Darth sighting…
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It had to happen sooner or later. I mean, you don’t just create a massive empire in space without being able to go where you want, when you want. Our little town just wasn’t prepared for his presence on a Saturday afternoon a week or so ago.
Shown here is Lord Darth Vader, strolling down the sidewalk in the North Park Shopping Mall with my mom. He was actually a pretty decent guy. Apart from sabering a rude motorist in half when they stole the spot he was planning on parking his Tie-Fighter, it was almost like having a friend from college over….
OK, so maybe that’s actually my daughter in costume… But weren’t you enjoying the other story better?
The point…
My son Sam’s 9th birthday party was March 11 (his actual birthday is the 18th), and he wanted to have a massive Xbox game of Star Wars Battlefront 2. We hooked everything up at the Journey center and watched breathlessly as 11 nine-year olds screamed things like "Who just shot me?" and "I’m gonna kill you with my light saber!" and even "Sam, are you Princess Leia?" Somewhere in the middle of it all, I was wondering if our worship center/shopping mall location was the best place for cyber violence.
Now some of you reading this have already gotten a little clenched up from the whole idea of allowing something like this in "God’s house." But you know… it’s a shopping mall! Chill out for Pete’s sake. God doesn’t live there any more than he lives in the traditional church building. The Lord said to King David in 2 Samuel 7.5, "Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day…"
The basic point? God is not interested in our creating for him some kind of nice physical monument or ediface. He wants to live in our very lives and manifest Himself to our world through our progressive transformation. The church is not something you go "to" but something that we are. That’s the point of our church, anyway. We’re trying to help ordinary people (like me) discover the extraordinary joy of following a supraordinary God. We do this not by creating a Christianized institution or religious country club to keep its adherents busy with all kinds of activities… BUT by simply… helping people live the lives that God has already given them with great purpose and gusto! (I like that word.. gusto).
When a Christ-follower quits trying to change the world and starts allowing God to change their self, the world is changed… Think about that.
Oh, and by the way, when you are living your everyday life for God’s glory and for other people’s joy, you will experience surprise visits. Just not by Darth Vader. God loves to appear to those who are seeking Him.
March 22nd, 2006 at 9:07 am
i love it! and jonah said, but darth is white. :)
“supraordinary”? is that a word? or am i the one that would fail the reader’s digest quiz?
i completely agree with the church discussion, on a real note. we are His temple. we are the body. how much difference could we make if we paid as much attention to how often we heeded the Spirit’s nudge as we do to who and how often we show up in a building. but, you said it best, my affirmation is just overkill.
kudos to the new post, man.
March 23rd, 2006 at 4:54 pm
“LUKE, I AM YOUR FATHER”, ok yes, being a girl that is about the only line I know from Star Wars. sounds like the party was a success…hope you guys don’t freeze your toesies off camping this weekend! Hope you have a blast!
Oh, don’t worry about not inviting us, we didn’t want to go with you anyway….ppplllllllsssssssssttttttttt!! (that is a sound effect of me sticking my tongue out and going pppllllllllssssssssttttttt!)
March 24th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
“Sam, are you Princess Leia?” THIS HAD ME ROLLING LAUGHING! How funny! Hey, religion has been a major cause of tons of wars and blood shed over the years… I think church is the perfect place for a Star Wars battle! ;)