Less Q.Q more Pew Pew:

  Right now our church is having a vote.  Actually, we already had the vote.  The vote was unanimous.  But, we're going to be voting on it again.  I'll tell you about that vote and then I'm going to show you a video that is hard to watch.

*Apparently the video was removed from youtube today.  It showed what was supposed to be the beatings that Christians are recieving in Orissa.*

**It didn't take long to find another copy.**

Just take your pretty little self to the other side by pressing that button called The Jump.  But, Alice...are you ready for the rabbit hole?


I'm trying really hard to care about this vote now.  I was pretty fired up about the fact that we were going to vote again on something that had been decided.  Then I saw this video.  It's not that I'm less irritated by the fact we have to spend so much time and energy on a topic that seems so banal.  I'm still irritated, but, wow man, we've got our heads up our butts.  Arguing over something trivial while the world burns.

See, we're looking at removing the pews from our old sanctuary.  Our youth service has taken residence in the old sanctuary.  Honestly, we can make due with chairs or pews.  It's children's church that can gain the most from chairs and space and movability.  And, hey, if we take the pews out we have four potential new sunday school rooms...and that's good.

All that to say, we took a vote.  You know, to see if it was cool if we found new homes for our pews.  After some deliberating we separated the pew vote from the rest of the votes about starting a committee to look into doing stuff that has to do with things that will cost us money down the line, but could be really cool if it works out.  Then the actual voting started.  It was closer than I expected.

I think the yes vote won out by like 20 or something.  Even my youth were split on it.  There is a LOT of nostalgia when it comes to our pews.  There was little celebration, the winning side was humble and began considering how best to move forward.  It seemed like the losing side was being gracious as well.

Then this morning I saw a secret ballot when I got to the office.  I thought to myself, "It's a little late for a ballot.  This puppy is in the can."  Then I thought about canned puppies and wept a little.  After a while I was able to talk to the rest of the staff about it and sure enough ... there was enough confusion and dissension to require another vote.

Pews vs. Chairs...that's genuinely the argument here.  We're not boarding up a room or painting it black. I get that people care and want to protect their memories.  Take a pew home with you.  Let's not drag things out, because we've already wasted 20 minutes of time that God could have used for something better.  I hereby decree, "Voting about pews is time that could have been better used."

How could it have been better used?  Well, that's what the video is about.  But, we can't watch the video because we've got another vote.  See, it's kind of like this post.  The most important thing you could have done is skipped every word I've said and watched the video.  But, I wasted your time on something that isn't really going to get you any closer to God.  So, just like this post, we're giving more time to something that is so infinitely unimportant in the grand scheme of things that is should shame us when we set it up next to the things that do matter.

I love my church and I know everyone is trying to do the right thing.  But, we're not, not at all.  No one will be an ounce more Godly after this secret ballot.  The vote may change.  We may not remove the pews.  What won't change though?  The fact that we've spent almost two weeks thinking about seating.  When we could be thinking about what's on this video.  Reminds me of that Allen Iverson rant:

Iverson: "If I can't practice, I can't practice. It is as simple as that. It ain't about that at all. It's easy to sum it up if you're just talking about practice. We're sitting here, and I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we're talking about practice. I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we're talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it's my last but we're talking about practice man. How silly is that?

We're talking about pews.  Not the people out there dying for Christ.  Not the people out there living there last day.  We're talking about pews.  How silly is that?

I ask you.  What does the man at the 30 second mark think about our time in church spent voting and re-voting on pews?  I bet he wishes we were praying for him.  He and everyone else in this video are getting less attention in my church and most churches than what we do with the things we sit on.  Quit wasting time.

2 Timothy 2:23 "Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels."

Lord, I repent of foolishly losing myself in this silly earthly debate when so many men, women and children needed me to be praying for them.  Forgive me.