You're doing what?

So... Jacob's Well (the church I currently serve as intern pastor) is doing something that I've never heard of another church doing. Quite honestly, because we've never heard of another church doing it was probably the main motivator in taking the idea serious to begin with. That's what I love about this call. As the tag line goes, Jacob's Well is "church for people who don't like church." I think that's even more true for the leadership. It's a collection of leaders who want to lead a church but fundamentally don't like church. At least not "church" as it's commonly understood and experienced.

Jacob's Well is about to celebrate its 5th anniversary and as an institution that wants to be anything but, that's a frightening thought. As we look around at what we're doing, we can't help but wonder, "is this really the church that God is calling us to be?" So rather than keep doing what we're doing but not knowing, we've decided to push the pause button on the week in and week out activities so we can make some time to listen for God and maybe learn where we're being called to next. And that's what it's called; Pause, Listen & Learn. During the next four weeks of July, we won't be producing our own worship experiences but encouraging our community to engage the world around them and maybe, just maybe, find God speaking in some unexpected places. I, along with a number of others, will be leading "Field Trips" to a variety of other worshiping communities around the Twin Cities. We'll also be intentionally engaging our neighbors in a variety of other settings. To learn more about the whole initiative, go here.

Looking for God

I guess this has been circling around the internet and it just caught my attention...

In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.
About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?
*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

So here's the question it raises for me... how often do we fail to perceive, like beauty, God's presence in our lives? Why is it that we think we can only find God in specific places, places that we determine to be right, or proper, or logical. If our Christian story teaches us anything, it's that God is found in the improbable, the improper, the illogical.

Open my eyes Lord. I think I need to stop looking for you at church on Sunday morning and start looking for you on my way to work.

Worship that was sweet!

My worship class celebrated the entire Three-Day Feast of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and The Easter Vigil all in one day this past Saturday. It was a wonderful exploration of the possibilities embedded within this holy celebration. Creativity reigned as each small group presented their portion of the celebration. My own group had the responsibility for the final portion of the Easter Vigil, including a baptismal remembrance and celebration of the Lord's supper. Check out the photo (taken by Mary Stoneback, one of my classmates). The last supper icon belongs to my friend Ethan Hulme and we hauled it into this building (the oldest Lutheran church in MN). Lit only by candlelight, the gold foil painting absolutely glowed. I have to say, it was pretty cool.

In order to highlight the celebratory nature of this final Eucharist, our group decided to use intentionally sweet bread and wine. Coming from the bitter & sour and into the sweet seemed the perfect movement from death into life.

We served a nicely sticky cinnamon bread baked by local St. Paul bakery "A Toast to Bread." Believe it or not, we found it at Tim & Tom's Speed Market, just across the street from Luther Seminary.

The wine was a locally-grown Chambucier from Falconer Vineyards in Red Wing Minnesota. Here's a photo of me and Ethan meeting the winemakers, John & Anne Falconer.

Perhaps one of the best highlights from the worship service occurred just following the sending when there was a mad dash for the altar as everyone tried to grab another taste of bread and swallow of wine. That's a theological moment I can really sink my teeth into!