person and each instrument–were necessary to make music.

So husbands and wives, how much stronger could our marriages be if we followed that example? Hey, how much better could our families be if we did the same thing? Not a church person? Ok, how much more profitable could your business be, your sports team be, your community be–if we followed their example? But let’s bring it home to us Jesus followers. How effective could the body of Christ be if we were to follow that model? Instead of infighting about personalities and methods in our churches, what if we put those differences aside and looked together at the great Conductor? The answer is obvious isn’t it?

Here’s an idea. Remember the church is not designed to be a thing where every person is a clone of the other. No, you see the church is a multifaceted diamond. We don’t need carbon copies of you or anybody. Rather, we need to learn to appreciate the beauty in the diversity of the body of Christ and follow Christ together. We need to let everybody be who God created them to be. Like the orchestras above where violins remain violins and trumpets remain trumpets, we too can create beautiful music. But remember this…it doesn’t come from cloning but from Christ and then together we can create something no member could achieve alone. Need a little help? No problem, just keep your eyes on the conductor and remember this…”He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne