Clueless

It was exactly a year ago that Amos first invited me to join him on this church planting journey, which this Sunday culminates in weekly worship. We've made a big deal over this move from monthly to weekly because it's a huge shift in where we've been (gathering, practicing) and where we go from here (being, sustaining, growing). Over the past few weeks, Amos has blogged about the original vision, the realities, the timing, the decisions, etc... that all led to this point. It's been a time for us to reminisce and talk through the pivotal decisions we made that sent us in one direction rather than another (and the missteps we just barely avoided!) Of course the most pivotal moment for me was being hired in the first place.

I re-entered the working world after more than a decade, with the proverbial "didn't know what I didn't know" going on. All I did know was that something resonated with me about "church done different" and "welcoming all people no matter where they are on their spiritual journey". But quite frankly, I was clueless as to what that could possibly look like. It sounded great, but how do you worship differently yet remain true to the traditions of the church and the truth of the Gospel? What does the music sound like? How does a church gather people in an unchurchy way?

I showed up at work on my first day with my lunchbox, sharpened #2 pencils, and NO CLUE - yet eager to see what would unfold. As the people began to gather one and two at a time, they began to show us what "church done different" looks like. It looks like going to the movies, parties with a DJ, worshipping in off-beat places, singing "secular" music in a sacred way, printing a beautiful worship bulletin that you don't want to throw away, working in a place that is one-part living room, one-part artist loft... And somewhere along the way I began to feel unafraid. Unafraid to do something I've never done before. Unafraid to try something that might not work. Unafraid to trust myself. And most importantly, unafraid to trust God - to trust that He would show up everyday and that He would grow something out of the little seeds we were planting.

Somewhere along the way, clueless became fearless.