A Different Approach

Last night was Midtown’s second week of meeting at the state museum. I love it there! They tried something a little different, and instead of having a sermon, they set up several “stations” to pray and worship God individually and in a way of your own choosing. You can read about the different stations in Lee’s blog, because he describes them better than I could. My favorite was a pile of rocks next to a cross where you could place your “burdens” at the foot of the cross, handing them over to God.
I feel like so often churches try so hard to entertain its members in efforts to enlarge its numbers. They hide their messages in layers of jokes, popular music, and impressive technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love going to church and hearing great music. I also think technology can be very useful to get a point across. And I certainly encouraging laughing in church because Christians are supposed to be JOYFUL. But when churches use all these elements to hopefully sneak in a message in between, I think they are missing the point. We are supposed to be bold. We can’t water down the story of Christ and what being a Christian means in order to “grow the Church.”
That being said, how awesome is it for a church to skip the sermon one week, and provide an opportunity and an atmosphere for around 200 people to spend one-on-one time to work things out with God. No entertainment, just people left on their own to spend the time how they choose. And I think it was more effective than even the most entertaining message.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten what it was like to take half an hour or so just to spend in prayer. My quiet time usually goes like this: read a couple of chapters from my Bible, read a chapter of a Christian book, write down a few prayer requests, and say a quick prayer. But spending 30 minutes alone just talking with God kneeling at the foot of a cross??? Pretty much incredible.
Some highlights of last night:
1. I saw several people, girls and guys, crying. I was one of them. I think this is exciting because it means God is moving in people’s hearts. People were letting down their guards to worship Christ completely in all their vulnerability. Amazing.
2. While I was kneeling at the cross, rock/burden in hand, praying for the strength to trust God completely and apologizing for falling so short in this area, someone came up behind me and put their hand on my shoulder. I didn’t turn around to see who it was, but I imagine they were praying for me and my burdens. I put my hand on their hand and began to pray for their burdens, whatever they may be. This whole scene really hit me. Here I was, kneeling before the cross, and someone came and knelt behind me to pray just for me. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such selfless people.
3. I was helping clean up the paint station after the service last night. One of the paintings left behind was a picture of a broken heart. Beside the heart it said something like, “I really want to believe in You, but bad things keep happening to me. Prove Yourself!” At the bottom it said, “Tell my Daddy Hi.” I cannot begin to imagine the hardships people around me are facing. I know it is tough to believe in God when there doesn’t seem to be an end to the heartache in sight. But God is faithful. I hope that Midtown will be a place where this person finds a support system and people who really care about her. Most of all I pray that God reveals Himself to the painter of the broken heart.