thelivingroom @ thesalvationarmy.sanfordnc
Here in Sanford, The Salvation Army has put on a different kind of face.
Staci and I have allowed our home to become a “miniature temple” on Sundays as we lead worship in our living room. In fact, we call it The Living Room at The Salvation Army.
This Sunday will be our first Sunday in five weeks that we go to The Living Room in a place other than our home. We, as a corps, have turned the chapel into a…Living Room. We have round tables with chairs, a couch with a rug beside it where small kids can play by their parents who are seated on the couch. There is a small round coffee table that we have placed 5 little chairs around for little ones to sit at and color on butcher paper with colored pencils.
We have a credenza that will be set up with coffee, tea, juice, and other goodies for people to pick up on their way into worship. And there’s a tall swivel chair for me to sit on while I teach, with a music stand and a table beside me for a laptop and my Bible. There will even be a lamp on the table.
Staci has made beautiful table cloths for all the tables and amazing curtains for the windows. It will look like an honest-to-goodness living room with a touch of coffee-shop and the theme of the room is "coffee." We have coffee pots and cups for decorations and there is a sugar and creamer dish on each round table. We even have awesome coffee cups for everyone to use.
I know that some will criticize our approach, and that’s okay. I would not be Johnny Gainey if I wasn’t doing something new, different, and controversial in order to obey God’s call and do my best to do His will despite my naysayer comrades. I have yet to live a day as an Officer of The Salvation Army when I haven't been stirring up the gossip ponds. I still love you though.
Like one Officer I know says, “They only talk about you when you’re doing something.”
So, before the rumors start, let me share my personal faith story of how worshiping in my home has impacted me and my family.
The impact of home worship has had a major impact on my family. My children now see worship as a part of our world, home, work, play…lives, rather than a part of what we do at the corps. We are also able to develop a fantastic family from those who worship with us.
Please pray for The Salvation Army in Sanford, and for all those involved. We are truly a “Family of God.”
Grace and peace,
Johnny
30 comments:
Great job guys!
Sounds like you can relax and be renewed in the arms of God.
That's awesome to hear.
Our pastor was just telling a story the other day about how when genesischurch started it only had 8 people and a dream inspired by God and yet the mega churches in town were outraged by it. When you step out and challenge the norm you will envoke gossip and slander that is brought on by pure fear and intimidation of change. You're absolutly right when you say, "They only talk about you when you're doing something."
Keep it up man...you're doing great things.
Kristy and Kathy,
You are both wonderul encouragers.
Thank you.
Johnny
Johnny, alot of us are trying new things to make worship more real. We did the living room two years ago, now we have moved on. There is a powerful movement ( Holy Spirit) that is changing the way we worship in The Salvation Army, just not all of us post and talk about it all the time. Keep positive, often you sound very negative about the Army. Remember there is a whole world beyond you're perspective.
As the saying goes, "Stick you're head above the crowd, and somebody will throw a rock at it!" If you want to try new things, go all out! When we dabble and do things halfway, new movements falter.
Keep the faith!
My name is Johnny and I am your friend.
For all of you, who read the wisdom from Anonymous, please know that you not only are able to tell the world what you are doing with God, but you have a responsibility to do so.
As Oscar Roan often says, "Silence is golden, but sometimes it's just yellow."
There are two major reasons why people don't share what they are doing:
1. The fear of failure.
People who don't truly believe in what they are doing won't share because they fear that upon failure they will have to apologize.
2. They don't care to invest in others.
It's hard to tell people what you're doing, when you care about who gets the credit. What if someone uses what I'm sharing and they actually do it better than me?
What if the gospel leaders were insecure like many leaders today? What if they said, "We tried the Messiah thing back in the 30s and we've moved on"? They didn't though, because they knew that no matter how many people didn't believe in what they were doing; no matter how many said, "We tried the Messiah thing and it didn't work"; no matter how many people told them to stop talking about what they were about, they had a responsibility to use their first century communication forums.
Whatever you are doing, whether you succeed or fail please don't value me so little that you won't share it.
What if Rick Warren, George Barna, John Wesley, William Booth, Saul of Tarsus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John said to us, "Don't stand out. Someone will hit you in the head with a rock." Wow. I couldn't imagine.
