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K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Stupid

Filed Under: Social by Josh Bowser — Comments Off
April 17, 2012

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.”

-1 Corinthians 14:33 [NLT]

Growing up, my family went through a phase where we tried multiple churches throughout the area. Some were Catholic, others were Baptist, and I believe we even tried a Methodist church somewhere in the mix (the memories are a bit fuzzy). Because of these “tryouts,” I always thought of God as someone you needed to dress up fancy for, sing all the right hymns and songs to, speak all the right words to when in group conversation, and so on. God seemed like a powerful King who demanded our love and devotion on Sunday mornings (or Saturday evenings, for some churches) with nothing in return. In other words, I thought of God as a tyrant bent on dominating our lives with the rules my chosen “religion” would impose on me. I thought this way for some time and was scared to go to church, for the most part, because I was never good enough to please God. I would always find a way to screw up and feel guilty about going to a “holy” place filled with people who could do no wrong. It was not until my family attended a small, non-denominational church that the truth was revealed to me.

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Success in Failing

Filed Under: Action, Progress by Josh Bowser — 3 Comments
April 13, 2012

“It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world.”

-Charles F. Kettering (engineer and inventor of the electric starter)

You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

There’s a word that is difficult for me to swallow and anytime I hear this word associated with my name in the same sentence, I tend to get shaken up. This word has the power to take a strong-willed individual of body, mind, and soul and leave them a withering, collapsed mess.

I am talking about the word fail. You can also use the words failure or failing, depending on your grammatical situation.

I do not know about you, but this word leaves a rotten taste in my mouth when I hear it in the situations described above. I believe no one enjoys hearing this word in association with their character, reputation, or even their skill sets. It is hard to overcome the barrier of failure in our lives, especially, and I am talking from my experiences here, when the failure occurs during a low point in our lives. I tend to experience failures the most whenever I am at a “valley” in my life, both physically and spiritually.

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Past Time We Move On, Eh?

Filed Under: Action, Progress by Josh Bowser — Comments Off
April 3, 2012

“One reason God created time was so that there would be a place to bury the failures of the past.”

-James Long

I tend to reflect on my past a lot. Past experiences, relationships, decisions, dreams… the list goes on. It is very easy for me to replay a lot of these events, especially the ones that made a lasting impression on me. You know the memories I am talking about – the ones that affected you in a personal way. This can include:

  • Times where people stepped up when you were down (i.e. lending money, assistance, etc.)
  • Times where people stabbed you in the back (the deeper the relationship, the worse it hurts)
  • Times where you overcame a hardship that may have seemed impossible (i.e. conquering your fears, physical limitations, etc.)
  • Times where you were defeated and defeated in every way possible (i.e. taking a risk that ended with bad results, etc.)
  • Times where you gained someone or something of important value (i.e. a treasure you sought for a long period of time,  your spouse, etc.)
  • Times where you lost someone or something of important value (i.e. someone stole priceless items from your possession, family member dies, etc.)

I have had my fair share of these events, but I know I am a seeker of progress and I always want to keep moving in some sort of direction, preferably towards the light of Jesus. I know I cannot afford to occupy my thoughts or my existence on my past for very long because I believe that life will pass me by and I will miss something important, vital, and essential in my walk with the Lord.

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Seeing is Believing?

Filed Under: Action by Josh Bowser — Comments Off
March 26, 2012

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.”

-The Conductor (The Polar Express [2004])

 

Eye see you

Eye Candy

I was recently reminded of a quote from Dr. Billy Graham this past Sunday:

 “Can you see God? You haven’t seen him? I’ve never seen the wind. I see the effects of the wind, but I’ve never seen the wind. There’s a mystery to it.”

It is interesting to me how many small and subtle details govern our lives. For instance, we rely heavily on the existence of electricity to power various devices and gadgets (cell phones, appliances, etc.). Yet, when you look at an exposed “live” electrical wire, you are unable to visibly see this source of energy. You may be able to see the effects of electricity, especially when someone tries to touch the wire mentioned previously, but no one can see the actual current flowing through the wires. I find it amazing that this invisible current controls so many aspects of our lives and yet we cannot see it.

This is a crippling thought, huh? The idea that we are so powerless (no pun intended) against so many “invisible” elements definitely puts my hair on end. Yet we cannot deny their existence in our lives and in the lives of other people (well, with the exception of the Amish… maybe).

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Products of Our Environment

Filed Under: Social by Josh Bowser — 1 Comment
March 24, 2012

Products of Our Environment

 

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”
-Proverbs 13:20 [NLT]

Have you ever heard the saying “You are a product of your environment” or a phrase similar to it? I tend to believe this is very true, especially in the United States. I am a product of a bunch of different elements, including:

  • The decisions I make or held back on.
  • The family and friends I develop or neglect my relationships in.
  • What I expose myself to (books, television, situations, etc.).

I think we all can safely say that the current version of who you are today is based on these elements and more.

So the question I pose to you is this:

Who are you today?

Are you a person who is active in your community or a person never seen outside the four walls of your home? Are you someone who does the right thing at all times, regardless of the opposing viewpoints or are you easily corrupted and brought down by the simplest of temptations? Are you someone who values the ideals of family and its values or do you isolate yourself more times than not?

I could keep going with this train of thought, but perhaps there is a better question to ask instead. Something like…

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Volunteering to Take Ownership

Filed Under: Social by Josh Bowser — Comments Off
March 24, 2012

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor is given by what he gave.”

- Calvin Coolidge (Former U.S. President)

A lot of people at work and in my life ask me what I do on my weekends, and I normally respond with something to the likes of, “Well, I typically start the weekend by helping my church setup our main stage and I serve my church as best I can on Sundays by playing on our worship team and packing up our stage when our church service is over.” At first glance, you may not take notice to a whole lot with my response. In fact, you may conclude that my response would be typical to that of a volunteer in a church or any other setting.

However, re-read the response and take notice of a few words I used intentionally:

“Well, I typically start the weekend by helping my church setup our main stage and I serve my church as best I can on Sundays with playing on our worship team and packing up our stage when our church service is over.”

Those words I emphasized show the main difference between being a volunteer in service and taking ownership of the service itself. A person who truly takes ownership is one who devotes much of themselves to that thing, item, or cause. In my case, I take ownership in where and how I serve at my church.

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Undignified – The Blog Post

Filed Under: Worship by Josh Bowser — Comments Off
March 22, 2012

“Your life is not a rehearsal. Don’t leave it without giving it your all.”

-Anonymous

I would like to take a moment and address a question that I have been asked many a time since getting involved in my church. This question, and its many variants, may help some of you reading this into understanding my mindset when it comes to worship.
The question is, “Why do I do what I do during worship sets? Why do I dance around and go crazy every single time?”

This question is pretty simple to answer, but requires more effort to understand. In other words, you have to see it from a few perspectives, but more importantly, from God’s perspective.

My answer to this question is thus: I recognize who I am playing for and I know my Audience wants me to give all of my heart, mind, and soul in any matter possible in celebration of His glory.

My answer can be interpreted a few different ways. One way this can be interpreted is that I like do put on a show for people. This interpretation is not entirely inaccurate, but allow me to explain myself. Sure, I love to have fun up there and allow people, especially those experiencing Jesus and the church for the first time, to enjoy the experience with me. Not to sound selfish or prideful, but I get a lot of people who verbally compliment my enthusiasm on the stage and they tell me it is one of the main reasons they come to my church. That is great and I am glad you enjoy what you see, hear, and experience, but that is not my motivation for my worship.

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