I try really hard not to turn this blog into a cheer-leading center for my church, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Today I am going to fail and just talk about the place I worship and why it grabs me by the heart.
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First, for all of you who are not complete internet jerks (like me) the !11!!1 thing is to show such irrational exuberance that you can’t even hold down the shift key while hammering out your stupidity. That would be me. I do that because I am more than a bit pleased to report two things:
I have lived long enough to enjoy a rap performance in honor of God by gifted amateurs.
My church’s fun-fest is going to be so un-lame that I really hope you come. I’ll describe it in a minute.
First, the young people of my church get to run things on the fifth Sunday of any month. Sometimes that means we go a while without them taking the helm. Sometimes it means that the older people are a bit nervous about what will happen. Other times, like this past Sunday, it meant that the whole place showed up in casual attire, the Holy Spirit rocked the audience, and 5 people came forward to be baptized.
It also meant that the young people’s choir (up to age 35 if I’m not mistaken) assembled and blew the doors off the church. I belong to one of those churches you see in the movies. Heck, in the last 6 months they even got robes. (Previously they all just dressed nicely. Robes weren’t really missed, the voices were so amazing.) We have an adult choir, a women’s choir, a men’s choir, a children’s choir, a worship team, and a young people’s choir. On occasion the pastor or assistant pastor will get up and sing the sermon. Music is huge at my church. I love it.
Back to Sunday. One of the young people got out in front of the choir and started to rap. I’m an old white guy: I’m not a great judge of the form and style involved. I’m not a fan of modern rap. I wasn’t a fan of early rap at the time (today’s hip hop makes me yearn for Run DMC…) and I’ve been subjected to some excruciating examples of worship rap over the past decade. Some examples were so bad that I considered faking a seizure on one occasion.
This was different: the choir backed her with vocals and a beat. She hit the notes with her words. She had a great voice. The words were uplifting. I enjoyed it and felt a rise of hope in my chest. If this could be so in my church, there was hope outside in the streets. Nothing says that any form of music, either rap or rock, must dwell on the negative. There’s tons of great worship music in modern forms. I’m just not a fan of the rap genre in general. So, except for the occasional Lecrae, Toby Mac, and whomeverelse that kicks one out I like, I’d not heard one done by a large group that I really liked. Thank you, Shiloh Young People’s Choir, for changing my experience. You were magnificent and I’d like to hear more like that in the future. Really good. Amazing. Etc.
Now, on to the fun fest. On July 26, 2014 we’re blocking off the streets around the church (yes, the police are in on the deal) and holding a festival where all are invited. That means the whole city. We’ll be at it for 6 hours, from 10 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. Aside from the usual bouncy houses, vendors of trinkets, fire truck displays, etc., we have two things that I love more than most rational beings: FOOD TRUCKS AND GOSPEL MUSIC.
While they may not trip your trigger, I have insider information on both items. Yes, the food trucks will run a wide range of products. A final list will be available next week here on the blog. The Gospel music will be done on a stage at the back of the church where you can go and listen or ignore them by staying near the food trucks. The thing is, all of the choirs are rockers. This isn’t your mom’s church choir – unless your mom went to the church in the Blue’s Brothers. (Full disclosure: I have been to more than a few churches where members “fall out” like in this scene. All that was missing was the acrobatics. Me? I’m more like Elwood and his dance style. What can I say except it’s a great way to worship the Lord.)
This is shaping up to be a great day in every way. No price for admission, food trucks, music, basketball tournaments, fire truck displays, kid friendly events, and no pressure. Yup, we’re not out to make money or get you to join our church. It would be nice if you came to our services, but we’re there to introduce ourselves to the rest of the city (and metro area) and just have some fun. We wanted to invite our neighbors to join us at what promises to be a great party.
So, block out the 26th of July and come join us. Did I mention we’re kicking it off with a Zumba class sponsored by Taco Bell? (I wonder what mad genius suggested that…)