Don't be afraid to stand out. Don't be afraid to be and do whatever God calls you to be and do. And never stop telling everyone who will listen. Above all, never expect everyone to appreciate or even respect your vision.
The world is full of people who have been knocked down. Some of them have decided to either stay down or get up quietly. The rest get up screaming and running toward the goal, no matter how many others are still determined to keep them down or at least quiet. They would like the whole world to remain anonymous.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Did somebody say worms? Go for it man . . . I love it!
One question: (you’ve probably thought about this, maybe even already experienced it) what happens when more families/moms with smaller children start to attend and the kids get loud and disruptive?
I ask this because I feel that kids should be allowed to be kids . . . at the same time, kids can be very distracting . . . there have been times when I have left church frustrated by the crying or noisy children . . . how do you plan to address this matter?
Bret,
The plan is to outgrow our current location. With that, I can tell you from experience, not theory that it can work.
I went to Andy Stanley's church in Atlanta and I attended their third worship meeting, which starts at 12:30 p.m. and there is no youth church, except a small nursery.
The interesting thing was that out of about 4000 people, the majority being young adults with small children, there were only 3 babies in the nursery. Every other child was in the chapel. Some kids were crying, some were laughing, and no one was bothered.
When I was a child, I'd come home after school and would have to stay outside until supper time. The house was too small and too hot to have 3 boys running around and making noise. The television had three channels, video games were unheard of, and the culture was not set up in my family to have kids take part in conversation with adults.
Today, my children are more likely to play games and hang out with their friends in the house, and even talk with Mom and Dad about sensitive and mature issues. And the fact that they are welcome in the house sets up an entirely different attitude and expectation among adults that causes us to prepare and provide differently than my parents did.
When the bridge to chaos comes, we'll cross it. I have a feeling that it will require education and a change in the way we do church.
A church that is set up for silent, still audiences will not be as conducive to the presence of children as one that is set up with worshiping in a home environment. So far, it has worked, and I say, at least for now, "Suffer not the children to worship with the adults."
Grace and peace,
Johnny
It's awesome that the children are made to feel welcome in the worship service. I think there is definitly a benefit to having a worship setting that is condusive to the way children think and learn and understand...kind of like 'Revolution' at Charlotte temple. I think kids church is awesome, not so that they will be out of the hair of the adults, but so that they can experience God in a way that is relevant to them the whole way up. I think the way you are handling church with the kids is perfect for your current situation.
On a different note...that analogy of sticking your head up and getting hit by a rock is ridiculous. Picture it in a literal sense. If one was to actually stick their head up out of a crowd, chances are no one would throw anything at it, but rather the person would be recognized as an individual instead of a faceless head of hair.
Keep sharing your successes Johnny, as well as your failures so that we can rejoice with you, encourage you, keep you accountable and learn from your experiences. You don't sound negative at all. If anyone has ever fought hard against the bashing of the Army it is you. Obviously 'anonymous' doesn't know you very well.
Kathy,
Thanks for the encouragement.
By the way, I wasn't completely clear about Andy Stanley's church.
The first two Sunday Celebrations at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. have amazing youth worship meetings. In fact, they have an elementary, middle school age, and teen worship, each with their own chapel and leadership team, complete with praise teams.
So, the idea is not to exclude the need for kids worship experiences. The point that I wanted to make was that their third meeting did not have those separate youth worship meetings, yet thousands of people came to the 12:30 worship with their kids and it wasn't awkward.
I was amazed at how many babies were in the worship. The adults were not distracted, I believe, because it was expected and the worship meeting was not a typical, sit still and be quiet kind of worship. Those who wanted to have their kids go to a separate worship meeting came at the earlier times when it was available. But the fact that so many came to the worship when youth meetings were not available says something about the way people are worshiping today.
Yes, many worshipers still want to have their children in a separate meeting, and there's nothing wrong with that. There is also nothing wrong with having them worship with their parents.
We, in Sanford, have chosen or purpose to be "Equipping, encouraging, and experiencing God-centered families." So, as part of our purpose, we would like to at least offer a place of worship that is welcoming to those who want to worship with their children.
