Nathan had heard of the ocean and the beach. He read books and saw movies of the waters, but he had never experienced the sounds and spray and movement of the water. His first contact with the waves was shear laughter. Nathan’s squeals of joy came with each rushing wave. The disappearance of the water down into the sand and backward into the ocean brought him to exuberant laughter as his own feet sunk into the wet sand.
Real knowing is a combination of seeing, hearing, reading, smelling, touching and . . . experiencing. Nathan now knows something of beaches and oceans. While ill-prepared as an expert, he has experienced something.
Later Sunday evening, I drove into the heart of downtown L.A. to experience something different. When I am away from my routine, I enjoy experiencing something new. So, I went to Mosaic. Located in a night club called the Mayan, Mosaic is a six-year old church begun by Erwin McManus. Now, church and night club rarely find room for one another in the same sentence, but Mosaic is a “multi-site, inter-racial, metropolitan” church with members having an average age of 24. You can read about Mosaic in this article from Saturday’s Los Angeles Times.
Mosaic’s mission statement is cued by one of my favorite lines from Paul “faith, hope and love” the three charities mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 (and throughout Paul’s writings). Here is their mission statement “to live by faith, to be known by love and to be a voice of hope.”
After entering through a small foyer area, I passed through a crowd of people sitting at tables and chairs, drinking coffee and bottled water. The Mayan Club was focused toward a stage with rows of folding chairs closest to the stage. I saw no where to sit and finally found an unoccupied stool in a row of stools.
The worship time was twenty-five minutes of praise that was generated by a loud Christian rock band that filled the club with music. Erwin appeared and spoke to the group for an extended period of time from Romans 12. He focused on part three of their mission statement “Connection” that “structure must always submit to Spirit.” The sermon connected well with me. God used McManus to remind me that my gifts are to be used to develop others. God has given us uniqueness to serve, not just ourselves, but to serve others in reaching their fullness in God’s purpose. I needed to hear that message from God.
This new experience reminded me of my other Generation X worship experiences. Each is similar and unique. It is like going to different beaches. I always find water, sun and sand, yet every one has a different view of the ocean. Church is best experienced with people. It is so much more exciting when shared with someone who squeals with delight in a new experience with God. McManus made an off-handed comment that the most important people for the leadership and development of Mosaic are not even Christians at this moment. Ah, how true. Ah, how easily denied and ignored. May God continue to bring us people who come to know and experience Jesus for the very first time.
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