Today I worshiped at Biltmore Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina. This is a Southern Baptist Church that has dropped much of its traditional Baptist style in favor of the new format that people are increasingly drawn to. I attended with my closest-of-friends Beth, only the second time thus far that I have been accompanied on a church visit.
Interesting place!
It's the largest church in the Asheville area with multiple locations, the largest in Arden. The Hendersonville church campus is in a building that looks like an airplane hangar.
Here are some pictures, including from within the sanctuary:
The band was great and enjoyable. There is a certain standard construct to these bands - a mix of young and energetic men and women, an ambient purple light, as well as a drummer in a plexiglass case are lately the standard facets of a modern church band. This band fit into that category.
Some pics of the band:
The tenor of the crowd was solid and some level of enthusiasm evident. There were some hands in the air and a slight amount of movement among the attendees. The band played three songs and then there were some videos.
Included in the videos were two baptisms. These are always an emotional thing to witness. These are almost always present at a Baptist Church service.
So named, it makes perfect sense that we would see a baptism at a Baptist Church.
After that, Pastor Bruce Frank appeared on the screen and the sermon started. The series was named The Chronicles of Average Joe. It provoked a considerable amount of thought and led to some fantastic discussions. While I remain in a state where I am not used to a video feed for a sermon, I am increasingly clear that it makes sense to do church this way in the 21st century.
Some pics from the sermon:
The Rock.
Cool nickname.
And it came directly from God!
When contrasted to The Apostle Paul, Peter was an ordinary guy. Paul is remembered as erudite, learned, influential and adventurous. Peter, on the other hand, is remembered as someone with doubts, foibles, a healthy dose of fear when the going got tough and even as a bit of a clumsy guy (he cut a centurion's ear off, which I always thought was a move of precision, but appears to have been a result of a miss).
It was thought-provoking.
The Average Joe.
Who is he, this Average Joe?
My general bias is to believe that when speaking of people who are average, it may not apply directly to me. I even noticed that when it was mentioned, I thought that maybe I would gain less from it.
This is an illusion.
Such an idea likely only occurs to me based on things that are not true.
But there is truth in any understanding that positions all of us in the category of "average."
Here is the idea that emerged, only after some meaningful discussion. We are all average in the ways that matter most. Each and every human is in search of a few key things during life. Acceptance. Love. Community. Safety. Meaning. And all of us struggle in achieving a healthy balance in all of these categories.
I know I've had struggles in these areas.
Acceptance? I've felt pushed to the periphery more than once in life.
Love? I've had it and I've lost it, seeing things that mattered to me shattered.
Community? I've felt lonely, even in an acute way in recent years.
Safety? I mean, c'mon - we're living right now in 2020, a year in which safety seems as elusive as any time in human history.
Meaning? I've felt the flat line in my heart that arose during times of feeling like a small piece of flotsam being cast around in a meaningless universe (not my current worldview).
In short, anything that invokes the term "average" must, by its very definition, include me.
And it does.
Once that illusion passed, I saw the sermon in a new light. It spoke of Peter as someone who even missed the mark of Yeshua such that he invoked a strong rebuked by being called The Devil.
Despite this long list of things that Peter did that reinforce his flawed and average nature, he is still remembered as an important founder of the Christian faith. In fact, the entire Catholic Church counts average, flawed Peter as their founder. Not a small accomplishment, of course.
And everything that Peter accomplished happened because he was average, not because he was exceptional - which is to say, Peter was one of us. Peter was a human being in need of grace, guidance, forgiveness and patience. Just like I am. Just like you are.
So, how must I carry that message forward?
By doing my best. By seeing my affinity with my fellow broken humans. By not perpetuating the illusion that I am anything other than one of those needing to be Redeemed.
In essence, by embracing the ultimate message of equality.
I am one of the lost sheep in search of the only Shepherd who can return us to the fold - Yeshua the Messiah.
And there you have it. With the help of someone whose wisdom and insight has been shown to outstrip mine more than once, I finally pieced it together and absorbed the message of the sermon - that Peter and I (and you) are examples of people with whom God will have ultimate patience in the act of redeeming us to new, and eventually eternal, life.
I enjoyed Biltmore Church and the spectacular company that helped me see things with greater clarity than I might have on my own.
Blessings to all the Average Joes (and Josephines) out there. Take hope, we are never beyond the possibility of new life!
Never.
Amen
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