Others may want to dictate how the rest of God's children minister, but we must all go where God is leading, despite man's negative criticisms. With that said, it is also wise to be alert to the critical thinking and constructive criticism that comes from those who love and respect us and care about the work we are doing in the Kingdom.
Thank you for your input.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Your Sunday gatherings sound awesome. I'm glad you can finally implement what God has been telling you to do. I am already searching my calendar for a Sunday that I can come join you.
I think kids understand more than we often give them credit for, and they can definitely sense if they feel wanted or not. I'm glad they feel wanted in your gatherings.
"Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them..."
On that same note, during Bible School a few weeks ago, we had kids ages 2-16 all together with no nursery... even with a group of kids having that much of an age span, the younger kids seemed to sometimes be distracting... but the fact that these kids can add to the worship experience really hit home when, after we had finished worshipping God through singing some great songs, one of which was "Trading My Sorrows," the kids were told to settle down so we could pray to God. One of the two-year olds kept talking through the prayer, and you could hear several people telling him to "shhhh..." Then I realized what he was saying: "Yes, Lord! Yes, Lord! Yes, Yes, Lord!" My face lit up with a smile to God as I heard this child's barely understandable prayer. Who could possibly tell this two-year old to stop telling God YES... especially while we were praying! It was beautiful.
That's awesome. I love hearing things like that about children ceing completely and naturally sold out for Christ. A friend once told me that she was listening to worship music in the car and when she looked in her rearview, her Son in the backseat had his eyes closed and hands raised to heaven, mimicing what he had seen in worship service. I believe the innocent laughter and words of children does so much more for the heart of God then our 'sophisticated' words ever could. Stuff like that warms my heart.
Stephanie,
That is a wonderful story about worship. I'm so glad that Revolution has become a legitimate mission at the corps in Charlotte. All of you have done such an amazing job.
It's going to be really awesome on the day that you meet Jesus and all those kids from Revolution are going to be there too, and they are going to look up at Jesus and say,” That’s Stephanie; she showed us how to find you."
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Johnny,
I am so proud of you for doing what God has laid on your heart to do. I am shure the holy spirit will move in an amazing way in this setting. I find it sad that annon said they tried this method and have moved on. inplying that the method was ineffictive when perhaps just mabye it was the leadership not the system. I wish if they felt the need to judge that they would at least have the guts to post under their name.
Jason
Jason,
Thanks for encouraging me. I know that one way to grieve the Holy Spirit is to neglect my responsibility to cheer my brothers and sisters on to the finish line.
The Kingdom of God (God's people) could use a lot more cheerleaders like you, Jason.
I am still thankful for the day that you came into the corps and encouraged those with me to pray for me and trust that God is leading.
I also think a lot about the movie "Finding Nemo," when I think about doing God's will. Kristy pointed out how Dory is speaking whale in order to get Marlin to his son, Nemo, and all Marlin can do is keep saying, "Stop it! You can't speak whale!" While all along she could.
There are too many members of the body today that believe no one can actually communicate with God in a tangible way.
The thing God is doing in Sanford has as much to do with who I am as it does with where we are. God calls leaders, and He gives them vision to share with the people God has sent them to lead. I am not “trying the living room ‘thing,’ I am doing what God has called me to do, and I’m sharing it with all who will listen. Some encourage me; some think they do; some want to prevent Jesus from making a difference through His people.
I am inspired by friction. The more people say I can’t, the more I want to show them that Jesus and we can.
God is doing great things in Sanford.
Keep praying.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Johnny,
You and some others missed the point. Stick your head up and someone will throw rocks! If you try something new people are going to say something. My point is if you are going to be a Revolutionary leader, BE ONE! Enough of this poor, pitiful, woe is me stuff. Nobody in this big 'ol Army gets it but me. Get over yourself. You have an attitude and perception problem.
I say again, there is a mighty moving of the Holy Spirit in the Army. Many new things are happening right now! Many changes have occurred in the way we worship in the past 20 years and the movement is picking up speed! Do not isolate yourself with your attitude.
You always post with such a negative tone, "I'm trying new things, but everyone will complain." Not everyone my friend.
