As the year 2011 draws to a close, I am reflecting on the wonderful things people have said to me this year. I guess when you work for a church everyone that attends is like your boss. Therefore, some critical comments are most welcome as long as we mix it with a compliment. It reminds me of the passing phrase "no offense". That phrase is meant to be read as "no offense" as in... "I didn't mean to offend you"; not "no offense" as in the Philadelphia Eagles football team. That's completely different.
People feel the need to say "no offense", usually following a statement that was in fact offensive, but if we say that it isn't, then it must be so. Something like; "Your voice sounded really awful today, but usually it is better, no offense. You must be sick." Yep, that was an actual comment. My response was "Thanks, I actually feel pretty good. Perhaps your hearing is a bit off today, no offense". And so it goes. The verbal sparring that takes place while smiling and exchanging "no offense" tags that excuse our unfriendly exchanges. Whoever created that phrase excusing our rude comments was an idiot, no offense.
This weekend we performed a Christmas program that was unlike our "normal" music. Our church music is contemporary in song and instrumentation. This program was "classical baroque" with chamber choir accompanied by double bass, cello, classical guitar and harpsichord. We had two professional actors that attend our church read the narration. I arranged all the music and worked hard for several months to make this different on purpose. Following our performance one person said to me, "the classical guitar sounded amazing, even though it was you playing it." Oh...thanks?
Earlier this year I produced a CD of worship from our church. I selected the songs and recorded the majority of the music in my home studio. We did this as a fundraiser for a music mission trip. By the way, if you are interested in a copy of this CD, contact me and I will make sure you get one. One of the leaders in our church told me she thought our CD was alright, but if I really wanted to make a better one next time, consult with her to choose songs more people will like. This was after she asked where the songs came from and I told her I wrote several of them.
Obviously these are not the kind of comments I like to reflect on at the end of the year. There have been so many wonderful, appreciative people that lift my spirits to encourage and motivate me. I want to say thank you to those people. I want to say thanks to the thousands who visit my blog every month to read what I write about. It is quite a humbling experience to think my words are interesting enough for others to read, when I place such a high value on people's time. I am really looking forward to the new year. Not because this one wasn't good enough, but because I love to see what God does next. His plan for us is to learn to love better. Love God, love one another, and love who we are, probably in that order but I am pretty sure that isn't really important. The priority or order of things isn't the issue because we are supposed to do all of those things simultaneously.
I have said many times here "God has grace for the human race" because I think the Bible makes it clear. If it's good enough for God, we should give it a try too. So the next time you hear the phrase "no offense", be sure to offer the cliche "none taken" with a smile.
People feel the need to say "no offense", usually following a statement that was in fact offensive, but if we say that it isn't, then it must be so. Something like; "Your voice sounded really awful today, but usually it is better, no offense. You must be sick." Yep, that was an actual comment. My response was "Thanks, I actually feel pretty good. Perhaps your hearing is a bit off today, no offense". And so it goes. The verbal sparring that takes place while smiling and exchanging "no offense" tags that excuse our unfriendly exchanges. Whoever created that phrase excusing our rude comments was an idiot, no offense.This weekend we performed a Christmas program that was unlike our "normal" music. Our church music is contemporary in song and instrumentation. This program was "classical baroque" with chamber choir accompanied by double bass, cello, classical guitar and harpsichord. We had two professional actors that attend our church read the narration. I arranged all the music and worked hard for several months to make this different on purpose. Following our performance one person said to me, "the classical guitar sounded amazing, even though it was you playing it." Oh...thanks?
Earlier this year I produced a CD of worship from our church. I selected the songs and recorded the majority of the music in my home studio. We did this as a fundraiser for a music mission trip. By the way, if you are interested in a copy of this CD, contact me and I will make sure you get one. One of the leaders in our church told me she thought our CD was alright, but if I really wanted to make a better one next time, consult with her to choose songs more people will like. This was after she asked where the songs came from and I told her I wrote several of them.
Obviously these are not the kind of comments I like to reflect on at the end of the year. There have been so many wonderful, appreciative people that lift my spirits to encourage and motivate me. I want to say thank you to those people. I want to say thanks to the thousands who visit my blog every month to read what I write about. It is quite a humbling experience to think my words are interesting enough for others to read, when I place such a high value on people's time. I am really looking forward to the new year. Not because this one wasn't good enough, but because I love to see what God does next. His plan for us is to learn to love better. Love God, love one another, and love who we are, probably in that order but I am pretty sure that isn't really important. The priority or order of things isn't the issue because we are supposed to do all of those things simultaneously.
I have said many times here "God has grace for the human race" because I think the Bible makes it clear. If it's good enough for God, we should give it a try too. So the next time you hear the phrase "no offense", be sure to offer the cliche "none taken" with a smile.
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