So before I begin let me preface this blog by saying that I usually don't get down Dickson Street very often which is probably why I found myself so observant to what happened last night, Saturday May 23rd. Last week I was searching the internet for upcoming music events in the local Northwest Arkansas area and found that one of the greatest guitarist I know of was headed into Fayetteville on Saturday. I immediately sent texts to all of my friends to see if they would be down for going to the show, and then went ahead and purchased the tickets. Now this particular event just so happened to be taking place at a local bar down on Dickson Street called, George's Majestic Lounge. While I was buying the tickets online, my thoughts immediately went to a mental image of a bunch of drunk people screaming and yelling and getting carried away, and us not being able to enjoy the show. It is funny how most of us make assumptions of places before we have the opportunity to see what it really is all about. George's Majestic Lounge has been in Fayetteville since the 1930's with a rich history of hosting live and local Arkansas music. So as the 5 of us wandered down Dickson we were entering into something that none of us had experienced before.
As we entered the bar we quickly found that it was packed, and there were no seats available for us, so we found a corner and stood where we could get a good glimpse of the stage. The opening act was an amazingly talented blues band that was a mix of John Mayer meets Dave Matthews Band. I quickly started thinking about how God could be using such musicians in His churches across the world. I have been to many Christian concerts, Worship concerts, and churches, but what I saw this evening got my mind contemplating. As the night went on, and more people started to gather into this venue, I started noticing how friendly everyone was to each other. It seemed that everyone was there to really have a great time, meet people, and have an experience seeing one of the countries premier guitarist's. I saw people hugging, people politely asking others if seats were taken, and manners that I didn't expect to see in a bar. As the opening act wrapped up, there was a 20 minute intermission. My wife, Christie, and I went over to the merchandise table to see if we could pick up a copy of Monte Montgomery's latest album (he is the premier guitarist I have been referring to). As we approached the table a guy called "Katman" started to converse with us about how much he has followed Monte all over the country and now is selling merchandise for him at every stop along the way. You could feel the passion and excitement coming from his body language as he went on to tell us stories about what Monte's music had done in his life. Katman was a super nice guy, and again my thoughts started racing, as I started thinking about this bar as a parallel to churches. The lights, the music, the social fellowship, the manners, the believing in something so passionately that it makes you travel the country to see it, the dancing, the raising of hands, and the singing. All of these elements existed in this bar on Dickson Street this particular Saturday night that I was there. Did this happen every night? How many of these people are regular attenders of this place? Is this place a filler for a family for some of these people? All these thoughts crossed my mind.
Finally the show starts and Monte Montgomery's talent was very evident right away, he can do things that are remarkable on a guitar. I wondered if his gifts and talents came from God and I started to think that they did. In the middle of the show he stops and gives everyone "the bird" which I found vulgar as most Christians would. But everyone passionately cheered, and applauded this gesture. It amazed me how people could get so pumped about such a gesture, yet sometimes in our church when we mention God, no one gets excited. Are we as Christians so routine in our relationships with God that we don't get excited anymore? I was thinking how in this tiny little bar the excitement level, the love in this place, the socializing was so much more intense than in many of the churches I have been in. Do people rally around sinful gestures/environments more passionately than churches rally around Christ? All these questions swirling around my mind and yet I wonder why people are more attracted to sin than Christ. Maybe it is the passion level of what they follow, was Monte Montgomery a "god" that night to some of these people?
So church, are we displaying the excitement for God as these folks do in this tiny little bar on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas? Are we displaying the love, the fellowship, the caring, the dancing, singing, raising of our hands to God?
Sure some of you are reading this and thinking I am crazy for trying to find a parallel with a bar and church. Maybe I am off base, but I just wanted to share with you the way my thoughts were drawn to this as I stood there and observed.
My prayer for today: "Father, we love you. We acknowledge that you are the reason we come to church, that we fellowship, love, care, sing, dance, worship, and read your Word daily. May you enter our hearts and help our thoughts remain pure for you, that our actions would be guided by our passion to seek your will in our lives. It's in your name we pray. Amen."
Have a blessed week!
In Him,
Mark
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