I applaud you for what you are trying. Keep it up. Don't be out of "the box", smash the box. I said we moved on because our Living room became too small, our corps family is now too big for the space, so now the God of creativity has given a new vision!
I post Anon to keep rank, position, and friendship out of the issue, not out of fear. There is a real enemy for us to fight. Quit throwing stones at people who are trying to help. I have been through some of the battles and struggles you are facing, and I was led to offer some advice. Some of the biggest fights you will have are with yourself. If you know what you are doing is the best thing for you flock, then do it regardless of how many rocks get thrown.
I continnue to pray for you and the Sanford Corps.
Dear Annon,
As an objective reader I find your words to be harmfull and mean spitited. I feel the desire to stick up for johnny on this issue knowing that he need nobody to fight his battles for him but that he deserves his friends to be with him, not against him. Regardless of what you may think about your rank it means nothing outside of the army. If you are truley trying to encourage and help you would have no issue with johnny knowing who you are. Also the holy spirit is moving in and out of the salvation army. He is not doing a new thing he is doing what he has always done. Who are you to judge johnnys attitude? Have you not read the scriptures about confronting a brother who is in sin? Go to him in private and settle the issue betyween yourselves. If that does not work bring it to the elders of the church. If then there can be no agreement between you move on and agree to disagree. What you are posting borders on slander. It is not helpfull and is wrong. Please read Kathy Stock's blod titled don't be nasty. It says it better than I can.
Jason
Sorry for the spelling errors I hope you can look past them and find what I was trying to say.
I am tired of the everyone else is wrong attitude so many have in our Army. I was trying to be short supportive and offer observations.
If someone can not handle a little criticism, don't criticize others.
Once again I will say good job!
I was not knocking the Living Room approach, I was addressing the tone of many of your post.
Watch the attitude. You do not see all that is going on. Paradigms are shifting, cultures are changing, some new things are happening. The old ways made them possible. Some new ideas are recycled old ideas. The key is to do something, find what is best for your Corps and worship that way.
So many of you seem more interested in griping about Them, that you forget YOU are the ARMY!
You want change, fight for change.
You want passion, get passionate.
If you don't like the leadership, LEAD! Thank God for Johnny and others like him. This Army needs to emerge into the fighting force God called to be, and we need officers who will stick their head up and take the rocks as they come.
I pray for the day when everyone gets as fired up about loving the world as Christ does, as the they do when someone disagrees with them.
Anon -
Anon,
Thank you. Though your approach is heavily leaning toward your obviously choleric temperament, I do hear your support.
Also, please understand where I have been and what I have experienced. Unless I present my words recognizing that there will be those who oppose, someone will assume that I am ignorant about other angles. When I do mention that I am aware, I am accused of negativity.
There is really no way to approach these issues with a completely objective view.
Allow me to share a story that will help everyone reading to understand my position.
Henry Ford's engineers introduced the second model of the Model-T, by unveiling it as a surprise for him.
Henry Ford tore the vehicle apart with his bare hands claiming, "There's nothing wrong with the old Model-T."
If those who value The Army's great accomplishments were more rational or, at the very least, encouraging, when approached with new ideas, then new leaders would not have to come at them with claws and fangs. But the truth of the matter is that the majority of top leadership are a lot like Henry Ford. They have confused loyalty to The Army, with loyalty to The Army's old Model-T. And they will tear apart the new ones with whatever they can, including gossip, discouragement, and organizational bullying.
I'd love to be able to say otherwise, but my experience has been older officers saying things like, "If you want to change it...leave." I have also heard so much gossip about what we've been doing the last four years that I am pre-programmed to preface my ideas with, "There's a good chance you won't like this, but..."
You and I and everyone else knows that any organization in the graying years of its life is not fond of creativity. And the creative will find themselves silenced, slandered, or shipped out.
As one good friend said to me, "They never say no, but they never say yes." The lack of encouragement from top leadership is always death to an organization. Eventually the creative leaders will leave and go where they can be appreciated and used, abandoning the organization and its loyalists, while the organization is left to die peacefully and comfortably.
