cyber encounters

One of the challenges that I find in life is getting my God-time in a way that's actually meaningful to me. That's not to say that I don't love the tradition in which I'm a prodigal-pilgrimm pastor. That means that so much of my worship time is devoted to leading others into an encounter that sometimes my own encounter with the Divine is sacrificed.

What I call a worship experience is quite outside "the norm." I get to really worship maybe once or twice a year (at least I hope that I get an autumn worship time with my nomadic friends). Let me define what I mean by "really worship."

Richard Foster defines worship as those encounters when God's Spirit touches our spirit, music can lead us there, preaching can lead us there, candles, incense, icons, stained glass windows, and Sacraments can all lead us to the place of worship...but worship happens when our spirit and God's Spirit mingle and become intertwined.

So the last time I really, really worshiped was in a place called Joe's Java in Wilmington, Ohio when we went to see the Psalters. They're nomadic musicians with a sound like no other--mixing American folk music with Slave Spirituals with middle eastern music with Klezmer. It was a hot night, and we were all sweaty and smelly, and their music was loud but God arrived (or we became aware that God was already there waiting for us) and I got to just let go and just be Daniel and just be with God. It was an amazing night.

But there's another component that leads us to the place of worship, and that's hearing the Word of Grace. I get to hear preaching more often than I get to let my spirit soar, but so often the preaching that I hear is leadership oriented and institutional in its focus. As a leader, it's good to hear other leaders say the same things that I do; it's reassuring to know that I'm not off base or alone in my quest for making disciples.

But sometimes I crave more than just discipleship sermons. Sometimes I crave hearing that I am beloved of God even in my brokenness; I need to hear that God's grace is offered even to me. Just like I need to remind the flock entrusted to me that they are loved, just like I need to offer them time at the well, I need to get the living water, too.

So I found this podcast. (Finally he gets to the point!) I found this podcast through a book that I was reading because the community of faith was mentioned in the book. The community is called Mercy Street and they are affiliated with Chapelwood UMC in Houston, Texas. The folks that preach there are stellar and each week I look forward to their podcast because they preach to the places where my soul still aches from time-to-time. They have become my pastors, in a way, because the Words of Grace that they speak, cut right to my heart and I laugh with that community and I cry with that community and I get to worship via my iPod.

How cool is that?