Week 1...
The section that truly moved me was the idea that a worship song is a place within itself. A place that people can enter and meet with an intimate and loving God.


In what ways have you seen God be the "subject of the sentence" or the "object of the sentence" in your own worshiping life?
This question makes me think of a time not too long ago (Jan 2012) that I had began to do worship in the small group my wife and I attend. Especially in my first few months; I was always really nervous before worship. I wanted to play well, not embarrass myself too bad and provide worship where people can meet with God. After looking at my heart during that time, I made it less about providing a place for people to worship and more about putting on a good sounding show. My heart wanted to worship Jesus and when I engaged in worship on my own, I did that. But my head would get so wrapped around not messing up during my set that I lost sight of why God wants us to worship. Even as a worship leader, I was concentrating too much on the music and not on Him.
The truth is, I was far too self-conscious about my skill level, I wasn't having fun while I worshipped. Since then I've learned to not only gain some confidence in my playing ability but also to perform more naturally, finding more enjoyment playing worship because I make it less about how I play and more about how well the group responds to the Holy Spirit. When I embrace my imperfection as a musician, my passion for Jesus and worshipping Him is able to shine through.

In what ways have you seen "embedded theology" at work in your own life? In what ways have you chosen to do "deliberative" theology, and what experiences triggered that choice?
I'm a youth leader, I hear a lot of embedded theology from the kids in my group. A lot of "My Grandma told me..." or "I heard..." usually their statements or beliefs are not from the bible but from a relative or some kind of folklore they heard growing up. However, the time I felt most moved to begin deliberative theology was during a small group session last year. In our group, a question was asked and a lot of the answers were "growing up my Mom always told me.." few people had biblical answers to give, most relied on how they were brought up for all their answers. These were "seasoned christians" having trouble outlining biblical principles. This challenged me to begin my deliberative theology, it's an on-going study/project. I challenge myself to develop concrete beliefs and make it a point to note why I believe it (using scripture).