Mall Worship

Kate and I went to a concert last night with a large group of our friends, most of them from our community group. The venue really set the mood for an amazing experience, the parking lot of the Northwest Arkansas Mall. (tongue in cheek)

I'd never paid any attention to David Crowder Band. I'd heard his music but never stopped to listen very intently. I searched my iTunes before the concert figuring I might have a song or two but not really sure. (side note: my music collection is a frequent topic of humor for Kate)

So suffice it to say I was surprised to find myself in a mall parking lot listening to a guy I didn't know very well having one of the most transcendent worship experiences of my life.

Kate and I have been living life in small groups through church for awhile. All of them have been a blessing. They really have. We are in a group right now that is striving to live authentically with one another in a way that is new...scary...messy...exciting. Masks are slowly coming off, real stuff is coming out, and I am starting to know them like family. Really great stuff is happening in our group and really hard stuff.

David sang this song called 'How He Loves'. It starts with the words 'He is jealous for me'. As I saw the mall in view, I thought about how the things of this world can't compare to a relationship with the Creator of the Universe but how little my life reflects that. My heart reflected it last night as I saw the enormity of His love next to the smallness of the 'stuff' of this world.

He goes on to sing 'If His grace is an ocean we're all sinking' and then repeats the chorus 'Oh how He loves us' over and over. I know this is true and I experienced last night in a clearer reality than ever before as God reminded me of all the things He is doing in my life and the lives in our group. Like watching a slideshow God brought to mind times that He has come through in my life and the lives of my friends surrounding me. The scenes of His faithfulness flashed through my mind one after another, an inventory of situations where His love has been made evident.

Then another set of scenes went through my mind. A list of difficult situations and decisions in my life and the life of my friends that are unresolved. Really big stuff. The outcomes are not promised to be easy or comfortable. They aren't even promised to turn out 'good' in worldly terms. However, for the children of God they are promised to turn out for GOOD in God's terms. His terms are different. Just as the mall appeared so trite beside authentic worship, His ways are so much bigger than ours.

Since we aren't in isolation but are living our lives in community with one another, our experience and memory is bigger than ourselves...it is collective. As we go through desperation, we can rejoice and be reminded by God's faithfulness to another. As we celebrate God's love, we can encourage one who mourns.

Worship...God's love...a community of faith. Big things.

Self-indulgence...status...stuff. Small things.

Watch out for those mall parking lots. They'll change your life.