Mecca

Mecca
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Hillsong United Concert in Chicago. I was really, very excited about it. I filled my oversized conversion van with gas and people and embarked on the four hour quest with the purpose of seeing the band that is generally regarded as the best worship leader in the world. We arrived at the concert and waited in line for hours before the concert began, we managed to secure a place only a few feet from the stage…the wait and drive were worth it and the concert was amazing. No regrets!
But, in the midst of the incredible worship and great opportunity to spend time with my friends in an activity which excited us, I noticed something that still makes me sick to my stomach. Because this concert was such a big deal, there were nearly ten thousand Christians gathered together in one place. That should have been a big deal, I mini-preview of heaven. We should have been embracing each other and celebrating the fact that we get to spend eternity together.
Sadly, I did not feel like that was the case at all. The various church groups that attended were very segregated. No one was friendly, and worse than that…people were actually yelling at one-another for taking up to much space or for pushing in front of them to get to the stage-at a worship concert. Honestly one would not have known that the group gathered in the Sears Center was any different than any other collection of people until the band came on. The truth is minus some swear words, and plus a few pairs of Tom’s shoes, we were just like the rest of the culture. We like our Coach Purses, we drive nice cars, and we spend five dollars for a glass of lemonade at a worship concert when children are starving to death all over the world.
I still do not know where to go with this or what to do with it. All that I am certain of is the fact that Christians should look different from the world around us…our community should shake the very foundations of the earth. As I contemplate social justice, and the value of acting like a child of God, I feel so challenged by what I saw. The body of Christ needs to act like it…I do not have a clue of how to challenge the church of America to look like a church, but I do know how to act like a Christian…and that is where I have to start. I have to embrace community, and I have to stop acting like my life is more important than those of millions of broken and suffering people around the world…who’s with me?