Reflections on "Dialog Worship" and the Congregational Meeting

Many of you were able to join us for our "Dialog Worship" service last Sunday. For those who couldn't be there, please see last week's blog for a description of what it is.

The feedback so far has been mostly positive, and I wanted to share those comments with you.

• The comments about our guest worship leader, Matthew Orr, were off-the-charts positive. Matthew did a wonderful job leading us in worship, not just leading us in music. It's a very difficult thing to come in as a guest and lead in something as intimate as worship, but the overwhelming sentiment was that the worship music truly helped us worship Christ.
• The discussion time also received a lot of positive feedback. From my perspective, it didn't take long for people to feel free to speak up, ask questions, answer questions, offer new ideas, and so on. Thanks to the youth for breaking the ice! I heard phrases like "it felt more like a family discussion." That's exactly what we wanted to foster. I think that repeating this kind of format would only foster more.
• The time with the kids on the floor was fun for me, the kids were engaged, and the adults said they enjoyed learning by proxy, too.
• The seating arrangement generated more surprise comments than I expected. I expected a few comments, some positive and some negative, but many of you commented very positively on it. Some said that it made a huge difference to be able to see one another. Others said you could hear each other better. One repeated the "family atmosphere" comment specifically related to the seating arrangement.
• The most mixed comments were on the length of the service. Some said it was too short, others said it was a bit long. Technically, it was barely longer than our normal services that would run a little over. We intentionally set it up so that we would not be standing more than three songs in a row, and of course everyone is free to sit down during the music whenever they want. But the duration question is an important one, and must be considered. We can't really conduct a dialog worship service completely in the time slot of a short service. In theory, we're actually spending less time with a Dialog service if you consider the Sunday School time. This remains an issue that needs a good resolution.

Going forward, given the positive feedback, this is certainly a format we would consider doing again, perhaps even to make it our "normal" worship service format one day. For the immediate future, you may see some elements of the Dialog service creep into our normal program.

On the topic of the annual meeting, it was a lightly attended meeting, but the discussion was great. Some difficult issues were discussed openly, and there was a sense of the church body wanting to collectively move DBC forward - to advance our strong points and to shore up the areas that need work. The Elders will have the responsibility to take our conversation and help lead the church forward in those areas, especially in the areas of connecting better with one another and in becoming more missional as a congregation.

The attendance was also discussed, and the point was made that drawing people to DBC is the task of all of us, not just a few.

The budget report for 2008 and proposed budget for 2009 were discussed. The Lord allowed us to give more than budgeted for 2008, and we spent under budget, so 2008 saw a positive cash flow. This means that some deferred ministry expenses can now be taken on. The largest increase in the budget for 2009 is adding $7800 for a part-time worship leader. We are beginning our search to find someone who can lead us with worship music.

Every ministry area also submitted a written report, which were all bound together and distributed in packets. Including in that packet are the budget figures for 2008 and 2009. If you would like a copy of that packet, please request one from the church office.

God has accomplished much in DBC during 2008, and we see several areas where we are praying for His work during 2009. As always, I strongly encourage you to pray regularly for our church. If we're not praying as a church for our church, we will not be the church in the way the Lord wants us to be.