Just ask the previous Tories of the old Model-Ts at Winn Dixie, Oldsmobile, and Montgomery Ward.
Please cheer on those who care enough to build the new models and present them with flair; they are the ones who are truly loyal to the life of the organization. Encourage, and there will be no reason for leaders to be negative.
Keep praying for me.
Grace and peace to both of you,
Johnny
For the record:
No longer will anonymous comments be allowed.
Please leave a name or read all you want, without commenting.
This is not an attempt to flush out anyone, but to keep the atmosphere of this blog open and honest, with a sense of community.
There are many people who read this blog without commenting. I am not able prevent anyone who wants to read from doing so. Along with that inability, I do retain the ability to screen the comments for the good of the whole.
Anonymous comments send up a red flag of distrust; a red flag that is not acceptable.
Thank you all and God bless.
Johnny
i also agree with the no anonymous comments rule. I would just like to state for the record (if there is a record) that Johnny Gainey has always been the first person to end any type of army bashing within ear shot of him. I remember countless times when Johnny has defended the Army and what it stands for against people with 'actual' bad attitudes. If anyone thinks Johnny is negative about the Army, you don't know Johnny.
Johnny has had to put up with alot of poop (for lack of a better word) in his last four years of officership...most of which has more to do with stubbourn church people, not exclusively stubbourn Army people. I don't attend an Army church but still am exposed to people with bad attitudes who oppose change and defy leadership in an effort to have their needs met. These people are everywhere, it's just that in Johnny's case they are Army people because that's where he serves.
Johnny, you're doing a great job. End of sentence. Encouragement should be just that. It shouldn't be laced with sarcasm and you shouldn't be told, "Good job now stop talking about it."
You should be able to express everything you feel, think and experience. It is not ungodly to experience frustration. It certainly doesn't strip you of your "rank" to do so. You are stepping out on a limb of leadership for God and that is more important then your "title" or "rank" will ever be.
I'm very, very proud of you.
Hmmm... I think I have to agree that Mr./Mrs. Anon was not being discouraging... I think Johnny, as well as so many of the rest of us are so used to hearing negativity that we easily take someone's comment that was not intended to be negative as negative. And because this person was choosing for personal reasons to post as anonymous, everyone just assumed it was going to be a negative comment, so their mind read it as such.
I like Anon's "go get 'em!" attitude! Let's all keep doing everything we can to return God's world back to Him!! And let's not stop to hear the comments that people are whispering behind us!
(if this posts more than once, sorry about that...)
OK . . . here’s my two cents . . .(you knew would get it at some point:)
1. Susan and I have a rule (that we learned the hard way) . . . no confronting via e-mail . . . always confront in person . . . writing can be misunderstood . . . “tones” can be misinterpreted. I think that’s what’s happened here.
2. I think you should reconsider the idea of blocking anonymous postings. I have been attacked/challenged a few times by anonymous bloggers . . . and I think that’s ok.
As far as your “negative tone” . . . people have said the same about me . . . my writing does, sometimes, have a negative tone. It’s not intentional . . . it just sort of come out that way . . . so this is an area that I work.
If someone says that you have a negative tone - take it for what it’s worth . . . evaluate your writing . . . and move on. (that’s said with a positive tone:)
Anyway . . . keep binding and loosing and exercising your s’mikhah . . . keep challenging the status quo and sharing your ideas . . . even if you do get hit in the head with a brick. It’s all part of being a radical.
Blessings,
Bret
P.S. Also, please consider getting rid of that word verification thing . . . that thing drives me nuts! I miss it two out of three!
I agree 100% with Bret on the word verification issue. That thing drives me INSANE!
Also, I think Anon had some good things to say, but I also think that he/she came across as very condesending...perhaps I could have read into tone that is not there but that just furthers Jason's point of confronting your brother or sister in secret when you're keeping them accountable. If I was being perceived as negative I would greatly appreciate someone coming to me as a friend in a private, non-embarrassing way to discuss the issue...i think going about it anonymously on a public website is not only embarassing but non-scriptural. I think there are alot of things we can discuss and debate on blogger, I just don't think confronting someone's negative behavior (like having a supposid bad attitude toward the Army) is one of them...unless of course the person remains anonymous and you don't have the opportunity to confront them in private...that's another reason why i think anonymous posting is a good thing to elliminate.
