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A PRAYER PICTURE

I was standing in the corridor of ****** music
centre outside a room where an
orchestra was playing a beautiful
tune I hadn't heard before. I just
knew they had practised at home
and in small groups for a long time
and now they had come together to
play and the sound of all the various
musical instruments blended beautifully.
They knew the music score and were
aware of the other musicians around
them but they concentrated on the
conductor and followed his lead to
keep in time. People passing by stopped
to listen and went away smiling.

From further down the corridor there was a hideous noise. I looked
through the door but most of the musicians seemed unaware of
the cacophony. They thought they played well, so most of them
had stopped practising at home and they met socially in groups but
didn't practise together. They thought their particular instrument
was the best and ignored the score and the conductor, drowning
out other players. Some musicians were aware how bad the sound
was but no one listened to them so they sat quietly hardly playing
a note or left the orchestra altogether. The first violinist was
devastated. He tried hard to keep following the conductor. He
played beautifully reading the score and he did his best to keep the
orchestra in time. There was an occasional melodic chord, but they
were rare. Few people stopped to listen to this orchestra and even
fewer wanted to join it.

The conductor is Jesus and the first violinist is the church leader.
I believe the music score represents Prayer and Bible Study. It is
important to "practise" privately and in small groups as well as in
more formal worship. Other people may interpret it differently.

Do we need to think about what "sound" our church is making?

Submitted anonymously

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