jazzed up

well, the kingdom of God met the king of beers this weekend, and i got to witness it. and you know what? God knows people drink beer!

ha.

here's the scoop. i signed up awhile ago to serve at the local Jazzfest with mercy church. i had visions of hot days and handing out water bottles at the time, thanks to a prior experience in which that is what i did. i did not even think twice about it. christians hand out water to people in need. no second thoughts necessary.

i should have gotten a clue when in subsequent emails, pastor shel started to refer to our location as the 'beverage' tent. to give him some credit, he actually said (several times) that if you are uncomfortable around beer, this was not the service opp for you. i disregarded that statement, thinking that the proximity of the water tent and the beer tent must be close....because, you know, christians don't hang out with beer around.

sheesh.

finally, about a week beforehand, it started to dawn on me, and i ASKED. yikes, it was definitely serving in the beer tent. after a slight freakout, i still did not allow myself to think about it much...i was SURE i'd be wiping the tables or possibly checking for IDs. surely, a christian would not do anything but that. i mean, I'M A CHRISTIAN!

yeah, right. by the end of the first night, i had gotten pretty comfortable with yelling "BUD HEAVY" to the guys in the back by the big cattle troughs filled with icewater and cold beer. that's because i was upfront at the beer tent, taking orders and taking beer tickets. it did not take long for me to remember back to the day when i talked to people who drank beer....! seriously. i did remember that 'those' people are pretty much just people.





the big question that was left in my mind after the end of the weekend was....how in the HECK did i become one of those 'christians' who is afraid to be with people who have a beer in their hand? one of those christians i SWORE i would never become? is drinking beer the real trouble? or is the trouble that in nine short years i have isolated myself from what Jesus commanded me to do? which is to be a light, to show the joy and happiness i have experienced from His saving love in my life! no matter where i am?

i don't know the answer to that. it was a wakeup call for sure. and you know what? it was FUN. there. i said it. quite a few people asked about what kind of church would be slinging beer at a jazz fest. it was kind of good to say 'mercy church. it's right up the road. God hangs out there.'

and you know what? He does. and He is. everywhere you would not expect Him to be. i really really really wonder where else He is going to take me along the way!