Three words: Red Rocks Church. I’m not sure we need to do any more church hunting as this is probably going to be our new home church here in Golden. Not only was the message fantastic, but there were also plenty of young people and several opportunities for small groups and Bible studies. Not to mention the location and size of the church are great as well – close to home and small enough to get to know people in the church community.
How did we find such a gem right off the bat? First, Google is our friend. Second, being designers we were immediately drawn to their website. Believe what you want but good branding, even in churches, can play a huge role in decision making. The site was compelling, easy to navigate and after reading the beliefs and seeing that they corresponded with ours, we were completely ready to attend.
So I’d like to take this opportunity to talk a little bit more about the church and share the message that we heard this morning. And I would like to make this a Sunday night tradition so that I have time to reflect again on the words as well as share it with you – my Sunday “gold nuggets” if you will. Cheesy, I know, but as you should know by now, I am a sucker for puns and cheese.
Okay so first, just a bit more about the church:
It is located in Heritage Square, an Old Victorian Shopping Village/Amusement Park in the foothills (complete with an Alpine slide) – definitely a unique spot for a church, but perfectly fitting. Besides the size, the church is very similar to Mars Hill in Grandville, Michigan, from environment to worship style. It is a young church (started in 2005) in a modest-sized, pre-existing building and has the “everyone is welcome” mentality. The interior environment is contemporary with chair seating, a big stage, worship band and several screens with well-designed graphics to make other designers drool (*ahem* me).
Now about the sermon:
The topic was “Dangerous Church” and if that title didn’t capture our attention enough, the pastor sure did. Once he starting speaking, I knew it would be a great message. First of all, he was hilarious to the point of stand-up comedian. His opening story had us all laughing out loud and he threw in little gems here and there throughout the sermon as well – so great. I always appreciate good humor in church. Now I know some of you are thinking, “church isn’t supposed to be funny and entertaining!” I disagree. I’ll argue that if the pastor’s words aren’t reaching or capturing his/her audience in a way in which they can relate, react and interact, it isn’t as effective as it could be. Even Jesus was a storyteller – he engaged his audience. I’m sure he made them laugh and threw in a little sarcasm, too. But to get back to the main point before I cause too much dissension (ha), without question, this pastor was a great speaker with awesome content.
So the message was all about pettiness and what the pastor called, “big barn syndrome,” based on the scripture passage of Luke 12:16. This passage challenges the American, capitalist way of living – our selfish acquisition of bigger, better things the more success we have and our mentality that we have done this on our own. We desire more money, more vacations and more possessions – it’s all about us. And it just seems to be ingrained in us to want more and more. He also made another great point as far as petty behavior. We often turn the smallest, silliest things into huge deals of utter significance. His examples were church related: No coffee and doughnuts at the service? Ghastly! A praise band is too loud? Watch out for the revolt! But this is what we do and how we live, and we act like these petty things are actually important. Like the pastor said, “in the absence of vision, pettiness prevails.”
In comparison to how we Americans live and worship, the pastor also talked about his time in Haiti and his experience seeing how the people in absolute poverty lived and worshiped as if they were the richest people in the world. This in stark contrast to those of us who live in such wealth, take everything for granted and are satisfied with nothing is sickening when there are so many others around the world who don’t even have the basic essentials of survival yet are still so grateful. He said his time there was completely humbling and in reality, “we need them more than they need us” in order to shake us and give us perspective.
Okay, so are you ready for some shocking statistics we got today? From the site, globalrichlist.com, even a combined salary of $50,000 still gets us in the same category as Bill Gates – among the richest people in the world. What’s more unbelievable is that even an annual salary of $500 doesn’t get us to the bottom of the world’s population income chart. Doesn’t that make you a little sick? I certainly feel guilty.
But while we should feel ashamed and humbled by our selfish oblivion, I don’t think the pastor’s main point was to make us feel guilty. I think what he wanted was for us to be aware of just how blessed we are even in this time of recession and to DO something about it. It’s not that we all need to “go out and help save a country like Mother Theresa,” it’s that every little bit counts and that everything is God’s, not ours. Another passage he read from The Message that emphasizes this point: “This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice.” (Matthew 10:41-42).
Maybe that means we give a little more money than usual, even if it might cramp our style of living. Perhaps we should volunteer more of our time or donate more of our resources. Or maybe it means our next vacation should be a mission trip. Whatever it is, the main point of his message is that “it’s not about what can we do with ours, but asking what God would like us to do with His – we are only the middle managers.”
I hope you got as much out of this sermon as I did. I know for me the change is not going to be instantaneous and it is easier to say than put into practice. But I truly desire to give back, even in small ways, so that I am living for the Kingdom and not just for myself.
In Christ,
Laura