Again, I think anon had some good things to say...I also think there were some personal digs that could have been elliminated in an effort to build Johnny up. Perhaps I am just being argumentative...but I felt like Johnny was being messed with, and that's not cool with me. You mess with the Johnny, you mess with the Kathy...and I have some pretty huge biceps....jokes.
But that's just me.
I think the real issue here is the word verification...let's scrap that and we'll all be fine!
Good job Bret.
Thanks everyone for your comments. You are all wonderful supporters with great wisdom.
I think what happened with assuming the negative tone was a natural push back when being pushed reflex from someone accusing me of having a negative tone.
I talked with a friend tonight who did a good job of explaining why I may come across as negative.
He said that assertiveness can easily be confused with negativity, which is to say that whenever we are aggressive with our goals and ideas, some will take offense to our passionate and sometimes hasty remarks.
Another thing he said was that we live in a culture in the church world where brainstorming is not encouraged, so to give an idea is taken as an opposition to another's idea, rather than an addition.
I think there is some truth to what my friend said, and wish I could relay it as well as he said it.
The very thing that I was accused of happened to Anonymous. He said one thing, and those who read it took it out of context, so, he was accused of being a discourager.
There is a lesson here that I thought I had already learned. When people misunderstand the words of a speaker, it is the speaker’s fault. Therefore, I will take Bret’s advice and pay closer attention to my writings. That doesn’t mean I will change what I write, though I may pay closer attention when someone is offended in order to understand what caused my writings to come across as negative.
I also believe that Kathy has a point in saying that encouragement should not be laced with sarcasm. It’s common knowledge that sarcasm kills communication. So, I guess we both can learn something from this.
On the other hand, there will never be a perfect forum for sharing ideas. Even tonight, I was talking with an older, "higher ranking" officer and I felt the need to be reserved about my ideas for fear of being confronted about the way it's always been done and should be done. So, what did I do? I told about it anyway and the conversation ended with a strange look on the other guys face and the added subject change by my listener.
I'd love to be able to say that I'm just being paranoid, but I have experienced way too many "Well-Intentioned Dragons" to think that everyone will cheer me on. And because of that fact, I will come out with guns blazing to let as many people know as possible that God is doing something new and Johnny is going to be a part of whatever God is blessing.
You don’t have to be Rick Warren or Billy Graham to share your vision with the world.
You can actually just be Johnny Gainey.
Bret,
I will not allow anyone to criticize my "Word Verification" usage. That is another way to get deleted. Actually, I can't figure out how to get rid of it. I hate it too.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Johnny (and anyone else who needs to know),
I love your blogs.
Now for the real business - Word Verification . . . it's in place so "spammers" don't leave automatic comments about getting a degree from online universities or buying herbs to enlarge your . . . ego.
But, if you do want to turn it off - after you log into blogger . . . select settings -> comments, then choose "NO" for show word verification for comments.
Grace,
desmond
http://www.webandflowdesign.com
Des,
Thanks very much. You are so great!
Now that you have reminded me of why they are there, I remember that I put it on there because SPAMers were commenting on my blog.
Remembering that, I will keep it on.
Sorry Bret and Kathy.
Grace and peace,
Johnny
Spammers....grrrrrrrrrrrrr....
FWIW, as a newcomer, and, it now seems likely, someone outside of a real world community from whence this blog has sprung, I'd like to note that I didn't see any of the alleged negativity in Johnny's message that Anon asserted.
The "negative part" seemed simply like a reflection of a common event within all communities and organizations: disagreement about change and experiments.
But I thought Johnny's message was focused on "here is what we are doing to work for God's glory!"
I don't think that sort of service would be a good fit for me, personally, but it sounds like a great approach!
As the old joke goes: "how many [insert denomination here] does it take to change a light bulb?"
Ans: "Change?"
Namaste
Walker
Walker,
I am still laughing.
Thanks for your input. You defended me better than I did. Some people just have a gift for clarification.
Thanks again...for the wisdom and the laugh.
Johnny
Post a Comment