"Dude" Church

It amazes me to see how things are changing quickly around my house. Mary Haisten is growing so fast that I am not able to keep up. Amy is growing fast as well and I cannot believe that we are halfway through her pregnancy. And then there is Bradley. What can I say about Bradley. Just like the other two members of my family he is growing fast too. The only problem is that most of his growth these days is in autonomy. He wants to do everything himself and he wants to go everywhere by himself. In addition, he is learning what is “cool” and “sissy.” The “cool” things are “dude” things. If he likes somebody or something then they are “dude.” Resurrection was “dude.” The youth are “dude.” Action adventure cartoons are “dude.” He has even named his new brother a “dude” name. For Bradley, his little brother’s name is David Fire Gattis. When we ask him why David Fire he replies, “It’s a dude name!” If it is cool then it is “dude.”

With that in mind, I am sad to say that I got my first big resistance to our two worship services. As you might can guess, The Gathering is “dude” church. He says that because of the “dude” band. Things did not go too well when last Saturday Amy told Bradley that he was going to church in the sanctuary. He proceeded to tell us that he did not want to go to church in the sanctuary because he wanted to hear the “dude” band.

Bradley’s little fit helped to remind me about the reason we worship. Psalm 95 says, “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” We are to worship God in thanksgiving for all that God gives to us. We are God’s children and we are to remain steadfast to God in all aspects of our life. Many times we come to worship to enjoy a show or production. Sometimes we come to hear beautiful music. Sometimes we come to fellowship with our family and friends. Those are all good things to do when we come to church. But, our first priority is God and when we worship we are to first think of the blessings God gives us. When we have that in mind as we walk through the doors of the church, then each and every worship is “dude” worship no matter what setting we are in. Thanks Bradley for clearing that up!